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Oppressions in the Victorian age
Women Oppression During The Victorian England Era
Women Oppression During The Victorian England Era
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Recommended: Oppressions in the Victorian age
Elizabeth Gaskell started her writing career in her late thirties. She went on to becoming an accomplished writer in the Victorian British Literature. All of Gaskell’s novels droned on about the consist stigma poor people had to endure at the hands of society’s powerful and wealthy. She managed to branch away from her constant rambles of the poverty of the Englanders, just to write a biography about her dear friend Charlotte Bronte which almost resulted in a lawsuit by family and friends of Bronte. With critics delivering harsh words to Gaskell for annoyance about the plight of the poor, they could never deny her skills as a writer, which lead to her success as a writer. Her last novel was Wives and Daughters, which was published in 1864 by Cornhill Magazine. Another author had to finish the ending for her.
Brief Summary of Wives and Daughters:
Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters are readings of ramblings of a lunatic about the poverty conditions of the people in England.
Elizabeth Gaskell’s, Wives and Daughters is centered on the main character Molly Gibson. She’s the daughter of the local town doctor Dr. Gibson. The premature death of Molly’s mother, forced the father to be both parents to the young girl. Over the years, the father and daughter duo managed to build a bond that was strong, loving and caring.
Just a few miles up the road lived the Hamley family. The Hamley family has a close connection with the Gibson family. Squire Hamley and his wife have two sons, Osborne and Roger. With both sons’ away at Cambridge University to become scholar’s in their rightful field, the father is home tending to his sickly wife. Sometimes Squire Hamley would ask Dr. Gibson if Molly could come by for a visit because his wi...
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...ly and friends until she was able to care for herself.
Elizabeth married a minister by the name of William Gaskell. Both of them were big on ministry and charity work that pertain to the poor. The Gaskell’s had six children. He encouraged her to write to eleveate the sadness she was experiencing since her father’s death.
Critical Review:
The novel was a bit boring and the rhythm was somewhat so, but overall it was an ok book. All of her novels portray the same theme about her liberal views and why social reform is needed in England. I’m a little tired of her tyrant.
Works Cited
Gaskell, Elizabeth. Wives and Daughters. Ed. Angus Easson. USA New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Gaskell, Elizabeth. “Gender Matters.” Victorian Web.
. Web. 25 August 2000.
www.wikiepedia.com
I found the book to be easy, exciting reading because the story line was very realistic and easily relatable. This book flowed for me to a point when, at times, it was difficult to put down. Several scenes pleasantly caught me off guard and some were extremely hilarious, namely, the visit to Martha Oldcrow. I found myself really fond of the char...
I feel like the novel gave me a good, accurate insight of what it would have been like to be a fly on the wall in those secret meetings. The novel captures a good picture of what it may have been like to be a member of royalty or a simple commoner trying to make a change. Most of the political figures/groups in the novel were given distinct personality traits that made the reader aware of how important status and power were to those who lived in the 1700s. I also enjoyed characters like Benjamin Franklin and Sam Adams- to me, they were portrayed very accurately and both of their characters possessed most of the same qualities that they had in real-life. In the novel, for example, Franklin is (accurately) represented as a creator, a womanizer, and- most importantly- a
There are several things that I like about this book. First off, I love historical fiction, and this is the genre of this book. Also, despite the author being too descriptive, the book went at a steady pace. For me, pace usually determines whether I will read the book or not, and I never really hesitated, or thought about changing books.
My overall opinion of this book is good I really liked it and recommend it to anyone. It is a good book to read and it keep you interested throughout the whole book.
Clements, Victoria. Introduction. A New-England Tale. By Catharine Maria Sedgwick. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
I think my favorite thing about this novel was the realistic ending. Some books try to just give you a fairy tale but this book had an ending that mad you think in the end if I was in the same position would I do the same thing. I didn’t like the fact that the novel portrayed mental illness in a way to say that it needed to be hidden and protected. I thought this novel was very believable for the time period that it was set in. I think the ending to this novel was perfect it was an accurate ending to this
*All in all I would say that this novel is definitely a good read. I found my self at times relating my own thoughts and experiences to that of the characters in the book. This is the very reason I would recommend that you give your class next semester the option of reading either this book or another. From my point of view, I think that most men can not relate to certain situations that occur, which lessens the overall significance of her writing.
Gregory, Dr. John. "A Father’s Legacy to his Daughters." Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Robert Irvine. Peterborough: Broadview Press Ltd, 2002. 402-412.
Charlotte “Jane Eyre” Bronte was born April 21, 1816. She was born the third daughter out of six children. In 1824, Charlotte and her older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth Bronte, enrolled in the Cowan Bridge Clergy Daughters’ School and obtained their education. Soon after Charlotte’s younger sister, Emily, joined them at the school, Maria and Elizabeth became very ill. Charlotte’s father, Patrick Bronte, requested for Maria and Elizabeth to be sent home to be taken care of. Charlotte and Emily were left to attend Cowan Bridge alone; however, this did not last long because they were soon requested home by their father as well. In the following year, Elizabeth and Maria both died of consumption. The death of these two beloved sisters took a toll on the Bronte family causing the remaining siblings to cling together for support and become best friends. Charlotte, her brother Branwell, Emily, and youngest sister Anne began to write epic stories and poems together, often set in the realm of the Kingdom of Gondal. This was the beginning of the legacy to be left by Charlotte Bronte. (Gerin, 169)
Alfred and Louisa Dorsets’ relationship is not literally incestuous; that is, they are not lovers. Rather, their seemingly incestuous relationship is symbolic of a much larger societal characteristic – a type of incest defined in much more expansive terms. Mr. and Miss Dorset engage in a different brand of incest known as “social incest.” Simply put, social incest is the inclination to only marry within one’s own class. In an interview with Barbara
Through attention to detail, repeated comparison, shifting tone, and dialogue that gives the characters an opportunity to voice their feelings, Elizabeth Gaskell creates a divide between the poor working class and the rich higher class in Mary Barton. Gaskell places emphasis on the differences that separate both classes by describing the lavish, comfortable, and extravagant life that the wealthy enjoy and compares it to the impoverished and miserable life that the poor have to survive through. Though Gaskell displays the inequality that is present between both social classes, she also shows that there are similarities between them. The tone and diction change halfway through the novel to highlight the factors that unify the poor and rich. In the beginning of the story John Barton exclaims that, “The rich know nothing of the trials of the poor…” (11), showing that besides the amount of material possessions that one owns, what divides the two social classes is ability to feel and experience hardship. John Barton views those of the upper class as cold individuals incapable of experiencing pain and sorrow. Gaskell, however proves Barton wrong and demonstrates that though there are various differences that divide the two social classes, they are unified through their ability to feel emotions and to go through times of hardship. Gaskell’s novel reveals the problematic tension between the two social classes, but also offers a solution to this problem in the form of communication, which would allow both sides to speak of their concerns and worries as well as eliminate misunderstandings.
Astell, Mary. "A Reflections Upon Marriage." The Broadview Anthology of British Literature: The Restoration And The Eighteen Century. Joseph Black [et all]. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2006. Print. Pages 297-301.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and believe it to be one of the best books I have ever read. It was extremely well written and challenging for me to understand at times. It conveys that dark side of human ambition very well, and it has given me much to think about.
Ellis, Sarah Stickney. “The Women of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits.” The Longman
Within these marriages, readers get a sense of how education plays an important role in a successful marriage, as this fulfills both of their dreams of personal identity. Although women in the nineteenth century were viewed to be superior wives and mothers, manage the household, and perform domestic tasks, it was important for women to become educated as “an education was supposed to enable these girls to become successful women in society” (Leigh 117). Women were not meant to be “trained” in some way to become good wives, but needed to be formally educated in order to be a successful wife and