Desire and Duty at Oneida cover

Desire and Duty at Oneida

by Robert S. Fogarty

"Written between 1867 and 1879, this memoir by the most prominent woman of the younger generation at the Oneida Community is the first that deals explicitly and openly with the sexual conflicts there. It chronicles Tirzah Miller's social and sexual life, including her relations with her uncle and lover, founder of the colony John H. Noyes, and her participation in the eugenics experiment Noyes dubbed "stirpiculture." Miller was a sensitive observer of the internal life of this celebrated communal family, and she details the shifting political forces within the community just prior to its breakup in 1880. Her memoir is full of intimate conversations with John M. Noyes about issues and personalities, about her love affairs, about her doubts about communism and her love of music, and her anguish over the loss of two partners. Throughout the memoir she is torn by her desire for romance and her duty to the community."--BOOK JACKET.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?