Victorian women Essays

Victorian women Essays Victorian women Essay Victorian women Essay Like most Victorian women they were well dressed. They wore long dresses with veils. Most Victorian women were not very strong so they needed people like Sherlock Holmes to depend upon because he was strong and safe.  Many Victorian did not have control over their own lives. In The Speckled Band Helen Stoner had to ask permission off her stepfather is she could marry. She came from a very rich family but she did not have any money and would have none until she was married. Helen Stoner was not allowed to go out and have a social life without Dr Roylet, like when she went to Sherlock Holmes Dr Roylet follows her to find out what she is doing. Victorian woman often had to cover up for men like in The Speckled Band where Sherlock Holmes spotted the bruises on her arms. She said that she had had an accident, but he knew that Dr Roylet had done this to her. When Dr Roylet killed his butler Helen tells no one because she knew that if she did he would have beaten her up or even killed her. All she does is collect money and pays the butlers family.  Overall the Victorian women had no independence, money or life so it was not all that good for them. In Sherlock Holmes stories the settings gave a very accurate description about Victorian times. The Twisted Lip is set in London in a street called Swandom Lane. Swandom Lane is a very dirty, rough and smelly place. The main part of the storey was located in an Opium Den, and either side of it was a Sex Shop and Off Licence, but in The Speckled Band the setting was set in a very different place. It was placed in the Wealthy Outskirts. This was out in the Countryside where it was very quiet and peaceful. There were lots of wealthy Victorians living in big houses. These two books show two very different places in Victorian times.  In the Victorian times Britain was a ruler of a huge empire. This is shown in a range of references as in The Twisted Lip there was a Lascar, which is an Indian Seaman, working in an Opium Den in England and in The Speckled Band you have Dr Roylet living in India and working as a Doctor.  The transport in Victorian times was very different to nowadays. In The Twisted Lip Mrs St Clair visited Sherlock Holmes in a Hansom Cab and in The Speckled Band Sherlock Holmes and Watson rode in a Dog Cart, unlike nowadays when people travel about in motor vehicles. In the Speckled Band Helen Stoner travelled to see Sherlock Holmes by train. Trains were one of the most common modes of transport in that time, like they still are today.  In conclusion these stories tell us a lot about what the Victorians believed in and what they thought the ideal Victorian Man was ie Sherlock Holmes. Also what they thought a real villain was like. These stories give a clear view about what London was like in Victorian times.