The Stereotypes Of Women In Charles Dickens Great Expectations

Charles Dickens presents a multitude woman in Great Expectations who suffer socially, morally and professionally in the hands of men. Dickens provides powerful portraits of manipulative women, including, Mrs. Joe, Estella, Miss Havisham and Molly. In Great Expectation Dickens does not portray any pure “angels of the house”. Dickens however, portrays one singular character that could be considered morally stable and pure. The female character in most people’s eyes that is emotionally stable is Biddy. Other than Biddy, Dickens depicts women in his novel with little softness in their hearts. In his writing, Dickens tends to have very little sympathy to a typical Victorian female. Charles Dickens filled his novel with mutilated women. Why does …show more content…
The stereotypes were held at the highest level and the strongest after the industrial revolution. These strong beliefs allowed men, including Dickens to branch out and become part of the changing world. Dickens, unlike most men of the time, expected women to stay in their place at home and thus out of the public eye. Charles Dickens portrayed the men in the novel as villains. Charles Dickens was considered to some as a villain. This perception of Dickens did not affect his popularity. He still managed to be popular among 19th elites because of his incredible storytelling. Charles Dickens was a 19th century stars do to his storytelling. His characters all had different attributes, but the men he portrayed were one of a kind and also reflected Dickens feelings towards women. The men of Great Expectations including, Compeyson, Drummle and Orlick were bad guys and Peter Scheckner suggested, “they beat, abuse or kill other people, usually women” (237). However, he portrayed the other men in a far better light, as they were more remorseful and inviting. Dickens believed and portrayed men who succeed financially and morally. Most male characters in the novel had goals they were able to attain. The men being portrayed were, Pumblechoock, Jaggers, and Abel Magwitch. The men of the novel were perhaps in a more stable place than the females. Miss Havisham and Mrs. Joe suffered greatly for a long time, which lead to death. A large …show more content…
However, I believe the story line would be greater if he had portrayed the Victorian culture without bias against women. Dickens had a difficult family situation at home and believed men were far superior to women. Dickens tended to believe in an unbalanced gender system. He believed women belonged at the bottom, and men including Jaggers at the top. Great Expectations was a relatively dark novel. If all male and female characters get lumped together, there would not be many morally pure or succeeding ones that could be easy defied from the group of sixteen. In the 19th century Victorian age, it was well documented that Dickens was cruel to his wife Catherine. The fact that, he had not even communicated with his ex wife that one of their sons had died was senseless. Charles Dickens did send a letter to his estranged wife, but not until long after the death. These deplorable behaviors led to Dickens depiction of many evil and un-pure female characters in Great Expectations. The depictions and complexions of women were disturbing to many, as the majority Victorian women of the time were in fact hard working, motivated females that did a lot of good at home. The women of the Victorian period and had steady lives at hope so they were therefore pure at the core. These types of women were considered “angels of the house” and they were