Female Domestic Labour And The Presumption Of Remuneration In Early Nineteenth-century Scots Law

During the early nineteenth century, domestic labour was women’s labour. Women in Scotland were expected to cook, clean, light fires, scrub floors and procure necessities for the family. For wives, mothers and daughters, this was part of their social and cultural role within the family. However, if a family could afford to, they employed a domestic servant – or several – to supplement the labour of female family members. Domestic servants were also usually women but were distinguished from wives and daughters by the fact they were employed under a contract of service, in which they exchanged their labour for wages...