American vs. European attitudes toward women

Tocqueville talks a lot about the differences between how American and European women are treated. It seems like he mentions at least one in almost every paragraph, so I am just going to pick a few. One of I thought the most interesting things that he says about European men was that "It has often been remarked, that in Europe a certain degree of contempt lurks even in the flattery which men lavish upon women..." He then goes on to say that in America, men do not really compliment women but they often show how highly they think of them. Tocqueville also says that in America, a young and unmarried woman can travel long distances alone and not worry. So we assume that in Europe it is not that way. I think that is really interesting considering he wrote this in the 1800's. As far as democracy and the freedom of women, Tocqueville says that American democracy forces men and women to be on completely seperate paths. Then he goes on to say "the object of democracy is to regulate and legalize the powers which are necessary, and not to subvert all power."

I really like the way that Tocqueville ends his essay by saying that "...in which I have spoken of so many important things done by Americans, to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply, To the superiority of their women." I wasn't expecting this kind of ending and it was a nice a surprise because I guess I never thought that American women were better off than European women.