I think it’s a 20th century middle-class thing, and possibly mostly a USA thing. Before then, the mother usually had help, either paid or relatives. With the ad

I think it’s a 20th century middle-class thing, and possibly mostly a USA thing. Before then, the mother usually had help, either paid or relatives. With the advent of home appliances and the impact of WW2, suddenly middle-class families were nuclear only and the wife was supposed to operate the house alone, like a factory worker punching buttons on machines.