Women as Portrayed in the Illustrated London News
Created by Madison Delaney on Tue, 05/07/2024 - 13:54
Using the Jan-Jun 1879 volume and the Jul-Dec 1881 volume, this timeline highlights the socially acceptable realm of women in the early Victorian period, and how it changed over time. Using ads, articles, and illustrations from the Illustrated London News, it seeks to discover what was being marketed to women through the media as desirable, but is overwhelmingly a picture of upper-middle class ideals. This timeline was created in 2024 for ENGH/WGST 304: Sexuality and Gender in 19th-Century Literature and Culture at Drew University.
Timeline
Chronological table
| Date | Event | Created by | Associated Places | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1879 |
Ad for Hair Product This product, which prevented grey hair and added to the overall beauty of one's hair, was endorsed or associated with a married woman. This heightened the credibility of the product, as something made or used by a proper Victorian woman, although it was marketed to both genders. The language in the ad, with words like "gentle," evokes angel in the house imagery alongside Mrs. Allen's name. Assuming this product is actually made by a woman, it illustrates a shift into the public sphere, although the strength of this appearance out of the private sphere is severely undercut by the remaining tie to the domestic reputation of the manufacturer. |
Madison Delaney | ||
| 4 Jan 1879 |
Ad for The Diseases of Women A simple ad for a new book or publication, it is surrounded by many others, like The Family Physician or A Handbook of Nursing. What is relevant about this entry is not that it was being marketed to women, as surely this was meant for an educated male doctor to peruse instead, but that there was even a concept or desire for a book about women's diseases. This shows that women were viewed strongly as other, and this particular view/idea does not change across the course of this project, as an article earlier in this volume speaks about the hardship of raising funds for a women's hospital, and later, there is an advertisement for a homeopathic hospital exclusively for women. In many ways, the medical institutions of the time were able to control unacceptable women with very little fuss, as was discussed in The Woman in White. |
Madison Delaney | ||
| 4 Jan 1879 |
Ad for The Ladies' Treasury by a Scotsman The domestic, private sphere was the only accetpable place for the average Victorian woman to exist, and that's easily evident in this mixed advertisment and review for the Ladies' Treasury. For the "practical housewife" there are recipes abound within so she can cook for her family and provide them with security and "domestic economy." The stories and games within the magazine provide the perfect content for a "parlor chit-chat," an entirely surface level conversation with no stakes and most importantly no strenuous thinking involved. The Scotsman goes on to reassure any viewers that fashion advice and needlework are both included within, lest the whole venture be pointless. When the only media available to women is that which rigidly enforces control over them and denies them the same leisure activities as men, their intelligence suffers, further entrenching them into the private sphere. |
Madison Delaney | ||
| 11 Jan 1879 |
Ad for Ladies' Dinner Dresses Though there are a multitude of ads in the Illustrated London News for all kinds of fashion and fabric, this was one of the few that specifically marketed itself for women. This ad does two things for an understanding of the Victorian period; on the one hand, it illustrates the importance of the social scene, largely dominated by women in the home who were in charge of dinner parties and similar events, while also making it clear to viewers that such an ad, perhaps most of the ads within, are specifically for middle and upper class individuals. The working class isn't displayed as regularly in this newspaper as the monarchy, and it stands to reason that most of the ads within are targeted to the morally and socially acceptable members of society. |
Madison Delaney | ||
| 18 Jan 1879 |
Review of Flower Lore by Mrs. Paterson Flower Lore, from the review's description, is exactly what it sounds like, a book detailing different kinds of flowers and their meanings, accompanied by illustrations. Mrs. Paterson, they write, has inherited her father's gift with words, but her talent is only acknowledged side by side with his and other famous male writer's, and never of its own accord. The passage that caught my eye in this review, that I have attached, informs readers that this is the perfect gift for one of the "gentle sex" of women. The study of flowers is a perfectly acceptable path for a young Victorian woman to tread, perhaps because of the association of women and nature, or the association of flowers and other feminine tasks like embroidery. Interestingly, the review does go on to list other writers who have written about flowers, and here the are plenty of women's names attached to the study. |
Madison Delaney | ||
| 25 Jan 1879 |
Personal Ad This ad is short and direct, but it reveals a community of female assistance and acknowledges that women were reading the news frequently enough to feel confident in asking one another for help through it. While the desire to remove superfluous hair says a lot about beauty, perfection, and the values of Victorian society, I find it far more compelling that this personal ad never showed up again, indicating that Mrs. Newton received an answer (or perhaps several) from the female readership of the Illustrated London News. |
Madison Delaney | ||
| 25 Jan 1879 |
Myra's Journal of Dress and Fashion Marketed as the cheapest, best journal of fashion and feminine advice for young girls, the ad for a subscription highlights some of the topics that will be discussed. Though mostly vapid and surface-level, as I kept looking through the ILlustrated London News the articles mentioned within slowly shifted, with less emphasis every issue on embroidery tips and more exploration of literature. While certainly not perfect and all-encompassing, this highlights an important focus on education, although the literature discussed was not the same as might be discussed in a men's journal. |
Madison Delaney | ||
| 1 Feb 1879 |
Engraving of the First Lesson The engraving shows a group of young women ice skating, and while it is lovely, what the editors decided to espouse in their explanation of the photo was far more interesting. Ice skating, it seems, was a properly feminine activity, though they acknowledge that only men could reach the true peak of physical fitness and properness of dress which was required. Of course, women's success in the sport was because of their birthing hips and lower center of gravity as compared to men, and even with their "natural aptitude" they were only "tolerably skillful." This diminishment of women's accomplishments, hand in hand with the biological and physiological reasoning that Victorian's believed proved women's ability, is a fascinating piece of Victorian doublethink. |
Madison Delaney | ||
| 1 Oct 1881 |
Apple Picking The explanation of this engraving begins by comparing the woman depicted to Galatea and her naughty behavior, though the writer quickly backtracks and assures viewers that she holds no sort of ill will. The most interesting aspect of this article to me was the inclusion of a male figure. He isn't in the engraving itself, which makes the writer's decision to invoke a masculine presence even more bizarre. This could speak to the need for a constant male chaperone because women couldn't exist in the public sphere without one, or to the subconscious needs of the author, who desires and wants to imagine women as always tethered to a man. |
Madison Delaney | ||
| 29 Oct 1881 |
First at the Top The engraving shows a woman at the top of a hill or mountain, assumedly after a long hike, with a handful of friends below her (three women and two men, perhaps). She is excitedly calling down to them, as she has reached the peak first and is undoubtedly proud of her accomplishment. The editors and writers of the Illustrated London News condemn this expression and mindset instantly. She is "too ambitious," "silly," and "unfeminine," because of the bravery she has shown and the pride in her accomplishments. More and more, women were exiting the private sphere, even in small ways such as this, and growing in confidence regarding their abilities, and the response of the news speaks volumes on the broader societal opinions as they police women's bodies and what they do with them. Text as follows: "This enterprising, fearless, rather too ambitious young lady, who has out-run her friends of the summer picnic party among the cliffs and rocks of a tremendous sea coast, had better take care. If she were a young man or boy, we should call her something more than fool-hardy---or, perhaps, even something less, deducting the last two syllables, "hardy," and giving her the benefit of what was left of the word. Being a lady, she will be entitled, by courtesy, to more gentle language; but we shall not flatter her reckless vanity with any expression of admiration. The fact is, that we are not so young and active as we once were; and our brain and nerves, as well as our limbs and lungs, would fail to command success in the feat which this silly girl has so gratuitously performed. We take refuge, therefore, in an affectation of masculine dignity, and decline to commend such an unfeminine exhibition of physical courage." |
Madison Delaney |