Introduction
Women from prehistoric times have consistently faced the problem of proper treatment. There are debates, research, and discussions of what the role of women should be in human society. Since the earliest times, women have continuously confronted unequal treatment. From the birth of humans to Greek culture, women were humiliated in different ways. Similarly, in 18th- and 19th-century society, the treatment of women was the same as before. The community considered women weaker than male members of the community. All the domestic work was performed by women in pre-industrial times. Females were rated as second-class humans, along with restrictions on outside activities, which included voting, education, and related activities.
Discussion
The society of the 18th and 19th centuries was explored through a number of writings. In English literature, the era is considered the most uncertain time for women to perform their due functions and roles. Romantic and Victorian societies followed the treatment of women, which had been going on since prehistoric times. Males mostly played the major or influential roles. These included hunting, plowing, and other hard work. On the contrary, women were subjected to staying at home and looking after their children. They had to perform duties mostly as homemakers. Similarly, there was no concept of education for women. Males and the patriarchal society used women to fulfill their needs. Society also did not expect a more significant or revolutionary role from the female members of their communities.
Women were also placed at home with the concept that they were unable to perform any affirmative action to help their husbands. However, there were certain reforms in the Victorian era, like the revolution in the industrial sector, the voice against poverty, and the development of scientific research (Fisher, 511). The development of Victorian and Romantic societies did not have considerable effects on the lives of women, and their commitment was restricted to their families. They were not allowed to participate in activities other than those that were permitted by the males of society.
The literature and writings of both eras, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, reveal the real condition of women along with their functions in society. The Doll House, a play written by Henrik Ibsen, unfolds the bleak picture of the women of society. The sacrificial role is held by women from all classes of the community. In the play, the writer exemplified through the female character named Nora how men never sacrifice their integrity. On the contrary, women have to sacrifice for males (Williams, 112). Nora has abandoned her love to marry a wealthy man. However, Torvalds has no respect or honor for his wife. It was an advantage for Nora to be the wife of a wealthy man. However, the critical aspect is the burden that is placed on the shoulders of Nora.
Society dictates to Nora that she must accept the dominance of Torvalds as her husband. Her husband issues a decree and shows his superiority towards her without realizing the real condition of his wife. The rich man never accepted the idea that his wife took out a loan from the blackmailer Krogstad. She had to work secretly to repay the said loan but could not inform her husband. It was a crime in Nora’s society to take credit without the permission of her husband. She saves the life of her husband by managing the loan issue. The males, including Krogstad, who had given her credit, betrayed her. The reaction to the deception and the worsening attitude of Torvalds left her vulnerable to blackmail by Krogstad.
The abandonment of the children by Nora could be interpreted as an act of self-sacrifice. She had a love for her children, but she left them because of the fear of being corrupted by her husband (Lynch, 297). She realizes and believes that Nanny will be a kind mother. She left her children in their best interest. Following the ideas and conversation of Doctor Rank, one of the leading characters of the play, Torvalds restricts his wife from visiting their children after the deceit. The husband fears that she might corrupt his children. Such feelings and actions show the actual position of eighteenth-century society. If the same act of deceit were committed by Torvalds, he would be free from any restriction.
The text of the play shows the actual role and emotions of women in a pre-industrialist society. “From now on, forget happiness. Now it is about saving the remains, the wreckage, the appearance.” These words were spoken by Torvalds toward Nora in Act III of the play. The conversation and thoughts of Torvalds reveal his greed and pride toward his wife. These remarks come after Torvalds learns about the forgery and Krogstad’s exposition of Nora. The husband pays no attention to the emotions of his wife; instead, he is more focused on appearing dignified and honorable among his colleagues. It also shows the value and worth of women in society. Happiness, according to Torvalds, is not more important than his personality and his values.
Nora’s act was for her husband. However, the words and text of the play show that Nora’s expectation of a gallant reaction from her husband was a foolish dream. The husband wanted to ensure his reputation was secured no matter what price Nora would pay. Torvalds proves that he is the real picture of his society, which supports only the roles and actions of males (Marin, 220). Other than the writing that explores the actual face of Victorian and Romantic societies, certain short stories depicted the worthless sacrifices and humiliation of women. Like the play Doll House, there is another story that unfolded the real role of women. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the American writer Charlotte Perkins has beautifully described the feministic approach.
The writer in The Yellow Wallpaper unfolded the attitudes of 19th-century society towards women. The woman’s physician husband rented an old mansion to pass the summer. The couple, leaving the other rooms, started living in the upstairs nursery. As an intervention for his wife’s ill health, the physician required her to stay away from work and live in the room. The scratched floor of the nursery, along with the barred windows, surrounded the woman, who was already facing temporary depression after the birth of her child. The narrator of the story reveals that most of the damage had already affected the sick woman. The wallpaper inside the room smears the clothes of the woman who was locked up. The story was a protest against the oppression of women by professional staff.
Gilman, the writer of the short story, reveals that patriarchal society restricted the role of American women in the 19th century. The husband locks his wife inside a room, which is a place not for humans, and acts as though women are weak and mentally fragile. At that time, those advocating for women’s rights believed that it was a manifestation of male control over the roles allowed to women in the dominant male society. Women of the 19th century were also restricted from writing because there was a fear that they would gain a certain identity. The woman in the short story was a patient with depression. Her husband was a physician who prescribed the rest cure for her.
The rest cure that was prescribed by the doctor included living as domestic a life as possible. The woman in The Yellow Wallpaper was not allowed to touch even a pen or other related things. She was also restricted from any mental stimulation for a whole day. After spending some time inside the closed room, the woman named Jane became overstressed and suffered from hallucinations (Barker 56). The treatment by patriarchal society made a healthy woman mad. The remaining functions and senses of the woman were destroyed, and she became a burden on the sick culture of the 19th century.
The Yellow Wallpaper is an example that illustrates the misdiagnosis complaint of a woman whose life was destroyed by her husband. The writer of the short story also faced the same problem of mental illness and depression. Many writers, in fact, consider the story a reflection of what happened to her. The publication of The Yellow Wallpaper was also intended to provide an assessment to those hospitals that diagnosed women in patriarchal society through rest-cure measures. The story also emphasizes the gender practices that were prevalent in 19th-century culture.
The writer depicted John, who was the husband of the woman in the story, as faithful to his wife. He misunderstood his wife’s mental illness. His misunderstanding reveals that the practices of society against women were frequent. On the last day of the summer, the woman locks herself in to strip the remains of the wallpaper. When the physician opened the door, he found her creeping around the room, circling and touching the wallpaper. The husband fainted and looked at his wife, who was wheeling and stepping over his body (Wilkes, 95). The writing of the story was a significant contribution by Gilman, who unfolded the actual picture of society regarding the treatment of women. The story also reveals that women in American society were not free to perform any greater role. Women’s freedom of expression was severely curtailed by the dominant male culture. Feminist critics have applauded the work. They also term it one of Gilman’s significant contributions towards women’s rights.
Conclusion
Concluding the discussion on the treatment of women in late 18th– and early 19th-century society, it is worth mentioning that women were severely humiliated by dominant male societies. The literature of both centuries explores how there was an increased number of restrictions on the roles and functions of women. The depiction of women as a weaker and limited gender is one of the critical factors that was discussed by many writers. Women in the old centuries and still today are striving for their parallel role in society. However, it seems difficult for women to take over the part of the male gender in the community.
Works Cited
Barker-Benfield, G. J. “Mary Wollstonecraft: eighteenth-century commonwealthwoman.” Mary Wollstonecraft. Routledge, 2017. 47-67.
Fisher, Laura R. “Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Novel Aesthetics.” Modern Language Quarterly 78.4 (2017): 491-515.
Lynch, Gerard, and Carl Vogel. “Chasing the Ghosts of Ibsen: A computational stylistic analysis of Drama in translation.” arXiv preprint arXiv: 1501.00841 (2015).
Marin, Brigitte. “Poverty, Relief, and Hospitals in Naples in the 18th and 19th Centuries.” Health Care and Poor Relief in 18th and 19th Century Southern Europe. Routledge, 2017. 208-228.
Wilkes, Joanne. Women Reviewing Women in Nineteenth-Century Britain: The Critical Reception of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and George Eliot. Routledge, 2016: (53-159)
Williams, Joan C. “Deconstructing Gender [1989].” Feminist Legal Theory. Routledge, 2018. 95-123.
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