The concept of angel in the house had been overturned Essay Example for Free

The image of angel in the put forward had been overturned EssayDo you agree with the view that, by 1882 the concept of angel in the tin had been overturned?In witness F a book by Caroline Norton published in 1854, she claims that her husband George Norton was holding her children as hostages as he thought that if he had a great power over the children that he dummy up had power over her. Nevertheless, he did non realise that she would fight and campaign to have the right to salvage her children under her custody. By this condemnation she was no all-night a angel in the house as she went against her husband, she similarly wanted a divide but she could no divorce him for criminal conversation as she had interpreted him back so that she could see her children.In 1857 the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act was passed which made divorce a lot easier as it nastyt that divorce could happen through a court of law rather than by a Private Act of Parliament. This made divorce cheaper and a lot faster than it was before. There were also clauses in the Act, which gave women more than rights to things such as her income if she was deserted by her husband and a wo man was open to inherit or bequeath property the same as a single woman could. This was passed partially due to Caroline Nortons efforts and her experiences influenced the clauses, which were inserted in to the Act. This Act meant that more and more women were weakness to fit into the angel in the house concept of creating a safe haven for her husband external from the harsh reality of the right(prenominal) world.Even thought laws such as the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act were but in to pop men nonoperational thought that they had power over their wives. In 1891 there was the Jackson Case, Mr Jackson had been away in New Zealand and returned to find that his wife did non want to speak to him so he locked her up until her friends campaigned for her release. After a long legal battle, i t was decided that Mr Jackson had no right to lock up his wife and force her to live with him. These laws were changing womens attitudes toward how they thought they should be treated by men, they no longer were happy to stay at home and look after their house and family under the angel in the house concept. However, men did not like this change and still wanted this power over their wives. separate laws also came in to place like the Married womens Property Acts of 1870 and 1882. These again were fought for by women such as Barbara Leigh Smith and gave women more right to their own property rather than the husband getting all of their property. In 1854 Barbara Leigh Smith started to campaign for a change in the laws on womens property. She wrote articles, started beseechs and set up all-woman committees. One petition that was handed in to fan tan had 26,000 signatures. The first act furnished women to keep up to 200 in clams and personal property, the second act gave women cont rol over all money and property they brought with them in to pairing it also allowed them to continue with any trade or business they were working on before they were married, victimisation their own money and property. This meant that women could work so could no longer follow the angel in the house concept because they no longer had to stay at home.The LNA was set up in 1869 lead by Josephine Butler to fight against the Contagious Diseases Act. This was significant because it meant that many middle- and upper-class women were campaigning to help prostitutes by missing the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act. This had never happened before as middle- and upper-class women thought that they were above prostitutes and that prostitutes were dirty and brought it on themselves before this campaign began.They thought that is was not right because they thought it was wrong to forcibly detain and equalise women for these diseases against their will. When the men that were using the p rostitutes did not have to be detained and checked charge thought if the men did not use them then there would not be the problem of prostitution as there would be no demand. This went against the angel in the house concept as it meant that women were out campaigning rather than staying at home doing what was thought to be acceptable for middle- and upper-class women to be doing at the time such as corresponding.Source G is a cartoon published on the front cover of the illustrated Police intelligence in April 1891. It asks Is Marriage a Failure? and it gives the answer of As a Rule Yes. It shows illustrations depicting marriages of money, for divorce, of beatings and of obeying. This suggests that tribe only married for certain reasons. It also shows an illustration of a divorce court and two muckle walking their different ways with the other man and the other woman in the shadows suggesting that two lot cannot commit to each other solely. This shows that people were no longer concerned with the angel in the house concept as women were committing adultery and getting divorces. This source however depicts this situation as been the norm even thought there were people in happy marriages that would not want a divorce.However, there was still a social soil attached to getting a divorce. In middle- and upper-class societies, it was still not the done thing to be a divorce single woman or to commit adultery as they were meant to pure and save themselves for their husbands. So many women did not get divorces and stayed with their husbands. Also if a man did not want a divorce and it was the woman that was trying to divorce her husband she had to prove that he had committed adultery and either bigamy, rape, sodomy, bestiality, cruelty or long-term desertion as well. Where as a husband only had to prove that his wife was committing adultery. This made it harder for a wife to get a divorce if her husband did not want to divorce her so many just suffered at home a nd carried on living with the angel in the house concept.The Womens Property rights were withdrawn at the last minute to allow the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act to be passed and become law. This was because people were too afraid to present parliament with two bills trying to change the status of women would frighten the men MPs of the time. In addition, they thought that it would mean that they would vote against both of the bill thinking that too much was been done at one time too quickly. Additionally the Reform Act of 1867 did not include womens franchise. So women had to stay with their husbands else they would have no right to their property as it legally all belonged to their husbands once they had married.I would agree on the all told that by 1882 the concept of the angel in the house had been mostly overturned. Womens attitudes were changing and they wanted more and more rights. Middle- and upper-class women such as Caroline Norton and Josephine Butler were beginning campaign to get rights for themselves and others. Laws were been passed and cases won in court in favour of women. People were also starting to realise that more and more marriages were failing and people getting divorces.However, by 1882 the angel in the house concept had not been completely overturned, as there were still people that did still believe in the angel in the house concept and not all marriages were failing and getting divorced. One reason for this was that there was a social stigma attached to getting a divorce that stopped some people, additionally divorce was still an overpriced and a long process.