What Have You Learned About the Inequalities Which Existed In 19th Century Society From Your Study of Short Stories Written During This Period?

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NAFISAH IQBAL 10R

  WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT THE INEQUALITIES WHICH EXISTED IN 19TH CENTURY SOCIETY FROM YOUR STUDY OF SHORT STORIES WRITTEN DURING THIS                     PERIOD?

  We have studied ‘ Tony Kytes, the arch deceiver’, ‘The Unexpected’, News of Engagement’, ‘The half brothers’ and ‘The poor relations story’. In these stories we have learned about the inequalities which existed in 19th century society because they were written during this period. They help us to try and understand how men/women were treated differently also the different social classes, wealth and poverty and power.

    In Tony Kytes, the Arch-Deceiver, Milly shows that she is gullible because she does everything Tony says. Men in the 19th century expected women to be passive and not to make demands. Women were not really meant to be assertive like Hannah and Unity in this story, that is why Tonys father tells him to stay with Milly as she did not ask to ride with him ’whichever of’em did notask to ride with thee’. Tony even humiliates Milly by riding with other women and even proposing to Hannah, she still marries him, she says meekly ‘if you like Tony.you didn’t really mean what you said to them?’. On the other hand there is Unity who is actually stubborn because she does not wish to be second best when he asks her to marry him, she says ‘take her leavings?not i!’, she is not ‘easily won’ like Milly. Then there is Hannah who is assertive, she refuses to get married to Tony, ‘ I have spirit ,and I do refuse him!’ she says. As much as she likes him she did not accept his proposal because her father did not want her to get married to him and she was not supposed to say ‘yes’ and against her fathers will. When they were going she looked back to see if Tony was following but he was not because men were not expected to chase women like that.

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     Dorothea in the Unexpected is also an assertive women who wants to visit Randhall  but her parents  didn’t let her ‘if her parents had permitted her’. Unlike most women of that time, she refuses to marry a man she does not love, even for money ‘not for all his thousands! Never, never! Not for millions’.

     In the Half Brothers Helen was a typical 19th century women because she proved she needed a man to take care of her. Helen got married again because she needed someone to support her. Although Helen agreed to marry him, ...

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