Women were expected to conform to an artificial notion of "feminine delicacy" which

excluded exercise other than walking smoothly, required them to wear tightly-laced corsets
which in any case made exercise impossible, and often limited exercise. their education in
refined "accomplishments" such as singing, drawing and embroidery.
Angelic figures the idealization of women was evident in the cult of the mother and the girl,
often compared in Victorian literature to angels.
Girls were also considered angels, not only physically, but also morally. Dickens presented
his pathetic heroines as holy figures, and his readers adored them. Many Victorians believed
that the difference between men and women was determined by nature. Women were
considered more innocent and generous than men: naturally more willing to sacrifice.
William Gladstone, believed that giving the vote to women would endanger "their delicacy,
their purity, their refinement". Often girls were not even allowed to read newspapers, for fear
of the evil effect of contact with the real word. In an earlier era, women had simply seemed
inferior to men; now it was said that they were the same but different: less active and less
intelligent, it is true, but also superior in morality, taste and strength of feeling.
At the time of her marriage, a woman's property automatically passed into the hands of her
husband. In the middle of the century, no married woman in Britain owned any property. If a
woman tried to escape from an abusive husband, she could kidnap and imprison her with the
support of the law. If she managed to get out of the house, her children remained in her
husband's custody. Before the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857, divorce was virtually
impossible. This act, however, was not impartial: a husband could divorce his wife if he had
committed adultery, but the woman who wanted the divorce had to prove to her husband not
only guilty of adultery, but also of incest, cruelty. If a man did not commit adultery, he could
treat his wife as much as he liked: cruelty alone was not enough for divorce. However, not
getting married could be worse. For many women, the only chance of survival was
prostitution.
As we have seen in Victorian Age literature, women play a fundamental role:
• The Scarlet Letter:
o Sin: Hester's sin of adultery follows her for the rest of her life, and she begins to fear the
sin of passion she shares with Dimmesdale.
o Guilt: Dimmesdale is haunted by his guilt from not coming forward as Pearl's father for
seven years.
o Isolation: Hester and Pearl live in isolation during their time in Boston. They live in a
small shack, and are shunned by the population for many years. They are made fun of by
children, shunned by adults, and Hester is often the theme of the weekly church sermon.
o The letter "A": The letter A, for "adultery", is, at first, a source of shame and guilt for
Hester. When Dimmesdale rips off his shirt, the letter "A" was etched into his chest,
signifying his part in the affair with Hester, and his guilt for allowing Hester to carry their
secret alone.
• Big hopes:
o The woman: Orphan raised by Miss Havisham to take revenge on men, who desire her
because of her appearance but who will never have, rebels against this fate with great pain of
the old woman and marries Drummle, who however mistreats her; met Pip, whom she had
humiliated in the past, she becomes her friend.
Charles Dickens
1. Tears
Dickens uses tears to represent passionate emotions, including gratitude, love, and shame.
However, all expressed tears have a benevolent and clarifying effect.
2. Satis house
For Dickens, Satis House represents a lack of growth or death: in Satis House. The clocks
are all stopped at the same time. The furniture stays in the same position without being
dusted for years. The wedding cake remains on the table. In Satis House, Dickens creates a
gothic setting whose various elements symbolize Pip's romantic perception.
Estella's character also represents symbols of isolation and manipulation. In fact, estella is
just playing with Pip's emotions.
Alice's adventures represent the fight against time, where rationality and imagination always
collide in what is the path to adulthood.
Parallel to this temporal growth, there is also an inner growth, where Alice knows herself
and the emotions of the human soul.
Some of the lessons we can draw from Alice's story are:
• Learn to grow and manage the ups and downs of life. There are several moments in which
Alice finds herself in the situation where she zooms in or out
• Get to know what you want and follow your dreams and curiosity. Alice follows her
curiosity when she starts following the White Rabbit.
• Know what you want and express yourself. On several occasions Alice is questioned about
her choices (for example with the Mad Hatter or the Cheshire Cat).
• Build your identity and choose your life. Throughout the story, Alice encounters characters
who ask her who she is or where she came from. Alice learns about herself and her identity.
• We are all crazy! Each side that characterizes us is special, and each has its own quirks and
weaknesses that make every human being unique!
• Life is an adventure that will lead you to change over time and we must work on ourselves
to be better people.
In short, despite adulthood implies more responsibility and less imagination, we must not
lose the ability to dream.
All the characters and their meanings
All characters have a meaning for example:
The White Rabbit represents in some way the antithesis of Alice: The character's haste and
unjustified anxiety may want to remind us of the stress that adults often transmit to their
children. The White Rabbit also represents the passage of time and our relationship with this
dimension.
The Mad Hatter: The duality between habit and adventure. The themes that revolve around
the mad hatter concern time and his madness. As for the madness, in particular.
The meaning of the caterpillar or caterpillar probably lies in the contrast between the
rationality of adults against the curiosity of children like Alice.
Alice's caterpillar has several connotations: impatient, hard but somehow wise.
The meaning of the witch cat lies in its ability to be super partes and to help Alice with
advice, which, however enigmatic, will help her throughout her journey.
The meaning of the Queen of Hearts surely lies in the characteristics of adults. The sovereign
would be nothing more than the representation of the anger and negativity of adults that
solves small problems with exaggerated solutions: cutting off everyone's heads.
Jane Eyre, woman of courage - Jane finds herself facing the constraints that Victorian society
imposes on her own; his love for truth and justice goes through a difficult and narrow path.
The woman, independent and autonomous from every point of view, reaches her
completeness in the choice to share her life with Mr. Rochester, owner of the house, the man
who, also outside the Victorian schemes, praises and loves her fortitude.
Jane Eyre, the strength of a woman against the tide - The character built by Charlotte Brontë
is extremely fascinating because she represents the emblem of the one who opposes social
conventions, or rather the role of the woman as "angel of the hearth", dedicated to the house
and without possibility of realizing oneself outside of it. Jane Eyre sums up the strength of a
woman against the tide, who wants to affirm her dignity and personality not only within
society, but also in the sphere of personal affections.
A meditation on the nature of love permeates the whole of Wuthering Heights. Of course, the
most important relationship is that between Cathy and Heathcliff, They betray each other to
marry a person for whom they feel a more docile, but convenient kind of love. Interestingly,
despite its intensity, the love between Cathy and Heathcliff is never consummated.
The love that develops between young Catherine and Hindley's son Hareton is a paler,
gentler version of the love between Cathy and Heathcliff, and is ready for a happy ending.
Hatred and revenge
Heathcliff hates as fiercely as he loved Cathy, and most of his actions are motivated by a
desire for revenge towards: Hindley for mistreating him, and the Lintons (Edgar and
Isabella) for taking Cathy away from him.
Social class
Wuthering Heights is completely immersed in Victorian-era class issues. The Lintons were
part of the professional middle class and the Earnshaws were a little below the Lintons.
Nelly Dean belonged to the lower middle class. Heathcliff, an orphan, occupied the lowest
rung of society in the Wuthering Heights universe, but when Mr. Earnshaw openly favored
him, he went against social norms.
Class is also the reason Cathy decides to marry Edgar and not Heathcliff. When Heathcliff
returns to the moor as a well-dressed, wealthy and educated man, he still remains an outcast
from society.
As an estate, Wuthering Heights symbolizes the wilderness of both Cathy and Heathcliff. On
the contrary, Thrushcross Grange represents cultural and social norms.
Tess of d’umberville
Hardy employs a number of symbols in the novel.
The beautiful natural description of the village of Marlott is a mirror of the innocence of
Tess who is a simple and quaint girl.
Prince is the horse of the Durbeyfield family and their main means of livelihood.
Tess's dream about a noble man who laughs at her and looks down on her situation, just a
moment before Prince's death mirrors her plight of marrying a gentleman and transcending
her social stature.
The custom of the May Day dance at its root is a symbolic ritual of purity and spring. At the
May Day ball, all the young women dress in white, carry white willow branches and white
flowers, and dance with each other. Tess and the other women seem to appreciate the custom
as it offers them the opportunity to perform a symbolic function beyond their insignificant
roles. Tess and Angel meet for the first time.
The duality of good and evil in humanity
An important theme in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the duality of good
and evil in humanity. good and evil exist in all of us, and sometimes, evil overcomes good.
The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde demonstrates that the evil in our nature, if given
a little nurturing and attention, could develop into an uncontrollable monster.
The dangers of abusive science
Another important theme in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the dangers of
immoral science. Dr. Jekyll comes to Hyde through his experimentation with transient
science.
The Victorian Standard of Reputation
A Further Important Theme The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the Victorian
standard of reputation. Henry Jekyll is intelligent and respected, but finds himself bored with
his Victorian obligations; he tries to ensure that he remains a benign figure in the
community. With the creation of Hyde, Jekyll is free to explore all the things that would
destroy him in London.