Sara Million-Perez

Mrs. Hunt
PIB LA9
11 December 2014
A Proper Lady in Early 19th Century England
In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, women are portrayed as surprisingly different
and slightly similar from the expectations of a lady in early 19th century England. In the novel,
the women of Pips life affect the decisions and choices he makes throughout his life. These
women show both the characteristics of a 19th century lady and different, uncommon
characteristics. This essay will explore the the characters of Great Expectations and what the
expectations of a lady were in 19th century England.
During the early 19th century, it was believed that men and women lived in different
social spheres, based off of the natural characteristics of each gender. Women were considered
gentler but morally superior to men, and were more suited for the domestic sphere. A proper lady
was expected to counterbalance the moral and social sphere of men, to be a good wife, and to
raise the next generation; in general, women were meant for having a great influence on the
home (Gender Roles in the 19th Century). In Great Expectations, Estella shows some
characteristics of a proper 19th century woman, as she acts morally superior to all men: Her
reverting to this tone as if our association were forced upon us and we were mere puppets, gave
me the pain; but everything in our intercourse did give me pain (Page 268). In this passage, Pip
has picked Estella up in London and she is treating Pip as if he is a little boy, like he doesnt
deserve to be in her presence, asking him if he wants to kiss her cheek and demanding him to get
her tea; she acts morally and socially above Pip. However, as previously stated, Charles Dickens

female characters do not quite fit into the standards of a lady in early 19th century England. Men
were usually considered to be the strong, great, outstanding individuals that women obeyed
(Gender Ideology and Separate Spheres in the 19th Century), but in this circumstance, Estella
instead is the strong individual woman who Pip is obeying. In Victorian England, women were
allocated the role of a subsidiary, with patience and self-sacrifice as the prime feminine virtues
(Gender Ideology and Separate Spheres in the 19th Century), of which Estella does not show.
It was also believed that a women was not to be too focused on finding a husband and
becoming married (Gender Roles in the 19th Century), and motherhood was idealised (Gender
Ideology and Separate Spheres in the 19th Century). Miss Havisham does not meet these
conventions of a lady, and in fact is quite obsessive of her wedding, wedding day, and past
fiancee. In fact, ever since she was abandoned at her wedding she has worn the same wedding
dress, stopped all of her clocks to be the same time, and kept everything she to be the same as the
day of her wedding: But, I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had
been white long ago, and had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow. I saw that the bride within
the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness but the
brightness of her sunken eyes. [...] her watch was stopped at twenty minutes to nine, and that a
clock was stopped at twenty minutes to nine (Page 58). Miss Havisham was never a very good
mother to Estella, as she was too selfish focusing on her past that she taught her daughter to have
cold in her heart and not know how to love.
Personally, Charles Dickens was believed to have never understood women and thought
that a women should be the angel of the house and devote her life to housekeeping and child
rearing (Dickens and Women). Mrs. Joe is a good example of how Charles Dickens integrated
his own beliefs into his portrayal of women in Great Expectations. Pip can only remember Mrs.

Joe having an apron on, and it seemed as if she was always cleaning, preparing food, or looking
after Joe and Pip: I may truly say that Ive never taken this apron of mine off, since born you
were. [...] Mrs. Joes housekeeping to be of the strictest kind [...] (Page 7). Mrs. Joe is one of
the female characters in Great Expectations who shows a closest resemblance to a proper lady in
the 19th century; she does good housekeeping and child rearing by she raising Pip by hand, is
religious, which was also important to a lady in 19th century England (19th Century Attitude
Towards Women), and she contributes to her husbands thoughts and ideas, which many women
did for their husbands in the early 19th century (Gender Ideology and Separate Spheres in the
19th Century). On the other, Mrs. Joe does not show very much patience, Tell me directly what
you have been doing to wear me away with fret and fright and worrit, or Id have you out of that
corner if you was fifty Pups, and he was five hundred Gargareys (Page 9), and is not as gentle
as Joe with Pip.
One of the most important things in Victorian England for a women to do was to get an
education to prepare themselves for working inside the house (Gender Roles in the 19th
Century). Again, Charles Dickens's characters defy what it means to be a proper lady in 19th
century England. Biddy, one of Pips friends, studies school with him, and does not go to school
to learn how to work at home but goes to school to learn and is better than Pip. However,
towards the mid to late 19th century, more women became rebellious and fought for women's
rights, including going to school (Gender Ideology and Social Spheres in the 19th Century), so
Biddy did fit into the conventional 19th century women.
In conclusion, there were great expectations of a women in the early 19th century; to be
patient, motherly, kind, follow men, be good housekeepers and child rearers, learn to take care of
the home, not be obsessive over marriage, and more. Some of these traits the female characters

of Great Expectations portrayed, while others showed the opposite of some of the characteristics.
Either way, all of the female characters had a strong influence in Pips life and were what made
him make some of the defining choices of his life.
Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. London: Penguin, 1996. Print.
Fourtin, Elaine. "Early 19th Century Attitudes towards Women." Teach History. Teach Us
History, 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.teachushistory.org/detocqueville-visit-united-states/articles/early-19th-centu
ry-attitudes-toward-women-their-roles>.
Gane, Susan. "Dickens and Women." Dickens and London. Susan Gane, 2014. Web. 11 Dec.
2014. <http://www.dickens-and-london.com/Women.htm>.
Hughes, Kathryn. "Gender Roles in the 19th Century." Discovering Literature: Romantics and
Victorians. British Library Board, 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gender-roles-in-the-19th-century>.
Marsh, Jan. "Gender Ideology and Social Spheres in 19th Century England." Victoria and Albert
Museum. VAM, 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
<http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/g/gender-ideology-and-separate-spheres-19th-century/>.