The conditions of women during the Victorian Era in England. Used in a class presentation in 2nd year of Philology.

We chose Act 3 for our presentation because it reflects women's lifestyle during the Victorian Era. Women of the mid- 19th century had no choices. Most lived in a state little better than slavery. They had little choice but to obey men, because in most cases men held all the resources and women had no means of subsistence. A wealthy widow or spinster was a lucky exception. A woman announcing her intention to remain single would …

…women. For a time, bonnets helped to protect a lady's delicate skin from the sun's rays and from the 1860s it was an accessory for matrons and elderly women. A woman who carried a parasol was surely a lady because if a woman carried an umbrella, this meant she could not afford to own or hire a carriage for transportation in the rain. Therefore, ladies made sure that their parasols were quite visible to all.