Victorian Gender Roles In The Victorian Era In England

The text ‘The Daughters of England’, is a book written to provide guidance for young women, pertaining to their character and behaviour; the book creates the framework for the role of women in the household. It instructs that women must offer a virtuous influence on men - as wives, mothers, and daughters - as part of their role within society. Estimated to have been written in 1842, in London, ‘Daughters of England’ was penned by Sarah Stickney Ellis; a popular author of Victorian conduct literature. Ellis’ popularity implies that the source was widely circulated at the time, thus represents an important view of contemporary society. This document reveals to us the ideals expected of middle class women of the time, and the principles that were envisioned for them, relating in particular to the ‘separate spheres’ ideology.

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 tragic narratives constructed by historians such as Cornelia Dayton in her article “Taking the Trade” and Amy Gilman Srebnick in “The Mysterious Death of Mary Rogers” are crucial in analyzing the transformation of women’s reproductive health between the mid 18th century and the mid 19th century. Although Dayton and Srebnick’s narrations of abortions and death are based upon events that transpired nearly 100 years apart, a collective analysis of both sources creates a greater understanding of the societal perception of the woman’s role in colonial North America. Set in the context of a small New England village in the mid 18th century and the emerging metropolis of New York City mid 19th century New York City. One could argue a variety

Throughout history, gender roles have proven to be a persistent characteristic of societies, forcing predetermined structure upon the lives of both men and women. Even in the New World of America, gender roles followed close behind the ships of the first settlers, making an impact on the creation of the American colonies. By the late 18th century, New England’s gender roles had tightened on the coattails of both the Great Awakening, which promoted religious structure and hierarchy, and the further development of the American colonies into a more successful society. Although the opposite may be argued, including more women becoming educated and having a more important role at home, such as in will and testaments, these portraits clearly demonstrate that gender roles of the 18th century continued to be incredibly relevant and impactful. Through analysis of Dr. and Mrs. Hezekiah Beardsleys’ portraits it is apparent that gender roles were of major importance in the New England society implementing the predetermined molds of which society demanded, however, deviations from these roles were also present and significant in contradicting the usual structure of gender roles.

In the nineteenth century women lived in an age of inequality because of their gender. Women had very limited choices when it came to their occupational choices, which is why most women stayed home to care for their children take care of the house, keep things clean, and in line and make sure that everything was ready before their husbands came home from their longs days of working.

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.

Patriarchy : Are women considered inferior to men? How does gender roles during the 19th century affect the narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper?

In the 1800s in Britain there were gender roles issues between female and males. Today in Britain it has changed.

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.

In the Victorian period “…the childless single woman was a figure to be pitied.” (Abrams. 2001). It was considered to be outside of social hierarchy not to be a part of the domestic scene for women, “domesticity and motherhood were portrayed as sufficient emotional fulfilment for women.” (Abrams. 2001). In reality this was not the case and the role of motherhood and domesticity clearly did not sufficiently fulfil a woman’s emotional desires and requirements, situated in a suppressed, dominant patriarchal society ruled by men. In fact patriarchal society subjugated the role of women; they were seen as lesser than, and required to stay on the domestic

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

From past tales of Victorian monsters to modern movies with sparkly teenagers, the vampire genre has always been used to address issues in sexuality since its creation. Vampires are metaphors for us to project our sexuality and desires onto; they don’t have to follow the rules of society or culture, and because of this they let us examine sexuality and social roles more in-depth than ever before. Earlier texts like Dracula address issues with gender roles in the 19th century, while more modern texts like Interview with the vampire aim to make us question the gender roles and marriage and family structure in western culture.

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.