Roles of Women in the 19th Century - Essay Example

17 October 2006 Roles of Women in the 19th Century Outline I. Roles of Women on 18th Century II. Changes in the Roles of Women in the 19th Century a. As A Single lady b. As A Mother c. As Wife III. Education of Women during 19th Century IV. Women Suffrage a. Conformist vs. Resistance b. Novelist vs. Activism V. Rights of Women to Inheritance of a State Roles of Women in the 19th Century During the 18th Century, most women were esteemed as the fairer gender that needs pampering and submits to the whims and wishes of their husbands. They were considered at that time as simply slaves to their husbands and decorations to show off at social gatherings. 1 Thus, mostly ladies are raised to submits to their husbands and have no right to express their opinion about certain matters, like the politics and business. They are however, are tolerated by the society to gossip, which is a form of entertainment during the said period. Though they may express their opinion freely, it is not regarded highly by the father or the husband. This was a time when the status and rank of a women’s birth controlled her future.2 Young woman may not be able to increase their social status except for means of marrying or securing a good match with men of titles or financially well endowed. And this is provided that the man is willing to marry below his station. Thus, most girls are reared to develop skills that would appeal to men. They were taught to read the character of a man so as to avoid making a bad match. This can be well illustrated by the novel Pride and Prejudice, where Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth and the society regarded Mr. Darcy as a very difficult man and socially lacking the skills in being amicable. However, his great wealth and linkage (or lineage) provided him the right to be proud and not be shunned away from the rooms of most respected genteel of the tons. Also, in the matter of skills learned, the young woman must be able to sing or play the pianoforte as means of entertainment and that they may be called from time to time during social gatherings to exhibit said skills. The novel mentioned above also provided insights that other forms of entertainment, both of men and women come in the form of dancing. The first two (2) dances were noted as an indication of man’s interest towards a lady should it be endowed or given to a particular gentleman. The chief concern of parents during the said era was to secure a husband for their daughters and balls during seasons served as venue to introduce them to possible prospects from the ton. To fully illustrate the sentiments and how people viewed significance of matrimony during this period, the following were quoted from the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813): Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honorable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want. This preservative she had now obtained; and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome, she felt all the good luck for it. 3 As it appears from the extract above, the only recourse for a young lady to be happy and as self-preservation was for her to marry. Beauty plays a significant role in securing a good match and thus, to compensate for lack of it, education and wittiness is of essence. However, too much bookishness from a lady may also result to remaining on shelf as to what has been portrayed by the Mary, sister of Elizabeth, in the same novel. Change in the Role of Women during the 19th Century In the course of time, in the end of 18th century and early beginning of 19th century, the role of women did not varied much. What changed most were the perception of the women in their rights and the growing spirit of women for independence. The way men regarded women of character during the same period may have varied as well where they appreciated well-meant conversation with women over politics and society. Elizabeth’s character in Pride and Prejudice is quite strong-willed, which separated her from other females of the society and gave her disdain from the female species. However, there are central characters in the same story that exhibited appreciation of her mind and these are in the person of Mr. Darcy, her love interest in the story, and her father Mr. Barnett. As a lady during the 19th century, the same social graces must be observed from a lady. Jane, the elder sister of Elizabeth embodies the character of a perfect behavior for a lady of middle class but with good breed. She is amicable to everyone, graceful and one would not hear from her mouth that she say anything negative about anyone she meets. Her beauty also sets her as society’s favorite and being the eldest in the family of five girls was obliged to secure a good match so it would elevate the social standing of her siblings, particularly in the marriage mart. The nineteenth century was also the age that gives way to industrial revolution. At the late nineteen hundred, it opened to industrialization as led by England. Even though it was still in its early stage, the vast majority of people still lived the way their ancestors had lived for generations, using their muscles and animals (i.e. cows) to fulfill their daily tasks. As the long nineteenth-century closed, the Industrial Revolution was well under way, the age of steam was giving way to the age of electricity and the age of the internal combustion engine fueled by oil, and change became a way of life. 4 This affected the domesticated life of the women. Instead of threading cloth by middle-class women for their personal use, they bought made cloths by factories because it is much easier to do so and saves them time, which they used in pursuit of other activities. They also helped in the economy by becoming workers for manufacturing and thus contributed to the domesticated economy. Wives of middle class and workingmen helped in the financial needs of the family. The upper class women filtered down to the middle-class by becoming consumers of produced products of the lower classes, which in some ways is equivalent to a male status symbol during that era. Before, male are the main consumers in a household. They provided for the needs of women. Partly to fill their time and partly from indignation at social wrongs, many middle-class women turned to philanthropy and social reform movements, fueling the social reform movements of the nineteenth-century. 4 Many of women who are well provided for gave a portion of their income to charities and movements like women suffrages. Before, women have no right to vote in their current political system. And before, the society defines citizenship as those upper classes and involved in the politics that had rights to vote for figures to sit in the government. This is clearly seen in the following excerpts: Political philosophers throughout Europe discussed the meaning of citizenship and nation. Was a citizen of a nation a person who had the right to vote? If so, then women, indigent men, and minors, all lacking the right to vote, were not citizens. Yet, they were expected to pay taxes, were subject to all the laws of the state, and received benefits from the state, such as use of public schools.5 Also, during the 19th century, there are female novelists tapping on the socio-political rights of women. Since this is a transition stage both for male and females, right after the World War I, women’s are subjected to two (2) different thoughts – that is either to conform to the current trend of the society that is male dominated or to rebel. Many women with literacy at hand found means of rebelling in two (2) approaches – that is Novelism and Activism. The former group is where Jane Austen belongs. Most of her writings showed her insights into womens lives using her mastery of form and irony.6 Just like her contemporary female writers, she published post-humostly or anonymously, which made her unpopular during her time. Unlike now, most of her writings are included in scholastic studies and histories. Though her writings are of love stories, one would observe that most of it tapped on the females role as object of the opposite sex and the inequality of female status to that of the males. Also, most of the heroines are not in conformity of the usual female standards of the English society, where they were more focused on their pursuits of getting a beau. In line with novelism, in the other parts of the world, concurrent to the movements of female suffrages in Europe, black female Americans begins to write as means of their expressions. As written by Dodson (1998), in his article, The nineteenth century was a formative period in African-American literary and cultural history. Prior to the Civil War, the majority of black Americans living in the United States were held in bondage. Law and practice forbade teaching blacks from learning to read or write. Even after the war, many of the impediments to learning and literary productivity remained. Nevertheless, black men and women of the nineteenth century learned to both read and write.7 Thus, in their reaction to oppression, and to gain freedom even in expressions, they resolved to writing. However, most of the Afro-American writings were published in the late nineteen hundreds until the twenties. Another form of political rebellion during the 19th century of the females mentioned is the activism. This came in form of activism. As an example of female activist, Flora Tristan (1830s) was an ideal model. In 1844, she began touring around France in the hopes of educating the working people but fell ill and died in the process. 1 During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, another issue that can be found in the writings of Jane Austen, specifically in Pride and Prejudice, was the right of women to inherit their father’s land. During that time, only a male heir has the right over the succession of title and the land. Otherwise, the land and title goes to the nearest keen without consideration to the female members of the family. Thus, if a family is consists of five (5) daughters and a wife, as to what the Bennet family was described in the novel, upon the death of the father of the family, they may became homeless. The only resort for them is to seek assistance from nearest keen of mother or give-off the hands of the daughters in marriage to secure their future. Work Cited Page Austen, Jane (1813). Pride and Prejudice. Books, Inc. New York, U.S.A. Dodson, Howard (1998). African American Women Writers of the 19thCentury. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library. Retrieve on October 17, 2006 from http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/writers_aa19/intro.html Home Theatre Info. Posted on February 17, 2006. Retrieved on October 14, 2006 from http://www.hometheaterinfo.com/pride_&_prejudice_(2005).html Sunshine for Women. Nineteenth-Century Advocates of Political Power for Women (2003). Retrieved on October 13, 2006 from http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/main.html Sunshine for Women. Nineteenth-Century Advocates of Political Power for Women (Non-US). Co. 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001. Retrieved on October 17, 2006 from http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/main.html The Women Writers of 19th Century. Retrieved October 14, 2006 from http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/at/writers.html Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jane Austen. Rev. date August 2006. Retrieved on October 14, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen. Read More