Insight into the Stereotypical Behaviour of Women in the Victorian Era

In nineteenth century England, girls of the upper and middle classes were raised for the purpose of one goal: to marry. Marriage at the time was often viewed as a business prospect. Women brought dowries and household labour to the table, while the men naturally provided financial security. The ladies largely outnumbered the men, and those who could not win a husband had very few respectable ways of supporting themselves. For this reason girls were trained to be desirable to a society of men who saw women as high priestess of the home, "with her piety, forbearance, and kindliness of love." A wife was to be the manager of the home and the amusement for the gentlemen. They were not encouraged to be intellectual, or even thoughtful. They were encouraged to be ornamental.

Although Victorian girls of the upper classes were indeed educated, the subjects they were taught reflected the societal view. Girls learned to sing, play the piano, and dance. They were taught etiquette and French, poetry and painting, and, of course, the ever-present needlework. A good marriage prospect also became skilled in all aspects of keeping house and fully understood the duties of a wife.

Once a girl was fully educated in this manner, she was able to enter society to search for her future husband. This was called "coming out" and frequently occurred during the London Season: the time of year, lasting several months, when the nobility left their country homes to attend the whirlwind of balls, exhibitions, parties, and other festivities in London. During the first few years after coming out, a girl was attached to her mother. She made calls with her mother, used her mother's visiting cards, and was carefully chaperoned, usually by her mother, until her engagement. If a girl's mother had died, the mother's duties would fall to another older female relative, such as an aunt.