Nature and Role of Women in Victorian America Essay

Nature and Role of Women in Victorian America - Essay Example Moreover, as for the women living in the United States of America during the Victorian Age, it was a matter of struggle for the fair sex to establish their rights on the society and find out their ways of living. Despite countless restrains imposed on them by society at large, the Victorian women in America exhibited a degree of tenacity and strength of will that significantly redefining the socio-economic role of women for generations to come. It is both naive and unsound to divorce the condition of women in Victorian America from the condition of women in the Europe. The Victorian American women ventured their ways in the new found land with almost the same grace as they did in the European continent. However, the conditions in the US were all the more challenging for women. Home and a new world far away from the culture and society they knew - these were the immediate surroundings that they found themselves in. Their husbands were in search of prospect in the new land. Feeling of distanced from their roots was very disturbing. America was still largely rural, and daughters (much like sons till the turn of the 18th century) were still considered to be commodity possessions. The more farm hands a family had the more usage could they make from the available land. On the one hand, those women had to handle the household jobs and on the other they had to cope with the alien world outside their homes. Belonging mostly to middle class stature, the young ladies of the Victorian era were brought up within the strict boundaries of thankless domestic chores, spending their time in needle work and managing the kitchen (Plante, P.2) with no regard to their inherent potentials to emerge victorious in the man's world. In spite of that, the ladies nurtured and cherished within them the forlorn hope of personal achievement and never quivered to come out of their domestic holds in times of need. The Northern part of the American continent, in particular, presented a tough challenge for the women living there. This was a place which was known for the harsh weather and other social adversities. European women were completely new to such a world. Their husbands and other members of their families were hardly by their sides when they fought against all the problems occurring in that region. Women also had to protect their religious beliefs in this completely new land. They not only handled all the household jobs but also stood by their husbands who were prospecting in different dangerous places. The experience was not a matter of joke. None of them were rich and could not afford anything they wanted. This was why women living in those parts of the country had go through a huge number of compromises. In the face of such adversity, Victorian women in America started to formulate their own ideas about living a healthy life. They created new theories regarding how to look after the household jobs and perform well as mothers, too. Denied of a place in the 'outside' world, the kitchen became the space where the Victorian American women had to explore forming newer ideas. They did not get everything they used as raw materials in the European countries. America was a new place and new ingredients crept into the kitchens resulting in cooking of new dishes. Invention of these new typically American cuisines was something for which we should give the whole credit to the housewives during this