THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE

Abstract

Women's position within the inflexible social systems of nineteenth-century Britain are richly and intricately portrayed in Victorian literature. Literature of the time progressively exposed women's intellectual, emotional, and moral challenges, despite the fact that women were historically restricted to household duties and moral obligations. This article looks at how women were portrayed in Victorian literature, examining how writers both upheld and questioned prevailing gender conventions. The study shows that Victorian literature served as a vehicle for early feminist expression as well as a mirror of patriarchal ideology through qualitative textual analysis of significant Victorian novels and critical interpretations.