The Feminine Religious Experience: Beyond the “Angel in the House” The conception of the Victorian woman as the pious repository for her family's stockpile of religiosity consistently permeates contemporary notions of the gender roles of the era. However, the idealized role of the “angel in the house” was often simply that - an ideal rather than a reality. Women's involvement in religion and spirituality varied widely based on class and level of devotion. Though the majority of women's religious duty consisted of assisting charitable works sponsored by parishes (Heeney 330), women were also employed as local missionaries. The era also witnessed the revival of the convent as an alternative avenue for women of all classes. For the Victorian-era upper middle class family of the Pagets of London, the women received a Christian education in terms of learning the Bible and reciting psalms. In adulthood they fulfilled their Christian duty by volunteering for and donating to various charities for the poor and/or feeble-minded (Peterson 692) However, the private letters of the Paget women often indicate that their helping the poor was not inspired by an altruistic love of all God's creatures, as the “angel the house” myth would lead one to believe. Instead these were societal obligations, on par with social calls to friends: Catherine Paget wrote “I spent the morning seeing poor people, the afternoon calling on rich ones.” (Peterson 706) Lydia Paget also wrote, “…I always go with such reluctance to visit the poor people under our care; when I once get amongst them I quite enjoy myself, but on setting out I feel inclined to bend my steps in any other direction rather than the right.” (Peterson 706) Beyond charity work, women also... ... middle of paper ... ...t beyond embodying the moral and spiritual core of the family. Works Cited Heeney, Brian. “Women's Struggle for Professional Work and Status in the Church of England, 1900-1930.” The Historical Journal 26 (1983): 329-47. JSTOR. University of Florida Lib., Gainesville, FL. 8 Nov. 2004. Peterson, M. Jeanne. “No Angels in the House: The Victorian Myth and the Paget Women.” The American Historical Review 26 (1984): 677-708. JSTOR. University of Florida Lib., Gainesville, FL. 8 Nov. 2004. Roden, Frederick S. “Sisterhood is Powerful: Christina Rossetti's Maude.” Women of Faith in Victorian Culture. Ed. Hogan, Anne and Andrew Bradstock. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. 63-77.
James, Edward, Janet James, and Paul Boyer. Notable American Women, 1607-1950. Volume III: P-Z. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971. Print.
The ‘Good Christian Award’ recognises outstanding works in a religious context. The Golding Sisters (Isabelle Therese, Annie Mackenzie and Kate Dwyer) are worthy of such recognition based on their brave plight for social justice and equality for women at the turn of the 20th century. These women founded various organisations and used public speaking skills, firsthand understanding of women’s needs and Catholic social teaching principles to sway opinions of those who didn’t support women’s equality. Evidence of their work is still evident today with women in Australia enjoying equality in society, freedom of speech, equal pay and vocations.
In the beginning of Holy Feast and Holy Fast, Bynum provides background information on the history of women in religion during the Middle Ages, highlighting the different statuses of men and women in society during that time. It is important to understand the culture of the Middle Ages and the stereotypes surrounding men and women to appreciate Bynum’s connection between status, accessibility, and piety. As an example, Bynum mentions that there appear to be basic differences between even the lives of holy women and the lives of holy men, which was because “women lacked control over their wealth and marital status” (Bynum p. 25). Men are clearly construed here as having more power in their daily lives than women—this is a simple, but major, distinction between the two genders which provides reasoning towards their divergence in practices. Women’s s...
Cott, Nancy F. The Bonds of Womanhood: "Woman's Sphere" in New England, 1780-1835. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1977.
Patmore wrote that “Man must be pleased; but him to please is woman's pleasure.” This common concept of the nineteenth century reveals itself in this stanza. Women held one position in society, and it held constant throughout the eighteen hundreds: Please man. Ma, in The Little House series, is a prime example of the “Angel in the House.” Ma is always there for Pa. She realizes that he provides and she obeys. Ma, in The Little House in the Big Woods, had a schedule for each week. .She washed on Monday, Ironed on Tuesday, Mended on Wednesday, Churned on Thursday, Cleaned on Friday, and Baked on Saturday. On top of those chores, Ma prepared food and tended to Pa and the children. There wasn’t a day for Ma’s needs and desires. Ma presents herself as the stereotyp...
Tague, Ingrid H. Women of Quality: Accepting and Contesting Ideals of Femininity in England, 1690-1760. Rochester: Boydell Press, 2002.
In a normal day a European women were required to stay home all day except to go to church. The church became a place of reunions to women of the top...
Suzanne G. Cusick, who considers herself a speicialist in the life and works of Francesca Caccini, argues that Francesca was a proto-feminist and the music she composed for the Medici court contributed to the career of the Grand Duchess Christine de Lorraine of Tuscany. She therefore claims that through her works, Caccini encourages the sexuality and political aims of women in the early seventeenth century.1
...y uses anecdotes and stories of women in the 17th and 18th centuries to provide evidence to the reader and demonstrate the roles women filled and how they filled those roles. Furthermore, she illustrates the individuality in each woman’s story. Although in several of the stories the women may be filling the same roles, the uniqueness of the situation varies from woman to woman. Ulrich’s use of period stories helps add to the credibility of the arguments she makes. She makes the reader feel the weight of responsibility on the shoulders of colonial New England women. A sense of appreciation is gained by the reader for the sheer number of roles fulfilled by the women of New England. In addition, Ulrich’s real life accounts also give valuable insight to life as it was during this time period in American history and the silent heroes behind it – the wives of New England.
Margaret Atwood’s novel, Alias Grace, nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel, depicts a young 16 year old girl who is found guilty of murdering her employer and his lover in conspiracy with James McDerrmott. James McDermott is put to death by hanging, but Grace is brought to prison because she is of the “weaker sex.” This is a reflection of the construction of femininity and masculinity of the mid and late nineteenth century. A social issue of the Victorian age was women being treated as subordinate to men. Queen Victoria says, “Victorian ideology of gender rested on the belief that women were both physically and intellectually the inferior sex”(YILDIRIM). Women were seen as highly susceptible to becoming mentally ill because of this belief. Women were subject to only be “housewives.” The novel, Alias Grace, accurately shows the construction of this gender identity through society, sexuality, and emotion while challenging it through Grace’s mother and Mrs. Humphrey.
The evangelical movement largely contributed to this idea that women were “suited to serve as dispensers of love, comfort, and and moral instruction to husbands and children” (U.S.: A Narrative History, 230). Previously, women were seen as very sinful, but this new womanhood ideal saw women as more religious and morally stronger than men (230). Because of this, the woman’s sphere shifted to be solely focused on domestic duties to ensure the household was as prosperous as possible. Middle class and elite women began devoting more time to these domestic duties as their homes were seen as “havens of moral virtue” while lower class women were still attempting to break into the workforce (231). Furthermore, the development of a new structure and attitude regarding home life gave way to the foundation of the modern family, with delaying marriage to ensure that a husband could financially support his wife and decreasing family size to focus on the success of each child more closely (231). The cult of domesticity, in conjunction with the rise of factories and decline of household manufacturing, changed the meaning of womanhood and further separated the workplace and the home, which created a rift between men and
In the Victorian era, in New York City, men and women roles within the society were as different as night and day. A man regardless of his extra curricular activities could still maintain a very prevalent place in society. A woman’s worth was not only based family name which distinguished her class and worth, but also her profession if that was applicable.
Welter, Barbara. “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860.” Nineteenth Century Literature March 1966: 102-106. Jstor. On-line. 10 Nov. 2002.
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 of things for others and for little return. They were truly a remarkable testament to hard work and ingenuity of the time that even the men of the time could have learned from.
During the 19th century middle to upper class women were faced with dichotomous roles. On one hand they were expected to be idle, fragile, not engaged in intellectual activities outside of the home. On the opposite hand these same women were expected to withstand the vagaries that were common during the 19th century such as the death of their husband or a reversal of their financial situation(i). This contradiction of roles bore heavily on women who often lacked power or control over their own lives(ii).