Women in England, 1895

The late Victorian era was a time of tremendous change in England, and this change was particularly marked for Victorian women. The tension between the idealized model of Victorian domesticity collided with the reality of the industrial revolution, an increase in the number of women going into the workforce, and, on the upper end of the class spectrum, opportunities for women in education and political activism.

The ideal of Victorian womanhood, the “angel in the house,” was a virtuous wife and mother in need of male protection provided by a husband or father. Her entire purpose was to devote herself to and sacrifice herself for her family within the domestic sphere. The political and economic reality reflected this model: married women could not own property in their own names or keep their earnings (instead it belonged to their husbands). Also, women could not vote.

In the later part of the nineteenth century, women acquired more rights, and agitated for increased opportunity. Among the reforms of the late-nineteenth century, the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882 allowed women to keep all their earnings and hold property in their own names. Just after the turn of the century the women’s suffrage movement began to gain momentum, though women would not be granted the vote in the UK until 1918.

In keeping with these political changes, the late-nineteenth century also marked the rise of the “new woman”: a young, well-educated lively force, who relished independence, and rejected the personal restrictions on dress, behavior, and decorum placed on women by Victorian society. The "new woman" appears frequently in literature and art, and was the source of considerable discussion in the press. Young Vivie Warren is one of its prime literary examples.

While some “new women” were more political than others, all wished for increased freedom for their sex. They wished to support themselves, live independently, and manage their own money. They sought out meaningful work and education (available mainly to those of higher social class). Women began to attend universities: in 1869 they were first admitted to Cambridge to study, though they were not allowed to take degrees. By 1902 there were over 200 woman doctors in England, and in 1895 the first woman qualified as a dentist. Dress reform, including a movement away from tight lacing corsets and the introduction of bloomers to allow for increased activity, gained adherents. The new women also embraced increased physical activity (cycling was very popular, as well as tennis and other games), and could even chose to smoke or drink—something unthinkable to proper early Victorians. These “new women” rejected traditional behavior and blurred the line between the sexes, confounding society, but blazing a path for future gains by women.