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In 1854, English writer Coventry Patmore published the first version of his poem “The Angel in the House.� In it, he described the ideal woman--a submissive wife dedicated to domestic life. The poem became popular for a few reasons: First, it demonstrated a popular social belief about women and women’s place as domestic and centered in the home. Second, it prompted a strong backlash from critics about this belief. A larger discussion about women’s place in the world (in the home, economic and civic life, the workplace, education) found its way into all aspects of society, including the arts and theatre. This discussion became known as “The Woman Question,� and was a staple of literary culture in the second half of the 19th century.

Terminology

• Angel in the House: The image of a submissive wife, considered an ideal by society in the Victorian period, and first popularized in a poem of the same name.
• Bildungsroman: A novel, popular in the Victorian period, that follows the protagonist's coming-of-age.
• Feminism: Advocacy of women's rights in society, economics, politics, civil liberties, and culture, based on the equality of the sexes.
• Feminist Theatre: Theatre that is focused on women's stories, separate from men, and often examines gender, class, race, and privilege within social, cultural, and historical systems.
• Industrial Revolution: A period of transition within manufacturing practices, especially as machines replaced people in labor. It is generally dated from 1760 to 1840.
• Victorian: Relating to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) or a person who lived in the Victorian era.

Key Dates & Events

• 1760: Beginnings of the Industrial revolution
• 1831: Madame Vestris takes over London’s Olympic Theatre and becomes one of the most financially successful producers of her day
• 1847: Under the pseudonym Currer Bell, Charlotte µþ°ù´Ç²Ô³Ùë publishes Jane Eyre. A year later, she reveals her identity.
• 1854: Coventry Patmore publishes his poem “The Angel in the Houseâ€�
• 1855: Laura Keene leases New York City’s Metropolitan Theatre and stages popular and financially successful extravaganzas
• 1860: George Eliot (the pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans) publishes The Mill on the Floss
• 1879: Henrik Ibsen publishes A Doll’s House, first produced in Germany with an alternate ending
• 1882: Married Women’s Property Act is passed, which allowed married women to own and control their own property
• 1891: Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler is staged
• 1891: Thomas Hardy publishes Tess of the d’Urbervilles
• 1895: Arthur Wing Pinero publishes The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith
• 1897: The first dramatic staging of Tess of the d’Urbervilles, by Lorimer Stoddard
• 1900: Henry Arthur Jonesâ€� Mrs Dane’s Defence
• 1902: George Bernard Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession is finally staged, despite having been written nine years earlier
• 1913: Shaw’s popular Pygmalion
• 1924: Thomas Hardy writes his own stage adaptation of Tess of the d’Urbervilles
• 2000: John Caird and Paul Gordon’s Tony-nominated musical Jane Eyre premieres on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre