Romanticism Revolts: Women during the Revolution

The British Anthology presents “The Age of Romanticism” with the French Revolution being a promise of freedom which is depicted in multiple aspects such as clothing, literature, and art. Clothing became less constrictive and more liberating; for women this meant dresses which flowed freely and were worn looser. For literature, more female authors appeared, such Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Various forms of portraits depicted the revolts happening throughout France like the battle of Waterloo. During the Age of Romanticism, there “was a strong interest in the “Imagination,” the creative power by which an individual took the raw material of the physical world and transformed it into art” (liii). Artists were configuring the events happening in society (the revolts, and government actions against them), and blending them into their work. For literature, “[t]he Romantic period abounded in outspoken female writers who engaged with the issues of their day and sought to make a difference in their world” (li). However, the women’s efforts to make a difference with their writing made little to no impact during that era. Women were still viewed as a possession, but that did not stop them from trying to be heard. My thoughts of the matter are women were not acknowledge the way men were because women’s role during this era were to be housewives tending to chores and children. Women were not as capable as men, but with time women made themselves heard and known that they are just as capable.