{"id":4705,"date":"2018-07-17T17:28:33","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T21:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/HatchetOnline\/?p=4705"},"modified":"2024-08-15T18:21:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T22:21:35","slug":"the-influence-of-the-victorian-era-on-the-doctrines-of-fascinating-womanhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/the-influence-of-the-victorian-era-on-the-doctrines-of-fascinating-womanhood\/","title":{"rendered":"The Influence of the Victorian Era on the Doctrines of Fascinating Womanhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

First published in Winter, 2013, Volume 8, Issue 1, The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nThe late 1960s and early 1970s witnessed the emergence of several movements for changes in the treatment of women and an expansion of their opportunities and roles. Those movements were extraordinarily diverse. Part of it was sometimes called \u201cwomen\u2019s liberation,\u201d often shortened to \u201cwomen\u2019s lib.\u201d Today these movements are likely to be referred to as one sort or another of \u201cfeminism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

These movements inevitably led to counter-movements calling for the retention and even strengthening of traditional sex roles. One of the most popular of the traditionalist movements was, and remains, that of Fascinating Womanhood. The book Fascinating Womanhood<\/i>, by the late Helen Andelin, was first published in 1963. It spawned programs of classes teaching its principles to women. Those classes continue to flourish up to the present time in the United States and many other countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Fascinating Girl<\/i> was first published in 1970. While FW<\/i> was oriented primarily to adult married women, FG<\/i> targeted single young women. Both books taught the same traditionalist sex role principles, according to which, married women should be homemakers and their husbands breadwinners. Additionally, Andelin believed a woman should strive to become an \u201cideal woman\u201d from a specifically \u201cman\u2019s point of view.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In illustrating what constitutes the ideal woman as men see her, Andelin drew examples from both real life and literature. Although Andelin was\u2014suitably for her beliefs\u2014a home economics major in college, her books show that she was widely read and particularly well-versed in classic literature. Her literary examples range from works as ancient as the Bible to those contemporary with her own life in the\u00a0 <\/span>twentieth century, such as the novels of Taylor Caldwell.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, a disproportionate number of her examples came from the Victorian period, usually defined as stretching from 1837 to 1901, the sixty-four years in which Queen Victoria reigned over Great Britain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andelin\u2019s critics might use this Victorian emphasis to attack her views as woefully outdated. However, it is also possible to see her reliance on Victorian works as indicating the special literary and artistic richness of that era.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ideal Woman from a Man\u2019s Point of View<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Andelin believes it is important to realize that women often value qualities in other women that are strikingly different from those men value in women. She writes, \u201cWomen are inclined to appreciate poise, talent, intellectual gifts, and cleverness of personality, whereas men admire girlishness, tenderness, sweetness of character, vivacity, and her ability to understand men.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

FW<\/i> teaches that the Ideal Woman from a man\u2019s viewpoint consists of an equal number of \u201cangelic\u201d and \u201chuman\u201d qualities. She defines the angelic qualities as understanding men, possessing inner happiness, having a worthy character, and being skilled and conscientious as a \u201cdomestic goddess.\u201d She elaborates that these qualities \u201cawaken a feeling near worship\u201d in men toward the women who have them. She believes that men should put women on a pedestal, seeing the female as morally superior to the male.<\/span><\/p>\n

Domestic skills are vital for the husband-breadwinner, wife-homemaker lifestyle Andelin champions. She points out that men\u2019s jobs may often be stressful so it is vital to their ability to relax and rejuvenate that they come home to a clean and tidy house, preferably entering the home to smell the aroma of a savory, freshly cooked meal and to find a wife who looks pretty and well-kempt.<\/span><\/p>\n

The human qualities are defined as femininity, radiant happiness, radiant health, and childlikeness. These are the attributes that fascinate and amuse men as well as awakening male protectiveness. She believes men feel necessary as protectors and providers if women are dependent and that they feel secure as leaders when women are submissive.<\/span><\/p>\n

It should be noted once again that Andelin\u2019s emphasis on attributes such as dependency and submissiveness grate on many observers\u2014not all of them people who would give themselves \u201cfeminist\u201d as a label.<\/span><\/p>\n

David Copperfield\u2019s Female Loves and FW Attributes<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In describing the FW ideal, Andelin points to the characters of Agnes and Dora in the Victorian classic David Copperfield<\/i> by Charles Dickens. Agnes was a friend of David\u2019s since their mutual childhoods. He met Dora in his youth and married her. After Dora\u2019s death, he wed Agnes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andelin believes that Agnes represents the \u201cangelic\u201d qualities that are half of the ideal woman from a man\u2019s viewpoint while Dora represents the \u201chuman\u201d qualities that are the other half.<\/span><\/p>\n

When David first meets Agnes, author Charles Dickens writes in David\u2019s voice, \u201cshe looked as staid and as discreet a housekeeper as the old house could have.\u201d This impression is reinforced later when the reader learns that Agnes is indeed conscientious in performing domestic chores.<\/span><\/p>\n

David\u2019s heart fills with a kind of worship for Agnes as he speaks of her as having the \u201ctranquil brightness\u201d of a \u201cstained glass window.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, Dora is described as possessing a light, sparkling personality with childlike attributes. He considers her \u201ca fairy and a sylph.\u201d He finds that she has \u201cthe most delightful little voice, the gayest little laugh, the pleasantest and most fascinating little ways that ever led a lost youth into hopeless slavery.\u201d When she presses flowers against her chin, he is thrilled and finds himself in a \u201cfeeble ecstasy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, David married Dora. The marriage was less than satisfactory because she was a poor cook and unreliable housekeeper. David cannot regard Dora as a \u201ccounselor\u201d because she lacks the \u201ccharacter and purpose\u201d that he yearns for in his intimate companion.<\/span><\/p>\n

After her death and his marriage to Agnes, Davis enjoys a greater sense of mental equilibrium. Agnes keeps a neat and tidy house and always has tasty meals at the ready. He can confide in her in ways that he could not confide in Dora who seemed to lack understanding of serious and important matters.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, David\u2019s satisfaction is never complete in his marriage to Agnes. He is not thrilled or captivated by her. He sometimes yearns for Dora\u2019s lively, childlike mannerisms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andelin sees Agnes and Dora as representing not contradictory qualities but qualities that are both parts of what Andelin believes is the distinctively feminine nature. FW<\/i> teaches that women should strive to combine the best of both Agnes and Dora.<\/span><\/p>\n

Victor Hugo\u2019s Deruchette and William Thackery\u2019s Amelia<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Victor Hugo\u2019s Toilers of the Sea<\/i> was published in 1866. Andelin writes that the character of Deruchette in this novel includes both the angelic and the human qualities of a man\u2019s ideal woman. She quotes Hugo as rapturously writing of Deruchette, \u201cSweetness and goodness reigned throughout her person.\u201d Hugo describes this heroine as possessing the ability to cheer others up through her own cheerfulness and suggests the great importance of such ability. Hugo writes, \u201cIs it not a thing of divine, to have a smile which, none know how, has the power to lighten the weight of that enormous chain that all the living in common drag behind them? Deruchette possessed this smile; we may say that this smile was Deruchette herself.\u201d He elaborates, \u201cThere is in this world no function more important than that of being charming\u2014to shed joy around, to cast light upon dark days, to be the golden thread of our destiny and the very spirit of grace and harmony. Is not this to render a service?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Deruchette is further described as \u201cmaking all kinds of gentle noises, murmurings of unspeakable delight.\u201d In other parts of the book, Andelin encourages women to make the sorts of murmurings that she believes captivate men. She believes that feminine women coo, purr, and make baby talk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps support for the idea that men often find women making childlike sounds appealing may be found in the popularity of 1950s and 1960s sex goddess Jayne Mansfield, noted for her high-pitched squeal of delight as well as her hourglass figure.<\/span><\/p>\n

The charming Deruchette is said to be sweet and good but to occasionally have \u201ca certain mischief in the eye.\u201d Hugo also describes her as sometimes characterized by \u201can air of bewitching languor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A suitor tells Deruchette, \u201cI think of you as a prayer … to me you are holy innocence … the living form of a benediction.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, Deruchette exemplifies both the enchanting childlike qualities that Andelin believes captivate and hold men\u2019s interests as well as the angelic qualities that lead them to place women on pedestals.<\/span><\/p>\n

In commenting on Deruchette, Andelin anticipates that some readers may regard the character as \u201ca bit insipid.\u201d Andelin reminds the reader that \u201cVictor Hugo was a man, a rugged man who wrote challenging sea stories, speaking more the language of men than women.\u201d Thus, he seems to confirm her belief that men are entranced by characteristics in women that other women disdain.<\/span><\/p>\n

The character of Amelia in Victorian writer William Thackery\u2019s novel, Vanity Fair<\/i>, is another that Andelin believes displays attributes of the male version of the ideal woman. She quotes Thackery limning Amelia as \u201ca kind, fresh, smiling, tender, little domestic goddess, whom men are inclined to worship.\u201d He also states, \u201cshe had a pair of eyes which sparkled with the brightest and honestest of good humor, except indeed when they filled with tears, and that was a good deal too often; for the silly thing would cry over a dead canary, or over a mouse that the cat haply had seized upon; or over the end of a novel, were it ever so stupid.\u201d The last attribute of easily giving way to tears may be seen by some as negative, but Andelin encourages women to conform to sex stereotype in this way as in others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thackery writes that the sensitive Amelia \u201ctrembled when anyone was harsh.\u201d Andelin believes that such weakness triggers appropriate feelings of protectiveness in men.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andelin observes that one quality that is missing from these examples of ideal women from a man\u2019s viewpoint is great beauty. Hugo and Thackery describe Deruchette and Amelia respectively as physically imperfect. Deruchette has \u201ca mouth somewhat large.\u201d Her fair skin is said to be freckled and freckles were regarded as blemishes in the Victorian age. Amelia is flawed by a short nose and \u201ccheeks a good deal too round for a heroine,\u201d indicating that she was fat. However, their specifically feminine qualities led men in these novels to find them fascinating.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andelin points out that Amelia\u2019s effect on women and men differed drastically, again supporting Andelin\u2019s contention that the two genders often find opposite qualities attractive in women. She quotes Thackery as writing, \u201cThose who formed the small circle of Amelia\u2019s acquaintances were quite angry with the enthusiasm with which the other sex regarded her. For almost all men who came near her loved her; though no doubt they would be at a loss to tell you why. She was not brilliant, nor witty, nor wise overmuch, nor extraordinarily handsome. But wherever she went, she touched and charmed everyone of the male sex, as invariably as she awakened the scorn and incredulity of her own sisterhood. I think it was her \u2018weakness\u2019 which was her principle charm; a kind of \u2018sweet submission\u2019 and \u2018softness\u2019 which seemed to appeal to each man she met for his sympathy and protection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Although it is set in medieval times, The Cloister and the Hearth<\/i> by Charles Reade was first published in 1861. Andelin points out that Reade describes Margaret tying ribbons and that, when Margaret notices Gerard\u2019s admiring gaze, Margaret lowers her eyes quickly and \u201ccolors all over.\u201d Andelin uses this an example of timorousness that she defines as a \u201csudden self-conscious, pretty confusion.\u201d She advises a woman to cultivate this quality by looking into a man\u2019s face for a moment and then hastily lowering her eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPedestal Shaking\u201d in a 1945 Version of a Victorian Novel<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In one part of The Fascinating Girl<\/i>, Andelin suggests the reader learn, not from a work of the Victorian era, but from the way that work was interpreted in a 20th Century motion picture. Andelin writes, \u201cAt times a man may shake the woman\u2019s pedestal, by suggesting she do something wrong.\u201d She elaborates, \u201cThis is a crucial moment for them both. If she refuses his suggestion, his high estimation of her angelic character is reaffirmed. Remaining on the pedestal is further proof that she belongs. But, if she accepts his offer and falls from her pedestal, he can be painfully disillusioned.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In citing an example of this, Andelin makes a mistake about the way a pivotal plot point altered from novel to film. The following passage from FG<\/i> contains that mistake.<\/span><\/p>\n

An impressive example of pedestal shaking is found in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray<\/i>, by Oscar Wilde, later made into a movie. Dorian was to be married to a sweet, angelic young woman but, just prior to their proposed marriage, he tested her by suggesting they have pre-marital sex. At first she was shocked, disappointed, then turned to walk away. As she reached the door she hesitated, through for a moment, then an intense fear seized her, a fear that if she refused him she may lose him. She turned around, came back to him, and yielded to his request. The next day Dorian expressed his great disappointment in her and his reluctance to marry her. He shook the pedestal and she fell from it. Rejected and heartbroken, she committed suicide.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Andelin was extremely well read, the above shows that she did not actually read The Picture of Dorian Gray<\/i>. The pedestal shaking that she discusses took place not in the Victorian novel but in the 1945 film version of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

What actually happened in the novel was that Dorian fell in love with actress Sybil Vane in large part because of her artistic talent. After Sybil falls in love with Dorian, she gets a part as the female lead in a production of Romeo and Juliet<\/i>. Dorian expects to see her as an enthralling Juliet. To his horror, he sees her play the part in a manner flat, forced, and artificial. He is disappointed and dismayed. After the play ends, Dorian visits her backstage. Sybil informs him that she can no longer act love because real love has displaced acting for her. Dorian tells her, \u201cYou have killed my love.\u201d He breaks off their relationship and she commits suicide.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why did the filmmakers change the source of Dorian\u2019s disillusionment to what Andelin calls \u201cpedestal shaking\u201d? Changing the source of Dorian\u2019s disillusionment from Sybil\u2019s unexpected failure as an actress to his successful seduction of the woman obscures one of the primary themes of the story\u2014the uneasy relationship between art and reality.\u00a0 <\/span>However, the expression of this theme through contrasting good and poor acting performances might have been difficult to translate from prose to the silver screen.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is not the only time Andelin cites an example of Victorian era art as interpreted through mid-twentieth century art as something from her readers should learn. She writes in FG <\/i>that the Victorian novel A Tale of Two Cities <\/i>by Charles Dickens gives \u201ca wonderful example\u201d of how a woman of high character can transform \u201ca man from an inferior state to the hero of the entire story.\u201d She also recommends women watch the 1935 motion picture version of A Tale of Two Cities<\/i>. Andelin writes that Elizabeth Allan as Lucy plays \u201cthe finest example of femininity I have seen on screen. She is soft, sweet and tender with a caring angelic character. But with all of her gentleness she is a fine example of strong moral courage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWoman is not undeveloped man, but something better.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The Little Minister<\/i> by Sir James Barrie was first published in 1891. Rev. Gavin Dishart, the minister of the title, dislikes a Gypsy woman named Babbie because he considers her wild. However, after he sees her display altruistic concern, he is impressed and considers her concern emblematic of the moral superiority of the female gender.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the novel, Rev. Dishart and Dr. McQueen arrive at the cottage of the elderly, sickly Nanny Webster, intending to charitably take her to the poorhouse. Babbie arrives and Nanny cries between sobs, \u201cThey are taking me to the poorhouse. Dinna let them take me, dinna let them.\u201d Babbie holds the weeping woman close. Barrie writes, \u201cThere are those who say that women cannot love each other, but it is not true. Woman is not undeveloped man, but something better, and Gavin and the doctor knew it as they saw Nanny clinging to her protector.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The men assure Babbie that they mean to help Nanny. Babbie vows to help the woman live in her own home. Andelin observes that Gavin saw this as a degree of charity above his own.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andelin believes that a principled man desires a woman he can place on a pedestal\u2014one he can respect as better than himself. \u201cHe hopes that she will be kinder, more patient, forgiving, unselfish, and hold more valiantly to principle. If he is thoughtless, critical or weak, he can overlook these human frailties in himself. But he expects a woman, the more angelic creature of the human race, to be above such things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, the concept of woman on the pedestal has dangers. Someone once observed that the problem with being on a pedestal is that when one takes a step\u2014one crashes. It lends itself to the Madonna\/whore dichotomy that automatically places women who are adventurous, particularly sexually, in the gutter. It also lends itself to society\u2019s notorious double standard. Indeed, the double standard has a mathematical demon lurking inside it: If women are to be chaste and men experienced and adventurous (either pre-maritally or extra-maritally), with whom do the men get that experience?<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless of flaws or criticisms, the fact that FW<\/i> continues to attract followers shows that the view of women as the more \u201cangelic\u201d gender continues to appeal to some people.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Childlike Charm Derails Damage<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Intimate relationships will inevitably include arguments and disputes. Unfortunately, arguments between boyfriends and girlfriends or husbands and wives too often escalate into bitter fights that, even if they don\u2019t lead to actual physical violence, leave both parties emotionally wounded. Andelin believes that women should emulate the way children express anger. She points out that children often stamp their feet and a girl child frequently shakes her curls and pouts. She thinks that these feminine childlike expressions of anger are often seen as \u201ccute\u201d by men and, thus, can de-fuse conflicts. In a few cases, her descriptions of childlike tantrums come directly from Victorian novels.<\/span><\/p>\n

She cites Dora\u2019s expression of anger at David as a good example of childlike anger. David faulted Dora for failing to properly manage the hired help. He attributed the stealing of a gold watch to that failure. Andelin quotes Dickens as writing that Dora opened \u201cher eyes wide\u201d and exclaimed, \u201cOh, what an accusation! . . . Oh! Oh! you cruel fellow, to compare your affectionate wife to a transported page [hired boy]! Why didn\u2019t you tell me your opinion of me before we were married? Why didn\u2019t you say, you hard-hearted thing, that you were convinced that I was worse than a transported page? Oh, what a dreadful opinion to have of me! Oh, my goodness!\u201d Andelin believes that Dora\u2019s expression of anger was childlike in its use of strong adjectives and its exaggeration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many critics see FW<\/i> as hopelessly stuck in the past. Those critics may use the Victorianisms in it as supporting this belief. However, research historian Julie Neuffer, who has devoted years to studying FW,<\/i> observes that one of the most impressive aspects of FW<\/i> is \u201cIts endurance.\u201d Neuffer remarks that up until Andelin\u2019s death over four decades after her book\u2019s publication, she was receiving \u201cfan mail, book orders, and applications from women who want to teach classes.\u201d Neuffer further noted that, \u201cFW seems to cut across racial, cultural, geographic and social boundaries.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Considering how much of the FW philosophy draws on Victorian works, FW<\/i> may\u2014like The Hatchet<\/i>\u2014be one of many examples of how the influence of the Victorian era lives on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Works cited<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Andelin, Helen. The Fascinating Girl<\/i>. 1st Books Library. Bloomington, IN. 1970, 2002.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andelin, Helne. Fascinating Womanhood.<\/i> Pacific Press, 1963.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keller, Mark. \u201cWhat Quirks Do Men Find Attractive in Women?\u201d eHow.com. http:\/\/www.ehow.com\/info_8173127_quirks-do-men-attractive-women.html<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cResearch Historian.\u201d Interview with Julie Neuffer. http:\/\/www.fascinatingwomanhood.net<\/span><\/p>\n

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray<\/i>. Modern Library Classics. 1890.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Considering how much of the FW philosophy draws on Victorian works, FW<\/i> may\u2014like The Hatchet<\/i>\u2014be one of many examples of how the influence of the Victorian era lives on.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":5077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-denise-noes-lizzie-whittlings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4705"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5079,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4705\/revisions\/5079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lizzieandrewborden.com\/hatchetonline\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}