The Impact of Social Class Divisions on the Women of Victorian England Two hundred years ago, during the reign of Queen Victoria in England, the social barriers of the Victorian class system firmly defined the roles of women. The families of Victorian England were divided into four distinct classes: the Nobility or Gentry Class, the Middle Class, the Upper Working Class, and lastly, the Lower Working class . The women of these classes each had their own traditional responsibilities. The specifics of each woman’s role were varied by the status of her family. Women were expected to adhere to the appropriate conventions according to their place in the social order . For women in Victorian England their lives were regulated by these rules and regulations, which stressed obedience, loyalty, and respect. The highest social class in Victorian England was the Nobility or Gentry class. The members of this class were those who inherited their land, titles, and wealth . Popular opinion at the time asserted that the noble class women led lives of lavish luxury and wedded bliss. "Ladies were ladies in those days; they did not do things themselves, they told others what to do and how to do it." It is apparent as to how this notion that the women of the noble class led lives of fortune. Social parties and balls were common festivities, which these women regularly attended. For many, dancing was a favorite pastime. To an outsider, it seemed that a lady of the gentry class had nothing short of an enviable existence. The lavish way of life these women exhibited was outwardly apparent in the fashions of the time . Noble class women were adorned in ornate dresses, extravagant jewels, and the finest accessories. The best way to describe the look of upper class women in Victorian England is to say that she looked like a porcelain doll . However, the lives of these women were not as easy as it may have seemed. In retrospect, their roles, although seemingly wonderful, were actually oppressive. They were taught to be obedient and loyal to their husbands . Their opinions were devalued, and they were thought of as nothing more than an accessory to their husbands. Furthermore, there was little security in terms of financial stability . Land, titles, and money were inherited by the closest male relative; typically the older son, but if there was no older son then the estate would go to a more distant relation.
Women were auctioned off as “merchandise” to the best suitor they could get in town. Beauty, though important, was not as important as the dowry the woman possessed, because it was the dowry the family provided that could exalt a man’s societal status to all new heights. Once married, women were expected to have son’s for their husbands in order to take over the family business. A barren woman was not an option and could have easily been rushed to the nearest convent to take her vows of a nun, for no honor could be brought otherwise. No woman could run from the societal and legal pressures placed upon them. Rather than run, some chose to accept their place, but, like Lusanna, some chose to fight the status quo for rights they believed they
submissive, powerless objects of their husbands. Equality and balance within their marriages were of no
Women in this era had just begun to secure some freedom from their typical cultural expectations. They were expected to take care of the children, cook, clean, sew and be presentable to society. As jobs were made available to women, only a low percentage of these women started to work outside of the home. This means that many women had chosen to stay inside the home to remain in the role of “house keeper”. Even though the woman attained some freedom they were still considered inferior to men. Men still had the most authority in the household and
Balls, formal dinners, and social gatherings dominate people’s view of the nineteenth century. Upper-class women lived a life of splendor and grandeur, and the white, gentle hands of those women hardly lifted to do any work. Most would strive to attain such a life because of its outward appearance; however, masked behind the smiles and parties, suppression ran high. Men dominated their households, and they repressed their wives. Life did not live up to the expectation of many women as they struggled against the controlling and authoritative male figures in their lives.
In recent stories local retired NFL player Junior Seau suffered many head injuries while playing in the NFL. Well known and loved in all surrounding San Diego communities had committed suicide in 2012. Coming upon the 2 year anniversary of his passing people still wonder what exactly did it to him. The problems of head injuries in the NFL is they are always occurring. In 2010 over 154 head injuries happened in practices and or games, but in 2007 the NFL had released a pamphlet to the players about head injuries. since then the NFL has taken many different safety precautions to fix the recurring problem. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy also known as CTE had been discovered in a deceased football player. Other ex-NFL players who played who had sustained head injuries from repetitive have issue still with them for the rest of their lives. Such as depression, dementia, Mental Illness, and possibly death or paralysis. there really isn’t ways eliminate head injuries unless their is a no contact rule in the NFL or the NFL gets abolished. even with the advances in technology and equipment getting better it still will happen. But some players don't only suffer the injuries from the NFL but from playing pop-warner, high school, college, the progressing to the NFL. Not only are the athletes involved but the families. Because the families are going to be the ones to deal with the injuries of the victim.
The story gives examples and studies of NFL (National Football League) players, and how their lives react to brain injuries and concussions. “Despite all the money invested in the sport… Publicity about the long-term symptoms suffered by brain-injured football players has lowered participation in the sport…” (Burleigh 612) Football, no matter what you do to it, will forever be dangerous and the hotspot of concussions and problems of the brain. The added padding or penalties cannot stop a such a thing as a concussion, the only way to get rid of them is to get rid of the sport all together. There has been millions of dollars put in for researching to limit severe head trauma, which has seemed to lower the casualty rate of NFL players, but still there is cases of concussion-related
In the Victorian era, in New York City, men and women roles within the society were as different as night and day. A man regardless of his extra curricular activities could still maintain a very prevalent place in society. A woman’s worth was not only based family name which distinguished her class and worth, but also her profession if that was applicable.
One Victorian sentiment was that a civilized individual could be determined by her/his appearance. This notion was readily adopted by the upper classes and, among other things, helped shape their views of the lower classes, who certainly appeared inferior to them. In regards to social mobility, members of the upper classes may have (through personal tragedy or loss) often moved to a lower-class status, but rarely did one see an individual move up from the abysmal lower class. Although poverty could be found almost anywhere in Victorian London (one could walk along a street of an affluent neighborhood, turn the corner, and find oneself in an area of depravity and decay), most upper-class Londoners, who tended to dwell in the West End, associated the East End with the lower class.
One of the earliest players to bring awareness to brain traumas was Mike Webster, a former Pittsburgh Steeler. In April of 1999, he claimed to be disabled with the NFL Retirement Board. He also had dementia which was a result of the brutal hits he endured during his football career. Webster ran into many problems at the e...
Doctors in the 1980s-1990s didn’t have the research to determine the lifelong effects after suffering from concussions. As recently as 1994 the NFL was telling their players that there was no proof that concussions caused long-term damage to the brain. Sadly, for these studies to be observed former players had to pay the price. Junior Seau, a 12-time NFL Pro-Bowl linebacker for the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease when we committed suicide. CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) is found in individuals with a history of concussions that cause memory loss, aggression, confusion and depression. A study done by PBS reported that 96.2 of retired football players had this condition before dying
The industrialization of the nineteenth century was a tremendous social change in which Britain initially took the lead on. This meant for the middle class a new opening for change which has been continuing on for generations. Sex and gender roles have become one of the main focuses for many people in this Victorian period. Sarah Stickney Ellis was a writer who argued that it was the religious duty of women to improve society. Ellis felt domestic duties were not the only duties women should be focusing on and thus wrote a book entitled “The Women of England.” The primary document of Sarah Stickney Ellis’s “The Women of England” examines how a change in attitude is greatly needed for the way women were perceived during the nineteenth century. Today women have the freedom to have an education, and make their own career choice. She discusses a range of topics to help her female readers to cultivate their “highest attributes” as pillars of family life#. While looking at Sarah Stickney Ellis as a writer and by also looking at women of the nineteenth century, we will be able to understand the duties of women throughout this century. Throughout this paper I will discuss the duties which Ellis refers to and why she wanted a great change.
In both the upper and middle classes, there were certain expectations, or guiding principles that women had to follow in order to be called a lady. There were numerous etiquette guides and books published in this time period regarding dining, beauty, and social activities, and most of the newspapers and women's magazines included articles on how to be the perfect Victorian Lady. These are some of the most interesting forms of etiquette.
Peterson, M. Jeanne. "The Victorian Governess: Status Incongruence in Family and Society." Suffer and Be Still: Women in the Victorian Age. Ed. Martha Vicinus. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1973.
of the structure itself. This class "took immense pride in their homes which they saw as a reflection of status" ("BBC Homes"). The styles were excessively ornamental and took their influence from Gothic styles, rococo, styles, the Orient, and developments from their own industrialization. With owning such ornately decorated residences they had to show them off; this was done so through dinner parties and balls. People of course could not be outmatched by the rich styles of their houses and therefore doled out large amounts of money for clothes and transportation.
To begin with, the highlighted topic of almost all historic accounts of the Elizabethan Age was the lives of nobles, “painting the pretty picture”, but most people fail to realize that there is always another side to every story. Nobles and peasants lived very different lives, as one might expect. Historic records show that “The Elizabethan Period in England had a daily life based on social order: the monarch as the highest, the nobility as the second rank, the gentry as third, merchants as fourth, yeomanry as fifth, and laborers as sixth” (Elizabethan Era). Many aspects of daily life between the nobles and the lower classes varied. One such aspect was education. The children of nobility received high quality education from renowned scholars, while most other lower class children did not even know how to write their own name. The type of education differed among boys and girls of the nobility too. Boys generally learned Latin, English, sometimes Greek, arithmetic, and religious education. Girls were taught by their mother or another female figure on housekeeping matters, tending to children, how to be a good...