Defining the Victorian Woman

Defining the Victorian Woman

In the Victorian Age, there existed a certain ideology of what constituted the

perfect Victorian woman. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, young girls

began attending schools that offered basic skills such as reading, writing, and

math. Manuals of etiquette and conduct instructed young girls in manners of

society and the home (Basch 3). All of this prepared a young woman for marriage,

which, in the nineteenth century, was "put forward as being the culminating

point of a woman's life" (Basch 16). Thus, the perfect woman was also the

perfect wife, an active part of the family, with specific regard to the children

(Vicinus ix). Yet, although the perfect woman was a married woman, not all

marriages were perfect. Victorian society set strict standards for the roles of

women, specifically middle class women, as wives and mothers. Women often did

not benefit from being married in many respects, such as their personal rights.

In addition, the census of 1850 "revealed a significant imbalance between the

sexes," creating a surplus of single women (Lerner 176). Many of these single

women joined the ranks of spinsters and old maids due to this imbalance in the

population. However, society did not give unmarried women the same roles as

married women. Society challenged these women because it believed that a woman

without a husband was worthless. Society did not respect the position of these

unmarried women, often making them outcasts. Yet, there esd a small sect of

unmarried women that did not allow society's rules to interfere with their idea

of what life should be like. Th...

... middle of paper ...

...

or said. Instead, old maids flung themselves at life, unattached and

uninhibited, in the best possible way so as to get as much out of it as

possible. Supported historically by the likes of great Victorian female authors,

these old maids laughed at life, and themselves, showing the perfect Victorian

wives there could be more to life than fitting society's mold.

Works Cited

Auerbach, Nina. Woman and the Demon: The Life of a Victorian Myth. London:

Harvard UP, 1982.

Basch, Francoise. Relative Creatures: Victorian Women in Society and the Novel.

New York: Schocken, 1974.

Lerner, Laurence. The Victorians. New York: Homes and Meier, 1978.

Vicinus, Martha. Introduction.The Perfect Victorian Lady. Bloomington: Indiana

UP, 1972. Vii - xv.