ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Earlier on in the century, women were considered the weaker, more innocent sex. She had little to no sexual appetite, often capturing all the sympathy and none of the blame over indiscretions. Men represented the fallen, sinful, and lustful creatures, wrongfully taking advantage of the fragility of women.

Detailed explanation-2: -Victorian Era is full of contradictions: the comfortable life of the upper classes versus the exploited, miserable working class who lived in workhouses and where children were used to clean chimneys and women were employed in factories.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Victorian Era was seen as time of high moral standards; therefore, it can be argued that sex and marriage were paradoxical as sexuality was forbidden to be expressed in public. Victorian culture had a sharp differentiation between men and women, with both having two very different roles.

Detailed explanation-4: -The woman question in Victorian England referred to the various debates about women’s place in society, with opposing voices emphasizing either the need for women to have greater economic, educational, and political opportunities or the idea that women properly belonged in the home as caretaker to her family.