The Roles Of Male And Women In The Victorian Era

In John Osborne 's 1956 piece, Look Back in Anger, housewife Alison Porter is faced with the difficult decision of remaining in a toxic marriage or returning to live with her parents. Indeed, Alison is the archetype of the 1950s British woman, as depicted in both academic and popular discourse—meek, miserable and resigned to her fate as mother and housewife. While such a paradigm of the 1950s woman has long remained unchallenged, historians have begun to suggest that this stereotype is inaccurate and misleading, and overlooks the complexity of female gender roles during Britain of this era. When reviewing the literature on this topic, what emerges as a clear point of tension between academics is whether the 1950s was a static or a dynamic

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:

From housewives to educated intellectuals, the roles of women in society have evolved throughout the years. Factors such as wealth, status did affect their roles in the 1700s, but overall every woman had their own place in society. The line between male and female was very distinctive. Substantial events such as the American Revolution, played a big role in modifying gender roles. Women impacted the war in great ways. They proved their capability in more than just being basic housewives. Their heroic activity all the way through the war led them both into an adequate and better off state.

During the Victorian Era, women struggled to attain gender equality by challenging the traditional roles that defined them. These women no longer wanted to remain passive and obey the demands of their husbands nor be domestic and the caretakers of their children. They strived to attain the role of a 'New Woman', an intelligent, liberated individual who was able to openly express her ideas (Eltis 452). Whereas some women were successful in attaining this new role, others were still dominated by their male counterparts. The men felt threatened by the rising power of women and repressed them by not allowing them to work, giving them unnecessary medications, and diagnosing them with hysteria (Gilman

Throughout the Victorian era, women were deemed to be inferior to man and given very little power in the

Victorian society is noted for its large anxiety over the relationship between desire and gender and traditional conventions of sexual difference: “The man’s power is active, progressive, defensive. He is eminently the doer, the creator, the discoverer, the defender.

Male and female roles have been changing as time goes on over the years. Women have fought to have the same rights as men do. Men have always been dominant over women, for instance women have fought for rights such as voting and being able to work in the same workforce as men do. Men used to believe women should stay at home and not go to work, but instead they should do household chores such as cleaning, cooking, and tending to the children. Male and female roles have changed dramatically over time.

Social standing, and moral values were vital elements in Victorian society, and the fundamental doctrine of establishing this ideology, began at home. The home provided a refuge from the rigour, uncertainty, anxiety, and potential violence of the outside world. (P, 341) A woman’s role was to provide a safe, stable, and well-organised environment for their husbands and families. However, change was on the horizon with an underlying movement of business and domestic changes both home and abroad, with industrialization, and the suffragist movement. Women were beginning to gain autonomy and began to grasp their opportunities, thus significantly curtailing male supremacy and the definable acceptable ‘role’ of the woman.

The industrialisation of Great Britain saw the rise of an ideology called ‘Separate Spheres’ for men and women. Although the idea of separation of the sexes took precedence in the 19th century, the basic concept of gendered roles had been present for a long time. The shift to industrialisation meant that men were paid for factory based work and women were idealised homemakers and mothers. This emphasis was also compounded by the fact that in the late nineteenth century Queen Victoria was seen to be the ideal woman; she represented everything the separate spheres idealised. She was seen as to be devoted to her husband and her children, and was therefore extremely respectable.

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.

Gender roles were sharply defined in the 19th century. Women were expected to stay at home and carry out the domestic duties as well as taking care of the children and educate them and provide a peaceful home for their husband. Women were seen as loving and caring. On the other hand, men were expected to work and earn money for the family. They would fight wars and were seen as strong and powerful. Men had more freedom and rights, such as the right to vote, than women in the 19th century. Society had created two completely separate spheres. In the medical field, men were doctors. There were laws in many states, such as, that prohibited women from becoming doctors. Women, who decided to practice medicine in the 19th century had to struggle with much opposition because it went against prevailing ideas about women’s role in society. Women belonged in the private and domestic sphere. Men belonged to competitive and immoral public sphere of industry and commerce. The women in medicine would face accusations that they were abandoning their sphere and threatening society. Due to these arguments and the fear of economic competition from female practitioner, male medical schools and hospitals denied women access to institutions. However, Elizabeth Blackwell, changed this idea of separate spheres when she decided to take on the medical field and become a doctor. Although Elizabeth Black had a natural aversion to the medical field, her

The world is seeking for equalities nowadays, civil equality, social equality, political equality, etc. And among all these equalities, the most important and most basic equality is gender equality. Gender equality does not seem to be a problem now, but back in the days, Victorian Era for example, there is no gender equality. A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibson, described the development of a woman, Nora Helmer, who lived in the Victorian Era, from her husband’s doll-wife to an independent individual. The way Nora’s husband, Torvald Helmer, treated her illustrates that in the Victorian Era, women had no rights, the role they played in the society are housewives, and their existence is only for pleasing their husbands and to be a part of their husband’s property.

In the Victorian era, the status of women in society was extremely oppressive and, by modern standards, atrocious. Women had few rights, in or outside of the home. Married women in this period relied on men almost completely as they had few rights or independence. With this mindset in focus,

Despite being under the rule of a female monarch, women faced many inequalities and suffering during the Victorian age. Examples of these inequalities include not having the right to vote, unequal educational and employment opportunities. Women were even denied the legal right to divorce in most cases. As the Norton Anthology states, these debates over women’s rights and their roles came to be known as the “woman question” by the Victorians. This lead to many conflicting struggles, such as the desire by all for women to be educated, yet they are denied the same opportunities afforded to men. While these women faced these difficulties, there was also the notion that women should be domestic and feminine. There was an ideal that women should be submissive and pure because they are naturally different. The industrial revolution introduced women into the labor workforce, but there was still a conflict between the two identities; one of an employed woman, and one of a domestic housewife.

In the Victorian era, women were expected to fulfill specific gender roles. Women possessed feminine qualities such as being nurturing, pure and docile, while men were expected to be bold and independent.