 The corporations happily publicized the efforts of these “ literary mill girls ” , boasting that they were the “ most superior class of factory operative , ” which greatly impressed foreign visitors to Lowell . But this masked the bitter opposition of many workers to the twelve to fourteen hours of monotonous , exhausting work , which they saw was corrosive to their desire to learn and educate themselves . “ Who , ” asked an operative writing in the Voice , “ after thirteen hours of steady application to monotonous work , can sit down and apply her mind to deep and long continued thought ? … Where is the opportunity for mental improvement ? ” A former Lowell operative , looking back on her experience in the mills , expressed a similar view : “ After one has worked from ten to fourteen hours at manual labor , it is impossible to study History , Philosophy , or Science , ” she wrote , “ I well remember the chagrin I often felt when attending lectures , to find myself unable to keep awake … I am sure few possessed a more ardent desire for knowledge than I did , but such was the effect of the long hour system , that my chief delight was , after the evening meal , to place my aching feet in an easy position , and read a novel . ” 
