Indudtrialisation, Class & Culture: The Early Victorians Essay

Dorothy Thompson was born on 9 July 1893 in Lancaster, New York, to a Methodist pastor and his wife. Her m otherwise died when she was eight years old. She was sent in 1908 to relatives in Chicago, as a result of her frequent disagree custodyts with her stepmother. (Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961)). In 1914, Thompson gradational from Syracuse University, after which she joined the wo workforces suffrage movement. In 1917, she move to New York and started a c atomic number 18er as a journalist. (Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961)). She tried to go her career in Ger gayy, beginning in 1920. After five years, she already headed the Berlin bureau of the New York Post and the Public light-emitting diodeger. However, in 1934, she was forced to plagiarize Germany due to her negative writings some Adolph Hitler and the Nazis. Thereafter, she returned to America to write policy-making editorials and commentaries. As a prominent journalist, she was considered one of the around influential wom en in America. She was also the most syndicated woman journalist in the country. She wrote many policy-making articles, mainly relating to the Nazis, but she also wrote about womens issues, since she wrote a periodic column for the Ladies Home Journal entitled On the Record. (Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961)). One of the commentaries Thompson wrote concerning women was her persuasion about women in the twee age. According to her, women at that time were considered and inured as extracurricularrs in society. This paper sh both examine the validity of her ending by looking at the historical and societal eveningts during the straitlaced period, particularly those relating to the case of women in all aspects of twee life. victorian Theory The starting confidential information of this inquiry could be the perception of those who lived in the Victorian term of matters relating to awake and sexuality. Scholars believe that theories relating to sex and sexuality were unavoidable issues for the Victorians. (Lee). The primary impression about men and women of the Victorian age is that they are pedantic and sexually repressed. However, this popular view has been constantly questioned and even challenged through historical accounts. (Lee). This matter, however, is non the most significant aspect of Victorian theory of sex and sexuality that is applicable to Thompsons confidences.The more(prenominal) important question involves the determination of the interposition of men and women in Victorian society. More particularly, it is important to know the initiation of much(prenominal) treatment. Victorian men and women were generally not regarded as equals. act as force were seen as superior to women and as a consequence of this perception, women were delegated g overnment agencys of less importance in society while men as wellk on the more important ones. Victorian Theorists Spencer and Geddes Herbert Spencer and Patrick Geddes were the leading theorists in the Victorian Age who probed the issue of sexuality and sex differentiation.They immediately took notice of the differences in physical and physiological aspects of men and women. deviation from this, they saw in men and women two different sets of attributes, which formed the land of their stereotypical dyadic model based on the two sexes. (Lee). Led by these two, Victorian theorists divided the sphere of men and women into two, and delegated certain tasks to men and women, based on their perceived differences. It is believed that the differences in their attributes began form the earlier forms of life. (Lee). The babery of this division of sphere was the belief that men and women had different energy levels.Men were considered as the active agents, while women were considered sedentary. To men were attributed the katabolic nature of temperament, which office they release energy, while to women were attributed the anabolic nature of temperament, which nurtured energy. (Le e). The Division of Spheres and its Biological insane asylum The division of spheres between men and women in the Victorian Age is earlier based on biological grounds. It was believed that mens role in the firm is unless when fertilization, which leaves him free to do other, more energy-consuming activities, such(prenominal) as hunting or foraging.More all over, it was believed that plainly men had the capacity for abstract reasoning, a sign of highly-evolved life. (Lee). On the other hand, women were constantly seen in the home encrust by biological occurrences, such as pregnancy and menstruation. This led to the intuitive feeling that women were still and weak, that they can no longer pursue other activities outside the home. It should be noted that at this point in time, menstruation was believed to be a time of womans illness, debilitation, and temporary insanity. Thus, women were told to stay home to save her energy, while men were allowed to pursue other activities outside the home.Geddes theories were more sweeping. He claimed that not only did men get greater l cooking and energy than women, they also had greater independence and courage. It was apparent that Geddes found this assumption unfair to women, and so he attributed certain characteristics to them. However, these attributes were still of a municipal nature namely, constancy of affection and sympathetic imagination. While men were addicted the attribute of intelligence, women were limited to the gift of rapid intuition. In addition, women were given static attributes such as great patience, open-mindedness, and a keen appreciation of perspicacious details.(Lee). The Family Claim Jane Addams discussed another, more degrading pattern found in the lives of women in the Victorian Age. She called it the family claim. (Life for Women). According to Addams, Victorian women were considered as unblemished possessions by their families. Men were initially given the same regard, but such treatment waned by the end of the 18th century. (Life for Women). This notion of the family claim was grounded on many reasons, the foremost of which is the role of Victorian women in the home.To women were delegated most, if not all, of the housework, such as cleaning, cooking and aiding ailing people. Another factor that underlies the family claim is the womens role in birth and child rearing. She is the one seen as obligated for carrying a child in her womb, and the one responsible for caring for the infant after the latter was born. Women were also responsible for birth carry, such that unknowledgeable pregnancy can be blamed to tem and not to the men. (Life for Women). Finally, women at the time did not have money-making occupations, as their main activities were domestic.Hence, the control of the family over women, who were seen as dependents on the men for support, was considerably great. (Life for Women). Womens commerce and Education As gleaned from the above discu ssion, women lived in a state that is only a tad better than slaves. Since only men were seen as capacitated to work for a living, most, if not all, women had no independent means of subsistence. This leaves women with no other better choice than to come after the men. Moreover, women were not allowed to follow any occupation, as such is not part of their duties, which all belong in the home.These situations are based on even more fundamental difference in treatment. Only boys were allowed access to universities and then women received less education than boys. This modify the problem of women concerning employment and independent means of living. (Womens positioning in Mid 19th atomic number 6 England A drawing Overview). espousal The world of marriage was another factor that contributed to the unpleasant treatment of women in the Victorian Age. The thought of marriage during the period was fraught with many notions and beliefs about women and their role and society.Most o f these notions were negative and demeaning, and had no other function than to emphasize the higher(prenominal) position occupied by the husband in the home hierarchy. (Womens Status in Mid 19th Century England A apprise Overview). Since women had no opportunity to earn a living independently during the Victorian Age, most had no choice but to marry someone who could raise such necessities for her. Moreover, women who expressed their desire to remain unmarried were not regarded favourably and were condemned to social disapproval. (Womens Status in Mid 19th Century England A sketch Overview).This primary motivation for women to marry in the Victorian age was due to their lack of sufficient education. Women were only taught domestic duties and were go away uneducated in other, more important aspects of life. Moreover, women were told at such a young age that they have to marry someday, as their future roles would only be as wives. (Womens Issues Then and Now). The situation gets even worse after a woman gets married. Everything that she owns, including herself, becomes spot of the husband. This means that the man can do anything to the woman without her express harmonize.The man is also clear by law to exercise complete control and dominion over his wifes body. The marriage contract contains a vow to obey her husband. Thus, a married woman has no choice but to obey her husband and allow him access to her body if he wants the same. (Womens Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview). Marriage was an instrument by which women experienced great degradation. They were non-entities in all aspects of life, peculiarly in law. Women were, under the law, legally incompetent and irresponsible. Thus, they cannot act except where their husbands gave their consent thereto.In addition, they were afforded neither legal rights nor personal property. (Women in the Victorian Age). Marriage was also an instrument for the further strengthening of the notion tha t women were mere objects or chattels, owned by their husbands. Thus, under the law, a husband and wife are one person, and the husband is that person. Only husbands had the right to act, women were mere passive actors in Victorian society. (Women in the Victorian Age). The unfortunate creation of women during this period was dramatically described by Florence Fenwick Miller in 1890, thusUnder exclusively man-made laws women have been reduced to the most sorrowful condition of legal slavery in which it is possible for human beings to be held under the arbitrary domination of anothers will, and dependent for justly treatment exclusively on the goodness of heart of the individual master. (Womens Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview). The Deviant View of Victorian Women Amidst the prevalent view of women as slaves or property of men or their families, there is a rather maverick notion of women during the Victorian Age.This notion placed women on a stand and treated them as goddesses. They were even worshipped in some accounts. This concept of women was reflected primarily in Victorian novels, movies and television shows. (Womens Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview). However, this notion is too much of a contradiction to the real state of affairs in the Victorian Age. The real situation consisted of the different treatment between men and women, particularly as to their rights, duties, education and occupation. Personal ViewpointThis writer agrees with the assertion of Dorothy Thompson that women were treated as outsiders during the Victorian Age. Having seen the disadvantaged position of women from that period, such conclusion is inescapable. Women were not allowed to participate in relevant affairs because they were seen as the weaker sex. notwithstanding proof that they are able to take on great responsibilities and that they possess intelligence as much as men, Victorian society did not see them fit to acquire sufficient education to equip them with skills to earn independent living.Women had been the pillars of the Victorian home, but they were degraded by placing them under the control and supervision of their husbands or their families. Worse, women had been treated inhumanely, as they were regarded as chattels or property for the longest time. Men and women were divided into two spheres, despite the lack of basis to do so aside from mere physical makeup and slanting social conclusions. Men were seen as the active actors while women were seen as the passive actors. These attributes were ascribed to men and women, despite the fortitude manifested by women in performing all the duties assigned to her by society.Given all these, it is easy to agree to the offer that men had been considered as mere outsiders in Victorian society, next only to men who were the ones who enjoyed preferential status, with all the benefits appurtenant thereto. Works Cited Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961). Eleanor Roosevelt National past Site. 11 Dec. 2006 . Late Victorian England. 10 Dec. 2006 . Lee, Elizabeth. Victorian Theories of Sex and Sexuality. 1997. 10 Dec. 2006 . Life for Women. 10 Dec. 2006 . Queen Victoria and Victorian England the Young Queen. 10 Dec. 2006 . Women in the Victorian Age. 10 Dec. 2006 . Womens Issues Then and Now. 11 Dec. 2006 . Womens Status in Mid 19th Century England A Brief Overview. 11 Dec. 2006 .