The Ideal Woman In The 1800's

In the early 1800’s, the ideal woman was a sophisticated being. Intelligence, virtue and wittiness were all key character traits that every male would have fallen for in a female. However, this idea of the perfect woman has taken a huge leap backwards in modern society. Men have drastically changed their views on ‘what is hot and what is not’ in a female. Should men still be pursuing the ideal woman represented in the 1800’s? More importantly, does the contemporary mentality of the ideal woman yield an appropriate and respectful nature towards females? A further understanding of both the current ‘ideal woman’ and the 1800’s ‘ideal woman’ will help contrast both arguments, ultimately allowing us to determine whether men still are looking for
In most contemporary films, magazines, and even books, women are being exploited sexually by the companies producing the product to gain maximum capitalism. Furthermore the average U.S adult spends over 5+ hours soaking up the ideas media displays, meaning many men are watching advertisements, T.V shows and films involving sexualised womanly figures; an example being the no.1 anticipated film of the year, ’50 shades of grey’. Consequently, men are getting engraved into their minds that the ideal woman is a female who applies lustful and lascivious behaviour towards them. Ariella, a high school student in the U.S commented on the topic of the ideal woman and how females are being portrayed in current media, “There is no appreciation for woman intellectuals. It’s all about the body, not about the brain.” This concludes that young woman in today’s society are feeling pressured to look sexy and raunchy, disregarding any other talents the woman may have. Is this the ideal woman men want; a slutty, scandalous, sexualised figure that has no worth unless beauty is present? Or is the 1800’s representation of an ideal woman what men really
This is evident in the character Miss Bingley, a snobbish lady who attempted and failed to achieve in gaining Mr Darcy’s attention. Mr Darcy, in the text, was a wealthy gentleman who was most certainly a charming man having the ability make any woman fall him in an instant. Because of Mr Darcy’s traits, he could have any woman he wanted, outlining that the woman he was chasing for would be most definitely, the ‘ideal woman’ every man would dream for. Mr Darcy was pursuing a woman under the name of Elizabeth Bennet, admiring the strong willed personality she had as well as the intelligence and wittiness that Elizabeth contributed in her daily conversations that were spoken with much pride. In analysing Mr Darcy’s desires, it is obvious how much the concept of ‘ideal woman’ in those times contrast to contemporary texts. The characteristics are very different where the current ‘ideal woman’ is a sexualised female only focusing on visuals while in the 1800 Pride and Prejudice text the ‘ideal woman’ is predominantly an intellectual person with the visual feature only being a small part of what makes a woman