19th Century Women in Literature

You may have heard some questions:

If men and women are equal, then why are so few CEOs female?

Why are there fewer female leaders?

Why are there so few female directors?

Can women act as logically as men?

And a lot more that I just don't want to include in order to provide a healthy blog.

On top of these, there are people everywhere who are constantly questioning the reason why the population of male writers, philosophers, or scientists surpasses that of females. Let's learn about what it meant to be a woman in the 19th century and see the reasons why.

Let alone a writer, being a woman in the 19th century meant that you were obliged to meet the societal expectations based on gender norms, and religious beliefs. Women were expected to focus solely on domestic roles and responsibilities; let alone a career they were not expected to leave their house and read books which are not considered holy or religious. The outside is a place of danger; a woman is too naive to face the real world, and as they are considered weaker than men, they are open to any danger waiting for them outside; they can get influenced easily and change accordingly.

So, as the angel in the house, women faced limitations in every field men were serving in. Literature was one of those fields, and when a female wanted to continue her education, she would face countless limitations, some women were illiterate, and restricted to continue their education.

One needs to learn reading before being able to write a book, a novel, or a single poem. So it was the first side of the coin: being illiterate and facing limitations. The other side was the most prolific outcome of how gender roles restricted women: the male-dominated fields and how women were not allowed to work there. Female writers faced strict barriers, they worked harder than male, known and respected writers and were nearly obliged to use pseudonyms to publish their works.

One of the reasons why they went under a pen name was that by using a male name, they would protect themselves from gender discrimination. They wanted to be taken seriously, so they used pen names to publish their work in the male-dominated industry. They had to make sure to protect themselves from being the centre of cancel culture because of the violation of traditional gender roles. They tried to cover themselves because what they wrote might have probably been considered controversial, inappropriate, or immoral.

George Eliot, for instance, was a woman named Mary Ann Evans and she published her novels under a pseudonym. Brontë Sisters, on the other hand, used pseudonyms before publishing their groundbreaking pieces of literature and they were called as 'Bell Brothers.'

Some too many writers had to hide behind these pen names to avoid prejudices, harsh criticism, and the consequences of being a woman in a male-dominated world.

Women writers pushed the boundaries and made their voices heard despite these challenges. Showing such resilience and determination, they have contributed to literature for thousands of years. Their stories continue to inspire and deeply move generations and generations!