The Life of Women in the Victorian Age

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Women, although many a times not as powerful as men physically have long been a strong force in society, especially in the Victorian Age, where they had obvious contributions in ways that have seen positive effects to this present day. Prominent, among many other successful women of the Victorian age who departed from their usual roles assigned in the hierarchy of society were Florence Nightingale, Madam Curie and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The Victorian age is seen as a period of questioning of a woman’s traditional role in society as established by nature and religious tradition. These questions and striving for more independent roles in society from the norm led to the arrival of a much - debated phenomenon called the “New Women” (Besant 1583). Although Victorians started bringing forth the questions about what really was a women’s status in society and their traditional roles as a caretaker of the family and home, they many a times hindered to think that women could make these decisions by themselves or that they could exist independent of a man. To make decisions for women and consider them just as an object of worship or an “angel in the house” was disgraceful to them as they did not even have dominion over themselves and moreover this was just a way to not allow women gain a higher status by assuming women were not capable of a man’s intellectuality (“Woman Question” 1581). In the Victorian Age, women were considered as an object of worship rather than considering her as an equally intellectual to man. The Victorian woman did not have much or any choices in her life, but the “woman question” led to much realization of the capabilities of a woman beyond her home and lead to many women crossing the boundaries of their trad... ... middle of paper ... ... of their homes, but as they started to ponder the question of what really was a women’s role, it led to many prominent women gaining fame and contributing greatly to society. It was this awakening and realization among men and women that women could also greatly contribute and be independent of men that helped erase the great burden of hierarchical disparity and helped bring them closer towards equal status. Works Cited Greenblatt,Stephen,ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2006. Print. Parkman, Francis. “The Woman Question Again.” The North American Review 0130. 278(1880):17.Cornell.Web.18 Feb. 2012 Tyrrell, Alex. "Samuel Smiles and The Woman Question In Early Victorian Britain." Journal Of British Studies 39.2 (2000): 185-86. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Feb. 2012.

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