Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Heroines in 19th century english literature
Women in the 19th essay
Portrayal of women in literature in the 1800s
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Heroines in 19th century english literature
Helen as Angel and Rebel in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
In nineteenth century England, the lives of men and women were completely different. The women had very few - or no - rights and the man had absolute power over his wife and children. He even had the rights to his wife's income or heritage! The only acceptable way for a woman to lead her life was to be a social character, a supporting wife and loving mother, so to speak an "angel in the house". The term "the angel in the house" refers to Coventry Patmore's poem with the same name. The poem depicts the ideal of a loving, unselfish, (sexually) passive and sensitive woman, who was religious and devoted to please her husband: "Man must be please; but him to please, is woman's pleasure --- And if he once, by shame oppress'd [sic!], a comfortable word confers, she leans and weeps against his breast, and seems to think the sin was hers --- she loves with love that cannot tire...". This was the only acceptable way of life for a woman and in this essay I discuss whether Helen Graham should be described as an angel or a rebel, and to what extent she fulfils the criteria for a woman's mission in nineteenth century England.
What exactly was women's mission during the nineteenth century? The answer to this question can be found in the many so-called conduct books, which were written by women for women during the nineteenth century. These books were written for the middle-class and stated how a woman should act and behave. The conclusion we can draw from these books is that a woman's duty and mission in life was to be the religious and moral part of the household, to be a good mother and a supporting and caring wife. One author who wrote on the subject of woman's mission and dut...
... middle of paper ...
...tions in order to save her offspring from growing up under his father's influence. She would probably have stood by her husband even longer if it had not been for their son. By later returning to her sick husband, she once again takes on the role of a "good wife", but shows no remorse to what she has done. When he dies, Helen is finally rewarded by knowing that she has fulfilled her duty as his wife and her mission as a woman and can go on with her life and the happiness that awaits her. In my opinion, she is a true heroine and an angel-like rebel.
Bibliography:
Brontë, Anne. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Ellis, Sarah Stickney: The women of England
Patmore, Coventry: "The Angel in the House" from Representations of women in Whitman and his culture. http://www.wam.umd.edu/~heidkamp/women.html (Internet). Oct 15, 2000.
Perkin, Joan: Victorian women
The title character of Catharine Maria Sedgewick’s novel, Hope Leslie, defies the standards to which women of the era were to adhere. Sedgewick’s novel is set in New England during the 17th century after the Puritans had broken away from the Church of England. Hope Leslie lives in a repressive Puritan society in which women behave passively, submit to the males around them, and live by the Bible. They allow the men of their family to make decisions for them and rarely, if ever, convey an opinion that differs from the status quo. However, Hope Leslie does not conform to the expected behavior of women during that time, behavior that only further expressed the supposed superiority of males. Hope portrays behaviors and attitudes common in a woman today. Hope is capable of thinking for herself, is courageous, independent, and aggressive. Sir Philip Gardner describes Hope as having “a generous rashness, a thoughtless impetuosity, a fearlessness of the… dictators that surround her, and a noble contempt of fear” (211). In comparison to Esther Downing, Hope is the antithesis of what a young Puritan woman should be, and in turn, Hope gains a great deal of respect from the readers of the novel through her “unacceptable” behavior.
In Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal, Helen she starts having frantic monologues every time she must make a decision for herself. In the play, it seems like all she wants in to be free and independent, but every time she is given the chance, she starts to have frantic monologues and can’t handle the pressure. Although some people think Helen is insane, I feel the play portrays Helen as someone can’t handle pressure and having to make her own decisions.
In the past four decades the cost of a funeral service has risen 1,328% (Boring) and that’s not just because Morticians wanted to out of pure greed. One must take into account that modern mortuaries are much more of a business than before. Prior to 1970, the majority of funeral homes were were independent, family run. Today about 14% of funeral homes are run by a publicly traded corporation (Boring) meaning there’s a plethora of capital involved in these businesses now. The homes are built better and by professionals rather than by individuals with some tools, the home’s are extremely more sanitary since there’s more than likely no one living in these funeral homes unlike before, and the quality of the products these services are providing is greater than before.
The retail giant’s policies to offer lowest prices on the market is one that gives the company an upper hand since it can leverage on its massive economies of scale, but ultimately the low prices throw the local economy into turmoil. The many small businesses within the regions find it extremely difficult to compete with the low prices offered by the retail giant, Wal-Mart. According to Wolff-Mann (2016), the opening of Wal-Mart in North Carolina resulted in a 30% drop in the sales of a 44-year-old grocery store. Whenever the grocery store cut prices to retain its clients which were being lost to Wal-Mart, the giant retailer would always undercut or match the price. This unfair practice led to the close down of the store, while other businesses in the region succumbed to the stiff and unfair competition. Therefore, when Wal-Mart moves into a small town, things do not get better; the company introduces unsustainable economic models which makes thing worse within the
In the Victorian society, love, sex and desire were the unspeakable subjects, especially for a young, unmarried woman in care of two young children. The governess herself can not imagine thinking about or mentioning her sexual needs. Her desire for love is so strong that she immediately falls in love with the man she hardly...
In modern day America, we unknowingly take countless things for granted on a daily basis. For example, we blatantly assume that privileges such as clean hospital rooms, trash services, and preservation have always been provided. In reality, at the time of the civil war, medical and hygienic methods were primitive compared to today’s technology in medicine. A significant difference was the process after death. Modern day embalming was created, as an innovative way to preserve the bodies of fallen soldiers, but has developed into a customary practice that accompanies contemporary mortality.
In Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Jane encounters several characters during the stages of her life. Some of the characters appear in more than one stage of her life such as Mrs Reed, Bessie, and Rochester. There are other characters who are only there for her for a short period of time such as St John, Miss Temple, and Helen Burns. Although these characters are only in Jane’s life for a short time, they each have a great impact on Jane, especially Jane’s encounter with Helen at the Lowood Institution. Helen Burns makes a grave impact on Jane’s life, at Lowood and continuing on for the rest of her life.
The oppression and discrimination the women felt in this era launched the women into create the women’s right movement. The economic growth in the market economy women opportunity to work was very low Lucy Stone explained that the same society that pushes men forward keeps woman at home (Doc. H). Only low paying jobs were available such as factories, seamstress, or a teacher and in most states women had no control over their wages. Charlotte Woodward explained how she would sew gloves for a terrible wage but it was under rebellion she wished to choose her own job and the pay (Doc.E). The chart on Doc F explained how women between 1837-1844 dominated men as teachers in the Massachusetts Public School. The idea of the “cult of true womanhood” was that most respectable middle class women should stay at home and take care of the family and be the moral of the home. The advancement in the market economy gave women a chance to make their own money to be able to support themselves and work outside of the home. The nineteenth century was a ferment of reform such as the Second...
Secondly, the possibility of the right to lie is refuted on the basis of virtue ethics, which maintains that lying is morally wrong though the argument or claim is less strict as compared to Kant’s statement. Virtue ethics generally provides a different approach to ethics by focusing on character development of individuals. As a result, virtue ethicists tend to look at what people should be with regards to their character rather than determining the right or wrong of a behavior simply on the basis of reason and desired and undesired behavior (Mazur par, 5). In this case, virtues are desirable characteristics of individuals that make them act in a specific way. According to virtue ethicists, being virtuous is regarded as being ethical because it is a reflection of the individual traits of fairness and striving towards accomplishment of human potential.
Welter, Barbara. “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860.” Nineteenth Century Literature March 1966: 102-106. Jstor. On-line. 10 Nov. 2002.
Virtue theory defines what it takes to be a good person and above all else one’s character matters most (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014). This theory focuses on the person’s moral character rather than duties. A virtuous person is someone who acts just in situations throughout his or her lifetime because of their good character (Boylan, 2009, p. 133-139). An example of a virtuous person would be a priest. A virtuous person does not act to gain favors, but only to do their duty. Individuals who practice virtue theory ponders questions like; how should one live, what is a good life or what are proper social and family values. The deontological ethics approach accentuates one’s duty to rules (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014, para. 1). The morality of an action is based on following rules. The “rules” help guide individuals morally in decision making. Therefore, the person should make a moral choice as long as he or she sticks to the guidelines. The third approach is the utilitarianism,...
19th-Century Women Works Cited Missing Women in the nineteenth century, for the most part, had to follow the common role presented to them by society. This role can be summed up by what historians call the “cult of domesticity”. The McGuffey Readers does a successful job at illustrating the women’s role in society. Women that took part in the overland trail, as described in “Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey” had to try to follow these roles while facing many challenges that made it very difficult to do so. One of the most common expectations for women is that they are responsible for doing the chore of cleaning, whether it is cleaning the house, doing the laundry.
During the 19th centuary a women’s role in society was to function only in household. Meanwhile male played a dominant role in provding for the family finacally. Women during this time period didn’t have rights to own property much of it was their husbands. Women could not work outside their household duties. Jansson (2012) noted “ Women were virtually excluded from medicine, law, and clergy” (p.111). Although women couldn’t inquire these proffesions, after the Civil War they were motivted to become school
In an essay on feminist criticism, Linda Peterson of Yale University explains how literature can "reflect and shape the attitudes that have held women back" (330). From the viewpoint of a feminist critic, "The Lady of Shalott" provides its reader with an analysis of the Victorian woman's conflict between her place in the interior, domestic role of society and her desire to break into the exterior, public sphere which generally had been the domain of men. Read as a commentary on women's roles in Victorian society, "The Lady of Shalott" may be interpreted in different ways. Thus, the speaker's commentary is ambiguous: Does he seek to reinforce the institution of patriarchal society as he "punishes" the Lady with her death for her venture into the public world of men, or does he sympathize with her yearnings for a more colorful, active life? Close reading reveals more than one possible answer to this question, but the overriding theme seems sympathetic to the Lady. By applying "the feminist critique" (Peterson 333-334) to Tennyson's famous poem, one may begin to understand how "The Lady of Shalott" not only analyzes, but actually critiques the attitudes that held women back and, in the end, makes a hopeful, less patriarchal statement about the place of women in Victorian society.
In this essay I will critically discuss Aristotle’s concept of virtue. I will illustrate how he was influenced by his predecessors and how he disagreed with them and developed his own philosophy. I will also describe how he defined the concept of virtue – what virtuous traits are and also how to be a virtuous person.