Shifting Women s Views By Harriet Martineau And Dorothy...

Shifting Women’s Views Although we see many shifts taking place in Britain between the Romantic and Victorian periods, such as the abolishment of slavery, the discoveries by astronomers and biologists, â€Å"as well as this being at the highest point of development as a world power† (1017). Throughout the Romantic and Victorian periods of British history, we also witness the emergence of an inner consciousness of women, which denounced those accepted by society at the time. This is illustrated through observing the parallels and contrasts within the writings of Harriet Martineau and Dorothy Wordsworth. The inner reflections of these women writers not only rejects the â€Å"Angel in the House† ideal placed upon women, which is found in â€Å"The Paragon† by , but also contradicts those illustrated in â€Å"My Last Duchess† and â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover.† One can also see that the new emerging consciousness of women was a reflection of the social unrest during these ti me periods. During the Romantic period, â€Å"England was experiencing the ordeal of change from a primarily agricultural society, where wealth and power had been concentrated in the landholding aristocracy, to a modern industrial nation† (5). Because of these shifts, times were exceedingly difficult for country people, many were displaced from their small family farms, and women had fewer options to support themselves without husbands. We also see these realities reflected in the prose of Dorothy Wordworth’s journals. There are many