Separate Spheres

Dear Reader,
The Victorian period in England took place during the reign of Queen Victoria in 1837 to
1901. During this time, there were many changes in society. The Industrial Revolution impacted
daily life in social, political, and economic ways. During this time, the division of social class
and gender dominated Victorian culture. In education, men controlled knowledge and power
over women. Men were expected to support the family, and women were required to maintain
the home. Ultimately, the educational opportunities were unequal leading to Separate Spheres.
Charlotte Adams, the main character, is a school teacher in a small village in Victorian
England. Her spirit represents the quintessential feminist for her time. When she unexpectedly
meets a twenty first century teacher from the United States, she realizes her opportunity to
impact the future of education especially for females. After sharing information through a
classified ad, she decides to send information with this teacher for future teachers with an
editorial, letter, and brochure. The twenty first century teacher lays the framework through her
diary entry to connect Charlottes message for equal opportunity for education between the
sexes. In this way, Charlottes mission is complete.
Neo Victorian culture of today influenced my idea for this project. Last summer, my aunt
and mother told me about a television series called Outlander. The main character slips back in
time from nineteenth to eighteenth century in Scotland. This idea was interesting to me. I
wondered what it may be like to fall back in time to a previous time period. When I started to
think about this project, I thought a future teacher would find this time period to be interesting.
In addition, a past teacher could also impact the future. This idea also reminded me of a time
capsule with the ability to go back to the past and forward to the future. Education opportunities
for both sexes empower culture. While reading the books for this project, separate spheres was a
term used. With further thought, I realized the theme for this paper is Separate Spheres as it
can be applied in many ways.
Through this multi-genre paper, the larger effects of todays education can be applied.
When I first started this paper, I did not realize the full impact that education has on ones life.
As an elementary education major, I always appreciated the importance of education, but did not
fully understand the impact of societys influence. The specific roles and expectations of women
limited their knowledge and importance in society. Men feared the competition in the work place
and politics, and resisted to keep control of society. Social class and gender impacted Victorian
culture as well as our culture today. By learning the differences through this multi- genre paper, I
hope to become an instrumental educator in the future. Education opportunities for both sexes
empower culture. There must not be Separate Spheres.
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