“Stereotypical gender roles and expectations have no place in the 21st Century”
Views on gender roles and what it means to have an identity and a sense of belonging have change drastically since the Victorian era. While today, in the 21st century it is not uncommon to see women vote, hold a wide variety of jobs, inherit money, marry upon their own terms and have the option of divorce, during the Victorian era these ideas would never have been accepted in society. This is clear in the novel “pride and prejudice” written by Jane Austen, where women were obliged to stich, draw, knit, sing, play piano, dance and marry an honourable man. It is not only women who were often expected to live up to the expectations of their gender; in the film “Billy Elliot” Billy is expected to box, take part in manly pursuits and eventually get a job to provide for the family, specifically, working in the mines. During the 19th century, a movement for Women's suffrage took place and encouraged the slow removal of stereotypical gender roles.
In the novel Pride and Prejudice, some women began to gain equity in legal, educational, professional, and personal aspects of their lives. Majority of the female characters such as Mrs. Bennet , her five daughters, friends of the family, and the general society strictly followed the traditional roles. Mrs. Bennet puts all of her energy into marrying her daughters off to respectable men with respectable fortunes. The girls’ only purpose in life is to find a husband and marry, which is reflected by the tradition of girls ‘coming out’ into society. It is even considered strange when the main character Elizabeth admits that all of her sister are out in society, including her younger sisters. The fact that Elizabeth is not yet married and her younger sisters are eligible to be married is almost scandalous. “ we will be thrown out onto the streets when your father dies”. The family’s belongings will become Mr Collins’ (a distant cousin) if the...