Feminist Criticism: Purposes, Features, And Key Figures

Abstract. Women in the Victorian era did not have many rights. They were only seen as housewives and mothers of children. Women during this period were seen as people who should only devote themselves to running a successful household. However, during this period, women were forced to work outside the home. Women who were forced to work outside the home were seen negatively by society. Many women needed an income to support their families. When women went to work, they were not welcome and were often harassed. Women workers were therefore not welcome either in the workplace (outside the home) or in society. Works such as Helen Fleetwood, Goblin Market, North and South, Shirley and Sybil feature women working in different roles during this period. All these texts try to show that women working in all classes were looked down upon and mistreated by Victorian society as a whole. However, society does not give women any other options to improve or rectify their situation. These texts show the dangerous situations that working women faced and how they were treated by society as a whole.