Which Victorian Archetype Are You?

Congratulations, you are The Suffragette! In Victorian America, the women’s suffrage movement was just gaining momentum. Perhaps best of known of American suffragists, Susan B. Anthony became a symbol of women’s voting rights when she attempted to vote in 1872 and was arrested and publicly tried for her crime. This trial re-sparked the women’s suffrage movement and lead to the establishment in 1890 of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Susan B. Anthony, along with many other brave women, led the way for the recognition of women's voting rights in 1920.

As the Suffragette you share many qualities with trailblazers like Susan B. Anthony. You are passionate, strong, smart, and brave. You are a rebel in your time, and you fight for what you believe in. You are a leader and an inspiration to those around you, as well as a true friend to anyone you meet. You, like the women of the suffrage movement, believe strongly in equality. You refuse to allow anyone around you to be persecuted or demeaned based on race, gender, age, or sexuality. You are an incredibly passionate person who is always at the center of attention. You don’t do things half-heartedly and you always put every bit of yourself and your drive into anything you do. So don’t let anyone stand in your way. Keep fighting for what you believe in, and you will achieve your goals!

Congratulations, you are The Nurse! In Victorian America, nursing became one of the first female dominated professions. Many women fighting for the right to work and provide for themselves and their families turned to work as nurses and midwives. The nurse of the Victorian era came to represent the independent working class women. The fight for employment was one of the most difficult issues women faced in Victorian America, because not only were women fighting for respectability, gentility and independence, but they were also fighting against the power of the employers in a male dominated labor market. The success in the fight for employment for women at the end of the century was the result of forty years of tireless campaigning.

As The Nurse you are tough, hardworking, compassionate, and free. You represent the working class, someone who is strong and determined to achieve his or her own independence and success. Not only are you accomplished and hardworking, but you also run your house and provide for your family. Your forthright nature and work ethic make you an invaluable person not only at work but among your family and friends. You know your value and what you can offer and you do so without hesitation. You are professional, but you are also incredibly compassionate and giving. You seek not only to uplift yourself but to uplift those around you as well. You will certainly rise to the top of not only your professional life but your personal life!

Congratulations, you are The Madam! In Victorian era America, prostitutes were not rootless social outcasts as much as independent, working women. Prostitution offered young women more independence, economically and socially, than could otherwise be available to them. Women who worked as prostitutes often had access to rights and power that the more traditionally “respectable” women didn’t. Prostitutes could own land, receive health care, be independently wealthy as well as have some influential power due to their unprecedented access to the social and political life that existed in the pubs and saloons. Prostitutes were especially successful in the wild, lawless and renegade boomtowns of the American West. In fact, madams and female brothel owners became so powerful there that they funded many of the road building and irrigation projects that established the American West.

As The Madam you are Independent, wild, free spirited, and intelligent. You are a savvy businessperson who thinks outside the box. Your wild nature makes you bold, brash, and brave and encourages you to live free, unrestrained by any rules. You seek out opportunities and are always looking for ways to better yourself and others. A nine-to-five job would bore you; you prefer a faster paced lifestyle and career, something exciting and creative. You are artistic and free-spirited, but at the same time you like nice things and comfort. You are also incredibly charming, and people often give you what you want. “No” is not a word you hear very often. While your individuality is invaluable to you, you still value your friendships and family and will go to extreme lengths to protect and help the people you love. People will underestimate you, but your intelligence and street smarts will make you a success in anything you attempt.

Congratulations, you are The Household General! The majority of women in Victorian era America were not employed in an outside profession. Instead the duties of running and maintaining the house were their employment. This was not such an easy task because of the number of servants that had to be hired, paid and monitored. In addition, the mistress of the house had to act as accountant for the house, as well as overseer of the servants. She also meticulously maintained the house and grounds and was in charge of buying and stocking the house with food and other goods.. Because of these many responsibilities, the women of this time would run their houses like an army with them as generals. They maintained strict control over the entire home, including their husbands. Many of them relied on the advice and teachings of books such as Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management to help them in this daunting task of strict but loving domination. It was in this book that the author Isabella Beeton coined the term Household General to describe this fierce and loving Victorian woman.

As The Household General you are resolute, loving, organized, and resilient. You are the cornerstone of your family and friends, a constant strong and loving presence that steadies everyone around you. You are hardworking, well organized, and you don’t take orders from anyone. You are a kind and open person but those qualities should not be mistaken for weakness, because you are anything but weak. Strength for you comes in the ability to bring people together, organize them, and lead them. Your leadership abilities are unparalleled, and your loving nature is key in maintaining that leadership. While you can come off as being domineering and focused, your loving personality tempers this and shows that your drive is born of a desire to take care of those around you.

“She loves with love that cannot tire.” (Coventry Patmore)

Congratulations, you are The Angel of the House! The Angel of the House was the Victorian ideal of womanhood. The term Angel of the House originated in a popular poem by Coventry Patmore titled “The Angel in the House,” written in 1854. This poem describes Patmore’s wife as the ideal Victorian woman. She was graceful, sympathetic, self-sacrificing, and above all things pure. Patmore’s poem grew in popularity and began to be cited as the standard to which women should hold themselves. In addition, Queen Victoria’s own devotion to her Husband Prince Albert and to a domestic life encouraged the ideal to spread throughout Victorian society, in America as well as Great Britain.

As The Angel of the House you are compassionate, charming, utterly selfless, and loving. You always put others’ needs before your own and are a truly generous and sweet person. You enjoy giving to others and often take very little time for yourself. You are open and honest and value those qualities in the people you associate with. You are a caregiver and protector. Ultimately, you believe that giving your self to the people you love is the truest expression of love and so you do it with no reservation. You will always be the heart of any relationship you have—friend, romantic, or other.

Congratulations, you are The Explorer! Victorian England and America saw an increasing desire to explore new territory. Colonization was a primary focus of both Queen Victoria’s agenda in England as well as in America as a burgeoning country. Because of this focus on colonization, by the end of the nineteenth century nearly one quarter of the earth’s land surface was part of the British Empire, and more than 400 million people were governed from Great Britain. Colonization requires explorers to set off to unknown lands to discover what they had to offer. These explorers were often men of high birth and money. The Victorian Era marked the golden age for inland travel and was characterized by an aimless gusto for all things unexplored. Many of these explorers set off to Africa to unlock the secrets long hidden in that country. One of those pursuits came to be finding the source of the Nile. Two of the Victorian eras most famous explorers Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke discovered the source and named it Lake Victoria in 1858.

As The Explorer you are adventurous, bold, outgoing, and joyful. You are a true adventurer in all senses of the word. You not only enjoy traveling to new places but also meeting new people, trying new foods, and experiencing new activities. If something is in anyway new or different, you want to try it and you will probably love it. You bring an optimistic and joyful nature to everything you do, and your infectious love for adventure cannot help but spread to those around you. You are fearless and stand up for what you believe in. You don’t believe in the words “No you can’t”; instead you make things happen, even the impossible things. The world is open to you, and you aren’t afraid to take advantage of everything it has to offer.

Congratulations, you are The Man of Science! Scientific advancement in the Victorian Era made huge leaps forward in large part due to the invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison in 1879 and the harnessing of electricity. However, technology was only one aspect of the scientific growth of the Victorian age. The other main advancements came in the field of natural sciences. Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species in 1859 laid out the theory of evolution, and this shift into viewing the creation of man and the world as nature’s evolution by its own properties led to huge breakthroughs in both science and medicine. Because of this, scientists and doctors became some of the wealthiest professions of the time and held a very high position in society. The Victorian Era in both England and America was a time of progress for both natural science and medicine.

As The Man of Science you are pragmatic, driven, intelligent, and adventurous. You are at the forefront of innovation. You like things new, shiny, and fast. You view the world through the lens of development, and so the emotional side of things often eludes you. Not to say that you are unemotional, you just value the clinical approach more. You are practical and straightforward, preferring to deal with struggles head on rather than avoiding conflict. You like to be well informed, not only about current events, but also about the latest in technological advances. You are the person whom your friends and family turn to for advice, and you are always up to trying new things. You also love your job and enjoy going to work. Striving for success is important, but don’t forget to take some time for yourself and the ones you love.

Congratulations, you are The Lord! The aristocracy in the Victorian Era held to many of the same values and traditions that had been in place for previous centuries. Although the Victorian Era saw an increasing amount of fluidity in society and social rank, it still retained a great deal of the exclusivity and social superiority it always had. In both England and America there arose a distinction between the old aristocracy and the new. The upper class was divided into two notable classes: the aristocracy made up of the royal family and the lords temporal and ecclesiastical and what was commonly known as the “squirearchy.” “Squire” was an unofficial title given to wealthy landowners who were in terms of wealth and land of the upper class but did not count among the aristocracy, because they were not related to the royal family. The “squirearchy” was looked down upon by the aristocracy.

As The Lord you are ambitious, charming, loyal, and giving. You are incredibly social adept. You know how to traverse the intricate workings of any social situation, and you do it with grace and charm. You are also very driven and aspire to be at the top of any thing you try, whether it might be the highest position at work or the top tier of society. Yet your ambition does not cloud your incredible sense of loyalty and devotion to your friends and family. You also understand the value of a dollar and have worked hard to ensure your own success; because of this you are also a very generous person and seek to help everyone around you achieve success. You are certainly the master and lord of your own fate and will lead yourself to a bright future.