Framing Narratives: An Examination of Women's Histories in the Wyatt Historic House Museum

Historic house museums can offer unique access to a variety of histories and narratives. However, there is a tendency for homes to be reconstructed, conserved, and curated as historic house museums in an attempt to preserve male-centred histories. This male focus within a domestic context is ironic, as the home was a place strongly associated with constructed ideals of women during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Adopting a material culture perspective, this thesis explores the potential of house museums to provide rich and textured histories through the curation and interpretation of historical objects, including the architecture of the house itself. My thesis examines the Wyatt Historic House Museum as a site that successfully frames women’s histories and narratives. I discuss a series of objects and architectural elements of the home and consider in particular how they contribute to a narrative framing of women’s health issues during the period.