Royal Paradox

An examination of Queen Victoria’s Influence on Nineteenth Century Gender Ideologies

By Madison Lankford

The coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837 marked a new age in a century defined by rapid progress, political reform, and social upheaval. As the first female monarch in over a century, Victoria's reign catalyzed a shift in the social, ideological atmosphere, shaping a new era that would further define the “woman’s sphere.” Victoria had demonstrated the modern woman of the 19th century, successfully balancing her responsibilities as the monarch of an empire and as the matriarch of a family. Queen Victoria’s reign marked a pivotal moment in 19th-century British society, where the ideals of domesticity and monarchical authority intersected. As both sovereign and matriarch, Victoria not only embodied the era’s ideal of the virtuous, family-centered woman but also subtly redefined the boundaries of female influence. Her life and leadership reinforced prevailing gender norms while simultaneously challenging the notion that power and femininity were mutually exclusive, ultimately shaping the ideological landscape of womanhood for generations to come.

Victoria was crowned Queen of England at the age of 18, after the death of her uncle, King William IV. Soon after her sudden and unexpected inheritance of the crown, Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840, and they remained together for 21 years until his death in 1861. Her devotion to her husband and children not only shaped her personal life but also reinforced the Victorian ideals of domesticity and maternity, cementing her influence in shaping the societal expectations placed on women across Britain.

As a young queen, the nuances of Victoria’s reign were evident from the outset, bringing about a subtle yet significant shift in attitudes across Britain. Coming to rule in the midst of an era dominated by political unrest, public demands for reformation, and a turbulent, growing industry, the country appeared to be in a state of conflict over the change in their head of state.^[1] From the beginning of her reign, Victoria had carried a reputation for her feminine and maternal nature, being raised by her mother after the death of her father early in her childhood, and despite being an unfamiliar figure, she had garnered the sympathy and affection of the British public.^[2] By the time Victoria was married to Albert in 1840, she had already gained significant support across the country by demonstrating political stability, and a public image carefully centered around morality and piety.^[3] She quickly emphasized her devotion to family life and her unwavering commitment to traditional values, solidifying her role as both a monarch and the epitome of a nurturing, domestic ideal.

Throughout the 1830s, the growing movement toward domesticity and family gained traction amongst all social classes. Sarah Stickney Ellis was a popular author in the mid-nineteenth century known for her works on women’s conduct and social forms. Her book, The Daughters of England, published in 1843, communicates the messages being conveyed to women pertaining to their roles and expected behavior in society.^[4] Ellis strongly emphasizes that women’s primary domain is the home, where their influence and importance are most clearly defined.^[5] She states that a woman’s importance is entirely based on the home environment provided for her family.^[6] Women were expected to uphold standards of purity and integrity in public, while maintaining a lively and nurturing demeanor in private.^[7] Ellis conveys that by focusing inwardly on her home and family, a woman can protect both her moral purity and her outward social standing, stating:

Let it then be kept in mind that if she would preserve her peace, her safe footing in society, her influence, and her unblemished purity, must avoid remarks as an individual, at least in public. The piquant amusements of home consist much in the display of originality of character, and there it is safe.^[8]

As conduct books like Ellis’s grew in popularity, the ideals they conveyed became familiar to the broader public, especially as Queen Victoria demonstrated these same values throughout her marriage. Victoria’s life as both a wife and a queen embodied the nurturing, virtuous woman ideal, influencing public perceptions of femininity and reinforcing the values of domesticity that were becoming central to Victorian society.

Devoted and domestic ideologies were not only reflected in Victoria’s behavior, but depictions and imagery commissioned of the monarch at the time also showed a woman deeply in love with her role as a wife and mother. Artists often painted Victoria alongside Prince Albert and their children, portraying her in domestic and familial settings. Before Victoria inherited the throne, we typically observed a majority of the ruling king or queen depicted alone, in regalia, and with a strong stance and expression. Victoria, however, is often painted in a softer, more feminine light. Her paintings with Prince Albert frequently show the two posing turned into one another, looking at each other rather than in the direction of the painting's viewer. An example of this can be seen in the portrait entitled, The Queen and Prince Albert, painted in 1854 by Roger Fenton.^[9] The painting depicts the two in profile, turned into each other.^[10] Victoria is shown in softer, pastel colors, light pinks and greens, drawing emphasis to her delicate femininity, as opposed to her powerful position as queen.^[11] The image is regal yet soft, communicating to the viewer that she is fully enveloped in her private family life.

The softer ideologies championed by Victoria remained at the center of her time on the throne, a crucial metaphorical “armor” for the ruling country that was plagued with government dissatisfaction, a divided class system, and unstable colonies. The rapid rise of industrialization, and quick bursts of progress followed by stagnant periods of discontent, Victoria's rise to the throne appeared to be a breath of fresh air for Britons. Confident in both her station and publicly protected by her femininity, and her maternal nature was reflected outwardly, enabling her to be uniquely poised to fulfill the role of a family-oriented monarch. From the beginning years of her reign, Victoria not only tended to the needs of her country but also balanced her royal duties with her efforts in raising her family. By the time of her husband, Prince Albert’s early death, the pair had a total of nine children together: five daughters, and four sons.^[12]

Throughout her life, as a mother, Victoria remained actively involved in the raising and training of her children, particularly her daughters, to adopt similar ideologies and responsibilities that she has exhibited throughout her reign.^[13] Victoria’s letters provide valuable insight into her priorities not as a queen or matriarch but rather as a wife and mother. As her children grew older and began their own marriages and families, Victoria frequently corresponded with her daughters, offering advice, instruction, and encouragement on how to fulfill a woman’s domestic duties.^[14] She expresses her concern with her children having a “well-rounded” education on the duties of a woman, wife and mother alike.^[15] In a letter to her daughter the Princess Royal, Victoria, in January of 1858, Victoria clearly describes her idea of the woman’s sphere, and the responsibilities she expects young women of their station to fulfill. In her letter, Victoria instructs her daughter, recently wed to German Emperor, Friedrich III, writing, “Let it be your study and your object to make his life and his home a peaceful and happy one, and to be of use to him, and to be a comfort to him in any way possible.”^[16] Victoria emphasized to her daughter the importance of being a virtuous wife to her new husband, rather than her newly inherited position as Empress Consort to Germany.

With the growing popularity of the "domestic woman," Victoria's reign was uniquely defined by persistent contradiction as she became nurturer of the home, and the powerful head of an empire simultaneously. Victoria came to power at a turbulent time for Britain, her predecessor, King William IV, was distrusted and heavily criticized, and her youth upon ascending the throne led many to question her competence as a leader. The evolving image of the British woman during her reign may have damaged Victoria’s ability to be a convincing and compelling leader.^[17] In comparison to her predecessors, her reign was weaker, with the influence of the monarchy diminishing significantly after her relinquishment of the throne upon her death.^[18] While it is true that Victoria provided some stability during her time on the throne—a point often cited by her late uncle, King William IV—one must question whether this stability was due to her policies or to the very nature of her role as a woman. Victoria, in her private life, fully embodied the idea of what a 'modern woman' entailed during her reign. She fulfilled her duty as a loving and gracious wife to her husband, and in return, he was a valuable consultant to her on matters of the state.^[19] Victoria’s reign can be envisioned as a paradox, a woman in a position of power, living a life of apparent servitude.

While Queen Victoria’s reign embodied the ideals of domesticity and motherhood, these same expectations were mirrored in the lives of ordinary women, who were increasingly defined by their roles within the home and the family. Attitudes of women being responsible for being a beacon of peace and comfort were reflected in literature, etiquette guides, and public opinion. Hyppolite Taine, a French writer in the mid nineteenth century, published a collection of works entitled “The English”, documenting his encounters with English society and citizens. A chapter from this collection, entitled, English Womanhood, illustrates his idea of the ideal English Woman. This collection was written and published in 1871, well into the reign of Queen Victoria, allowing visualization of her influences on the greater population of English women.^[20] Taine writes, “She is merely a housekeeper, and her business is to look after the household and her children. As a rule, she feels content in that role; conscience and her training has made her gentle and submissive.”^[21] Taine describes a woman who knows her place, is comfortable with her role, and lives to fulfill it. The idea of a woman’s duty had, by this point, become well integrated regardless of socioeconomic status.

Similarly, other authors and poets of the time cling to this ideal of a domestic and pure woman that embodies English culture. E. Lynn Linton, another author of the mid nineteenth century expresses these beliefs in her work A Girl of the Period, coining a new term used to describe a rejection in the roles expected of women.^[22] Written a few years before Taine’s piece, Linton similarly describes a woman who possesses “innate purity and dignity of her nature.”^[23] This emphasis on purity is used as a margin of judgement for women who have neglected to take on the domestic responsibilities. Describing a “girl of the period” is done with criticism, and intentions discreditable in nature, chastising women who indulge things such as seductions, envy, and a general rejection of modesty. ^[24] Language of disapproval and judgement in literature and media at the time would have placed an intense pressure on young women to conform to the standard principles of a wife and mother. This pressure would have been enforced by seeing a well-respected monarch practicing the same domesticity that is being ingrained into women of society.

The cult of domesticity was persuasive, gaining widespread traction across British society. Other books published at the time had continuously provided constant reinforcement for the virtues encouraged, piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness.^[25] A Poem entitled, Angel In The House, published by Coventry Patmore gained significant popularity amongst Britain following its publication in 1854.^[26] Like A Woman of the Period, Angel In The House illustrates an idealistic woman that centers herself around devotion and servitude towards her husband and family. In the poem, Patmore uses the quote “Man must be pleased; but him to please is a woman’s pleasure.”^[27] Women in nineteenth-century Britain were continuously encouraged to live a life in service to her family. She was taught to remain within the home, and that the atmosphere in which her family exists in, is entirely her responsibility. In seeing their monarch, the head of state, Queen Victoria, practice and encourage these values in both her private and public life, the values and movements of domesticity would have been deeply embedded in British culture.

The legacy of Victoria’s reign was not lost on British society. The decades that occurred during and after her rule were subject to dramatic shifts in gender roles, the functions of a monarch, and the responsibilities of a woman. Victoria’s influence on British society, particularly on women, was complex and far-reaching. While she upheld and reinforced many of the prevailing ideologies that emerged early in her reign, she also challenged others, leaving a legacy marked by both conformity and contradiction. Despite Victoria’s devotion to her family, both publicly and privately, she continued to hold her power and sovereignty, maintaining her place in the growing and changing democracy of nineteenth century global politics. She maintained a persona characterized by femininity, grace, and loving nature, while simultaneously serving as Queen, Empress, and forefront of the most powerful and expensive global empire. She was illustrated as delicate, yet strong, reflecting her country’s position both internally, and externally on the world’s stage. Victoria played a crucial role in shaping what it means to be a “modern” nineteenth century woman, however, she laid foundations for more possibilities for future generations of women. Her delicate balance of embodying both a nurturing mother with the authority of royal position, communicated that women can hold a diverse role in their community. Her lasting impact continued to be reflected in British society in the decades after her death, both in politics, and in affectionate memory. The paradox of Queen Victoria’s reign, forever remembered as the “family monarch”, blended devotion and motherhood with imperial power. Victoria clearly demonstrated women's ability to not only shape, but transcend the expectations of the society they live within, her impact leaving a lasting impression on women and politics alike.

 ^[1]Homans, Margaret. 1998. Royal Representations: Queen Victoria and British Culture, 1837-1876: University of Chicago Press. 8-11

^[2] Jerrold, Clare. 1912. The Early Court of Queen Victoria. New York City, NY: E. Nash. The University of California.

^[3] Fawcett, Millicent G. 1901. Life of Her Majesty Queen Victoria: Little, Brown. 78

^[4] Ellis, Sarah S. 1842. The Daughters of England. (1842) London: Charles Griffin & CO. 11-12.

^[5] Ibid p. 11-12

^[6] Ibid. p. 11-12

^[7] Ibid. p. 238

^[8] Ibid. p. 237

^[9] Fenton, Roger, and Edward Henry Corbould. The Queen and Prince Albert. 1854. Salted paper print, hand-colored. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013.

^[10] Ibid

^[11] Ibid

^[12] Lee, Sidney. 1903. Queen Victoria: A Biography : Macmillan Co. JSTOR. 559

^[13] Benson, Arthur Christopher, and Viscount Esher, eds. The Letters of Queen Victoria: A Selection from Her Majesty's Correspondence between the Years 1837 and 1861. London: Edward Arnold, 1930. 9-15

^[14] Ibid Benson

^[15] Queen of Great Britain, Victoria. 1965. Dearest child; letters between Queen Victoria and the Princess Royal, 1858-1861. New York: Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston. 78-83

^[16] Ibid p 27

^[17] Homans, Margaret. 1998. Royal Representations: Queen Victoria and British Culture, 1837-1876. University of Chicago Press. . XIX-XX

^[18] Ibid p XX

^[19] Ibid p 48

^[20] Taine, Hippolyte, and W F Rae. “English Womanhood.” Notes on England: Translated, with an Introductory Chapter, by W.F. Rae, Strahan & CO, London, 1872. 195

^[21] Ibid p 195

^[22] Linton, E. Lynn. A Girl of the Period. 1868. Reprint, London: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1969.

^[23] Ibid. pg 190

^[24] Ibid pg 190

^[25] Fitts, R. The rhetoric of reform: The five points missions and the cult of domesticity. Hist Arch 35, 115–132 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03374397

^[26] Coventry Patmore, Angel in the House, Project Gutenberg, last modified January 1, 2008, https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10006. Pg 74

^[27]Ibid. Pg 74