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The Victorian Era in English history was a period of rapid change. One would be hard-pressed to find an aspect of English life in the 19th century that wasn’t subject to some turmoil. Industrialization was transforming the citizens into a working class population and as a result, it was creating new urban societies centered on the factories. Great Britain enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity at home and thus was extending its global reach in an era of New Imperialism. Even in the home, the long held beliefs were coming into conflict.
During the Victorian Era, the concept of how a “proper” man and woman were to behave came under fire and there were men and women on both sides willing to argue for their beliefs. Though the traditional Victorian Era attitude is long since gone and devalued, it can be very enlightening to see the ways in which these attitudes surfaced themselves in the literature of the time. Sarah Stickney Ellis wrote The Women of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits from the viewpoint that women should self-abnegate their own beliefs and become fully interested in the man. And to illustrate this point, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Sonnet 43” will be closely looked at along with the essay to make some critical points.
In “Sonnet 43,” Browning wrote a deeply committed poem describing her love for her husband, fellow poet Robert Browning. Here, she writes in a Petrarchan sonnet, traditionally about an unattainable love following the styles of Francesco Petrarca. This may be partly true in Browning’s case; at the time she wrote Sonnets from the Portuguese, Browning was in courtship with Robert and the love had not yet been consummated into marriage. But nevertheless, the sonnet serves as an excellent ...
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...time. The undying devotion from a woman to a man, still existed in Ellis, but with the feeling that it was to the religious salvation end. For Browning, these ends were simply obstacles that were lost to her as the wear of sickness ground on her. Within her deep relationship with Robert, was still a meaningful relationship that Ellis may argue with. But such arguments were frequently held over these ideas in the Victorian Era.
Works Cited
Ellis, Sarah Stickney. “The Women of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits.” The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin J.H. Dettmar. 4th Edition. New York: Pearson Education, Inc, 2010. 1525-1527.
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. “Sonnet 43.” The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin J.H. Dettmar. 4th Edition. New York: Pearson Education, Inc, 2010. 1148.
During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
Upon hearing the term, “The Victorian Woman,” it is likely that one’s mind conjures up an image of a good and virtuous woman whose life revolved around the domestic sphere of the home and family, and who demonstrated a complete devotion to impeccable etiquette as well as to a strong moral system. It is certainly true that during Victorian England the ideal female was invested in her role as a wife and a mother, and demonstrated moral stability and asexuality with an influence that acted as her family’s shield to the intrusions of industrial life. Yet despite the prevalence of such upstanding women in society, needless to say not all women lived up to such a high level of moral aptitude. Thus, we must beg the question, what became of the women who fell far short from such a standard? What became of the women who fell from this pedestal of the ideal Victorian woman, and by way of drunkenness, criminality, or misconduct became the negation of this Victorian ideal of femininity?
Have you ever fallen in love? Have you ever developed strong feelings for another? If problems arose between the two of you, were you able to overcome them? Well certain men in Robert Browning’s works couldn’t seem to. . . “overcome” these differences with their women. Browning grew up learning from his father’s huge library. His wife was much more successful at writing than him. Eight years after her death, his career turned around for the last 20 years of his life. During this time, he wrote many short dramatic monologues such as My Last Duchess and Prophyria’s Lover. These two very intriguing and disturbing Monologues, My Last Duchess and Prophyria’s Lover, by Robert Browning, involve two very messed up men whose actions are both alike in their idea of immortalizing their woman, but different in why they chose to commit the act between the two stories, and a conclusion may be drawn from this observation.
The doomed Duchess of Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue, “My Last Duchess” is the embodiment of the incarcerated woman taken to the eternal extreme. The setting for this poem is the Italy of the Middle Ages, a time when women had still less freedom than in the Victorian era. Women were regarded as possessions, a form of imprisonment within itself. As Johnson states the theme of “marriage as bondage” is consistently explored throughout Browning’s early wor...
Elizabeth Barrett Browning follows ideal love by breaking the social conventions of the Victorian age which is when she wrote the “Sonnets from the Portuguese”. The Victorian age produced a conservative society, where marriage was based on class, age and wealth and women were seen as objects of desire governed by social etiquette. These social conventions are shown to be holding her back, this is conveyed through the quote “Drew me back by the hair”. Social conventions symbolically represented by the character that “drew” her back, this personification emphasises the negative effect that society has on an individual. However Barrett Browning is shown to hold out against these social conventions
Thanks to the incredible job that Browning did on these poems, readers are now more fully able to grasp the passion and the love that this woman had for her lover. Perhaps they can even connect if they have a lover of their own whom they adore with their "breath, smiles, and tears."
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.
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.
Introduced by the Duke of Ferrara, the late duchess herself is denied the chance to present herself to the agent herself. However she cannot do this since she has passed away, for reasons unknown to the agent. The late duchess’s voice is silent now forever. The runaway slave is also silenced. There is no say in whether or not she was allowed to be with the man she loves, nor does she have a say in the matter about her rape, or giving birth to a lighter skinned baby. Neither have a choice with the ways men dictate their lives and suffer as a result of it, but their voices resist the oppression forced down upon them.
Love is the ubiquitous force that drives all people in life. If people did not want, give, or receive love, they would never experience life because it is the force that completes a person. Although it often seems absent, people constantly strive for this ever-present force as a means of acceptance. Elizabeth Barrett Browning is an influential poet who describes the necessity of love in her book of poems Sonnets from the Portuguese. In her poems, she writes about love based on her relationship with her husband – a relationship shared by a pure, passionate love. Browning centers her life and happiness around her husband and her love for him. This life and pure happiness is dependent on their love, and she expresses this outpouring and reliance of her love through her poetry. She uses imaginative literary devices to strengthen her argument for the necessity of love in one’s life. The necessity of love is a major theme in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Sonnet 43” and “Sonnet 29.”
Petrie, Charles. “Victorian Women Expected to Be Idle and Ignorant.” Victorian England. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000. 178-87.
In Sarah Stickney Ellis’s 1839 book, The Woman of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits, she explains that the ways women act can be directly tied to the unwritten rules that have been set by society: “The long-established customs of their country have placed in their hands the high and holy duty of cherishing and protecting the minor morals of life, from whence springs all that is elevated in purpose, and glorious in action” (Ellis 1611). The author conveys that society controls and clearly defines what type of attitude and activities are to be expected of a
Elizabeth Barrett Browning 's "Sonnet XLIII" speaks of her love for her husband, Richard Browning, with rich and deeply insightful comparisons to many different intangible forms. These forms—from the soul to the afterlife—intensify the extent of her love, and because of this, upon first reading the sonnet, it is easy to be impressed and utterly overwhelmed by the descriptors of her love. However, when looking past this first reading, the sonnet is in fact quite ungraspable for readers, such as myself, who have not experienced what Browning has for her husband. As a result, the visual imagery, although descriptive, is difficult to visualize, because
The Victorian period was in 1830-1901, this period was named after Queen Victoria; England’s longest reigning monarch. Britain was the most powerful nation in the world. This period was known for a rather stern morality. A huge changed happened in England; factories were polluting the air, cities were bursting at the seams, feminism was shaking up society, and Darwin’s theory of evolution was assaulting long established religious beliefs. The Victorians were proud of their accomplishments and optimistic about the future, but psychologically there was tension, doubt, and anxiety as people struggled to understand and deal with the great changes they were experiencing. One of the authors known for writing during the Victorian Period was Robert Browning. Robert Browning was a poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic monologues, which made him one of the Victorian poets. Robert died in December 1889. His Poem “Porphyria’s Lover” was published in 1836. This essay will explore three elements of Victorianism in Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Brown...
The Victorian Era is marked by Queen Victoria’s reign in England from 1837-1901 (Eras of Elegance). It is known for its attention to high morals, modesty, and proper decorum, which was inspired by the Queen and her husband, Prince Albert. Importance was placed on civic consciousness and social responsibility, including equality towards all. Science, technology and Christianity thrived. Humanitarian and religious organizations, such as the Salvation Army, reflected the Victorian concern for the poor and needy. The Church was wealthy and powerful. Only the rich could afford education, so most were left uneducated, unable to think critically. The people believed the word of the Bible and that was all that mattered. However, growing industrialization led to numerous challenges to Christianity. Education became available to all, so they had the ability to form opinions. Urbanization took effect. Problems included growing trends on materialism, nationalism, communism and higher criticism of the Bible (Eras of Elegance).