Women In The Victorian Age

In 1847, Alfred Tennyson wrote “The Princess”, and wrote “Man for the field and woman for the hearth; Man for the sword, and for the needle she; Man with the head, and women with the heart; Man to command, and woman to obey; All else is confusion”. During the Romantic Period and the Victorian Age, Britain was a man based culture, and Women had very little rights. Women were not allowed to vote, not allowed to own property, and certain jobs were unavailable to women. In the following paragraphs I will discuss the varying perspectives on women in the 17th century, the Romantic Period, and the Victorian Age.

In the 17th century higher ranking careers, like doctors and lawyers, were unobtainable by women. Although they would not be considered prestigious, women did have some jobs. Some women would work as bakers. Some would spin cloth. Some would be wash clothes. A very common job for women was to be a house servant. Some women would just stay at home, and become housewives. It was said that most men could not successfully run a

The Victorian Age was from 1830-1901. Society was still defining who women were. People also questioned if women were inferior to men. At this time, women were valued for beauty. Other aspects of the woman (like their jobs or social standing) were ignored. A author by the name of Robert Browning published a book of 51 poems called “Men and Women”. One of the poems in Browning’s book was called “Women and Roses”. “Women and Roses” speaks of how perfect women were. When he says how perfect women are, he overlooks the other elements of women. In this poem male dominance is focused on. A excerpt from “Women and Roses” says, “How shall I fix you, fire you, freeze you?”. In this quote Browning can not decide if he wants to change his wife, or keep her. In modern society, marriage is an equal relationship between a man and a woman. It is not up to the man what his wife