Downton Abbey shows the need to leave the Victorian era behind to usher in twentieth century values because women wanted to choose their own life paths rather than following tradition. However, numerous people associated with Downton believed that maintaining tradition had more of an importance than moving on with the twentieth century. During the first season of Downton Abbey, there were many instances where the viewer could see the conflict between characters who wanted the Victorian period values to be cherished and maintained, while others wanted change. During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century in England, many believed that society was moving too fast and that Victorian values should be valued. In Downton Abbey, many of the older characters thought that their life style should be maintained and that change is not a benefit to society. This is shown when the one servant, Gwen is found to have a typewriter in her room and has been taking lessons for typing. Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes along with O’Brien were some of the older servants that believed that she should continue to be a servant because of the thought that she would not be able to make it as a typist, especially when she had the prestigious job of being a servant at Downton. In contrast the younger servant, Gwen thought that learning how to type and becoming fairly decent typist was important so that she could become a typist rather than spending her life as a servant. The youngest Crawly family member, Lady Sybil also supported Gwen by assisting her Gwen with searching for a job as a typist as well as accompanying Gwen on her job interviews. Isobel and her son Matthew came to Downton for Matthew to try to become Mary’s suitor. Matthew and his ... ... middle of paper ... ...re required to wear skirts and dresses. Her family was not supportive of her new wardrobe mainly because it was not typical for women to go against the typical clothing choice for women. There are many instances throughout season one of Downton Abbey where it can be seen that there was a need to leave the Victorian era to usher in the twentieth century and leave Victorian values behind. This is often correlated with the women in Downton Abbey trying to follow their own life choices rather than following tradition. Women wanted to try to change their own lives to better their lives. Not all women wanted to just follow in the footsteps of their parents because they wanted to do something that was more interesting to them. Works Cited Downton Abbey. Writ. Julian Fellowes. Perf. Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern. 2010. PBS, 2011. Amazon Prime.
...xample, when the girls were living by themselves in the city, they shut out their parents and didn’t care if anything happened to them. Therefore, one aspect of the feminist movement led to women leaving their houses, ignoring their families, and wearing short skirts and dresses.
In the story, the grandmother is more concerned with her outlook and pays a lot of details to her dress to make sure she is recognized as a woman, so that “anyone seeing her dead on...
The Regency Period in England was an extravagant era often associated with prominent social, political, economic, and artistic advancements. It took place in the early 1800’s and was a time of much elegance and aristocracy. Movies and books set in this time period all seem to highlight the elegance and romance that was prevalent at the time. Famous Regency Era literary works, such as Pride and Prejudice, portray young English women getting their happily-ever-after endings with their true loves. Unfortunately, such endings did not actually happen to real women of the era because they lived very austere and vapid lives. They hardly had a choice in many of their lives’ decisions and had little to no career options. These women were raised from birth to be lady-like, obedient, and agreeable in order to attract respectable men to marry, as they were fully dependant on men. Women were essentially treated as property passed on from their fathers to their husbands. They had many restrictions placed on them and often weren’t even allowed to walk outside without proper accompaniment. Because the expectations placed on women were so rigid and absurd, some feminist authors from the time ridiculed these social standards in their writing. Famous novelist Jane Austen was known for satirizing many social customs of the Regency Period in her romantic fiction novels, placing a special emphasis on women’s rights. Pride and Prejudice in particular depicted protagonist Elizabeth Bennet as a smart, headstrong, free thinking individual who didn’t let negative outside forces sway her beliefs. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen challenges the social propriety and creates her own ideals for women through Elizabeth Bennet’s independence, intelligence, and stron...
...d women’s fashion to break free from convention. Bras and corsets were seen as symbols of oppression and conformity. They were discarded by many women as many new fads appeared,(). Women also exhibited their newfound freedom by wearing traditional male clothing such as baggy trousers, men's jackets, vests, over-sized shirts, ties and hats.
The Victorian era brought about many changes and the introduction of new things. One issue that stood out was “The Sex.” Many things evolved around this issue like changes in laws all over, it became a topic for literary poets/ writers and also for the woman question. This term means discrimination based on a person’s sex and during the 19th century this was a vast issue toward women. This all Started from the early Victorian era with queen victoria, who was the monarch of the united kingdom of Great Britain from 1837- 1901. Being the queen she played a very substantial role during this time. As a wife she showed a domestic side. She supported Prince Albert, had his children, became very submissive and devoted to her husband a family. This image she portrayed became a trend to the outside world. Most people looked at this as what the ideal woman was during this era.
Basically the Victorian era sucked for women. During the beginning they were expected to be smart, but to not have an opinion. They were to be beautiful, yet act and appear virginal. Women were also
“Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches…” (Lee, 81).
Women in this period wore dresses, formally known as gowns, or skirts for daily activities and formal occasions. The gowns of the sixteenth century are considered the most beautiful gowns of any era (Pendergast & Pendergast 469). The styles changed from year to year, but the basic style of a tight-fitting upper body and a full skirt that reached one’s ankles remained (Hanson). Females of the lower class wore less tight undergarments because they ...
One of the things that the women went through was alienation by other women, who were deemed as “true” women or respectable women. The alienation was not because of money or race, not even religion, but because the women of the factory wore slacks. A working class woman was seen as less of a woman because a woman during those times was expected to stay at home and play house because of society’s view on gender roles. Plus, the women who worked at factories wore slacks, which was a big taboo during those times also. Women who wore skirts
During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
wear whatever they want unlike the handmaids who were being assigned to wear certain outfit
The women on the trail, though it shows, had little time to care about mending clothes, “The majority of the overland women wore what clothing they had and prayed that what they wore would not tear. They were too preoccupied with the necessities of the day to consider fashion at all (Schlissel 105). ” I would be happy if I were these women because that just means one less chore that was their “duty” to perform. In conclusion, the woman of the Victorian Era had her role in life planned out from before she was born. Although it was a dreadful role, these women carried it out in a way that shows their purity of the heart and willingness to do so many things for others and for little return.
Helen Keller once said, “Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other’s wealth fare, social justice can never be attained.” The way people have been treated in the past affects the way people will be treated in the future. The ability of people to recognize the unfair treatment of others is what sparks social movements that lead to change. During the 19th century in Victorian England, the rights granted to women in society were far from tantamount to their male counterparts. Because of the perseverance of Victorian women during times of gender inequality, a positive outcome prevailed: global movements towards gender parity in society.
We can sit around and deny that time have changed but we know good and well they haven’t very much. Wealthier people marry wealthier people and lower class marry lower class. It seems that society is set up to kind of separate us into those stereotypes. You hardly ever see a wealthy man interested in a not so wealthy woman because that’s just simply not how it goes in this world today or really ever. People in my opinion feel out of place or they feel like they will disappoint or let their family down if they marry under them. Sense and sensibility is all about not marrying under your class or anyone who isn’t as wealthy as you are because it is wrong. Austen expresses her thought on the system of society In the structure of society and the desire to marry into a higher class. she can expose her own feelings toward her society through her characters. Through Marianne and Elinor she displays a sense of knowing the rules of society, what is allowed and what is not, yet not always accepting them or abiding by them. Yet, she hints at the unimportance and fakeness of the society in which she portrayed slightly and clearly through Willoughby, John Dashwood and Edward Ferrars. Austen expertly reveals many layers to the 19th century English society and the importance of having both sense and sensibility in such a shallow
...rying to look like them. She got a job merely because she wanted to be able to afford clothes and makeup. Pauline hoped that wearing makeup and the same type of clothes that these women wear would gain her the acceptance of these other women. For a Feminist critic this would prove to be one of the many prominent issues that women alone face. They posit that women are always competing with one another with the desire of being accepted by other females and even their male counterparts alike. Living in a patriarchal where they are viewed and treated as the minority, the oppressed group or as inferior, they involuntarily start to view and think of themselves in this light. Women are socialized to depend on men, and as such they compete to get the most attention from these possible protectors and providers. This situation causes the chronic negative stereotypes of women.