College Honors Program
Date of Creation
5-31-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Department
English
First Advisor
Debra Gettleman
Abstract
The rise of the Victorian middle class is known for solidifying a separation of gender roles, with women operating in the private, domestic sphere and men in the public sphere. This historical value placed on domesticity is reflected in the rise of domestic fiction, the dominant genre of Victorian literature, which commonly depicts young, middle-class women making their way in the world. The plot of these narratives revolves around women perfecting or contending with their place in the domestic sphere through courtship, marriage, and family. Scholars on domestic fiction have continued to argue over whether domestic fiction reflected the oppressive gender roles of its time or an empowering celebration of domestic women. In this thesis, I argue that domestic fiction is neither wholly empowering nor oppressive. Instead, domestic women often stay closely attached to traditional domestic roles while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of what a woman should or should not be subjected to. The ways in which women “reconcile” or grapple with their place in the home and family differs from woman to woman. By examining the real Queen Victoria and Caroline Norton in comparison to novels by Charles Dickens, Anne Brontë, and Charlotte Brontë, we can appreciate the diversity of domestic women’s personalities and desires.
Recommended Citation
Vierra, Amanda, "Angels of Many Houses: Reconciling Domesticity in 19th-Century Victorian Literature" (2023). College Honors Program. 91.
https://crossworks.holycross.edu/honors/91
Comments
Reader: Jennifer Reed
This thesis was also accepted for the English Departmental Honors Program.