Suffer and be still : women in the Victorian age - Vicinus, Martha, 1939- (Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1972)
The Victorian governess: status incongruence in family and society -- M.J. Peterson -- From dame to woman: W.S. Gilbert and theatrical transvestism -- J.W. Stedman -- Victorian women and menstruation -- E. and E. Showalter -- Marriage, redundancy, or sin: the painter's view of women in the first twenty-five years of Victoria's reign -- H.E. Roberts -- A study of Victorian prostitution and venereal disease -- E.M. Sigsworth and T.J. Wyke -- Working-class women in Britain, 1890-1914 -- P.N. Stearns -- The debate over women: Ruskin vs. Mill -- K. Millett -- Stereotypes of femininity in a theory of sexual evolution -- J. Conway -- Innocent femina sensualis in unconscious conflict -- P.T. Cominos -- The women of England in a century of social change, 1815-1914: a select bibliography -S.B. Kanner (p. 173-206).
This work contains a collection of 10 essays that document the feminine stereotypes that women fought against, and only partially erased, 100 ears ago. In an introductory essay, Martha Vicinus describes the perfect Victorian lady, showing that the ideal was a combination of sexual innocence, conspicuous consumption and worship of the family hearth. Indeed, this model in some form was the ideal of all classes as the perfect lady's only functions were marriage and procreation. The text offers a valuable insight into Victorian culture and society.
Keywords: Women -- History -- 19th century -- Great Britain; Women -- Social conditions -- Great Britain