19th-Century Gender Roles

Male and Female Roles in The 19th Century
Things were a lot different in the 19th century when it came to the roles that males and females played. In the 19th century, it was essential for females to find a male to marry or they would end up having no property because only males would inherit anything. The males were the ones that would have jobs so that they could bring home the money to support their family and buy the necessities. However, females played a much different role than the males did. The females usually would not have a job, but instead they would take care of the household. The females would cook, clean and tend to the children while their husband was at work. Not only did male and female roles differ in the household, but they also were different when it came to the education that they received their work-life.

One of the main differences in gender roles during the 19th century is marriage.

Females were forced to marry for many reasons, one being that males were the ones who owned everything and that females were unable to inherit any belongings themselves after their father died. An example of this comes from the book Pride and Prejudice, when Mrs. Bennet is wanting Elizabeth to marry Mr. Collins because Mr. Collins will be in possession of all the property after Mr. Bennet passes away.(Austens, 21). Females would also marry so that the husband could bring in the money to support the family. Marriage was so essential to women that it was often the mother’s life goal to get their daughters married. An example of this can be seen in the book Pride and Prejudice as it was Mrs. Bennet’s “job” to get her daughters married to a delightful man. (Austens,

1-23).
Education is another area that there were some differences in between the males and females during the 1800s. The majority of women in the 1800s would receive no formal education at all and would stay around the household. Males usually would also not receive any type of formal education, but however they would immediately go to work. Even though most males did not receive an education either, middle-class women would find it excellent if a male had received an education and would list it as on of their “accomplishments”. An example of this can be found throughout the book Pride and Prejudice where Mr. Darcy is considered a well-accomplished man due to his education and literacy. (Hadjiafxendi, 1).
One more major differences between male and female roles in the 19th century is their work-life. The work and jobs that males would maintain is much more similar to the roles that they also have today in the 21st century. Males would would maintain a job such as: farmer, factory worker, etc… so that they could bring in the money to support the rest of their family. Females on the other hand, would not usually have a standard job and would stay around the house keeping it in order.(Leslie, 1). Females would cook, clean, take care of the kids, and tend to their husbands on a daily basis as their job. An example of this can be found in Pride and Prejudice as Mr. Bennet is the “breadwinner” and Mrs. Bennet stays around the home taking care of it and the children.
In conclusion, both male and female roles have evolved in some aspect in comparison to how they are today in the 21st century. Some of the ways that the gender roles have evolved is in their education, work-life, and marriages. Education wise, both of them were similar in that neither one would usually receive a formal education, but their work-life is where they both differed greatly with males having a more standard job and females having the laborious job of keeping-up the household. When it came to marriages in the 19th century, it was absolutely crucial for females to find a partner for many different reasons. These are just a few examples of how much the gender roles have changed over time since the 19th century.