Changing Gender Roles Between Emma and Mrs. Dalloway

The way in which Jane Austen’s Emma and Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf display genders allows us to examine the ways in which gender roles changed between the early 1800s and early 1900s. In this century great progress was made towards the equality of the sexes and independence of women. Woolf explicitly intended to contrast her book with the traditional views of the roles of women. In doing so, she presents to us many instances, which may be taken and used in order to increase our understanding of the subject. These instances are even more valuable upon being contrasted with the earlier representations we see in Emma.

In Emma we can observe the restrictions placed on women and the expectations society pressed onto the sex in the early 1800s. First and foremost, women are not to marry downward. In order to keep the family name among the higher ranks, women must marry within or above their class. We see this in Emma when Mr. Elton proposes to Emma in the carriage. She proceeds to point out his lower (though probably acceptable) status. Her resistance to the idea of marriage to a man even a step below her in status gives us an idea of the stress placed on women to uphold the family name. As a result, we may also note that marriages are not always made according to affection. Oftentimes, these marriages occur between people who do not even have any attraction towards each other. In these years, marriage was seen as a duty. In another section of the novel, we observe another restriction placed on women in this time period. Women are not to walk alone or in general be alone. We typically see Emma accompanied for her walks. In one particular scene, she is unaccompanied, which leads to suspicion. The reasoning behind this is that the families did not want women to become pregnant with an illegitimate child. These children were outside of the family and most likely of a lower man’s blood. In this era, we are presented with a view of women that is restricted and very much pressured by class standing.

Mrs. Dalloway on the other hand presents us with a contrasting view in lieu of Emma. At the very beginning of the novel, we accompany Clarissa on a walk to pick up some flowers in London for a party she’s throwing. Her errand seems a simple task. Yet, this task is something unspeakable for women in the era of Emma. The ability for women to walk out in public by themselves is in a large part due to the growth of the culture of shopping. Shops became an acceptable place for women to go by themselves. Also purposefully contrasted with the old era are the limits of proper public discussion. Peter observes this when he is aghast upon seeing “water closets” mentioned in the newspaper. He also notices boys and girls flirting in public and finds it appalling. Peter claims that years earlier nothing like this would have happened. Here Woolf is hinting at the change that has begun. Publicly acceptable behavior for the genders has gradually loosened from the times of Emma, and it continues to loosen to this day.