Women 's Roles During The Victorian Era

During the nineteenth century, women had few rights, and were often objectified by men. An ideal woman was subservient to her husband, had plenty of children, and was not expected to work outside the home. As the Victorian era progressed, some women

The Victorian Era women was vastly different than the female we think of nowadays. Women during that time were expected to fulfill more of a domestic and motherly role, one that stayed at home and took care of the house. They were confined within the private sphere of the world while the men toiled away in the public sphere. The ideal Victorian women was described as:

During the Victorian era, gender roles became separated and entered into different spheres that only interacted at specific moments. Women were considered physically weaker yet morally superior to men, which meant that they were best suited to the domestic sphere. Not only

At the end of the 18th century and during the 19th century, there were many changes to public ideology that affected the way that women perceived their roles in society. Prior to these changes, women had adopted the beliefs of separate “spheres” separating work into public life and their duties as mothers at home1. Women stayed at home to take care of the children and provide a warm, welcoming home for their husbands to take refuge from public life. Women became aware of their lack of legal and political power after the American Revolutionary War ended as they were denied the right to the same freedoms that granted the right to vote to the white, property-owning male population2. Despite granting women more liberty to run businesses, farms,

There was no equality between man and woman in the Victorian era. “The patriarchic system was the norm and women usually led a more secluded, private life. Men, on the other hand, possessed all kinds of freedom” (“Gender Roles”). Moreover, “the man was naturally the head of the family and the guardian of family members. He was the protector and the lord.

In 1893, Jane and her fellow workers went before the state of Illinois to examine laws governing child labor, the factory inspection system,

women were supposedly restricted to an idealized private or domestic sphere, while men were free to move between this and the public and economic spheres” (p. 1). Victorian ideology of gender rested on the

Gender roles are determined by the behavior, attitude, physical strength and the mental being of one. The Victorian era was a crucial time period for gender roles. Men and women’s roles became more strictly defined than at any point in history. Victorian women were known as having the “simple” tasks and not having much “duty”. During this time period, it was all about the “women and the world” and “women and the house.”

Throughout the 19th century, especially during the Victorian era, gender roles became very distinctive. There were certain characteristics that the ideal Victorian man or woman were expected to have which emphasized patriarchal superiority. The patriarchal system meant that males had dominance in their homes, specifically over women. The ideal man during this time period would focus on achieving job related success which, in turn, would show that he is an eligible suitor to get married. It was seen as important for the man to have a family to support and protect, which also gave him the opportunity to exercise authority within his household. While the men went off to work to provide for their families, the women stayed home to perform their motherly duties in addition to keeping busy around the house. It was expected of Victorian women to have feminine, graceful, and innocent attributes. In fact, before they found spouses, the ladies were taught to be pure and to have strong morals. Also, “higher education and professional work” were discouraged because it was thought that it “could lead to all sorts of covert rebellion” (Hughes). Although these gender roles were usually very distinctive, in some cases they became muddled. In the novel, Dracula, the author, Bram Stoker, contradicts Victorian Era principles to illustrate that socially constructed gender roles are not absolute.

The ideal Victorian man was to be honorable, respectful, strong, intelligent, well dressed, emotionless, have good income and provide a home for their family. They had absolute social standing above women and was the dominant sex during this time. Once married a man had control of all aspect of a woman’s life. A woman’s properties, her body, and social right was all handed over to her husband. Before a man is to be married, he must prove that he is finically stable and be able to provide for his chosen mistress.

The Victorian Era took place during 1837- 1901 and is known as Queen Victoria’s time period. She was the first English monarch to see her name given to a time period while living. It was a time of rapid advances in scientific, technological and medical knowledge, and even population growth. Although Victorian England was based around the ideals of proper etiquette and maintaining “high society”, the treatment of women during the Victorian Era highlights the contradictions of this time.

The Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 until 1901 when she died. Although the Victorian era was good for the United Kingdom in many ways, it was also a time where there were great differences in gender equality leaving women with very few rights. Therefore, making it a period when women began to demand equal treatment to men and although their rights would not be equal until the 20th Century, Victorian women started the idea. This essay looks at 5 key areas of Victorian life to show the gender and sexuality issues that existed. First, it will describe the Victorian idea of ‘separate spheres’ for men and women. Second, it will look at education and work to show how difficult it was for women to be

The role of women during the Victorian Era has been a prevalent topic over the course of the semester. Women during that time had limited rights, and the rights they did have were equivalent to that of children. Domesticity, caring for their husband and children was the focus of their livelihood. As England continued to grow and industrialize, women became more marginalized, while men continued to grow into dominant members of society, this is known as the notion of separate spheres. The notion of separate spheres was not limited to the role women and men had in the home, but extended into the streets and the workplace. Men were seen as formidable, intellectual, and the governing sex; whereas, women on the other hand, were disregarded as emotionally unstable, dominated by their sexuality, and submissive to men’s wants and desires. Women were not only given limited rights to the roles they had in society, but also were not given the right to choose whom they wanted to marry. A majority of women had no other option but to marry as a way to maintain their livelihood, unless they were members of high social standings. Additionally, the rights of a woman were again lessened after she wed. The moment a woman married, she automatically became the property of her husband. The limited rights she had before were stripped away: her property, identity, and value ceased to exist the moment she became the helpmate to a man. The ideology of the role women played did not

Women in England during the Victorian Era were forced into a mold; their ideal function being marriage and procreation. They were expected to submit to their husbands, look pretty (but not feel passion), and learn everything having to do with sewing and entertainment (but nothing else), all while being expected to support their family. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an educated woman in Victorian England who was able to step out of this mold and exercise her talent for writing. Browning admired and was inspired by a writer named George Sand. George Sand was the pseudonym that French novelist and poet Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin took on to gain acceptance and respect from her audience as a female author during her time. Browning marveled

Victorian Era was an era in which women had endless predicaments in their lives. Women had restriction, such as: what subjects they should study, they were not allowed to vote, they were not grand their fortune after marriage, she should not leave the domestic sphere, and who should be submissive. The role model for this concept was Queen Victoria herself, who, together with her husband, Albert, had nine children and embodied the perfect family. She was even described as 'the mother of the nation' (BBC, Web).