Women and the Victorian Era - Research Paper Example

Task Women and the Victorian Era The Victorian era is a time that characterized male dominance over women. This is rather ironic since the head of England at that time was a woman, Queen Victoria. This thus, explains the concept of Victorian masculinity, where men used their masculine power to rule and dominate over women. Women were seen as the weaker sex thus, responsibilities that required deep thought; determination and perseverance were considered an arena for the men. Nonetheless, this attitude changed with time as the period started witnessing the rise and subsequent adoption of a more female friendly society. The Victorian era can be taken as a good example of the past discrepancies that existed between the wealth of the nation, the national authority of England and its social conditions. Once one peruses the books of history, a significant amount of information can be deciphered concerning this period. One of these that best exemplify the daily life at that era is the book by Kate Chopin. Though not based in England, it gives an impression of the norms at that era; this, the author achieved by the use of the lead character, Edna Pontellier. Women were regarded differently in accordance to their social status. However, they had little overall control and rights in society. They lived in a culture that embraced women as beings of the home. Evaluation The novel by Kate Chopin endeavors to elucidate on the situation of women in the Victorian era. Throughout the novel, a number of themes are presented across that boost the author’s intention of showing the existence of male dominance, or simply depict a male favored culture (Armstrong, p. 5). The title of the novel refers to the rebirth of the main character into her true self. The Awakening contains a considerable amount of information about the nature of gender based relationships present in the Victorian era. It expounds on how women and men were supposed to interact and relate with each other. This is expertly achieved via the main character, Edna Pontellier. Women were to be subject to their husbands. Total obedience and respect was expected form the wife when relating with her husband. Women, in the Victorian era, were expected to assume the traditional role of women as wife and mother. Whenever this was not the case, society frowned upon the concerned women, as was the fact in Edna Pontellier’s case. Edna yearned for freedom, so as to act and do as she pleased. She yearned for artistic, sexual and monetary freedom. This, however, was not allowed in her culture at that time. This fact can best be exemplified by her choice of going out on a Tuesday rather than entertaining guests at her house (Chopin, p.51). The Victorian era was a time that had adopted a chocking and moralistic garb. The Awakening portrays marriage to have been a significant barrier to happiness, self awareness and individual fulfillment. Typical marriages, at the time, adopted a Tarzan and Jane perspective (Adams et al 2004, p. 24). This is what the lead character of the novel sought to defy. Edna wanted more than what society deemed fair for her and women in general. She frequently thought of herself as being out of place when interacting with other women (Chopin and Karma, p. 35). Rather than, be confined to the norms of her time, Edna adopted a unique sense of individualism. She concerned herself with fulfilling her own desires rather than concentrating on her home, children and husband. Edna embodied a sense of individualism that was nonexistent in the Victorian era, which was the ambition of a majority of women. Her individuality is illustrated in a number of cases in the novel. One of these instances is at the end of the novel when she refuses to marry Robert Lebrun, a man she adores for the sake of retaining her newly found freedom. This work by Kate Chopin embodies a century old question which takes precedent between the desires of the person or that of the public as a whole. The question takes the form of whether to conform to societal standards or adopt an individualistic manner in life (Dolan, p. 65). In this regard, the lead character talks and walks the walk. Women in the Victorian era were subject to the wills of their husband (Gordon et al, p. 54). They were to prioritize the needs of the husband before anyone else, especially their selves. Edna`s individualism is epitomized by her adulterous act against her husband. She willingly cheats on him with Robert Lebrun. She did this out of her dissatisfaction with her loveless marriage. However, argument can be made claiming that Edna was a selfish woman who acted rashly and suffered from manic depression (Armstrong, p. 75). An additional argument can be made citing that the understanding of the Victorian era is undertaken; the proper nature of the setting of the novel can now be adopted (Chopin and Karma, p. 71). In the novel, the Awakening, the author creates a character of the perfect woman of the Victorian era. This character is Madame Ratignolle, who embodies the expectations of the society of an ideal woman (Armstrong, p. 45). The Victorian ideals of femininity are brought to life by this character; she is the quintessential wife and mother. The novel begins when women empowerment was merely a suggestion, but as the storyline advances these transform into strong declarations. Thus, Edna was the opposite of Madame Ratignolle. Right to the end, Edna yearned for individualism; thus she killed herself by drowning in the water that had no boundaries and restrictions. During the Victorian era, women were subjected to various forms of oppression (Black, p. 52). When compared with the current state of regard accorded to women, one can feel the troubles they faced. However, when observed in the context of historical background of that period, this appears to have been the accepted notion of women (Graham, p. 78). The main event of a woman’s life during the Victorian era was marriage (Houghton, p. 91). Thus, one can guess the state of a woman’s life during the era. Marriage served as the climax of life, thus society expected a woman to concern herself with the happenings of her home, children and husband. Simply put, men were tasked with ensuring the development of the society. Not all women were treated the same. This bias was pegged on their respective social classes. Those of a higher class were treated significantly different as compared to their counterparts of the lower class (Plante, p. 69). Women were dominated by their sexuality. They were regarded as the weaker sex. Thus, they were consequently expected to sink into the social mold fashioned by men. Men assigned themselves the role of dominating and controlling women. A notion existed, during the time that women could not be trusted to meet the expectations the society had set concerning them. They were regarded as falling short of the society’s expectations. This supposedly made them deserve the harsh criticism leveled against them (Steele, p. 102). This harsh treatment was also witnessed in the academic field (Gordon et al, P. 96). While men were expected to study sciences and mathematics, their female counterparts were, however, expected to study arts along with supplementary fashionable accomplishments like foreign languages, painting, drawing and dancing. Aside from this perspective of bias, women were regarded as pure and clean beings (Dolan, p. 121). In some cases, this has been used to justify their treatment by men. This picture of women further justified why they were not allowed to get tasked with involving duties. Additionally, they were not expected to have freedom with their sexuality. This shows that irrespective of the superficially elevated positions given to women, positions of mother and wife, the Victorian era presented a time of a world ruled by men. When it came to matters dealing with the law, justice was administered according to the male view of what rights a woman should have (Black, p. 78). It was bias for women to be judged by laws that gave them little regard of their rights. Often, the judgment passed was in favor of the male perspective of matters. The men decided on how women should behave. Thus, certain demeaning activities were deemed legal. Amongst these were marital rape, and wife battery (Plante, p. 141). So much was the harsh treatment of women that refusal to have sex was enough grounds for a marriage annulment. Apart from this aspect, the woman was further disadvantaged in the marriage institution. When the woman committed adultery, it was enough to justify a divorce. However, when, on the other hand, the man committed adultery it was not considered grounds to warrant a divorce. Men thus took it upon themselves to treat women as they liked without fear and shame. They treated women with regards to their sexual organs. Conversely, they could not expect a dissimilar treatment from the legal system to allow women to treat them harshly. The Victorian era characterized a period where roles were allocated based on the sexuality of an individual (Steele, p. 53). Thus, the reality is that most women at the time were housewives. Their daily duties were tending to their houses, children and husbands. However, a small percentage of them took up different occupations. Nevertheless, a significant portion of the working women were from the black community (Houghton, p. 227). The fields that were ready to absorb the female populations were limited, ranging from maids, nurses, teachers, psychiatrists to social workers (Plante, p. 142). Alternatively, there were women who earned a living while being housewives. They did this by working on their farms and selling these products. Women coming from high social classes did not lead a difficult life, as opposed to their counter parts of the middle and low classes. Their days comprised of social activities; going to parties, writing letters, reading and entertaining visitors (Gordon et al, p. 116). Middle class women were considered guides to lower class women. They took the role of sponsoring mothers, children, health reforms and kindergartens. This entailed lecturing the women of the lower class on how to keep their homes clean. This seems hypocritical as the middle class had cleaning ladies in their houses. The fact that they had money justified this behavior towards women of the low class. This transcends to show how women subjected themselves to similar bias as was granted to them, by men. Since roles the society had expected of women were sexually based, women developed a materialistic sense of life. This is exemplified by the middle class women whose aim in life was to marry into an upper class family. The prime motivation of this action was to avail themselves to an array of additional goods (Black, p. 195). Of all the classes mentioned, none was treated unfairly as the women of the low class. Most unmarried women in this class were easily classified as paupers as they could not own or inherit property. During the day, housewives made clothes, grew and prepared the food for the family as well as tending to the sick. Judging by the economic condition associated with this class, they took up the lowest jobs in the society. These can be exemplified by barmaids, waitresses and factory jobs plus the century old prostitution. The Victorian era was, unfortunately, renowned for prostitution. This lay credit to the notion adopted by many that sexual intercourse with children cured venereal diseases. This explains why most prostitutes at that time were mainly children. The pay accorded to them varied according to their social status. Consequently, those from the upper class were paid relatively higher than those from the middle class and subsequently low class. A substantial number of women turned to prostitution as a source of living. This was because the opportunities available for women in other occupations were limited plus the financial gains to be sourced from prostitution was significantly higher than from other jobs. Conclusion The Victorian era cannot be used to show a time when the world embraced women. The period was full of harsh realities of inhumane treatment of women. Male dominance took centre stage when dealing with matters that affected the female community. This fact was expertly brought out by Kate Chopin in her work christened “The Awakening”. The title denotes the rebirth of the main character, Edna Pontellier, into her true self. The male dominated culture expected women to adopt the traditional role of mother and wife. Kate Chopin created her lead character to possess views and ideologies that went contrary to this perception. Edna Pontellier yearned for individualism that society did not approve for her. She cares for her own needs at the expense of others, including her husband. Additionally, she expounds on her sexuality to the point of cheating on her husband. Her individuality is seen right to the end of the novel, where she declines to marry the man she loves since she knows this action will impede her newly found freedom. Works Cited Armstrong, Kelley. The Awakening. New York: HarperCollins, 2009. Print. Adams, James E, Tom Pendergast, and Sara Pendergast. Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era. Danbury, Conn: Grolier Academic Reference, 2004. Print. Black, Joseph. The Victorian Era. Peterborough, Ontario [u.a.: Broadview Press, 2006. Print. Chopin, Kate, and Alexandra O'Karma. The Awakening. Prince Frederick, Md: Recorded Books, 1999. Internet resource. Chopin, Kate. The Awakening: A Solitary Soul. New York: Knopf, 1992. Print. Dolan, Josephine A. The Victorian Era. St. Paul, Minn: Telstar Productions, 1976. Gordon, Eleanor, and Gwyneth Nair. Public Lives: Women, Family, and Society in Victorian Britain. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. Print.njn Graham, P A. The Victorian Era. London: Longmans, Green, and Co, 1897. Print. Houghton, Walter E. The Victorian Frame of Mind, 1830-1870. New Haven: Published for Wellesley College by Yale University Press, 1957. Print. Plante, Ellen M. Women at Home in Victorian America: A Social History. New York: Facts on File, 1997. Print. Steele, Valerie. Fashion and Eroticism: Ideals of Feminine Beauty from the Victorian Era to the Jazz Age. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. Print. Read More