Character entry: Me and Mr. Marsh sure were a fine couple. I saw everyday just how much he loved and cared for me. He would leave me signs of love on my windows and on my front porch to show me he would always come back to me. This is just one of the many love letters he wrote me with this one being specifically for Valentine’s Day. He always knew how much I wanted to be married. I have always dreamed of being a nice wife to Mr. Marsh and keeping a welcoming home for him and our future family. My sisters always admired the relations between me and Mr. Marsh and nearly every one knew we were good for each other. However, Aunt Caroline always told me to marry a rich man, and oh I listened to her even though I knew it was always Mr. Marsh. When he left for Australia to acquire his wealth I always knew he would come back to me, in hope he would have the wealth to be a nice suitor. As he was away, I had to live in my sisters’ shadows at all times and I just felt so lonesome. I never did care about the photography business. I just wanted to be a supportive sister. When he returned and we married, I knew I had to hold on tight to the letters he wrote me as I knew our love would conquer all. At last, I feel as though I can live out my dreams, can’t you imagine it! Me and Mr. Marsh attended all the showcases and parties as husband and wife! We sure do look good together and I am so proud to be his!
Editorial entry: After years of doing research in the Victorian era, it is evident that gender roles and women’s sexuality were different in Victorian Britain than they are in the 21 st century. In the Victorian era, women were expected to essentially follow after their husband’s lead in all aspects and serve as a shadow essentially. Women had to change their ideal of what a good wife was in order to meet their husband’s needs. If the family was not wealthy enough the woman had to learn household duties and chores in order to be suitable for the man (Dreher 4). To be a valid man in Victorian society, they had to meet a certain standard of success in society to be deemed as a valid man. In the poem above, scrapbooked by Ms. Lorimer, Mr. Marsh could not bring in adequate money so he had to go off to Australia to expand his wealth before he could marry her. During these times, women who were not married “failed in business” and this made society uneasy (Dreher 4). Additionally, If women were to go out and get a job in the Victorian era then men would “ have to bid higher for the possession of them” because they would actually have some sort of finances to offer which men were not used to (Dreher 4). As Ms. Lorimer described above, she couldn’t wait to be a suitor for Mr. Marsh and she indeed waited on him, and everyone around her knew they would marry. Even though her Aunt Caroline told her to find someone with more money, she wanted to be a wife so bad that she would wait on him. This reflects an “Old Woman” ideology in the Victorian times in comparison to the “New Woman” ideas because she doesn’t move on with her life after Mr. Marsh leaves. Instead, she follows in her sister's footsteps even though she does not want the business or the company, that is all that is left for her at the moment.
Dreher, Nan H. “Redundancy and Emigration: The ‘Woman Question’ in Mid-Victorian Britain.” Victorian Periodicals Review, vol. 26, no. 1, 1993, pp. 3–7. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20082640. Accessed 12 Oct. 2023.
Eager, Samuel. "For $50,000, You Can Buy Your Valentine This Victorian Love Letter".1857, American Stamp Dealers Association, Fort Lauderdale. https://www.wlrn.org/culture/2014-02-14/for-50-000-you-can-buy-your-val…. Accessed 11, October 2023