Women: How Important are They?

During the Victorian period there seemed to be a problem with establishing the relationship between men and woman which is talked about on page 1581 in the book. Until Victoria reigned in the Victorian Age she established more more education for women because she believed in education. She gave support to her gender by founding a college for women in 1847. But, with Victoria reigning this era I noticed how womens rights in England were similar to the U.S. where here women were not allowed to vote or participate in voting or any kind of political activity which is the same in England during this time. Victoria, having been married had equal thoughts to marriage since her husband, Prince Albert died in 1847. But, Victoria did give women the chance to have rights, but even with those changes men still saw women as maintainers of the house. With women having the qualities of understanding, innocence, domestic affection, submissiveness, and other careful qualities they were seen or worshiped as an "angel in the house." This was expression was expressed by John Ruskin saying that "men and women are in nothing alike, and the happiness and perfection of both depends on each asking and receiving from one the other can only give." I understand how he feels, he thinks that men and women are not alike or unequal and that both of them depend on each other and that both of them have their strengths and weaknesses. But, when say a man is weak at nurturing a child that is where a woman comes in as a mother to help bring the child up in the world, that is what he is saying that what men cannot do well women help men by performing the task well and vice versa. I believe that neither man or woman are better than each other but are of equal quality and importance because one can always do something the other one cannot do.