On this 8th of March, 4th year ESO students have reflected on what it meant to be a woman in the 18th and 19th centuries. They have done it through the eyes of the female characters in the three historical novels they have read:

We all know injustices  still sadly being part of our world nowadays. Even though the society has changed, imagine how  women´s lives could have been two or three centuries ago. (Lucía Wasiluk)

In those days, a decent woman was the one who had a husband, many children and did the housework (Brandon Cayarga). Rated as second class, they didn´t have the basic rights, like the chance to have education or to vote. (Sofía González).  They were not encouraged to study or pursue a career and those who tried to do it, specially in science, were ignored and set aside with lower wages and worse conditions. (Ana Ferreira)

    It is hard to imagine how things used to be in the past. Elizabeth Gaskell was encouraged to write by her brother, but had to publish her novel, which was a  success, anonymously.  (Helena Fourlaris)

In North and South, while her cousin´s life was with her husband, Margaret broke the current gender norms through her atypical interest in business, econmy and social problems. (Rocío Riaño)

The main aim for a woman was to get married and have kids, but her cousin´s life seems boring to her. She refused to be a “lady”, she wanted to be listened… Anyway she always had to be in the custody of a man: his father, Mr Bell and John Thornton. (Patricia Menéndez). When she lived with her dad, he had to give permission to her for doing a lot of things. (Sara Fernández)

In The last of the Mohicans, men´s role was to protect women as we can see from the transfer of Cora and her sister from Fort Edwards to the safety of Fort Henry. War was only for men. In addition to this, the Indian Magua sees Cora as a prize (an object) and a sign of victory in battle. (Helena Vega) Women are depicted as fragile beings, men as brave and courageous.

In A tale of two cities, Lucie had to marry Charles to have money. Wives had to obey husbands, but unmarried women had even fewer rights. (Amina Fariz) Women only worked if they belonged to a lower class.

Although 200 years ago it was even worse, we haven´t got a complete equality today, which means we still have a lot to learn. (Iker Jiménez)

We still have a long way to go… (Adriana Estrada)