All places where women are excluded tend downward to barbarism; but the moment she is introduced, there come in with her courtesy, cleanliness, sobriety, and order.

Stowe frames women’s presence as a civilizing force: where women are barred, social life “tends downward to barbarism,” while their inclusion brings everyday virtues—politeness, hygiene, temperance, and orderly conduct. The claim reflects a common 19th‑century “separate spheres” logic that praised women’s moral influence in domestic and public settings, even as it could reinforce gender essentialism. Read sympathetically, the line argues for women’s participation in institutions and public life by linking inclusion to improved communal standards. Read critically, it assigns women responsibility for men’s behavior and equates femininity with cleanliness and restraint, revealing the era’s moralized gender expectations.