the victorian age and the colonization of women

8/18/2019 The Victorian Age and the Colonization of Women

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The Victorian Age and

the Colonization ofWomen

Angels and Suffragettes:Women in the 19th Century

© Maria Grazia Tundo, 2006


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Colonization

A "colony" can mean any people or group

subject to a ruling power, and one of the keyaspects of the relationship upon whichempire is based is that of "us" and "other."

Traditionally, we conceive of "other" as

anyone different from us in terms of ethnicityor race, but it can refer to any group not inpower, any group on the fringes, any groupmarginalized by a dominant culture.

http://the%20victorian%20age%20and%20the%20colonization%20of%20women.ppt/


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The Angel in the ouse At first glance, the period!s dominant characterization of

women is positive glowing, laudatory , or complimentary . Conception of woman as a household saint. #oman as a beacon of light in a dark world. $f a husband alone could support the family, the wife not only

did not have to but should not work. The growth of the middle class helped create an interesting

phenomenon during the period the separation of spheresaccording to gender.

As the century progressed, women became more associatedwith the private sphere.


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%ale #riters and

$deal #omanhood $n Sesame and Lilies, &uskin '()(*+(**- suggests that

woman serve the world in decidedly feminine ways"he man!s power is active, progressive, defensive #eis eminently the doer, the creator, the discoverer, the

defender #is intellect is for speculation and invention $ut the woman!s power is for rule, not %attle, &&andher intellect is not for invention or creation, %ut forsweet ordering, arrangement, and decision #ergreat function is 'raise"

According to such definitions, ictorian women had

influence, but they did not e/actly possess personal power .

0bedience to duty always resulted in the sublimationof one!s own desires to those of another self+abnegation and sacrifice


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1allen #omen

The prostitute emodied thechanging cit! affected !commerce andindustrialization, and hersociall! unacceptale practicescon"ured up images of pollutionand disease in the Victorian

mind# The term $fallen$ referredto their fall from respectailit!#


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Augustus %eopold &gg' Past and Present

()*+*

Augustus &gg$s 2ast and2resent series depicts a -oman$s

infidelit! to her husand and thedire conse.uences in three

dramatic and theatrical scenes#


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2ast and 2resent '$$- 3he a%andoned daughters4

The second andthird paintings,continue the darkstory byillustrating theconse6uences ofher actions andtheir self+destructive effects.

The forlorndaughters,consoling eachother by thewindow, and theirfallen mother,huddling under a

bridge, turn theirrespective headsto the same moonwhich becomesthe soleconnecting focalpoint of each

piece.


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2ast and 2resent '$$$- 3he wife a%andoned %y her lover

with her %astard child 4 $t shows the motherhuddled under a

bridge holding herillegitimate child. Thisseries aptlydemonstrates theconse6uences of thewoman!s failure tofulfill her role as

mother and loyal wifenot only has she beencast into the street,but her daughtershave been forced intodestitution as well.

The only mention of

the guilty man in thisstory remains in thefirst scene, as a smallpicture crushed underthe husband!s heel ++a minute detail easilyoverlooked. focusingthe blame solely onthe disloyal female


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The Awakening Conscience

The A-a/ening Conscience comments onsociety by including the direct presence

of the guilty male. unt!s painting shows

a kept mistress at the moment of her

realization and repentance. 7he rises

from her position on the man!s lap and

judging from his e/pression, he does not

seem to be aware of her sudden

consciousness. Captured during mid+

song, his arm across her waist restricts

the woman!s movement and beckons her

to sit back down. 0n the painting!s frame

unt placed a motto from 2roverbs "As

he who taketh away a garment in cold

weather, so is he who singeth songs unto

a heavy heart." These words criticize herunfeeling seducer, who remains unaware

how his words have oppressed and aided

her conscience. This work includes a

heightened awareness of social

injustices in the adulterous affair!s

traditional gender roles and challenges

and disperses the idea of blame.

he Awa*ening

Conscience

olman unt '(*8(+89-


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1ashion as Colonization

The Corset

$n the ictorian period, the corset was only one component of awoman!s traditional multi+part apparel and was reinforced withflat strips of whalebone or metal.The strings were pulled tighterto produce what we might call an hourglass figure.

0n the outside, the effect was an e/aggerated or idealizedfemale form++Woman!s Shape 'erfected .

0n the inside the ribs were pushed inward. The stomach, heart,and lungs were compressed tightly together. :reathing becamedifficult. The corset could accomplish permanent disfigurementon the woman!s torso and persistent health problems.

7tereotypically, women of the ictorian period are consideredto have been delicate creatures prone to physical weaknessand even fainting spells.


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The fainting couch

The fainting couch -as used ! Victorian-omen -ho -ere fre.uentl! laced up in

tight corsets and felt faint ecause the!

could not easil! reathe#


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#omen wore corsets, balloon+like sleeves and

crinolines in the middle ();!s#


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The bustle. The crinoline thrived, and e/panded during the 8!s and >!s,

and into the =!s, until, at last, it gave way to the bustle, padded

with horsehair. The bustle held its own until the ()*!s, and

became much smaller.


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The $deal 1emale 1orm :eneath their skirts, ictorian women tied a

large pad or framework called a %ustle overtheir rear ends that pushed the back of theirdresses out in an e/aggerated manner.

The very e/aggerated nature of the

undergarments and accoutrements servedmore to hide each individual woman!sshape. They created, as it were, an idealizedfemale form that attempted to make eachwoman!s body++no matter the natural size of

the waist and hips++conform to a singlewomanly shape. $n this way, ictorian fashion can be

interpreted as stripping away the uni6ueshape of each woman!s body++of renderingit identical to that of all women.


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#omen as


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$cons of ictorian womanhood? bride and widow@mother

$con of ictorian womanhood? bride and widow@mother


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The 2re+&aphaelite #omen destroyed by

ove in all its 1orms and 1ates

The theme of the woman destroyed by love ++betrayed by unre6uited love, seduced by false idealsor false lovers or victimized by tragic love ++dominated 2re+&aphaelite, as well as ictorian,paintings and poems of the nineteenth century.

:ound with the ictorian idea of feminine weakness,the 2re+&aphaelite concept of the woman as a victimstems from themes of medieval romance. The 2re+&aphaelites re+interpret this idea and focus on thesensuality and se/ual frustration or punishment of

the female ++ ideas that were met with both fear andfascination by most ictorians. Their works also re+fashioned this theme to include an awareness ofsocial injustices. %ost ictorian works depicted thewoman alone, left to bear the brunt of shared se/ual

transgressions and cast out into the uncaring world.


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The 2re+&aphaelites depicted the woman destroyed by

various forms of love, whether unre6uited, tragic oradulterous, by highlighting not only her mentaldestruction but also focusing on her se/ual frustrationor punishment.

The ictorians believed passion to be deviant?

thoughts of se/uality would cause insanity and thusrepression was necessary. #ith the strong societalenforcement of these beliefs, many ictorians livedwith great shame, guilt, and fear of damnation.

2re+&aphaelite works with themes of se/ual morality

often emphasized the woman!s se/ual frustration orher punishment, which stemmed from her se/uallydeviant behaviour? for it was often consideredunthinkable that a woman would have se/ual thoughtsor desires.


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Bohn 5verett %illais, +phelia, ()8


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he Lady of Shalott by Tennyson

Tennyson!s poem of "The ady of 7halott" relates the story of a womancursed to remain inside a tower on 7halott, an island situated in theriver which flows to Camelot. Do others know of her e/istence, as hercurse forbids her to leave the tower or to even look outside itswindows. $nstead, a large mirror within her chamber reflects theoutside world, and she weaves a tapestry illustrating its wonders bymeans of the mirror!s reflection.

As the poem progresses, the ady becomes increasingly aware of thelove which abounds in the outside world, and she tires of her lonelye/istence in her tower, saying she is "half sick of shadows". Thenseeing 7ir ancelot riding down to Camelot, the ady leaves her loomto look down on him directly from her window, which immediatelyfulfills the curse.

er tapestry begins to unravel and the mirror cracks as she recognizesthe conse6uences of her impulsive action. 7he flees her tower andfinds a boat in the river which she marks with her name and loosensfrom its moorings. 7he dies before her boat reaches Camelot, whereshe would have finally found life and love, and ancelot muses overthe beauty of this unknown woman when the inhabitants find her body#


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The ady of 7halott

2re+&aphaelite artists found a rich source ofpictorial inspiration in "The ady of 7halott" $tattracted them in part because it emphasized thespiritual nobility and the melancholy of the more

sorrowful aspects of love, such as unre6uited love,particularly the embowered or isolated andtherefore unattainable woman? the woman dyingfor love? the fallen woman who gives up everythingfor love? the special "tainted" or "cursed" woman?

and the dead woman of uni6ue beauty.


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#illiam olman

unt

he Lady of

Shallot n 1unt$s dra-ing, the

reflection of%ancelot and the%ad! in the crac/edmirror oershado-sthe %ad! and the

unraeling -e# Attempting to freeherself from the-e, the %ad! raisesan outstretchedhand in a gesturethat -ards off someunseen threat 33 the

curse, loe, or%ancelot himself#The ie-er cannotsee %ancelot, -hooccupies a spaceoutside the picture,literall! positioned inthe ie-er$s space#


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Bohn #illiam #aterhouse!s Lady of Shalott t is one of the fe-

scenes of the time

to depict a -oman

out of doors and

alone, and this

aspect seres to

emphasize her

ulnerailit!# 4ather

than safe -ithin the

confines of her

to-er, the %ad! of5halott no- seems

-ea/ and helpless

-hen placed at the

merc! of the outside

-orld#

nstead of

condemning the

%ad!, ho-eer, thisseems to eo/e a

sense of pit! in the

ie-er#

This differs sharpl!

from 1unt$s latant

disapproal of the

%ad!$s ehaior


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he irlhood of -ary .irgin '();)-


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$eatrice /A 'ortrait

of 0ane -orris


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2egina Cordium

or he 3ueen of#earts,


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ady ilith


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#oman as +ther The 1ight for

56ual &ights #omen had the role generally assigned to slaves and

foreigners that of +ther . egally, women were marginalized, stripped of the most

basic of rights and denied a voice in government. &eform movements of the time all but ignored them. 1or e/ample, when the Chartists drew up the 'eople!s

Charter of ()9) demanding, among other things votingrights, reference to female suffrage was eliminated

As long as they were marginalized by the law and givenune6ual, inade6uate educations, women were destinedto be lesser individuals.


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The 4emme Covert #omen and

the aw Fnder (*th century law, women had two recognized e/istences

they were either femme sole 'unmarried? hence independent- orfemme covert 'married? hence "covered" by their husbands orcovert -.

$n general, wives had no legal e/istence. :y marriage, thehusband and wife are one person in law? that is, the very being,or legal e/istence of the woman is suspended during themarriage, or at least incorporated and consolidated into that ofthe husband"

They had no legal e/istence, their property became his, anymoney she earned was legally his, she had to prove e/tenuatingcircumstances to obtain a divorce 'he had to prove only her

adultery-, she had no right to her children, and she gave upcontrol of her own body to him. $n fact, in the (*th century,husbands were legally permitted to give "moderate" correctionto their wives.

$n ()=, the %arried #oman!s 2roperty Act finally allowed wivesto gain control of their personal property and income.


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5ducation for #omen Colonization

Continues

7uch an education was meant to instil inwomen just enough real knowledge to make

them intellectually attractive to but not the

e6uals of men.

They were advised not to offer opinions oncontroversial or intellectual issues, but

merely to agree or nod in approval, to

support their husband!s wise assertions.

#hat mattered more was how they were

trained in the feminine "arts," like dancing,

playing the piano, singing, sewing, and

painting. .@.


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!%y #ife is a #oman of %ind!

Eeorge Cruikshank, Comic Almanack, ();=


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#8# Thus it was that improved education for

women became one focus of activists duringthe (*th century.

Eoing back to arguments made at the end ofthe ()th century in %ary #ollstonecraft!s A

.indication of the 2ights of Woman,educational activists argued that womencould never be vital, whole creatures++whichin Eod!s eyes they had a right to beG++unless

they were educated in a manner e6ual tomen.


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97#55T E$&+E&A


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#omen!s 7uffrage

$mprisonment, 1orce+1eedings,

and &itual 7uicide The loudest voices in the suffragette

movement belonged to radical feminist

social reformer 5mmeline Eoulden

2ankhurst, '()>=- who fought for the

e/tension of e6ual rights to all women, and

to her daughter, Christabel. #hile imprisoned, many suffragettes tried

staging hunger strikes, which led only to

forced+feedings.


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A suffragette arrested fordemonstrating

A typical force feeding


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The &ight to ote

Although 5ngland finally e/tended the right

to vote to women in (*(), at the close of

#orld #ar $, at that time the franchise wasgiven only to those over 9 years of age.

$t took another ( years before it was

e/tended to those as young as ( '(*)-.

© Maria Grazia Tundo 2006

the victorian age and the colonization of women

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