ABSTRACT
Labour was not the only section of society pressing for social and political emancipation in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. It was frequently noticed that another majority group, women, were increasingly demanding changes of far-reaching import. In newspapers, journals and novels the ‘woman question’ was widely debated. All aspects of women’s life – economic, political, social, educational, sexual-came under scrutiny, revealing deep-seated discontents and resentments on the one hand and male fears and prejudices on the other. Publicity strengthened the self-confidence of women in seeking unprecedented social transformation. Their revolt was against their inferior position in a man’s world. Middle and working-class women experienced this inferiority in different ways, and it was not easy for the women’s movement to develop a common consciousness. Moreover the sexual divisions in society were so strong that they were regarded as ‘natural’ and eternal by many women and most men, so that to challenge them was to strike at the certainties of the age. Indeed, it was almost impossible for women to define themselves except in terms set by a male-dominated society, and it was long before feminists were able to break out of this mould. Nevertheless, change there was, partly through economic and social developments in society at large, and partly through movements for women’s emancipation.
