Victorian England

Women were treated as second class citizens for most of history up to the 20th Century in the Western World and most other places. Women for most of English history have rarely ever owned property in their own right (with some notable exceptions eg Eleanore of Aquitaine) and what little they may have inherited all passed to the husband when they were married and yes before Victorian times they were expected (at least in middle class and upper class families) to be virgins prior to marriage. They were literally bundled off like a parcel, handed over from Father to husband, often with a dowry to sweeten the deal.

The Victorian era was noted more for its greater level of prudishness by both men and women and hypocrisy by men. There has always been a double standard in the way women and men were treated in Western society up till the late 20th Century.

That she was the heir to the throne and then monarch probably allowed her a greater degree of freedom and sense of independence than most women but that was strictly behind closed doors. She was probably encouraged to be so, considering her husband was a "foreigner" and many suspected him of wanting to rule in her stead. At the beginning of her reign she was rather dependent on her PM, Lord Melbourne for advice and got herself into trouble politically by sticking with him against the wishes of Parliament.

One comment:

The old widow Victoria was not the same as The Young Victoria.

While there may still be subscribers to the "great man" theory of history, single individuals don't control history so much as they are controlled by (and become symbols of) it.

Okay, make that two comments.