The Role of Women in Victorian Society Women

The Role of Women in Victorian Society

Women and the Home Women were thought to have their priority as the home, with a domestic role. This meant they’re biggest responsibility was to aim to marry a suitable husband, have many children and then have the sole responsibility of taking care of the family. For example, provide a clean home, ensure the husband returns home to a nice dinner and raise respectful children Although marriage is what every young Victorian

Women were expected to have sex with only one man, their husband. However, it was acceptable for men to have multiple partners in their life; husbands participated in lengthy affairs with other women while women stayed with their husbands on the grounds that divorce was not an option. This shows the sexist morals of the Victorian era. During the reign of Queen Victoria, a woman's place was in the home, as domesticity and motherhood were considered by society at large to be a sufficient emotional fulfilment for females. This may because Queen Victoria came to represent a kind of femininity which was centred on the family, motherhood and respectability. Accompanied by her beloved husband

Women’s Roles in Art This is Found Drowned by George Frederic Watts, depicting a woman being washed up after throwing herself from Waterloo Bridge in shame of being a fallen women. This shows the This is The Outcast by Richard Redgrave, showing a father forcing his daughter out of the home, despite her having no money or anywhere else to go, due to her illegitimate

Women and Work Wealthy women were supposed to spend their time reading, sewing, writing letters, as opposed to work. As well as this, women were not openly given public education as they were not considered smart enough by many, meaning women would usually not gain well paid, highly regarded occupations, as they simply were not educated enough. However although wealthy women were seen as not suitable for employment, lower class women couldn’t afford not to work, so therefore many poorer women had manual labour jobs, such as working in the coal mines. Although