Throughout the Victorian era, women had very few rights. There were strict gender roles throughout this time period, which made it easy for men to take advantage of their wives. Women did not have rights to sue, own property, or vote, though they were allowed to work a job. However, they were expected to be perfect wives and mothers, which was why many, especially in an upper-class household, did not work. In the 1850s, there were political movements for women to gain voting rights and to have equal rights in education and the workforce. However, Queen Victoria herself was against this. Sadly, this movement did not result in any new rights for women.

Of course, many people wrote about how women were perceived in the Victorian era. As an example, Christina Rossetti wrote a poem called "In an Artist's Studio" which describes a painting of a woman hiding behind screens and is objectified as her portrait fulfills the dreams of a man. This poem is a call out to how women are viewed in Victorian society. Based on this poem, Rossetti believes women shouldn't be objectified or made to fulfil the dreams of men, as they too are individual people despite how society may see them because of the strict gender roles in Victorian society. While child labour was also called out during this time, artists also called out how women are seen in society. If we witness anything that feels unfair, there will always be people who call it out or feel the offness of how a marginalized community is treated. Unfortunately, some people are raised with traditional values that are deeply rooted in gender stereotypes, but a part of humanity is unraveling stereotypes over time. Because Christina Rossetti wrote a poem displaying how women are seen in her society, she is calling out the errors of her time. Throughout time, we have always done this, and this is unfortunately something we will continue to do.

Cossar, Elena. "The Role Of Women In Victorian England." Oxford Open Learning, 1 Feb, 2021, https://www.ool.co.uk/blog/the-role-of-women-in-victorian-england/.

Rossetti, Christina. "In An Artist's Studio." The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Victorian Age, edited by Stephen Greenblatt et al., 9 th ed., vol. E, W. W. Norton, 2012, pp. 638.

Rossetti Gabriel, Dante. Christina Rossetti. 1848. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christina_Rossetti_3.jpg.