Oppression Is A Form of Abuse

The Victorian society regarded class as a hierarchy in society for both male and females. Females were ranked or given rank according to their family lineage, wealth, whom they married or achievements of their brothers. Men, received their social stature via the type of institution they attended. Neither gender was given much credit for intelligence. There performance in their associated roles, depicted their level of  being a lady or a gentleman. The Victorian society focused largely on the somewhat educated and the elite.  Women were regarded as very minute figures in society. “Legally, they were classed with criminals, idiots and minors” (p.557). Women were considered substandard is almost every aspect. The oppressive nature of the Victorian era made single women a prime target for abuse. The Bronte sisters, worked as Governess for families. In their letters to one another, they explained details of abuse. What is important in these letters from the sisters is the different forms of oppressive behavior. One sister experiences it at the hand of another woman, Mrs. Sidgwick, Charlotte’s employer; “I don’t think she likes me at all…she cares nothing in the world about me except to contrive how the greatest possible  quantity of labour may be squeezed out of me and to that end she overwhelms me with oceans of needle works…” (p.560). It is interesting how the oppressive nature in this letter is the wife and not the husband. “Mr. Sidgwick, is in my opinion a hundred times better-less profession, less bustling condescension, but a far kinder heart “ (p.561). Being a governess left Charlotte and her sisters cut off from family and friends, socially isolated. 

In the excerpt from Agnes Grey, A novel written by Anne Bronte, The Governess Tormented By Her Charges, the  oppression is not akin to gender, but rather an oppressive family. "...however you may long for success...your efforts are baffled and set at nought by those beneath you, and unjustly censured and misjudged by those above you" (p.562). In these lines, the character Agnes Grey speaks of the ramifications of her older (the parents) and younger (children) oppressors.

It seems that the Victorian era was filled with oppression, mainly at the expense of women. What is interesting is that the oppressors were men, women and children. Although the Bronte sisters were unmarried and working, their stock was more devalued than a married woman.  In reading the excerpts from the  Governess point of view, I have to wonder how the oppressive forces worked against women who were poor, married or unmarried. They were probably marred by violence and abuse in other forms.  After doing a little research, I found that poor women suffered greatly at the hands of their husbands, fathers and employers (usually male). I think about my friends families whose parents or aunts or sister's came from another country to become Nannies for families. Specifically, I can remember a friend in middle school who was from the Philippines. Her aunt was hired as a Nanny to help a growing Canadian family. My friend came to school crying one day. Her explanation for her tears was that she had spent a weekend visiting her aunt. My friend, said that slavery still existed in Canada! She was horrified at the treatment her aunt received from the parents and the children of the family. This was an aunt who had cared for my friend when she lived in the Philippines, before immigrating to Canada. She said the family spoke down to her aunt and gave her very little time for herself. The Victorian era may have been oppressive, but oppression comes in all forms, no matter the era.