19th-Century Gender Roles

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Male and Female Roles in The 19th Century Things were a lot different in the 19th century when it came to the roles that males and females played. In the 19th century, it was essential for females to find a male to marry or they would end up having no property because only males would inherit anything. The males were the ones that would have jobs so that they could bring home the money to support their family and buy the necessities. However, females played a much different role than the males did. The females usually would not have a job, but instead they would take care of the household. The females would cook, clean and tend to the children while their husband was at work. Not only did male and female roles differ in the household, but they also were different when it came to the education that they received their work-life. …show more content…

Females were forced to marry for many reasons, one being that males were the ones who owned everything and that females were unable to inherit any belongings themselves after their father died. An example of this comes from the book Pride and Prejudice, when Mrs. Bennet is wanting Elizabeth to marry Mr. Collins because Mr. Collins will be in possession of all the property after Mr. Bennet passes away.(Austens, 21). Females would also marry so that the husband could bring in the money to support the family. Marriage was so essential to women that it was often the mother’s life goal to get their daughters married. An example of this can be seen in the book Pride and Prejudice as it was Mrs. Bennet’s “job” to get her daughters married to a delightful man. (Austens,

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