It is no secret that for centuries, the role of women has been well defined and planned, by those that love to relegate those to a lower standing. However, after reading this "essay" of sorts, I understand that the author is reiterating a long known fact that woman are the backbone to everyman including that of society. The question that is being asked is what kind of education is needed to educate women. I find this article condescending due to its consideration of women.
To have a woman be defined by her husband's ability is rather shortminded. It states in the passage that, "was woman great, because she had great acquirments; nor can she be great in herself-personally, and with instrumentality-as an object not an agent." In other words, woman has no power all her own, and whatever was accomplished was due to powers not her own. I am reminded of how, Jane Austen works are considered to be books on societal manners.
All in all, this esaay was basically about the usefulness of women. Being a man of the 21st century, I see how woman shape society, yet looking back on the victorian age, I see that society had different views, no matter how one sided they were. This entire work relegates women to either having money,and or beauty and if they have none; they should rely on their conversation. It would be a great question to ask how women saw themselves.
Tony,
ReplyDeleteOK comments on this excerpt from The Women of England, but you fail to give any context for the text which weakens your discussion. You ask women of the Victorian era saw themselves, but surely the answer is all sorts of different ways, based on the readings in this section. Note that the author of the section you are discussing is a woman, not some man trying to oppress his wife. Ellis seems to believe that women's role and duty are in these limited spheres. Please provide context and page citations for the texts you discuss in your blog.
Interesting question about how women say themselves. I would think for the majority of women they saw themselves as how the men portrayed them. Knowing no differences or thinking that they had the right to grow and expand, they would have stayed where they were. There were of course the advocates and pioneers who thought and wrote differently, but they knew no other way of life.
ReplyDeleteHmm. How did women see themselves? Very good question. I guess they would see themselves relative to what society considered successful for a woman. Am I pretty? Did I make a good marriage? Do I have kids? Are those kids successful? Do I have a nice house? All things pertaining to the domestic sphere, which a male-dominated society limited them to. It's interesting to note that these questions are still asked by women today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Heather on this issue. I think that although we have made great strides in societal issues involving women, we still measure ourselves relative to these aspects. I know I am guilty of this myself. Only now, I think we measure ourselves against other male figures, especially women who work outside the home. I still think the domestic sphere that Heather talks about is critical to a woman believing she has had a productive life.
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