Traditional Roles Of Women Throughout The Victorian Age
“Her domain was the household, the garden, and the henhouse, and her days were spent processing the raw materials her husband produced into usable items such as food, clothing, candles, and soap (page6).” As known by many, women during the 17th century were to maintain their households for their husbands. By the 18th century they were expected to not only maintain a household, but to take care of their families and be proper women. Then by the late 18th century women's roles changed completely to having to be a surrogate father, and main provider. The roles of women during this time period changed drastically in such short periods of times.
According to Sean Wilentz there was, "A male public sphere of politics, business, and the market, and a females private sphere of domestic duties and child rearing," (Wilentz 64). Women were expected to take care of the home and their family. Being home was important, as women were in charge of keeping the children clean and clothed. More importantly, the children must also be kept morally pure.
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.
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.
These roles were extremely stereotypical as anywhere one looks the same picture is painted. For example, Gunnhildur Magnusd describes this social expectation as: “Their duty, as a woman, along with having children, was to create and sustain a serene and relaxing environment within the home, where the husband could be at leisure after a day at work”(7). Another portrayal of these expectations is shown through Jennifer Levine’s article, “The Reclamation of the Monstrous Female”, in which she describes: “The concept of the Angel in the House—the pure, virtuous, non-sexualized female—is one of the most monolithic and immobile depictions of the Victorian womanhood” (1). As one can see, the descriptions are not different at all as females had a rigid characterized perception from society. Both depict the Victorian woman as the perfect, compassionate, wife that takes care of the children and covers up.
In the nineteenth century many changes were happening in American. American just twenty-four years before got their freedom from Great Britain. This freedom helped shaped the country in the nineteenth century to what was known as the Market Revolution. Market Revolution shifted from self sufficient farms and communities to commercial farms and manufacturing interests. The Market Revolution reshaped the economy by the Industrial, the Transportation, Communication Revolution as well as the regional differences in America and the shift in gender roles in the nineteenth century.
Women during the seventeenth century were unable to become lawyers, doctors, or anything like that. Only some women were employed as spinners, domestic servant, dyers, tailors, midwives, embroiderers. In general, most women stayed home as housewives. A housewife was responsible for doing various things around the house or the farm that required physical labor and knowledge. Also girls spent less time on their education and more time on skills, like singing (Lambert).
Women were expected to wear dresses and sit up straight while sitting. Their place was at home where she would take care of the children and clean. It was common for a group of ladies to have tea parties and to gossip. Usually women had to take baths in the middle of the day, and they had to change often. Women wearing men’s clothes and playing sports was considered improper and inappropriate.
As you have read in the previous paragraphs, Victorian women and men were very different. They were very different in tea parties too. This lifestyle was their normal way of living. It was the proper way to live.
Elizabeth Gaskell uses her novel North and South to challenge traditional masculine and feminine roles through the main character, Margaret. Gaskell gives Margaret conventional feminine qualities like care-giving as well as common masculine qualities such as independence, and agency. Gaskell uses characters to redefine Victorian Gender Norms. A common Victorian family model would be one set up around the parents having all the authority, particularly the father, who was the bread-winner and made all decisions that ultimately affected the house hold.
In the fourteenth century, Europe was experiencing famine that was followed by a plague known as the Black Death that affected most parts of the continent (Davis 45). The pandemic led to the loss of almost two-fifths of the European population. Such a situation meant that fewer Europeans were able to give their services as laborers in North America since most of them had passed away, and the remaining were still recovering from the loss of loved ones and caring for the few survivors from the plague who were still ailing and recovering. Evidently, there was a shortage of laborers, and this necessitated the need to look for alternative labor.
At the time, the only role for women was to get married, have children and take care of the household duties. It wasn’t until the late 1900’s when gender role started to change.
She concludes that “during the Victorian period [is when] men and women’s roles became more sharply defined than at any [other] time in history. In earlier centuries it had been usual for women to work alongside husbands and brothers in the family business… As the 19th century progressed men increasingly commuted to their place of work – the factory, shop or office. Wives, daughters and sisters were left at home all day to oversee the domestic duties that were increasingly carried out by servants” (Hughes, n.d, para. 1). Men and women began living in essentially two different worlds.
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.
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