The Victorian age was named after queen Victoria of England. The era reflects men and women’s different classes in society. During that period, people were identified by ranks. Ranks were based on family name, economic wealth, and education. Men had a higher social status than women. Women were viewed more as second class citizens; they had no rights and therefore, could not enjoy the same privileges as their male counterparts. They where expected to be responsible for domestic duties and obey their husbands.
“Man for the field and women for the hearth:
Man for the sword and for the needle she:
Man with the head and women with the heart:
Man to command and woman to obey:
All else confusion.”
She portrayed men as strong and smart individuals. They belong in the battle field: “Man for the sword and for the needle she:” The term ladies and gentlemen was used to classify people. The gentlemen were groups of men that had the opportunity to attend school and acquired the skills that would help them behave like those above them in society. The ladies were the women that were married to those men or the daughters of affluent families. Although these women enjoyed the benefits of being born in rich families or linked to the men by marriage, they did not possess a true identity. They could not vote, nor could they make important decisions even in their own families.
Women’s rights have greatly improved since the Victorian Age. Women can now do mostly everything that men do. They enjoy the same education, social status, and economic power as men. Even tough we still need to continue to work on women’s rights; we have come a long way since the 18th century.
4 comments:
Claude,
This post missed the deadline, so there is a late penalty imposed on the grade.
Good focus on Tennyson's "The Princess" as a means to examine Victorian gender roles.
I am sorry this was your final post--it shows you moving in the right direction towards better discussion.
Personally, poems such as this amuse me. I love to see how history has changed so dramatically. I could never have been born into a time like that because I feel as though I have too much personality to be controlled. I would have loved to see you give more of your opinion on the topic, but nonetheless, you did a nice job.
You did a good job, this type of poetry doenst really appeal to me. You do a good job explaing, but you dont really say why you think this way or that. It would be helpful too see your own opinion expressed.
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