Victorian Images of ideal women

The phrase "angel in the house" originating in The Angel in the House: The Betrothal written in
1854 by Coventry Patmore (1823-96), is generally thought to indicate the Victorian concept of ideal
femininity. Women were naturally thought of as weak and inferior to men, and as a result,
femininity was thought as a suitable subject for domestic spheres. At the same time, as British
society was industrialised and commercialised further more, the concept of domesticity as a
protective shelter from social evil was established. These paintings displayed here seem to reflect
this concept of a woman as an angel in the house, who should provide a shelter from the harshness
of reality with her spouse and her children.

  

George Elgar Hicks, Woman's Mission: Companion to Manhood (1863)

This picture shows the duty of a woman as a wife to comfort her husband, as its title suggests. This
painting is the second and central scene of a triptych entitled "Woman's mission"; the first scene
entitled The Guide of Childhood expresses the role of maternal support for children, and the last
scene The Comfort of Old Age depicts the scene in which an old man served faithfully by his
daughter is waiting his death. It is obvious that this painting Companion to Manhood lays stress on
the depiction of the selflessness of the woman who devotes herself to consoling her husband who
has received bad news; possibly the sudden death of a familiar person had come as a shock to him.
The elaborate interior of the room and the elegant clothes which this couple wear reveal that the
man is successful in his business as befits an ideal husband who was generally expected to be the
breadwinner of the family. On the contrary, the clean and sophisticated room suggests this woman's
outstanding ability to housekeep as a good wife should. (Casteras, 1987, p. 51)
Michael Frederick Halliday, The Blind Basket-maker with his First Child
(1856)

This picture also depicts a middle-class family. As this title indicates, the husband is blind and he
earns money by making baskets. A violin by the window and a cat clinging to his legs imply that he
still has a keen sense of hearing and touch. He is about to touch his first child for the first time. His
wife leads his hand to their child. It is apparent that this brave woman, who has never given up their
wretched circumstance, is literally the supporter and comforter of this blind man. Nevertheless,
through intentionally placing this family in the man's basket-making workshop, it may well be
suggested that the painter make it clear that the breadwinner of this family is this blind man. Within
this context, it is also possible to point out that this woman seeming to willingly cast herself in the
supportive role of her husband is depicted as the embodiment of the Victorian ideal woman. In
addition, the shabby but neat room and their simple but clean clothes show that this woman is a
perfect wife and mother. Thus, it is reasonable to think that the painter expresses this scene as the
paradigm of domestic peace.