Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

Barickman, MacDonald, and Stark further argue that her relationships with men threaten Laura’s identity.
They argue that,
In each relationship, her role, her sense of self, and her sense of failure or accomplishment
is determined by the men who control her. In this regard there is no real distinction
between the cruel husband who tries to commit her to an asylum and the kind husband
provided by the novel’s traditional conclusion, or between either husband and her father.
(115)
Since Marian and Victoria are strong and independent women, their relationships with men do not
define them. On the other hand, Laura’s male relationships completely overpower her and her weak
character.
Victoria’s contradictory roles as a domestic wife and a powerful queen and Collins’ representation
of Marian as a masculine and domestic angel suggest that Victorian women represented their power in the
form of a paradox. Similarly, Victoria’s private opinions on marriage and women’s role in society were
shockingly untraditional, but her public image as a devoted wife, mother, and maternal queen demonstrates
the paradox of her situation. Marian also exemplifies this paradox because Collins balances Marian’s
progressive power and independence with her connection to Walter, Laura, and the home. Victorian
society was not ready for a fully progressive and powerful woman; therefore, women should adopt a new
form of femininity, and they should look to Victoria and Marian as examples of the new ideal woman.
Neither Victoria nor Marian completely embraces feminine power or accepts the role of the angel in the
house: they are dissatisfied with traditional Victorian femininity, but they are not willing to reject it. This
knowledge creates new insight about Victorian femininity, for Victoria and Marian demonstrate that
women were beginning to take small but decisive steps to claim their place in the world.
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