Victorian-era women were expected by society to be virtuous and follow certain rules. It was expected that they would bear children, take care of the home, be submissive, pure and selfless. The sexes were considered inferior and therefore, they could not work or get higher education (with certain exceptions). (Victorian-era. This was the traditional view that women held, and many women began to challenge it in various ways. The Victorians did not shy away from this. org). The three texts that will be the subject of this essay are “The Great Social Evil”, “The Women of England: their Social Duties and domestic Habits”, and “The Autobiography of Harriet Martineau”. The purpose of this essay is to examine whether Victorian literature challenges or endorses the degrading treatment of women.
As a result of the sexual repression that characterized this era, prostitution rapidly grew. Churches viewed sex as a procreational tool and did not consider it to be pleasurable. It was forbidden for women to feel sexual desire or passion because this was considered sinful. They were supposed to be the perfect “Angel in the House”, the perfect wife, who was powerless, devoted, and “pure”, which meant someone without lust or sexual desire, and someone who would never engage in sexual relations outside marriage. org, Victorianweb. org). Prostitutes are therefore socially persecuted because they’re deemed impure. The anonymous female character in “The Great Social Evil”, however, strongly opposes this view. She argues that society does not want women to be as “pure” and “honest” as they are. They are also curious, sexual beings and there is nothing wrong with this (Anonymous 1621).
She was not taught morals and is therefore puzzled by the view that women of higher social class have of her. She does not just question, but also does not understand why one woman is more superior than another (Anonymous 1622). . . ] If all the circumstances of our lives were reversed, could Madam, My Lady, have been or done better than me? ” (Anonymous 1622). This question is meant to illustrate that when you remove all of the things which cause social differentiation between them, then they are both equal people who were just conditioned differently. She believes that the condescension and prejudice people have towards women like herself is not based on enough evidence. She was raised by boys her own age, and she was inspired by an independent tradeswoman that she encountered often (Anonymous 1601). Her lack of examples and upbringing led her to think that women were never expected to behave in a traditional way. Ellis’ “The Women of England”, though, isn’t quite as straightforward.
She still holds some progressive beliefs, despite her extreme support for the conventional view on women. She believes that the influence of women in the world on men is equal to that of the men. She believes that women morally guide men, keeping them from temptation (Ellis 16,11,1612), as well as, [. . . ] The women in their country have had a great influence on them, as they are generous, disinterested, and morally courageous (Ellis 1612). It is her belief that women give men the tools they need to make a difference. She thinks the influence she has could be expanded to combat the “evils in society” through actively encouraging/enhancing “disinterestedness”. (Ellis 1612) This leads me to her support for female education. As I mentioned earlier, women were not considered to be able to learn and this was the case until the late 19th century (wjeis). org). She could therefore be seen as questioning the traditional view of women. However, her idea is that women should not be educated in the same way as men. Instead, they should be taught to have “disinterestedness”, which she believes to be the most important component to being a good mother and wife (Ellis, 1612). She does not question the traditional woman but rather the underestimation by society of the influence women have in the world. Martineau’s Autobiography differs in that her opinions are not expressed until the end.
She is not satisfied with what society expects of her, and neither is her religious institution. Her decisions and desire for fulfillment show this. The first time she mentions how “studying very conspicuously…especially with a pencil in hand is not acceptable for women” (Martineau 1646) you can get a sense of her attitude. This is evident in her reaction when her brother praises her work and almost tells her to let other women pursue authorship. This is evident in the way she reacted when her brother approved of her paper and demanded that she leave it to other women to do what was expected and pursue authorship (Martineau 1619); “I went home in a sort of dream, so that the squares on my pavement seemed float before my eyes” (Martineau 1619). It is also shown by her view that losing everything she owned and being destitute was a blessing because it allowed her to no longer conform to the role she played (Martineau 1619). “We’ve said it many and often that, if not for this loss of income, we would still be living in the provincial style of women with little money, sewing, economizing and becoming smaller each year.” (Martineau 1609). We can clearly see that she did not agree with her husband’s decision. No doubt being a Victorian woman was difficult, what with daily injustices like misogyny as well as a religious society that demoralized women.
The Great Social evil (referring specifically to Ellis) and Martineau’s Autobiography show that even in the face of repression, women had vision and were able to question the ideal of a woman. Ellis, among other women, was able to speak out in an era of silence. They were courageous and opened new horizons of improvement.
