This article explains how feminism developed during the Victorian Era. During this time, women had very few rights and were expected to focus on the more domestic roles, like taking care of the house and kids. It talks about how society believed that women were supposed to stay in the home, focusing on their family life while men were able to have power and authority in the government and politics. Because of the expectations on women during this time, a lot of the women were frustrated with their lack of freedom and the lack of opportunities that were presented to them. The article discusses how a lot of the early feminists were fighting to get better rights in education, marriage, employment, and voting. The Langham Place Circle was one of the places that worked to improve women's legal and social positions while people like Emmeline Pankhurst were trying to push for the Women's Suffrage Act. Writers during this time were also trying to get other women to realize these inequalities, one of the writers being Virginia Woolf. The article covers the suffrage movement in both Britain and the United States, saying that women were fighting for the right to vote for numerous years, finally gaining those rights in the early 20th century.
This article relates to Goblin Market because both of them show the restricted roles that women were expected to have and be okay with in society as well as the push they had against those restrictions. The poem focuses on the sisters relatinoships and trying to resist temptation, which can be seen as a reflection of some of the Victorians' concerns about the independence of women. This can be seen as a way that some of the early feminists were challenging the views and expectations about women's behaviors and rights during this time.
“Feminism in the Victorian Era.” Victorian Era, https://victorian-era.org/feminism-victorian-era.html
Rossetti, Christina. “Goblin Market.” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44996/goblin-market.
WSPU Poster by Hilda Dallis in 1909 is licensed under Public Domain.
