'Context of Women in the 19th Century Essay\r'

'During the reign of Queen Victoria, a woman’s place was in the office, as domesticity and m new(prenominal)wisehood were considered by order of magnitude at large to be a sufficient emotional fulfil handst for effeminates. These constructs kept wo hands cold away from the public sphere in virtually ways, notwithstanding during the 19th century charitable missions did commence to extend the female role of service, and mincing feminism emerged as a potent political force.\r\nThe novelty of Britain into an industrial nation had profound consequences for the ways in which women were to be idealised in Victorian times. raw kinds of work and new kinds of urban financial backing prompted a change in the ways in which capture male and female roles were perceived. In particular, the nonion of fail spheres †woman in the private sphere of the home and hearth, man in the public sphere of business, political science and sociability †came to influence the choices and experiences of all women, at home, at work, in the streets.\r\nAs John Burgon pointed out in 1884, â€Å"Women’s strength lies in her essential helplessness” (Burstyn 1980: 33), according to him, women are said to be men’s conscience and their strength is pureness in spirit. Inevitably, men’s and women’s tasks are in like manner clearly distinguished. A man is expected to elucidate money, make it available to his wife, mother, daughters and sisters. Women’s tasks on the other hand, are overseeing the education and care of their children, shopping, organizing the household and by providing tranquility in a peaceful and flourishing home.\r\nA woman’s work is performed within the sheltering house: it is spiritual and educational as it consists of article of belief good virtues and moral values through her adherence †the woman is to be the â€Å"moral guardian of society” (Burstyn 1980: 99) A women in the Victorian age who does not have to work is a status emblem for husband and family. The more well-off a family and the greater its economic success are deciding factors in how much leisure a woman privy afford.\r\nWorking middle-class women who had to make their own living came from socially deprived families and were treated with contempt. Excluded from the financial world, women face completely on men. The denial of women being commensurate of experiencing passion and of having the natural ability to learn and to be suitable for a higher education leads to a general captivity of women, that many do not realize at all.\r\nGrace Pool in ‘Jane Eyre’ hardly ever leaves the attic, and both Adele and Georgiana are tho concerned with their beauty and luxury. Helen Burns take to the woodss constant resignation and takes refuge in religion. Other women, however, revolt against this effrontery †not without result. As a women longing for fulfillment, Jane Eyre finds herself i n captivity, imposed upon by society. This idea is symbolised through the red-room scene. approach with her aunt’s degradation and injustice, Jane’s mail is best portrayed in this scene.\r\nAs an partial punishment Jane is locked up in a hole-and-corner(a) room and bound with a pair of female garters that symbolise her fate †one that women in Victorian England often face: ignorance, passivity, reserve, submission and motionlessness. Women are prone no space for self opinion or free development of their own personality. â€Å"It’s only on condition of perfect submission and stillness that I shall liberate you,” Aunt Reed warns her (Bronte 2005: 16), exactly Jane can neither stand submission nor â€Å"endure patiently” (Bronte 2005: 67).\r\nJane’s strong will to dispute is symbolised by the â€Å"hot fire” (Bronte 2005: 503) inside her. â€Å" satisfy and be still” (Vicinus 1972) becomes a guiding principle of femi nists who revolt and bring into conscience the doctrine of their society. That Jane cannot cite herself with the traditional ideal of women proves her utterance: â€Å"Women are conjectural to be very calm generally: but women find just as men feel; […] they arrive […] precisely as men would suffer” (Bronte 2005: 141).\r\nWhile more and more women become apprised of their situation and slowly start to take action, other circumstances accelerate the progress towards equality of men and women in English society when the â€Å"woman wonder” comes up. To understand the social situation in which ‘Jane Eyre’ is unbending and why Jane is such an extraordinary and revolutionizing character, one take to briefly examine how society is constructed at that time.\r\n'