Female Roles and Sexuality During the Victorian Age
Written during the Victorian Age and published in 1862, Christina Rossetti’s work, “Goblin Market,” is a narrative poem about two sisters lured by the enchanting goblin men. The Victorian Age was the reign of Queen Victoria which began in 1837 and ended in 1901. This was a time of industrialization, belief in progress, advancements in medical, scientific, and technological knowledge, which helped to changes in population growth and location. The society consisted of class stratified and rigid class systems, where the middle-class aspired to join the ranks of the nobles and felt that acting properly according to the values of the time. An important aspect of this period was the expansion of British imperial power; the British empire significantly expanded their colonial presence in many parts of Africa, India, middle-east, and Asia. Preceding the period of Romanticism, the Victorian Age adapted a new trend of literature. Many novels were published in serial form, along with short stories and poetry. Additionally, writers wrote realistic works, which helped to expand a look at the real world. One of the few notable writers of the time was Christina Rossetti who wrote this poem depicting many themes which were significant during the Victorian Age. Sexuality, gender roles, and prostitution were such issues present during this time. Rossetti used her poetry to express herself, emotions, and beliefs about the society she lived
Gender binary is a classification system that people use to identify as maleness and femaleness. In the Colonial and Industrial era, the gender binary that one identified themselves with, played an important role in how society shaped their lives. For generations, society has separated the duties of males and females. Men are usually higher on the power spectrum, whereas women are inferior . However, over the course of the colonial and industrial eras, there were many changes in the role of genders.
From colonial times to the late 19th century women were treated as weak and inferior to men. Over the years and several events such as the American Revolution and Great Awakening women worked on gaining rights and opportunities such as men. How did gender roles from colonial times to early 19th century define men and women’s political and economic life? During the year’s women had little to no role in politics because they were seen as weak, unintelligent, inferior, and property. As for men, it was socially and morally acceptable to work for a money and play a part in politics.
Even though a lot of good came out of the Victorian Era, they were very disrespectful to women. Reading these make you understand what women had to go through and how far women have come since then. If you were considered ruined during the Victorian Era you were frowned upon very heavily. In some cultures, today it is still frowned upon, but fairly normal for our society. Today women have more of a voice then they did in the early 1800s.
The Victorian Era began when Queen Victoria came into throne in 1831 and ended when she passed away in 1901(Lang -Sean 297). During this period in time things were different than they are today. Children’s lives were different, education, religions and the types of diseases. Many say that the Victorians were the ones who put science and technology on pedestal go , as well as religion.
The context of the changing roles of women between the periods of 1890-1920 and 1960-1980 are voting rights and equal pay in the workplace. Women's roles have changed a lot over the many years women have gone from being housewives to working in the factories. The roles of women changed from 1890-1920 to 1960-1980 and one of the big changes from 1890 to 1980 is women's voting rights because women couldn't vote in 1890 but they could in 1980. Another one is women in the workforce because in 1890 women were expected to provide for their homes and not work but by 1980 most women worked.
Over time values have greatly changed, for example, gender roles and courtship. Literature has coincided along history and it 's a great way to view how these values have changed. William Shakspeare’s Taming of the Shrew is a great example of how gender roles and courtship were portrayed in the 16th century. Although it was controversial in its time because the lead,Katharine, is a strong-willed woman who believed she didn’t need a man in her life. It is obvious that everybody 's obsession in this time period, and some small-minded people now is that a woman absolutely needs a man to survive.
Looking back to the Puritan society, the equality between males and females is one of the most controversial faults of the time. The Puritan’s did not view males and females as equal. The Puritans thought of women to be not important in comparison to men. The authorities gave specific rules and expected the people to follow the rules, or they would be punished. In modern day American society, men and women have some of the same roles.
One of the many characteristic features of the Victorian culture was its patriarchal ideas about women. This culture looked upon sexual activity as a negative matter amongst women. The theme of sexuality is very significant
In Charlotte Brontë 's, Jane Eyre, we see a reversal of gender roles for both Mr. Rochester and Jane. In multiple scenes of the book the two switch back and forth from their “natural” roles, which ends up benefiting the two. In the story, Mr. Rochester, the big burly owner of Thornfield, occasionally drops his natural patriarchal role to become a feminine character. Jane also does this as she takes on a more masculine role from time to time, and drops her feminine complacency. While usually both characters dropping their gender-specific roles could turn out bad, in this story, dropping the stereotypical gender roles by blurring them leads to happiness by the end of the story.
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes from 1760 to sometime in between 1820 and 1840. It was a major turning point in history that influenced almost every aspect of daily life. Before the Industrial Revolution women and men had jobs inside of the household. Some men worked outside and were getting paid to do so. Many were self-employed farmers, craftsmen, and other occupations.
A historian by the name of Ed Ayers once said “The exploitative natures of women’s work throughout history has been enormous.” I believe that this statement is true because after looking at history it shows that there were so many things that they had to overcome to get to the rights that they have today. Women during the 1700’s and 1800’s were challenged with expressing themselves in a social system that refused to grant women the right to express their views. Many events during these centuries which included things such as social and political movements that increased attention to women's issues like education reform. By the end of the 1800’s women were finally able to speak out against the injustices aimed at them.
Rossetti, the youngest child out of four children, had much talent. Her father and brother (Dante Gabriel Rossetti) also wrote poetry, which presented Christina with some early exposure to writing. At four or five years old Rossetti wrote her first poem. The Rossetti’s were a scholarly, artistic, and liberal family, so it is not a surprise that Christina Rossetti began writing poetry at a very young age (Murphy). A major influence and drive for Rossetti’s writings was her devout religious belief (Avery).
Christina Rossetti The sister of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Christina Rossetti’s work was influenced by the doctrines of this artistic movement. Her poetry is simple in rhyme scheme and choice of words, conveying the meaning of her poems to the reader with much clarity. The aforementioned characteristics of her poem do not take away from the vibrancy of her descriptions, as she used symbolism to help her paint vivid images in the minds of her audience. Adding to that, she was a devout Christian, and so her poems take on a highly religious, spiritual, and emotional theme, removed from material wealth and earthly possessions.
Another important idea in the Victorian era is the slow recognition of sexual repression and the start of liberation that opened up better opportunity for women to express themselves. Back then, women were seen as the weaker, more innocent sex who had little or no sexual desires. It was difficult for women to gain social status as equal to men. This character is portrayed by the