The Victorian Period was the era of British Monarch; Queen Victoria, in this era women had extremely limited right’s. Women were not given 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 got 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 wife’s 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 …show more content…
The majority of women in that period did not have the option to decide whether they wanted to get married or not, it was a necessity in order to survive. Once these women were married it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to get divorced. Husbands could be having affairs with other women, or abusing their wives, and still divorce was considered a social taboo. As a matter of fact, many authors from this era used to address social issues, like the degradation of wives, in their writing. Most of the authors that wrote pro-feminist books, novels and/or articles were females, yet there were a few male authors like: George Gissing, George Meredith and Grant Allen, who also started writing about women’s issues and their struggles.
Pursuing this far, “The Odd Woman” a novel by; George Gissing, talks about the roles of women in society such as marriage, morals and the early feminist movement in the Victorian Period. Most middle class women during the Victorian era, married by the time they were 25, but the ideal age for a woman to commit was 20. The novel’s title is derived from women in that era whom were left out after all other eligible men and women were paired up in marriage. In the novel, it can be inferred that their lifestyle was what
Essentially, marriage in the 1700’s was seen merely as a means of birthing heirs and finding a way to financially support yourself, so it resulted in both men and women being devalued. It is universally known that women were often treated as inept and helpless rather than sophisticated people with autonomy and capabilities. In fact, during this time, “married women were consistently compared with minor children and the insane-- both categories of people considered incapable of caring for themselves. To marry a woman was, in one sense, to ‘adopt’ her-- or at least to adopt responsibility for all the circumstances of life with which she entered the marriage” (Teachman 39). Furthermore, when women got married, they would legally cease to exist.
Contreras 1 Luis Contreras Yarisbel Rodriguez HIST 3401 19 September 2017 Revelations of gender and religious norms through the Salem witch trials There are certain events that when they occur they can reflect and show the kind of society we live in and sheds light on some of the norms we accept in our society. The events that occurred during the Salem witch trials revealed many norms about religion and gender. It demonstrated how religion and superstition was held in higher regards and standards than science and logic. It also showed how much influence people in the church had over the people.
Susan B. Anthony once said, “The day may be approaching when the whole world will recognize women as the equal of man.” That day will come, but many obstacles are in the way of women fulling earning their rights. Women had many viewpoints back in the 19th century ranging from slavery to presidential campaigns, but could never voice their opinions due to not having the rights to do so. Not having the rights to voice their opinions lead women to an abolitionism that inspired a movement for women’s rights leading to Seneca Falls Convention. The impact of Seneca Falls Convention caused a national movement in women’s rights.
From the 1800’s to the 20th century, women had gained a lot more independence than they had before. In the year 1777 when voting started to become more relevant, women were decided not to be allowed to be apart of voting, unlike now in the 21st century where women are allowed to vote. From the beginning of the 18th century, women were discriminated against until the middle of the 18th century. After the mid-1750’s, women started to gain more ground on rights and things that they were more freely allowed to do. Women slowly started to gain more ground on things to do such as being guaranteed equal pay starting from the year 1872 to current present time.
American Women in the Late 1800’s Were married American women in the late 1800’s expected to restrict their sphere of interest to the home and the family? In the late 1800’s women were second-class citizens. Women were expected to limit their interest to the home and family. Women were not encouraged to obtain a real education or pursue a professional career. After marriage, women did not have the right to own their own property, keep their own wages, or sign a contract.
Many women in the early 1900’s sought for change. Some rose to power and took leadership over many organizations that pushed for equality. Women’s battle for voting rights was specifically led by Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alice Paul. These women devoted most of their life to create a foundation which we live upon today. Women’s struggles lasted many decades until they finally achieved some equality under the 19th amendment.
Throughout Bram Stoker 's time in the Victorian Era, societal norms were prevalent in terms of the seclusion of women 's rights, as well as the religious revival of Catholicism. The time in which Stoker lived was when Catholicism made its breakthrough in english societies. In terms of prominent time periods,"The Victorian Age is in fact above all others an age of religious revival" (Arnstein 149). Because religion was one of the largest changes in the Victorian era, Bram Stoker was surrounded by efforts of incorporating Catholicism back into everyday life. In addition, Stoker grew up in an environment where the "Problem of women 's emancipation in nineteenth century Britain was...recognition for their achievements" (Jihang 49).
Explain Why Women Were Becoming Increasingly Concerned With Their Rights in the Early Twentieth Century In the early twentieth century, women began to change their views on their rights, and defy what was expected of them. The roles of women in the nineteenth century led to this, and the first example of women going against their roles was the Match Girls’ Strike, and later on the formation of the suffragists and the suffragettes. Women in the nineteenth century, for the most part, had to or were expected to follow the roles presented to them by society. They were to become housewives, without following further education or a career.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” critiques Victorian womanhood in several ways throughout the text. Victorian women were expected to be pure, dainty, and perfectly angelic. They were also expected to be perfect mothers, wives, and hostesses at all times. If a woman were to express too much emotion, she would be called hysterical. Hysteria was considered a medical condition which rendered a woman incapable of reason or generally thinking like an adult.
A woman was fundamentally not a citizen, as she held no say in the election of Parliament, the passing of Legislation and also the legal right to vote. The first flyer subject by the Victorian Women’s Suffrage Society during their movement for the enfranchisement of women, gave examples of when women were considered to be citizens and when they were not. An example of this is: 'Are women citizens? Yes, when they are required to pay taxes. No, when they are asked to vote '.
The destruction of the mystery of sex has caused that this activity provides less pleasure for modern people. The Victorians did not boast about the sexual experience. Mary is not entirely innocent, she is a peasant. The Victorians are seen as prudish, because of the middle class. A true view of their behaviour, culture can be found in the reports of people who studied it.
In “I Want a Wife,” an essay by Judy Brady, the author argues that the roles of a wife are unfair and more demanding than a husband 's, thereby they are treated as lesser than a man. Brady supports her claim by, first, introducing herself as a wife, showing her empirical knowledge; secondly, cataloging the unreasonable expectations of a wife; finally ending the essay with an emotional and thought-provoking statement, “My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?” Brady’s purpose is to expose the inequality between the roles of a husband and of a wife in order to show that women do not belong to men and to persuade women to take action and spread feminism. Based on the sarcastic tone in “I Want a Wife,” Brady was writing to feminists in the 1960s in order to rally them to create change.
Examination of Feminism in A Doll’s House During the victorian times women were to be oppressed by their husbands. They had no legal rights. Women were not considered to be equal to men. Women were not allowed to do many things such as partake in politics and have control over men.
Before the twentieth century arrived, women had very few opportunities in life. Being married, a housewife, and having children were what women could look forward to in life. Although women may have had some say so in their life or even with their household, woman did not have any say so in society. Women did not have much of a political life but enjoyed access to education. Women had fewer career opportunities than the men did.
III. SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND PREJUDICE The society in the Victorian Era was amidst a great change. Having in mind the fact that they were moving from a pastoral life to industrialization, their lifestyle changed. As with every transition, there is the issue of adapting to changes because people tend to hold onto their principles.