Working Women in the Victorian Middle-Class Essay -- Victorian Era

Working Women in the square-toed Middle-ClassCharles Dickens character Miss Abbey Potterson is some sixty and unrivalled years old, frankly unmarried (Miss), and a chore owner (she owns a bar). Despite the fact that mincing middle-class women were supposed to aspire to idleness, a growing number of women were becoming employed in the 19 th century for a number of reasons. The growing number of redundant (unmarried, care Miss Potterson) and widowed women were rarely in a position to be ladies of leisure (Hudson). Although these women were almost always lower middle-class, they still strived for appointment preceding(prenominal) that of the laboring classes.Evidence of Working WomenThe census, which began to include occupations in 1841, is the most obvious source (Hudson). However this information is often inaccurate, since the classification of womens employment was often contradictory and inconsistent. Female work in a family business was sometimes deliberately excluded from the record (Hudson).Trade directories supplement the census information. They mention that a surprisingly high number of women ran businesses, particularly in millinery and dressmaking, in inn-keeping, provisioning, grocery trades and teaching. Trade directories from the period also reveal examples of women ravel businesses traditionally associated only with men (like Miss Potterson). This minority indicates the boundaries that were being pushed regarding what was proper(a) and improper for women to do (Hudson).Work Available to WomenFemale employment in the 1850s, 60s and 70s was the most recorded until after World War II (Hudson). national service of all harmings was the single largest employer of women, textile and clothing occupations were a secretive secon... ...fiedThe rampant vice in English society--all men know it, and women too, and both(prenominal) know the others know it--is neither fastness, immodesty, or impropriety of any kind it is pretence. This it is that m akes our society for the most part parvenu society,--burthensome, troublesome, tedious (Cope).Works CitedCope, Virginia. The Ladies. Retreived 16 March 2005. http//etext.lib.virginia.edu/ladies/ladyhome.htmlEmployment for Females. The Ladies. 16 April 1872. pg.35. Retrieved 16 March 2005. http//etext.lib.virginia.edu/ladies/pressex.htmldonkeyHudson, Pat. Womens Work. BBC History. Published 1 January 2001.Retrieved 15 March 2005. http//www.bbc.co.uk/history/society_culture/welfare/womens_work_01.shtmlLarsen, Ashley. Victorian Women in the Work Force. Retrieved 16 March 2005. http//jamaica.u.arizona.edu/ic/mcbride/ws200/lars-hold.htm