Gender/Nation

While I am new to blogging I thought it would be a good time to reflect and tie together some of my first few blogs that I wrote. My first few blogs are all based around similar themes, and topics. Over the past few weeks I have read many different styles of British texts, written by many different authors with all different ideas.

It’s no secret that women were treated differently and unfairly during the 1800’s and into the 1900’s. Still in some places in our world today women are being treated unfairly. This harsh and unfair treatment was one of the major topics during this Victorian period. 

Many of the texts I read were about men thinking, and talking down upon women. John Stuart Mill was one of the authors of the text, The Subjection of Women.” In his writing he wrote about how marriage could be compared to slavery. John Stuart Mill was different in his writing, he stood up for women, and felt they deserved better. He believed that everyone should not be the same, and that everyone is not the same model. Instead, he said that people should be like trees so that they can grow into a better all around person. In contrast to John Stuart Mill, there are also writers from the other end of the spectrum. Robert Browning is another author from this time period, but had much different views from Mill. In Browning’s text My Last Duchess the main character murders his own wife due to his jealousy towards her. This text is much different in the sense that he is staring at a picture of his late wife and speaking only negative things upon her. These two texts were written in the same time span, both by two men who had completely different views on women and how they should be treated.

Separate Spheres was a Victorian Era thought that many people believed and stuck with. This meant that men and women lived two completely different lives, and only came together twice a day for breakfast and dinner (Hughes.) This meant that their lives were not built together like marriages are today. Women were taught at a young age that they need to marry a man and tend to his needs. They were also taught to start having the same interests as their spouse and to learn to run his business if she is needed to do so (Hughes.) Men during the Victorian Era had a specific idea in their minds on what their wives should look like, and how they should act (Appell.) They wanted women to act very innocent and dress to make them seem as feminine as possible. Before the idea of marriage men had to approve of their future wife.

In our world today women are still fighting to be equal with men. There are many different barriers that women still need to overcome before being 100% equal with men, but I believe women are quickly breaking those barriers down. We have now had our first women run for president, although she did not win it was a tremendous step to a more equal life for women.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkJJFX8Qn9 In this video it discusses many different types of lives that women lived during this time. It talks about how they looked, how men desired them, their education, and if they were even allowed to speak to other people.

 

Citations

Hughes, Katie. “Gender Roles in the 19th Century.” The British Library, The British Library, 13 Feb. 2014, www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gender-roles-in-the-19th-century.

Appell, Felicia. “Victorian Ideals: The Influence of Society’s Ideals on Victorian Relationships.” Victorian Ideals, www.mckendree.edu/academics/scholars/issue18/appell.htm.