Victorian London was an appearances-conscious society, especially so for the female citizens. The city was a large and densely populated metropolitan center, where various social classes rubbed shoulders. The proximity among Londoners erased some of the spatial divisions inherent in the traditional country setting and heightened awareness of the differences among them. It provided a stage on which it became common for women to penetrate various social classes. This paper examines the ways in which women used appearances to gain access to other women. The more upper-class and upper middle-class women frequently disguised themselves to become social explorers to satisfy a personal curiosity, escape a mundane lifestyle of leisure, or enable
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A working husband of the middle classes wanted to imitate aristocratic values and provide his wife with this leisured lifestyle associated with wealthy women of the upper classes because it would elevate both to a higher social standing. The rapidly advancing industrial and commercial enterprises of the Victorian society in the nineteenth century provided men with opportunities to make enough money in their jobs in business, finance, and civil service. Even if the men had to continue with the “grubby process of moneymaking” they wanted to remove their women from employment and cultivate their delicacy, beauty, and morality. Idleness, however, conflicted with the Victorian ideal of virtue of hard work, so women had to find something to do. Most of them concentrated on being better wives and mothers, creating and nurturing a cult of domesticity. The clothes of a Victorian lady was meant to remind herself and the world about her role, influencing her actions and attitudes. The ribbons, lace, bows, as well as a full skirt and a corset allowed for little movement and autonomy. The clothes embodied delicacy and submissiveness and a …show more content…
They were made fun of for taking serious social issues lightly and exploiting their explorations to spice up their lives and tell great stories at their events. Their propensity to disguise their identities also invited criticism. In Victorian culture the dress of the lady was a pass in society. Her jewelry and elaborate materials told of her husband’s wealth and disguising her outfit made a woman almost anonymous. Of course going incognito was the point for the ladies who for one reason or another wanted to avoid attention, but their husbands certainly did not like it. The cartoon below appeared in an issue of Punch magazine in December 1883. The magazine ran from 1841 and satirized political and social events of the day. The ladies depicted in the cartoon are wearing mackintosh coats to cover their upper class outfits. The idea of wearing diamonds on an excursion to a rookery criticizes women for exploiting the poverty of others as a spectacle and showcases their insensitivity to the suffering of
A working husband of the middle classes wanted to imitate aristocratic values and provide his wife with this leisured lifestyle associated with wealthy women of the upper classes because it would elevate both to a higher social standing. The rapidly advancing industrial and commercial enterprises of the Victorian society in the nineteenth century provided men with opportunities to make enough money in their jobs in business, finance, and civil service. Even if the men had to continue with the “grubby process of moneymaking” they wanted to remove their women from employment and cultivate their delicacy, beauty, and morality. Idleness, however, conflicted with the Victorian ideal of virtue of hard work, so women had to find something to do. Most of them concentrated on being better wives and mothers, creating and nurturing a cult of domesticity. The clothes of a Victorian lady was meant to remind herself and the world about her role, influencing her actions and attitudes. The ribbons, lace, bows, as well as a full skirt and a corset allowed for little movement and autonomy. The clothes embodied delicacy and submissiveness and a …show more content…
They were made fun of for taking serious social issues lightly and exploiting their explorations to spice up their lives and tell great stories at their events. Their propensity to disguise their identities also invited criticism. In Victorian culture the dress of the lady was a pass in society. Her jewelry and elaborate materials told of her husband’s wealth and disguising her outfit made a woman almost anonymous. Of course going incognito was the point for the ladies who for one reason or another wanted to avoid attention, but their husbands certainly did not like it. The cartoon below appeared in an issue of Punch magazine in December 1883. The magazine ran from 1841 and satirized political and social events of the day. The ladies depicted in the cartoon are wearing mackintosh coats to cover their upper class outfits. The idea of wearing diamonds on an excursion to a rookery criticizes women for exploiting the poverty of others as a spectacle and showcases their insensitivity to the suffering of