Women's Role In Society Throughout The 19th Century

During the 18th century, women were treated like slaves. They had little authority regarding anything. Women didn’t have the right to vote or the right to own property. Only a spinster or widow woman could own and manage property until they married. Women were owned by the husband just as he owned material possessions. Many women were trapped in loveless marriages and those without families were seen as outcasts. The husband was legally entitled to beat his wife for disobedience. Divorces were rarely granted and women usually ran away from bad marriages. As you read, I will talk about

In the late nineteenth century, women were beginning to take a stand for their equal rights in society. The term “new woman” was used to describe these women, openly proclaiming their independence from men. It was a woman’s way to threaten the conventional ideas of society, and to bring about their own changes (Buzwell). Following their well-known suffrage movement, women claimed their freedom sexually, physically, and in the workplace. For many years’ prior, women were expected to be the typical housewife, watching over the house, cooking, and cleaning. They were property of their husbands. During their equal rights revolution, women pursued careers like doctors or lawyers and fulfilling their sexual desires for purposes other than bearing children. As today’s society may never know the struggles and misfortunes during the Victorian era, Dracula leaves a time capsule behind to elaborate on the realities during such a prominent generation (Podonsky). Considering this given criteria, a new woman comes in a variety of forms; some women represent a stronger sexual desire while others demonstrate character traits on equality in work and education. In the case of Dracula, the two main female characters take two different forms; one blatantly sexual and one chaste (Humphrey). Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula portrays the ideas of a “new woman” in a modern society, utilizing Mina’s and Lucy’s characters to display opposite characteristics of the feminist movement which draw attention to

I have to let the readers know how I stumbled upon this topic to introduce where I get my ideas from. It all started in the archive located on the second floor of the library in a dark corner behind a clear glass doors at the Hunter College. I have been attending Hunter College for four years and never have I stumbled on such an amazing place full of live history. I say live history because all the documents and books that are held in the archive are all preserved originals, which fascinated me. Thinking how people who lived more than century ago wrote and read the same things I’m writing and reading about excited me to my very soul. Archive research though fascinating is not an easy task that can be done in within fifteen minutes like how researches are done these days using convenient technologies at hand.

Syed Ali English 126 CD3 Professor Stapleton 23rd December 2014 Roles and Rights of Women The roles and rights of women were considered less important than the average man in the late 1800s. The roles of women has dramatically evolved throughout the years. During the late 1870's women were often thought of as secondary citizens to men.

In the first half of the nineteenth century in British North America, women’s political roles differed from those of men. British North America was a European male-dominate patriarchy society in which women’s roles within society were limited. During the nineteenth century, men were considered superior since they had power and control over everyday aspects of life; however, women slowly began to slightly change the social order of society by contributing and influencing decisions on political issues. Despite this not being seen as the norm, for the most part, men dominated politics. Women were able to contribute to the public life, but due to a European influenced patriarchal society within British North America during the nineteenth century, women had limited influence in political decision-making.

Queen Victoria 's reign saw a great change in industrialisation alongside social change which affected a variety of people and classes.

The 19th century was an important period for women especially in Europe and North America. It was a crucial time for demand for change and women were at the forefront of it all. Viewed only as a homemaker, women found it difficult during this time to show society what they were capable of. Limitations on their capabilities created by gender stereotypes called for change. To understand the significance of the 19th century for women, one must consider the conditions women were living in that desperately needed reform, review the issues they were faced with, and look at the women leading for a much-needed change.

Roles of Women in the late 1800s Around the late 1800s, the roles of women were different than todays. Women could not participate in majority of the occupations that men are allowed too. Women could not vote, they were unauthorized to own property, and were restricted to working. Women were only seen as stay at home wives, and completed all the duties as a housewife.

During the early 1800's women were stuck in the Cult of Domesticity. Women had been issued roles as the moral keepers for societies as well as the nonworking house-wives for families. Also, women were considered unequal to their male companions legally and socially. However, women’s efforts during the 1800’s were effective in challenging traditional intellectual, social, economical, and political attitudes about a women’s place in society.

In the last decades of the nineteenth century, United Stated encountered an urban migration; it was something different and never experienced before. As factories began to open up across the Midwestern and Northern countryside, cities grew up around them. A whole new world was introduced, bringing a mixture of both positive and negative effects into the American society. While the new elite, big businesses, and the American economy in general, enjoyed the benefits of industrialization, many Americans were not so fortunate. Immigrants and former soldiers moved to the cities in search of jobs, money, and new opportunities. This created scarcity in employment and other resources. Cities grew and developed quickly, which caused women to work outside of their homes and farmers felt the difference in urban living. United State was changing because of industrialization. For example, the roles for women had changed greatly in the society because of industrialization. Women who once were caring mothers and housewives became a part of the working class. They didn’t have the time to stay home during the day and take care of their husband and making sure that their children acted properly and were respectful with high moral values. On the other hand, wealthy women considered to be lucky if they were able to stay at home and devote themselves totally to their families. Another example, farmers who were dependent on their skill in farming and the land grew their crops. However, throughout

Women began standing up for themselves using literature in the nineteenth century. The time periods of the feminism booms were called waves. There are three waves of feminism starting from the nineteenth century to now. They all occurred in the United Kingdom, Britain, France, and the United States. These waves lead to women getting closer to being treated equal to men.

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

In the early ages during the 19th century as well as the early 20th century, women did not have many rights. During the 19th century, if you were a women of wealth you would be busy running your household as well as keeping your servants organized. Women were able to begin getting their education, as the churches provided schools for the young women. Women did not gain equal rights with men, until the 20th century. Not until 1918, after all the men fighting for the women to be allowed to vote is when women were able to vote. Living in the world today, is much rather different than what it would be like to live in the world in the 19th century.

In the mid to late nineteenth century, America was full of potential. Settlers were cultivating the west, blacks that were once captive were no longer enslaved, and a woman’s role in society was undergoing a transformation. The reality of this all was, blacks were not considered equal status with whites, American Indians were being pushed out west and women were still considered second-class citizens.

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