Upon hearing the term, “The Victorian Woman,” it is likely that one’s mind conjures up an image of a good and virtuous woman whose life revolved around the domestic sphere of the home and family, and who demonstrated a complete devotion to impeccable etiquette as well as to a strong moral system. It is certainly true that during Victorian England the ideal female was invested in her role as a wife and a mother, and demonstrated moral stability and asexuality with an influence that acted as her family’s shield to the intrusions of industrial life. Yet despite the prevalence of such upstanding women in society, needless to say not all women lived up to such a high level of moral aptitude. Thus, we must beg the question, what became of the women who fell far short from such a standard? What became of the women who fell from this pedestal of the ideal Victorian woman, and by way of drunkenness, criminality, or misconduct became the negation of this Victorian ideal of femininity?
In her book, Women, Crime, and Custody in Victorian England, Lucia Zedner explores this relatively neglected topic of the “fallen woman,” and examines the implications of deviation from the ideals of the Victorian Woman while seeking to provide a basis for understanding contemporary reactions to female crime. Zedner “explores how the Victorians perceived and explained female crime, and how they responded to it – both in penal theory and prison practice (p. 1)” – and argues persuasively that Victorians constructed female crime and punishment by reference to a particular, intensely held pre-conceived ideal of femininity. Furthermore, she demonstrates how women posed a unique problem to the criminal justice system due to the fact that their crimes, though genera...
... middle of paper ...
... order to further understand female criminal policy in the years that followed and will follow. Zedner’s final claim of the book is, perhaps, the most valid: “It is only through historical research that we can recognize just how far these beliefs about women continue to inform penal policy today (p. 300).”
Works Cited
1. Reed, John. Victorian Conventions. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1975.
2. Priestley, Philip. Victorian Prison Lives. London: Methuen & Co. , 1985.
3. Morris, Norval, and David Rothman. The Oxford History of the Prison. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
4. Johnston, Helen "Victorian Prisons." In Dictionary of Prisons and Punishment. Devon: Willan Publishing, 2007. http://www.library.rochester.edu/ezproxy.php?dbredirect=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com.pc181.lib.rochester.edu%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fwillandpp%2Fvictorian_prisons%2F0
Each chapter contains numerous sources which complement the aforementioned themes, to create a new study on cultural history in general but women specifically. Her approach is reminiscent of Foucault, with a poststructural outlook on social definitions and similar ideas on sexuality and agency. Power cannot be absolute and is difficult to control, however Victorian men and women were able to grasp command of the sexual narrative. She includes the inequalities of class and gender, incorporating socioeconomic rhetic into the
Media representation has always been a topic of debate, from representation of minority groups, individuals with mental illnesses and gender presentations. The latter, of course, turns mostly towards the female characters as they are presented in various medias; movies, news, and television shows. The representation of women in the media has always been leaning more towards ‘pleasing’ than it is towards informative or accurate. Representation of female offenders in the media has not deviated from the route that other representations of female factions has gone, focusing more on what is pleasing and entertaining than what is not harmful to the demographic as a whole. Women who are represented as offenders are done so in a way that is biased and very narrow in scope considering the sensitive topics that are covered under such an umbrella, and because the public generally does not have much contact with this particular faction, then there opinions are shaped wholly by what the media has to say about what these offenders are like, which is wholly inaccurate and harmful towards the women and girls that are involved with the criminal justice system.
Mark Colvin, a professor of sociology in the Department of Justice Studies at Kent University was hired to investigate the disturbance in 1980. He analyzes the social structure of the jail and how the deterioration of the administration led to the brutally hostile conditions of the penitentiary. The dispute is especially
The Convicts, by Iain Lawrence, is a story of a young boy who faces great odds to complete his quest to help his father. This novel takes many twists and turns through the landscape of London, more specifically in nineteenth century London. However, London is not described in the picturesque view many people have come to know London as. Lawrence shows the uglier more rugged lifestyle of many poor people in London during this time period. Within a society like this in London, swindling, gangs, and prison become common subjects among the lower classes, especially in this novel. Although life was hard for many, the characters in this novel find adventure along the way while aboard ships and through underground sewers.
It is 1787 in the home of Benjamin Franklin where a group of powerful Philadelphians held in high esteem have congregated to deliberate a very pressing issue. They are conversing on the present prison institutions established across America and Europe. It seems that the institutions in both countries are known for their appalling conditions. Benjamin Franklin and his colleagues have set out to change the course of prison history. Their plan is to make a prison system based entirely on reform and enlightenment instead of punishment and misery. They believe prisoners should repent and seek God to help them learn from their mistakes, hence the name penitentiary. After many long years, the men finally reach success and the Eastern State Penitentiary is opened in 1829. America was in a time of reform which was obvious by the opening of such a diverse prison. But no matter how much the Eastern State Penitentiary claims to be averse to torture and harsh conditions, it was after all a prison. From the outside, the Eastern State Penitentiary appeared to be marvelous and sensational, but what went on inside of those massive walls was something entirely different. Life at the Eastern State Penitentiary was unspeakable because of the cell life, disease, and treatment that the inmates had to endure.
are presented as rational actors who intentionally commit crimes while women are viewed as mentally unfit victims who are vulnerable to risky men and poor relationship choices. The author reports that many prison
Historically, criminology was significantly ‘gender-blind’ with men constituting the majority of criminal offenders, criminal justice practitioners and criminologists to understand ‘male crimes’ (Carraine, Cox, South, Fussey, Turton, Theil & Hobbs, 2012). Consequently, women’s criminality was a greatly neglected area and women were typically seen as non-criminal. Although when women did commit crimes they were medicalised and pathologised, and sent to mental institutions not prisons (Carraine et al., 2012). Although women today are treated differently to how they were in the past, women still do get treated differently in the criminal justice system. Drawing upon social control theory, this essay argues that nature and extent of discrimination
Of course, we all know from common sense that women are far less likely to be sentenced to death row than men. This should tip us off to the differences that the judicial system discriminates even in matters as important as murder or other capital offences. But within the subgroup of women prisoners there can be a distinction made between the representations of women more likely to be sentenced to death row, or in this case shown compassion while on death row. Hawkins describes this compassion as “typically extended only to female inmates who fit a certain predetermined societal profile of women”. This definition of “women” or “womanhood” is very interesting and deserves to be explored. In my past, I have a conception of women as being sweet and frail; basically incapable of doing wrong because they are too nice or too weak to do so. Women who are too intelligent or too strong are cast off as being masculine or lesbians. When female basketball players are seen on television, they are perceived as trying to be masculine.
As part of the Sherlock Holmes series, the short story, “A Scandal in Bohemia,” written by Arthur Conan Doyle, introduces the Victorian concept , “The New Woman.” The term “New Woman” describes noncomformist females as smart, educated, independent, and self-reliant. These women decided that they did not want to get entrapped into the stereotypical “Angel of the House.” The New Woman concept did not only apply to middle class women, but factory and office workers. These women put off marriage to make themselves an individual. The New Woman concept made a major impact in social changes that redefined gender roles, consolidating women’s rights, and overcoming masculine supremacy. This new woman also appeared in literature that involved crime
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...
According to the text, the study of female prisoners began in the 1960s. Since the 1980s the rate of women incarcerated has heightened. There has been a pattern of increased discrimination especially against women of color. Women during these years were more prone to being arrested for non-violent crimes such as larceny, prostitution, and fraud. In the 80’s there was a significant change, more women were being arrested for drug sales and possession. Although women and men received equal punishments for the crimes they committed, for women they were still at a disadvantage. For example, historians have stated that women could be punished for crimes committed toward their husband. This violated the code of standard for sexuality.
The industrialization of the nineteenth century was a tremendous social change in which Britain initially took the lead on. This meant for the middle class a new opening for change which has been continuing on for generations. Sex and gender roles have become one of the main focuses for many people in this Victorian period. Sarah Stickney Ellis was a writer who argued that it was the religious duty of women to improve society. Ellis felt domestic duties were not the only duties women should be focusing on and thus wrote a book entitled “The Women of England.” The primary document of Sarah Stickney Ellis’s “The Women of England” examines how a change in attitude is greatly needed for the way women were perceived during the nineteenth century. Today women have the freedom to have an education, and make their own career choice. She discusses a range of topics to help her female readers to cultivate their “highest attributes” as pillars of family life#. While looking at Sarah Stickney Ellis as a writer and by also looking at women of the nineteenth century, we will be able to understand the duties of women throughout this century. Throughout this paper I will discuss the duties which Ellis refers to and why she wanted a great change.
Furthermore, it will be looking at whether punishment could be re-imagined, and if so, what would it entail? The use of prison as a form of punishment began to become popular in the early 19th century. This was because transportation to colonies had started to decrease; transportation was the removing of an individual, in this case an offender, from its country to another country; usually for a period of seven to ten years and in some cases for ever. During this time prison was now being used as a means for punishment, this was in response to the declining of transportation to colonies. Thus, instead of transporting offenders to other colonies, they were now being locked away behind high walls of the prison.
Gramsi,Antonio. Selections from the Prison Notebooks .Trans. Quintim Horace and Geoffrey Nowell Smith.New York:International Publishers,1971.Print.
Throughout the early 1800s, British women most often were relegated to a subordinate role in society by their institutionalized obligations, laws, and the more powerfully entrenched males. In that time, a young woman’s role was close to a life of servitude and slavery. Women were often controlled by the men in their lives, whether it was a father, brother or the eventual husband. Marriage during this time was often a gamble; one could either be in it for the right reasons, such as love, or for the wrong reasons, such as advancing social status. In 19th century Britain, laws were enacted to further suppress women and reflected the societal belief that women were supposed to do two things: marry and have children.