Reviews several famous works of literature that are centered around the social restrictions and expectations of women during Victorian times.
This paper reviews and analyzes the plots and characters of several well-known novels, which have to do with the Victorian era and the limitations placed on women living in that era. Works such as “The Awakening”, “The Case of Daniel Deronda”, and “Jane Eyre” are discussed and analyzed in terms of what they say about women’s independence, rights, and individuality.
In The Awakening, according to Elizabeth Elz, Kate Chopin uses symbolism to communicate her ideas about the status of women at the turn of the century. Birds, for example, are utilized to convey women’s entrapment in marriage and society (14). Wives such as Edna Pontellier are encaged like birds, and when trying to escape their confines they confront difficult obstructions.