Battered, bruised, and abused women: domestic violence in nineteenth-century British fiction
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The Department of English seeks to provide all university students with the skills of effective communication and critical thinking, as well as imparting knowledge of literature, creative writing, linguistics, speech and technical communication to students within and outside of the department.
History
The Department of English and Speech was formed in 1939 from the merger of the Department of English and the Department of Public Speaking. In 1971 its name changed to the Department of English.
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1939-present
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- Department of English and Speech (1939-1971)
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- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (parent college)
- Department of English (predecessor, 1898-1939)
- Department of Public Speaking (predecessor, 1898-1939)
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Abstract
This paper identifies and analyzes incidents of abuse directed towards women in nineteenth-century British fiction and shows that domestic violence was not limited to physical abuse. In works by leading authors of the Victorian era such as Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, George Eliot, Anne Bronte, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, evidence of abuse included verbal and emotional abuse, involuntary confinement, sexual abuse and marital rape, and economic deprivation. This paper also reviews and discusses women's lack of rights under various marriage and divorce laws of the time period, especially for married and single women who were victims of domestic violence. Finally, this work demonstrates how the secrecy and shame surrounding abuse perpetuated the problem in the home and in the community, and how authors sought to lift the veil of secrecy to show that domestic violence of all types affected women of all social classes.