Victorian Woman Quotes

Opposing the Victorian Woman “Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." Harriet Tubman. This quote applies to Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, where the protagonist Jane, is living in the Victorian era where women have a specific role in society. Jane struggles with having to be confined to that role and like Tubman’s quote says to change the world, Jane has the desire to do that to her world. In the middle 1800’s, during the Victorian era, Jane, an orphan, is forced to live with her cruel aunt. The experiences she suffers through with her aunt, help her realize that she is not and never will be like the ideal Victorian woman is supposed to be. Jane
Ever since she was born she was set on a path with many aspects that dominated her life. One of those duties a woman had to fulfill was dedication to her home, husband, and family. According to the article “Ideals of Woman Hood in Victorian Britain” written by Lynn Abrams, “A good and virtuous [woman’s] life revolved around the domestic sphere of the home and family” (Abrams 2). Moreover, “Her diligence and evident constant devotion to her husband… [was an] example to other women” (Abrams 2). This shows that in order to be a “virtuous woman” you had to be principled and follow society’s expectations and gender roles at the time which were giving all your attention and time to others instead of focusing on yourself. For this reason, women were usually limited to intelligence and often preferred to be ignorant to the world around them. “A Women’s Place in the 19th Victorian History” by Pauline Weston discusses important qualities of a Victorian woman which were, “…to be innocent, virtuous, dutiful and be ignorant of intellectual opinion” (Weston 1). In other words, a general woman was thought of as delicate and was underestimated. She was only to complete certain tasks which were marriage, playing instruments, singing, and speaking foreign languages, but she wasn’t allowed to be in male activities (Weston 1). As a matter of fact, women were viewed as unacceptable if they did not fit with societies expectations. They were not able to pursue what they desired nor did they have the independence and freedom to discover what they were capable of. Furthermore, the lack of individuality produced the idea of overall dependence. With this in mind, women had everything done for them. It came to the point where there were rules and guidelines on a woman’s treatment. Michele J. Hoppe, the author of “Courting the Victorian Woman” explains some