Suffer and Be Still: Women in the Victorian Age

by Martha Vicinus

The ideal woman of the Victorian era was a combination of sexual innocence, conspicuous consumption, and worship of the family hearth―with marriage and procreation being a woman’s only function. Suffer and Be Still is a collection of ten lively essays which document the feminine stereotypes that Victorian women fought against, but only partially defeated.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Feminism, 19th Century, Womens, Victorian, Anthologies

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Martha Vicinus is an American scholar of English literature and Women's studies. She serves as the Eliza M. Mosher Distinguished University Professor of English, Women's Studies, and History at the University of Michigan.

Reviews

[Katherine Addison · Rating 4 out of 5]

TOC
VICINUS, Martha. "Introduction: The Perfect Victorian Lady."
PETERSON, M. Jeanne. "The Victorian Governess: Status Incongruence in Family and Society."
STEDMAN, Jane W. "From Dame to Woman: W. S. Gilbert and Theatrical Transvestism."
SHOWALTER, Elaine and English. "Victoriam Women and Menstruation."
ROBERTS, Helen E. "Marriage, Redundancy or Sin: The Painter's View of Women in the First Twenty-Five Years of Victoria's Reign."
SIGSWORTH, E. M., and T. J. Wyke. "A Study of Victorian Prostitution and Venereal Disease."
STEARNS, Peter N. "Working-Class Women in Britain, 1890-1914."
MILLETT, Kate. "The Debate over Women: Ruskin vs. Mill."
CONWAY, Jill. "Stereotypes of Femininity in a Theory of Sexual Evolution."
COMINOS, Peter T. "Innocent Femina Sensualis in Unconscious Conflict."
KANNER, S. Barbara. "The Women of England in a Century of Social Change, 1815-1914: A Select Bibliography."

Yes, this book is thirty-plus years old. Yes, scholarship on Victorian women has advanced in all kinds of ways since. However, comma, this isn't bad as a general introduction. It's very readable, and the essays are a broad spectrum of approaches. Governesses, W. S. Gilbert's female characters, menstruation, art, prostitution, working-class women, John Ruskin and J. S. Mill (Kate Millett, who is beautifully snarky), theories of evolution, sexual psychology, and then an annotated bibliography. I learned things I hadn't known, thought about things I had known in new ways. So, you know, the book did its job.

[Nikki Glassley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style and ability really varies from essay to essay, but it was generally pretty solid. Very accessible and truly interesting. I loved the chapters on women in Victorian Art in theater.

[Juliana Philippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Patri Ruiz]

bueno, lo lei para el tfg porque me lo dio mi tutora, y bastante interesante pero evidentemente no lo voy a puntuar ya que lo lei para sacar teoría, no creo que sea puntuable

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

(disclaimer: i read a few essays, not all) nice range of topics, becoming outdated in comparison to recent literature, surprisingly short essays. the arguments were fine, but felt a touch underdeveloped.

[Steelwhisper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite interesting.