Marriage Within The Victorian Century - 1030 Words

Cathylee Cueto Ms. Kitzie AP English Lit Comp 1 December 2016 Marriage Within The Victorian Contemporaries The Importance of Being Earnest has been referred to as â€Å"A Trivial Comedy for Serious People,† these â€Å"serious people† were those of the Victorian contemporaries. Wilde’s writings created this dimensional portal that allowed viewers to visualize and understand the actions that took place â€Å"behind doors† in this era. He suggested that these contemporaries should treat trivial matters with greater respect and pay less attention to what society regarded as serious. In Victorian society only several things were spoken about seriously: appearance, style, and money. Wilde not only expressed this philosophy in The Importance of Being Earnest, but in recently read, Lady of Windermere s Fan as well. Oscar Wilde’s most commonly trivial matter was marriage and how it was seen as an arrangement, way of gaining social status, and a game. When in reference to the Victorian contemporaries and society, Wilde is mainly speaking upon the upper class’s behalf. The upper class composed largely of those of royalty and aristocrats. Due to their enormous amount of wealth, the upper class predominately had very little tasks to complete throughout the day. They did not have to work so every day was holiday, every day was a day off. Their daily tasks included getting dressed, eating, and doing activities with friends and family. Since these are upper class people, their activities mainlyShow MoreRelatedMarriage and Divorce in the Post Victorian Era Essay765 Words   |  4 PagesMarriage and Divorce in the Post Victorian Era Marriage is a social structure. When couples get married they enter into a relationship that is societally recognized and to some degree societally regulated. Laws, customs, traditions and cultural assumptions are intrinsically involved in defining the path that a marriage will take. 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You could marry first cousinsRead MoreKate Chopin s The Yellow Wallpaper1415 Words   |  6 PagesTwo famous women authors of the Victorian era were Kate Chopin and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The Victorian era brought out many different themes of freedom, confinement, and inequity. The Victorian themes can be seen in Kate Chopin’s writing called, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s writing called, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.† There are many similarities and differences between both Victorian women’s perspectives and writing. This paper will compare and contrast the short storiesRead MorePrimary Source Report : Trial Of Madeleine Smith Essay1347 Words   |  6 PagesCorrespondence. Public respectability and social status was a key requisite in upper-middle-class Victorian Britain. Another significant cultural characteristic of nineteenth century Britain was the importance of family as a source in identifying a socially and economically fitting marriage partner for middle class women. Gordon and Nair argue that even though individuals had the choice of marriage partner it was not an unhindered choice. The social separation of classes made it improbable thatRead MoreOrland by Janet Woolf1646 Words   |  7 PagesThe effect marriage in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando has upon the modern individual will be the focus of this essay, whilst also considering the role the wedding ring plays in defining the terms of marriage. Woolf portrays Orlando as a modern individual largely because she is free from a number of social conventions and familial pressures other women of the time are subjected to. Despite this, it is the pressure of marriage that she cannot escape: eve n after she has married Shelmerdine, Orlando is thinkingRead MoreWomen s Gender And Gender Roles955 Words   |  4 Pagesvery structure of Victorian marriages relied on women s passionlessness because it supported women s demure and respectable nature in society, while also keeping men under control and containing sexuality to the home (Kushner, 9/25/15). The concept of respectability not only shaped how women and men acted in both sexual and non sexual ways but outlined the ways proper marriages ought to function. In order to understand the re-rise to conservatism in the mid- twentieth century post-war AmericaRead MoreWomen s Rights And Arranged Marriages1256 Words   |  6 PagesCullen Fellows English IV May 12th, 2015 Women’s Rights and Arranged Marriages In 1837, Britain and Ireland obtained their first queen in one hundred twenty-three years. Victoria was the only woman with no legal barrier due to her gender. She inherited the same rights as her predecessor. All other women were strictly controlled by their fathers until they were married. Middle and upper class men deemed their daughter’s education unnecessary. Working class fathers wanted their daughters in a millRead MoreWilliam Browning And Elizabeth Barrett Browning Essay1197 Words   |  5 PagesDifferent Perspective Literatures in the Victorian Era Many authors are influenced by the society, culture, politic and economy during their period. Therefore, their literary works usually describe the condition of their period directly or indirectly. The two authors, Roberts Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, also expose the culture and the condition of the society of the Victorian era through their works. The authors are married couple authors of the Victorian era. Roberts Browning’s a typical literary