Introduction
Walter Besant in his essay “The Queen’s Reign” (1897) , spoke about the changing role of women in the Victorian era which proved to be a reformatory span in terms of uplifting the social status of women and raising the sense of awareness among the people. However, the prime issue of feminism was dominant throughout the era which demanded an equal status for women along with a consideration of feminine virtues for them. The essay speaks about the various issues in which the primary issues involved the context of segregating the role of women to only housekeeping and managing children. Further, women activists seemed intrigued about the issue of limited social and authoritative position of women in terms of power and the Victorian era had some specific cultural changes that ameliorated the position of women with respect to these
This essay aims at examining the role of the three crucial cultural changes pertaining to the education of women which led to their qualified status in the society, acceptance of educated women for handling responsible roles in the society, and change of social perception regarding status of women from being restrained within the household and being subdued under the dominance of the male figure.
Cultural changes during the Victorian era
The first cultural change suggested in the essay is regarding the education of women in the Victorian era which acted against the seclusion of women to remain within the house for managing the children and housekeeping (Besant 1635). The women were considered ignorant and unworthy of any role that required field specific knowledge and qualification. This assumption led to the underestimation of the potential of women to perform on any other front apart from their household duties. However, the Victorian era canvassed the possibilities of education for women. As the women became educated, they actually crossed over the first hurdle of standing parallel to the men in terms of being educated.
The second crucial change in this period was that of opportunities for women coming up in the professional world owing to their educational qualifications. This marked the origin of self -dependence and confidence in women regarding their social worth. Further, whether doing a job was a necessity or not, but being professionally employed developed the notion of independence and personal liberty in the women (Besant 1636). Even the society eyed their evolution beyond the four walls of the house and as a professional contributor to the economic growth.
The third and most crucial cultural change was that of the perceptual evolution of women where their social status was acknowledged beyond the housekeeping job, as contributors to the social growth. This change in the social perception opened the way for a presence which was exclusive of any male dependence and called for more women to change their social status by seeking education. Thus, the cumulative impact of the above-mentioned cultural changes led to an overall change in the social status of women and resulted in their evolution within the purview of ‘Feminism’.
Conclusion
Walter Besant has used the example of a comparison between the social status of women born in the beginning of the Victorian era and that of a girl born in a time close to the end of this era. The difference in attitude of the two females was driven by the socially evolved perception regarding the status of women along the era. The cultural change of women education is the prime mover of revolution which altered the status of women as the independent and liberated part of the society.
Works Cited
Besant,Walter. “The Queen’s Reign.”The Norton Anthology of English Literature.9th ed. New York: Norton & Company, 2012.1635-36.Print.
