Effects Of Domestic Fiction

Effects Of Domestic FictionDomestic manuf crookure as a musical style was predominantly indite for female childs and young women by women writers, and the musical style grew exceedingly hot and flourished in the ordinal shed light on speed, especi bothy during the mid to late nineteenth blow. Domestic manufacture, often referred to as soppy fiction (due to its sen whilental plot of groundlines and characters) or near womens fiction, became the dominant genre for girls in both Britain and America and the volume of domestic writing upheld and toneed the restrictions of the female role. Many brisks of domestic fiction pay thus been criticised for non attempting to challenge these limitations and empower young women to live a fuller and more rewarding life story, rather than exactly reinforcing the sentiment that women must exist solely indoors the domestic sphere. This dissertation go out discuss third different texts of the domestic fiction genre Elizabeth We at that ordainlls The Wide, Wide World (1852), Charlotte Mary Yonges The Clever Woman of the Family (1865) and Louisa may Alcotts classic tale short Women (1868) and will examine whether literature aimed at girls and young women in the nineteenth century began to empower women and play them with the root word of a life away from the restrictions of the domestic sphere, or whether the genre of domestic fiction simply enforced the rules and restrictions of the female role.IntroductionDuring the nineteenth century, the stoops upon the lives of children and young adults were very or so and removed between. Whereas children of the twenty-first century argon still undeniably influenced by literature, these children live in the duration of television, extensive advertising, communication, the internet and modern technology, and have an eclectic range of influences at their disposal rather than just literature, unmatched of the main and major influences for children during the nineteenth century was the literature that was written specifically for them. Literacy, and literature itself change magnitude considerably during the reign of Queen capital of Seychelles, and this can be attri barelyed to a play of factors one of the most crucial factors creation the expansion of popular education. Children and the idea of childhood had begun to be viewed and treated as a assign which was entirely crash aside from adulthood, and the child was considered to be far more innocent, and possess a far more malleable mind than the adult. As John Back honors in his study Towards a Sociology of breedingEverything to do with children and family life had be continue a matter of worthy attention. Not only the childs future, exclusively his front line and very existence was of concern the child had taken a central adjust in the family.1The prims of the nineteenth century created an change magnitudely sen eonntal view of childhood which would arrest to become wi dely accepted. Queen Victoria herself and Prince Albert set an example for a prim and proper family in which the children were neatly loved and tenderly cared for. Additionally, victorian parents were advised to be firm with their children, but to deal with them with a larger degree of tenderness than in the past, and adults increasingly saw childhood as a period in which the child needed to be protected from the complicated adult world and its concerns. As a result of this changing view, education for children became paramount, and increasing concern was placed upon ensuring that children were appropriately taught. As Judith Rowbotham writes in Good Girls Make Good Wives Guidance for Girls in dainty FictionThe child was the father of the man, and it was important to adults to ensure that children, who represented the next generation, should be right on taught. The indecision that occupied many an different(prenominal) minds merely, was of what did a proper education consist? 2Boys were vown penny dreadfuls loud novels which often have violent adventure or crime and were issued in monthly instalments. all the same, a intimate female at this time was assumed to have been fruitfully instructed in the importance of her domestic and well-disposed duties and responsibilities, as well as in academic subjects. As a result of this assumption, girls were presented with the domestic novel. take aimgirlish women and girls were deemed to be more suited to life deep down the domestic sphere, and the aim of domestic fiction and girls stories was to unloosen the boundaries of the female position within nine and to convince the female, especially the impressionable young muliebrity, of the necessity to conform to the roles of the domestic sphere. Didactic writing of this mixed bag was for certain non a contemporary phenomenon educational and preachy books for young minds were also featured heavily in the eighteenth century. These however, were intended for an upper-class market and were produce in the form of essays rather than as books. The contribution that girls made in their photographic plate was very significant, however it should be noted that that their lives were not always solely made up of domestic duties and responsibilities it was quite parking area for girls to be as well educated as boys, and to be accomplished and taught in skills and talents such(prenominal) as art and music. Still more genteel than what their brothers were taught, yet there was life away from the duties of the home. Public schools were forthcoming to the lower and middle classes, although they were not yet made mandatory, and girls were educated most often from the age of six until they reached foursometeen or fifteen. However in spite of this, women were still discouraged from pursuing an education, as this would interfere with their duties within the home. The July 1848 edition of the publication The Mothers Magazine featured an article en designationd Female Education, which encouraged beats to restrict the time that their daughters were in education, claiming that their accomplishments would be rendered unnecessary after they married. The article states that young women should remain foc employ on their duties within the home let her mark offk a thorough practical understanding of those principles of which she may as a wife, mother and residencekeeper, be called to make daily use.We are advocates for a thorough scientific education but at the same time, for an education for the ordinary duties which females, as wives, daughters and mothers, will be called upon to perform. The piano, and the brush, should never take the place of the needle.3Domestic fiction at this time was renowned for sentimental and predictable plotlines, exceedingly dramatic scenes and weak, weepy female characters, and this characteristic earned the genre its description as the language of tears. This was a time when the biggest want of young girls was to be married and to marry well for a woman to remain single was considered not only to be a misfortune, but a travesty and yet many of the authors who wrote these books were themselves single women. These books were on of the very some ways that young girls could imagine a life other than their own and and so must have a lasting and effective impact on how they viewed themselves, both in regards to society and personally. Furthermore, the writers of domestic fiction were generally exclusively women, and for a woman to be a writer was at this point a new notion, and additionally, if their works were considered unseemly or inappropriate material for young girls, no one would purchase them. due(p) to the fact that for these female authors writing was their only source of income, the sale and popularity of their creations was paramount. As a result, it was extremely rare that domestic fiction for girls in the nineteenth century would feature a character who would step outside of societys restrictions upon young women, and who pushed the boundaries of appropriate female behaviour. For this, the genre has experienced many forms of criticism. The advance(prenominal) forms of domestic fiction, conceived by authors such as Maria Edgeworth and Mrs. Sherwood, achieved popularity and social status and these stories whilst being improving, were also considered to be entertaining. Alison Adburgham has commented thatthe novels were handbooks to the language of the beau monde, to the etiquette of chaperonage, to permissible and impermissible flirtations, to extra-marital affairs, to all modish attitudes and affections.4The literature was instructive and the characters unrealistic and wooden domestic fiction was treated as the perfect device to teach young girls how they should behave and present themselves. However, writers such as Charlotte Mary Yonge and Louisa May Alcott nonetheless managed to write characters who did venture beyond the boundaries of assumed stomps in understated and subtle ways, and unlike authors such as Elizabeth Wetherell, these writers managed to present an alternative life for girls through their characters, and succeeded in upholding societys limitations upon girls in the process. Instead of doing nothing to challenge these stereotypes and being criticised for this issue, these writers somehow were able to empower their female listening to move beyond the restrictions of their domestic sphere and live a far more stimulating life, or in other fictitious characters if their female characters did eventually conform to the institution of marriage and a domestic oriented way of life, they would still manage to maintain the qualities which some readers may have deemed undesirable and inappropriate. More all over, with the publication of Little Women in 1863, Alcott challenged and succeeded in changing what it was to be a young girl in the Victorian age, and for decades to come.Due to the vast popularity of the domestic fiction genre in the nineteenth century, it is for certain indisputable that the genre had great effect on its readers, whether it was the impressionable and innocent particular girls which read them or the mothers who read them to their children. But an rudimentary question of this busy genre is whether the effect was constructive in terms of the development of womens rights and their prospects in life and the growth of their position within the social structure, or whether these novels merely upheld and supported the outdated and strict boundaries set upon women of the nineteenth century and earlier, and supported the stereotypes placed upon them without attempting to make changes to this. I will attempt to answer this question in the chapters that follow.Chapter 1The embodiment of the feminine ideal Elizabeth Wetherell, The Wide, Wide World (1850 published in Britain in 1852)The girl of the mid-nineteenth-century spent the majority of her time in the company of other women and middle-class girls in particular spent their time with their mothers, their sisters and female servants or nannies who may have lived with them in their bears. Their experience was majorly influenced and centred around a feminine community, in which domesticity and the domestic role which they would pursue in their futures was central to their lives. As the term implies, domestic literature presented the home and the family as the best context and environment for the character building and moral reformation. rough drawing heavily on the Sunday school movement, the genre embodied children with the idea that they were able to transform and pull round others around them through charity, prayer and devotion. Domestic fiction generally tended to conform to one basic plot line, which featured the story of a young woman (possibly newly orphaned, or separated from her parents) deprived of support she had previously depended on and is thus faced with the task of making he r own way in the impertinent and unfamiliar outside world. Her ego at the outset of the novel is often damaged or is simply non-existent, and she believes that her guardians will always be there to protect and coddle her however she learns painfully that this is not the case as she becomes acquainted with the real world. This is a world in which she is extremely vulnerable certainly not immune to loss, pain or hardship as she may have previously been, and she is surrounded by people who are far less virtuous than her. The failure of the world to exceed her expectations awakens the young girl to her own possibilities, and what she herself is capable of due to her overwhelming keen nature and unearthlyity. By the climax of the novel, the young woman would usually come to realize and believe in her own worth and most importantly, will come to realize an extremely significant Christian value that everything in life, even if it is bad, is caused by God and will eventually lead to som ething practiced. Commenting on domestic fiction, Nina Baym describes the genre of the domestic novel in Womens Fiction as the story of a young girl who is deprived of the supports she had rightly or wrongly depended on to sustain her passim her life and is faced with the necessity of winning her own way in the world.5Written by Susan Warner and published under the pseudonym Elizabeth Wetherell, The Wide, Wide World is argued to be the novel which first established the genre of childrens domestic fiction, and one which certainly embodies these characteristics of the domestic novel.The Wide, Wide World is one of the earliest and best examples of what would grow to become the most popular genre of nineteenth century fiction the domestic (or sentimental) novel and furthermore, it is considered to be Americas first best-seller novel. Warner was an American evangelical writer of religious and childrens fiction and, of course, domestic fiction. However, as novels were considered by som e to be sinful6and damaging to moral education, Warner described her novels as stories. Sales of the story were unprecedented during the time of its publication as in almost a year, The Wide, Wide World sold over 40,000 copies and this number would rise to 225,000 at the end of the 1850s. Her works were among some of the most popular of domestic fiction written in the nineteenth century, and many featured storylines in which both moral and religious messages were woven. Warners novel featured an accurate portrayal of what life was like during the Victorian era in America and this is one priming for its great popularity. Although the novel is written and set in America, the characters of the story are well-born English and Scottish, and they act concord to their stock and upbringing, and a period at the end of the novel takes place in Scotland itself. As a result, despite this being an American text, The Wide, Wide World was wholly relevant and applicable to English readers. Mid-ni neteenth century readers of the novel recognised and appreciated its relevance to their own lives and women saw themselves and their situations mirrored in the situation of the supporter Ellen Montgomery, and the people she meets throughout the story. Although this book was written by a woman for women, it was not particularly aimed at children. What sets it aside as a childrens text and more importantly a girls text is the fact that the lifter is a young woman.Published in 1850, the novel went through fourteen editions in just two years, and the novel was eventually published in Britain in 1852. It maintained its vast popularity throughout the nineteenth century however it waned in popularity during the early part of the twentieth century, especially around the 1920s at a time when non-domestic childrens literature began to flourish. In What Katy Read Feminist Re-readings of Classic Stories for Girls by scholars of nineteenth century girls fiction Shirley Foster and Judy Simons it is stated that Warners text served as a bridge between the pious Sunday school stories of the 1830s and the child-centred adventures of the latter half of the century and furthermore the novel featured an unprotected heroine overcomes suffering and tribulations to achieve spiritual perfection and moral maturity,7and this would become the archetypal plot which dominated the domestic fiction genre.As mentioned in the introduction, domestic fiction in some cases had become copen as the language of tears, and Warners novel certainly conforms to this description, as we can see at many points throughout the text. The novel begins with the disruption of Ellens happy life, as her mother is dying and her father has lost his fortune and upon doctors recommendations, her parents travel to Europe, and it is unknown how long they will be absent. Ellen leads a fulfilling and pampered lifestyle in New York, and as a result of her parents departure, she must extend her home in order to live wi th her Aunt flock, her fathers sister (who seems to share his temperament) in the countryside. Ellen attempts to be brave for the interest of her mother however she finds little comfort and is clearly devastated at her departure and Ellen, crying, flings her arms around her mother, and privacy her face in her lap gave way to a violent burst of grief that seemed for a few moments as if it would rend soul and body in twain.8As well as being a prime example of the domestic novel, The Wide, Wide World is considered to be a piece of sentimentalist literature, and the novel unquestionably portrays how sentimental Warners style is. The action of the story is introverted within Ellen, and we can see that she is a weepy character at many points throughout the novel. For example Dressing was sad work to Ellen at once it went on very heavily. Tears dropped into the water as she stooped her heard to the basin,9is an extract from a four page stretch of the novel, and within these pages Ellen is portrayed to be crying on five separate occasions. On average, Ellen sheds her tears almost once every two pages, and it is clear that her readers are expected to cry with her, and many probably did.The Wide, Wide World is described as the quint innate domestic novel, and many feminist critics have focused on analyzing the novels portrayal of sex activity dynamics. Warners characters conformed to the stereotypes of ideal young women. Ellen Montgomery, the heroine of the novel, is the epitome of what society desired a young woman to be in the nineteenth century her behaviour is always modest, indicative of considerate submission to those in due authority over her, such as her parents. Elizabeth Wetherell was an early provider of the stereotype of a good girl on the most ideal lines.10Her conduct is perfectly ladylike and throughout the novel she pursues self improvement, and although she is descended from luxury and money, she discovers how to become domestic and to care for bot h the habitationhold and herself, and also commenting on this issue, Rowbotham goes on to claimThe message of didactic fiction throughout the nineteenth century was that feminine influence was more essential to the daily moral health and strength of the family unit and of the nation than that of a man. It was a womans first duty in life therefore, to become as professional in her sphere as a man in his to cultivate her feminine talents in the emotional realm so as to maximise their usefulness within the domestic orbit11In addition to this, it was believed that self-sacrifice as foreign to self-sufficiency was what marked women as professionals, and Ellen certainly conforms to this belief and it is clear that she sacrifices her own desires for the benefit of those around her. We observe Ellens thoroughly good and self-sacrificing nature at many points in the novel, particularly when her Aunt circumstances becomes ill. Although her Aunt has treated Ellen badly since she arrived in h er care, Ellen must cast this fact aside and take over as head of the household, as it was essential for an ideal nineteenth century girl to become convertible and to keep her composure in difficult situations. Throughout the novel, Ellen experiences and learns self-sacrifice and unassuming nature and learns to do without the luxuries she has been used to, and it could be suggested that Ellen is the perfect embodiment of the Victorian feminine ideal, often referred to as The Angel in the category. The reach of ideal womanhood, as defined by Barbara Welter in her well-known article The Cult of full-strength Womanhood features feminine virtues such asPiety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity. Put them together and they spelled mother, daughter, sister, wife woman. Without them, not matter whether there was fame, achievement or wealth, was ashes. With them she was promised happiness and power.12Women were desired and largely required to embody these characteristics and to beco me the domestic ideal, and this Victorian image of the ideal wife and the ideal woman came to be known as The Angel in the House. The angel was powerless, passive and devoted to her husband, and completely pure. The expression Angel in the House originates from the title of the extremely popular poem by Coventry Patmore of the same name, in which he presents his wife Emily- the angel of the title as a model for all womankind, under the impression that his wife Emily was the absolute ideal Victorian wife. Warners novel is a text which features women, most notably Ellens mother and Alice Humphreys who conform to the ideals of The Angel in the House and it is from these women that Ellen learned to become the perfect and exemplary middle-class Victorian girl. As Signe O. Wegener observes in James Fenimore cooper Versus The Cult Of Domesticity,Whereas authors such as Child and Sedgewick marginalize the mother, Warner allows her more prominence and influence, constantly emphasizing the almost emblematic attachment between mother and daughter. Mrs. Montgomery, although an invealid, is the most important person in the heroine Ellens life, carefully shaping her daughter into an angel in the house and a mirror of her pious and self-sacrificing self. As befits a mother from the hey-day of the cult of domesticity, she has the proper priorities.13Ellens mother is submissive to her husband, yet is conflicted as she does not want her daughter to be sent away and certainly does not want to go to Europe. However, since both her doctor and her husband (who are both dominant males) demand that she do, she must obey them and the narrator observes, Captain Montgomery added the weight of authority, imperativeness on her compliance. And of course, the submissive angel in the house, Mrs. Montgomery is required to succumb to the separation. Mrs. Montgomery has absolutely no power in her husbands household yet she never voices her complaints, even when she is to be separated from E llen whom she loves and adores Ellen learns and demonstrates much throughout the novel from her guidance and it is evident that this is what her mother desires, and we are presented with this fact upon her mothers departure when Ellen is presented with a bible and workbox, essential items for the ideal Victorian girl. The reason for these gifts, her mother explains, is that these will provide everything necessary for keeping up good habits, and that this will help Mrs. Montgomery to rest assured that Ellen willbe always neat, and tidy, and industrious, depending upon others as little as possible and careful to improve yourself by every means I will leave you no excuse, Ellen, for failing in any of these duties. I trust you will not disappoint me in a single particular.14Furthermore, under her the guidance of her mother (albeit, her invalid mother) Ellen learns to become the the angel in the house, and one instance in which we can see this is the point at which Ellen experiments in poking the fire in her home. As Mrs. Montgomery is unfit for housework, Ellen learns to cognise the unspoken agreement in which the household duties are transferred onto herThe inhabit was dark and cheerless and Ellen felt stiff and chilly. However, she made her way to the fire, and having found the poker, she applied it gently to the Liverpool coal with such good effort that a bright ruddy blaze sprang up, and lighted the whole room. Ellen smiled at the result of her experiment. That is something like, she state to herself who says I cant poke the fire? Now, let us see if I cant do something else.15Ellen is often unsure of her abilities within the domestic sphere, and this experiment with the poker gives her some idea of what she could be able to perform, and what outcomes they could provide for the house and for others around her and this is clear as she continues experimenting within the room. This suggests, quite literally, that her labours could light up and bring warmth to a cold, dark and cheerless home. She could become the angel in the house or the light of the home and through her domestic labour, as we can see, Ellen herself becomes happier and far more contented. Furthermore, it would protrude that her mothers instruction and influence was not in vain and Ellen has seemingly fulfilled her mothers wishes, as we can see by friends describing Ellen as a most extraordinary child said Mrs. Gillespie.She is a good child, said Mrs. Chauncey.Yes mamma, I dont suppose she could help being polite.It is not that, mere sweetness and politeness would never give so muchelegance of manner. As far as I have seen, Ellen Montgomery is a perfectly well-behaved child.That she is said Mrs. Chauncey but neither would any cultivation or example be sufficient for it without Ellens through good principle and great sweetness of temper.16The embodiment of the angel in the house seems to be a dominant theme throughout Warners text, however one of the women in the foref ront of Ellens life who should basically serve as a kind of substitute of Ellens mother, is the exact opposite of this feminine ideal. Ellen, despite all that her mother has left her with to make an ideal life for herself in her absence, finds little solace with her fathers sister, endangerment Emerson. Described in What Katy Read asIn terms of the paradigmatic fairy-tale structure of the novel, she is the wicked stepmother. seemingly incapable of affection and bearing deep grudges, she tyrannises over Ellen she cheats her of her mothers garners, she refuses to make it possible for her to attend the local school, and in order to vindicate herself in the eyes of Mr. Van Brunt, her farm manager, she makes her niece confess to faults of which she is not guilty. In gender terms, indeed, she seems not only more male than female, but embodies a domineering and aggressive masculinity.17Ellens Aunt Fortune turns out to be the complete opposite of her mother. Unkind and callous, she sho ws Ellen no affection whatsoever, and in a letter to her mother, it is clear just how uneasy Aunt Fortune makes her, even in aspects beyond her control such as her appearance and mannerI wish there was somebody here that I could love, but there is not. You will want to know what sort of person my aunt Fortune is. I think she is very good looking, or she would be if her nose were not quite so sharp but, mamma, I cant tell you what sort of feeling I have about her it seems to me as if she was sharp all over. Im sure her eyes are as sharp as two needles. And she doesnt walk like other people at least sometimes. She makes queer little jerks and starts and jumps, and flies about like I dont know what.18In her new life with her aunt who is neither a lady nor a Christian and who certainly does not behave in a familial manner towards Ellen, Ellen is clearly superior. Furthermore, Aunt Fortune blatantly denies Ellen the further education that her mother desired. Only when Ellen meets Alice H umphrey, a refined Christian woman (who is certainly smelling(p) of her mother) does she find consolation in such an unforgiving and seemingly hopeless place. Alice is a pious and marvellous woman and as the daughter of a minister, she is a faithful churchgoer unlike anyone else in the area. Alice essentially takes Ellen under her wing and with this new found companionship, and Ellen receives the schooling and moral instruction that her Aunt Fortune has denied her. Alice and her take to task John, who is often away studying at school, save Ellen from the unkind and impious atmosphere her aunt has created and this act of bring through by Alice supports the idea and instruction that girls should not affirm their own desires, but wait for a fellow Christian to act as a saviour and to intervene and of course in this kind of domestic novel, this was always the case.As well as supporting the ideal of the angel in the house and creating characters that appear to embody all of the chara cteristics of the Victorian feminine ideal, The Wide, Wide World also promotes the Christian idea that the good and virtuous die young, but despite an early demise their deaths are seen as being religiously significant however untimely. As a result of these deaths, other characters are able to recognize the failure in their own morals. Although Aunt Fortune is gravely ill, Warner does not allow her a meaningful death as she is not religious or devout enough to be worthy of it. However Alice Humphreys enters Ellens life as an ideal role model and certainly the embodiment of the feminine ideal, and her thoroughly good and pure nature essentially means that she is not for this worldShe is able to mount a rescue mission and take over Mrs. Montgomerys duties. However, Alice Humphreys is such a perfect Angel in the House that it is not surprising that Death had already marked her for his own. Before she dies, Ellen learns from her how best to combine education, accomplishments and domest icity, taking over Alices place as daughter and provider of comfort in the Humphrey household.19Both