The Most Renowned Female Victorian Writers
Xee Xiong
Rogers
Eng. III
16 April 2013
The Renowned Female Authors of the Victorian Era
Writing is more than just clusters of words that fill the blank expanses of white pages but rather for expressing the fleeting imagination of the author’s mind. The Victorian Era, a time named for Queen Victoria’s reign in England from 1837-1901, was an era that had advancements in many fields, from science to literature (Rahn), earning it the name of the Second English Renaissance and the Beginning of Modern Times (Miller). Novels played a huge role in Victorian literature, and according to Ilana Miller, “the [novel’s] importance to the era could easily be compared to the importance of the plays of Shakespeare for the Elizabethans.” Literature during the Victorian era was, for many of the female writers, secretive and feministic due to the rights of women back in those days where women were permitted to be well-mannered and subordinate to men. A main topic was the ongoing conflict between industrialized Northern England and rural Southern England (Cameron). Because writing was not as common a practice for women, many authoresses used pseudonyms to keep their identity under wraps, reduce criticism, and gain a wider audience. Through their successes in writing, the Brontë Sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Mary Ann Evans have become some of the most renowned female writers of the Victorian Era.
Only a few authoresses stood above the rest during the Victorian era. The Brontë Sisters can be put into that category. The Brontë Sisters consisted of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, born to Patrick Brontë and Maria Branwell. When their mother passed away of cancer in 1821, Charlotte and Emily, plus their two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, went to live with their aunt and attended Cowan Bridge Clergy Daughters’ School. When Maria and Elizabeth passed away from tuberculosis in 1825, due to a fever epidemic at their school (Shattock 63), their father
Rogers
Eng. III
16 April 2013
The Renowned Female Authors of the Victorian Era
Writing is more than just clusters of words that fill the blank expanses of white pages but rather for expressing the fleeting imagination of the author’s mind. The Victorian Era, a time named for Queen Victoria’s reign in England from 1837-1901, was an era that had advancements in many fields, from science to literature (Rahn), earning it the name of the Second English Renaissance and the Beginning of Modern Times (Miller). Novels played a huge role in Victorian literature, and according to Ilana Miller, “the [novel’s] importance to the era could easily be compared to the importance of the plays of Shakespeare for the Elizabethans.” Literature during the Victorian era was, for many of the female writers, secretive and feministic due to the rights of women back in those days where women were permitted to be well-mannered and subordinate to men. A main topic was the ongoing conflict between industrialized Northern England and rural Southern England (Cameron). Because writing was not as common a practice for women, many authoresses used pseudonyms to keep their identity under wraps, reduce criticism, and gain a wider audience. Through their successes in writing, the Brontë Sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Mary Ann Evans have become some of the most renowned female writers of the Victorian Era.
Only a few authoresses stood above the rest during the Victorian era. The Brontë Sisters can be put into that category. The Brontë Sisters consisted of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, born to Patrick Brontë and Maria Branwell. When their mother passed away of cancer in 1821, Charlotte and Emily, plus their two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, went to live with their aunt and attended Cowan Bridge Clergy Daughters’ School. When Maria and Elizabeth passed away from tuberculosis in 1825, due to a fever epidemic at their school (Shattock 63), their father
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