Women in Victorian Society- Workforce

There was no workers' compensation until late in the Victorian era. Some women were employed in the caol and steel industry. Women and children worked underground as "hurriers" until the Mines and Collieries Act passed in 1842. The law did not have much of an impact on the employment of women in mining. Women were also big in agriculture in the all countries of England. Agriculture did not pay well, that caused the shift to the industrial industry. Industry laundry services employed many women. Women were also commonly employed in textile mills. Some women took a different approach as business women with animal breeding.

Women did not expect to be paid the same wage as their male co-workers. The men were being paid almost double what the women were being given. Pregnant women worked up until the day they went into labor. Straying away from the normal woman employment was rare and looked down upon. It was very difficult to get into a good paying, male dominated field. This makes Elizabeth Garrett Anderson's journey so remarkable. She never gave up and did not take no for an answer. She made her own path and created her own destiny.

My life as a Doctor

Even with my qualifications ad doing extremely well on my exam, it was very hard to get a job in my field.  I could not take up a medical post in any hospital. I decided to open up my own practice the same year I got my license. My first building was 20 Upper Berkeley Street, London. I did not have many patients at first, but business gradually grew. After about six months, I wanted to open an outpatients dispensary, to enable poor women to obtain medical help. In 1865, there was an outbreak of cholera in Britain. I opened St . Mary's Dispensary for Women and Children. In the first year, I tended to 3,000 new patients.
University of Sorbonne, Paris was in favor of admitting women as medical students. I decided to study French and obtain my medical degree. In 1870, I became the first women in Britain to be appointed to a medical post, which was in the East London Hospital for Children. Three years later I resigned from my post because of my two existing buildings and my role as a new mother already consumed enough time. I co-founded London School of Medicine for Women with Sophie Jex-Blake. I worked there and was the dean there for the rest of my career.

Women in Victorian Society- Education

Women were not freely offered the opportunity to study extended subjects. This made it very difficult for a woman to break away from the traditional Victorian woman lifestyle. Education was specialized by gender. Woman were offered the opportunity to study refined subjects such as history, geography, and general literature.  It allowed them to hold a normal conversation with society provided with the background knowledge.  Some women did excel in "male" subjects such as law, physics, and science. Although women were rarely given the opportunity to attend university. 

In the Uk, it was even said that if a women studied against their nature it could make them ill. The Victorian period revolved around the teachings of the church and the definition of masculinity and femininity. Hence furthering the education of women was seen as the key to opening up additional freedoms to them including training for employment, a way of eliminating the boredom of every day household duties. Well after the successful openings of schools and women's colleges, the arguments still persisted; that it would impact severely the concept of Victorian family life and cause friction between the male and female students and within the female group itself as to exactly what should women be taught and to what degree.

Medical Qulaifications

I decided to spend six months as a hospital nurse at Middlesex Hospital in London in 1860. I did my best as nurse and I was allowed to attend an outpatients' clinic and observe operations. I attempted to enroll in the hospital's Medical School, but was refused. They did give me the opportunity to attend private tuition in Latin. Greek, and meteria medica with the hospital's apothecary. I did this as I was working as a nurse. I hired a tutor for myself to study anatomy and physiology. I did this three evenings a week. I was eventually granted access to the dissecting room and chemistry lectures. The male students did not like my presence in their classroom. I was obliged to leave Middlesex Hospital, but I left with an honors certificate in chemistry and materia medica.

I applied to several medical schools including, Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, and the Royal College of Surgeons. All of these schools rejected me. I was left on my own, so I privately obtained a certificate in anatomy and physiology. In 1862, I was finally admitted for private study by the Society of Apothecaries. Over the next three years, I struggled to get qualified and I studied privately with various professors. In 1865, I took my exam and obtained my license to practice medicine. I ranked highest in the class on the exam.

Women in Victorian Society- Domestic Issues

Domestic chores for women without servants meant a lot of washing and cleaning. Coal-dust was a major cleaning duty for a woman of this time. The coal dust from the stove would coat everything and linens had to be washed regularly. Scrubbing the front wooden doorstep of the home every morning was also a respectful thing to do. Women were often raising six- twelve children on average. The age of the children were normally close together. The women were often expected to look good for their husband as well. The duties were hard for any women head of household, but the deserved respect was often searched for.

 If a women felt she was not given enough respect, it was almost too little too late once a marriage is in place. Divorce was not very common back in this time. If there was a problem in the household, it was to be fixed or ignored. The first animal-cruelty legislation was passed in Great Britain in 1824, however, legal protection from domestic violence was not granted to women until 1853. The Act for the Better Prevention and Punishment of Aggravated Assaults upon Women and Children did not ban violence, but instead it limited to amount of force permitted.

Becoming Educated

It was not easy for me to become a doctor. I am the first qualified female doctor in England and you can only imagine to journey I had to take to accomplish such a goal. Where I grew up, Aldeburgh, there was no school. My mother taught me reading, writing, and arithmetic on her own. When I was ten, my mother hired a poor gentlewoman to educate me and my sister. She did not have to do this, but it was very important to my mother, that we were were educated. I used to think I was so smart back then, I remember trying to outwit my teacher. When I was 13, my sister and I were went to private school by our father to become further educated. It was The Boarding School for Ladies, in Blacksmith, London. I finish my private education in 1851, I was so happy to be done with that school. I did not like the way the teachers taught. They did not incorporate enough reading into the study. Reading is very important to me, it is the foundation and the continuation of learning.


After school, I fell into nine years of domestic duties. This of course was not the best time period in my life, I did not enjoy the simply expected lifestyle I was living. During this time, I studied Latin and arithmetic in the morning when I had time to myself. I met my long time friend, Emily Davies, when I was 18 years old. She gave me great advice to pursue a career. I read about the first female doctor in the Unites States, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, and instantly became inspired. When she came to visit London, I traveled to the capital to meet her. I then joined the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women, and decided that I want to pursue a career in the medical profession. When I announced my plan to my husband, he was filled with doubt, but eventually came around. I am a very determined woman and it would be a shame to doubt my abilities.

Women in Victorian Society- Household

 Women had unwritten rules, when it came to how to properly act in the household. A woman's duty was to obey, honor, and love the husband and cherish the support he brings the family. Keep the house clean and in tact while raising many children was a common responsibility for a woman in the Victorian era. It was a very crucial duty in British culture to be able to run a respectable household and secure the happiness in the home. Women that did not support this duty to their best ability were frowned upon and often given harsh criticism by others. Why this roles of a British woman in the Victorian era was a common theme played around the world at the time,  the British had a way of doing things with proper class.
A famous poem written in the Victorian Era showcases the role of woman in the household. 
"Angel in the House", written by Coventry Patmore, published in  1854:


Man must be pleased; but him to please

Is woman's pleasure; down the gulf
Of his condoled necessities
She casts her best, she flings her breast [...]

She loves with love that cannot tire;
And when, ah woe, she loves alone,
Through passionate duty love springs higher,

As grass grows taller round a stone.


The poem shows the gratitude the author showed for the woman of the household. The nickname, "Household General" was often used for a housewife. The term was coined by Isabella Beeton, as she describes on her best selling Victorian manual: Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, The role of a woman is compared to the commander of an army or the leader of an enterprise.

The Feminist Within

Coming from a long line of gunsmiths, blacksmiths, and silversmiths, it was almost expected of me to go into the housewife role and hold the house together for the successful men in my family. My mother did just this, she was a very strong woman. She raised nine wonderful children and stuck with my father through thick and thin. As my father became a successful silversmith and pawnbroker, my mother made sure to teach me and my sisters about the corrupt British woman society. My mother liked top give us trust and freedom. When I was a young girl, she would allow me to roam the town and explore the local salt marshes, beach, and sail maker's yard. This was a rare freedom to give a young girl even to this day.

 A few years ago, my sister Milicent became apart of the Langham Place Circle for women's suffrage. She has since become a very well known leader for the London National Society for Women's Suffrage. I am extremely proud of her. I new she had it in her to make a difference. My good friend, Emily Davies, and I were able to get over 1500 signatures on our petition for head of the household woman to be given a vote. I feel as if it is my duty to bring light to woman suffrage because I am making groundbreaking accomplishments for women of my time.