Victorian Era Women

Victorian society was balance of reputation, activism, polite facades, and moral questioning. Upper and middle class families were very concerned with their image. Image and reputation was critical to success in Victorian society, and should one lose their good

In the Regency Era, marriage was a necessity for both genders. Men and women looked for sensible spouses who would be socially acceptable to marry. During this time, it was not uncommon to arrange a marriage or marry for money or status. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas illustrate the primary reason for marriage during the Regency Era: economics.

This is why in Collins’ works marriage is always addressed. At the time, marriage was something that people did for more reasons than love. People got married to keep power in the family, for financial reasons, and for social acceptance. Collins did not agree with these reasons for marriage. This is very different than today’s society, but was very normal at the time. WHO IS THIS INTRODUCE HIM James Hammerton explains Victorian marriage laws in his academic article titled Victorian Marriage and the Law of Matrimonial Cruelty. In this article Hammerton

But being a poor Victorian wife, you had no individual rights under the law. Until passing of the 1870 and 1883 Married Women’s Property Acts, These acts gave the right to own property to all married women. At the end of the 18th century, the average age of first marriage was 28 years old for men and 26 years old for women. During the 19th century, the average age fell for English women, but it didn’t drop any lower than 22. Patterns varied depending on social and economic class, of course, with working-class women tending to marry slightly older than their aristocratic counterparts. But the prevailing modern idea that all English ladies wed before leaving their teenage years is well off the mark. (British

In the Victorian era, marriage was not as romanticized or fairytale-like as depicted in many novels of the time. On the contrary, love actually played a very minor role in the majority of matrimonies that took place. An engagement was entered into as one would approach a business deal, and there were some generally accepted rules and guidelines to follow.

The Victorian Period was the era of British Monarch; Queen Victoria, in this era women had extremely limited right’s. Women were not giving the choice to vote, sue or own any property. In addition to that, they lost ownership of their wages, all of their physical belongings, and every other cash they were able to generate once they were married. In fact, once women got married they legally became property to their husbands, giving them ‘ownership’ over their body. Meaning that they had the right to use their wives body for: children, any sexual activity and/or domestic labor. Therefore, their mutual matrimonial consent became a contract of women giving themselves to their husband’s as they desired. Under the law, a husband and wife became one

In north america during the 19th century, men and women had different expectations to live up to. Men had to be social with their lives while we mom had to stay at home and me neglected. By anyone and everyone. Men were told to go out of the house to be more like other men. And go to bars and stay out all night. While we mom took care of the kids and did their laundry.

Neither a woman’s desire, nor her consent was at issue. The ideal Victorian woman was pious, pure, and above all submissive. The question of her consent was rarely a matter for concern. A Philadelphia physician reinforced this distorted view of women. He asserted that their emotions and character were more “interior” than men, saying: “The house, chamber, the closet, are the centers of her social life and power” (Woloch 128).

Women have always been considered fragile and dependent on men due to society. While women are treated better today, nineteenth century women had many rules and regulations forcefully thrust upon them or else they would be outcasts. These standards ruled their lives and choices, and disregarding them caused rejection. These societal standards in Russia in the eighteen hundreds shaped the character and actions of Sonya and Dunya in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.

Women in the Victorian era had very little to say when it came to marriage. Usually, the parents of the woman would make the choice for her as to whom she would marry based on a man's social status. It was not odd for a 15-year-old girl to wed, unlike in today's society. Parents would usually look for a man who was wealthy enough to help the woman advance in her life, since women were mostly uneducated and only taught to be homemakers and mothers and not work. Women were dealt with as if they were objects, and

Daphne Du Maurier and Charlotte Brontë present their narrators as a stereotypical representation of females during Victorian period. Throughout history the archetypes of the heroine have vastly changed from being dependant victims to independent strong females. Jane Eyre and the narrator are both oppressed by patriarchy, where men were the makers and enforcers of social and political rules. The unnamed narrator and Jane could be seen as a microcosm of their respective societies, as females were demarcated as “timid”, “dependent” (AQA Critical Anthology) unlike males who were physically and mentally strong. Both Brontë and Du Maurier instantly evoke sympathy for the characters by representing them as weak, indecisive and timid through;

Pop culture itself has come a long way from where it all began; it has birthed its rightful place in America’s life forever and has been used to entertain large audiences across the globe. In the 1900’s, we begin to see Victorianism and its ethics begin to fade and be transformed by the culture that is forming within the time. The questions I will be connecting to “Tarzan of the Apes” and “The Jazz Singer” is; how the rise of popular culture challenged and transforms Victorian ideals of man and womanhood and what characteristics Victorian men and women were supposed to possess. When answering how the rise of popular culture challenged and transformed Victorian ideals of man and womanhood, I must first express the characteristics that Victorian men and women were expected to possess.

Being a gentleman in the Victorian Era was actually a big deal. It was actually seen as a sort of job or responsibility. There were rules to follow and expectations to meet. Some of these roles also applied to women. However, given that men and women had different roles in society, these rules varied.

Victorian etiquette is confused with a lack of understanding. During this era, people referred to “arms” and

Life in the Victorian Era was centered on marriage. Among the nobility, marriage was typically sought to increase status or wealth with a partner of their same social class. This also holds true for the middle class, along with using marriage to gain political or business alliances. The working class of the Victorian Era had more practical reasons for marrying. The marriages of the working class centered more on finding a companion that would be able to contribute to the household. Many men sought a strong woman whose talents would complement their particular trade, and increase the amount of money that was made. Marriage rarely occurred for love, although the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert was an