Victorian Era Women

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The Victorian era in England, 1837-1901, is often characterized by a focus and idealization on domesticity. Throughout most of recorded European history, women have been considered inferior to men, and during the time of Queen Victoria, this preconception was further immortalized by the aristocracy. During this time, women of all social classes held a variety of roles. Though they could be said to have led very different lives, women of all social standings were commonly taught from an early age that they were less important than men. Though all women of the Victorian era were typically raised as young girls to believe they must marry or be considered failures, the single women of the middle-class began making changes to this belief. Though …show more content…

There were also many circumstances where an unmarried middle-class woman needed money to support herself or relatives. Some had to contribute economically to the family as soon as they were able to. With this, young women could find themselves having to battle for sufficient work and reasonable pay to meet this need. Furthermore, there were also middle-class women who did not have any form of income in the event of their parent’s death if they did not find an adequate job. For this, they would require marketable skills. They were warned against acquiring these skills and working for pay no matter their personal circumstances. They were told to stay home and play the role of the typical spinster. The ideal of single middle-class women remaining in the home and the reality of the numerous reasons they had to perform paid work was the primary weapon used by those pushing for reform to improve the status and opportunities of single women. Even armed with this weapon, it was not easy work to bring about these changes. Bringing this reform was difficult and slow because “women and their families assumed they would marry until it was too late to seek skilled training; it was widely believed that any marriage was better than being an old maid; and women themselves were isolated from each other and almost wholly lacking in positive role models”, so many women were past the time in which training would normally happen. Another factor in this reform was the British economy’s need for trained women. It could be said that things only really began to change due to the frustration of certain smart, well-to-do women who stepped up to become leaders. Not only the need for money, but the desire for education played a significant role in the emergence of feminism in Victorian

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