“Indescribable but Never to be Forgotten”: Challenging the Gender Roles of Victorian Era Women and Expanding Cultural Horizons Through Travels Abroad

Authors

Camryn Counsil, Gettysburg CollegeFollow

Class Year

2025

Document Type

Student Research Paper

Date of Creation

Fall 2024

Department 1

History

Abstract

Between the years of 1862-8, the Webb-Black family traveled the world on a Grand Tour to countries such as Italy, Austria, and France. In letters home to their aunts, half-sisters Augusta, Menah, and Julia detailed their journeys within the physical and cultural spheres of the places they visited. Later copied into a bound volume, these epistles gave voice to women’s thoughts, emotions, and conflicts when exploring the realm of the unknown. From a young age, Victorian girls were taught to suppress their opinions and merely expect a life of motherhood. However, the women of these letters pushed beyond what was comfortable to them to actively subvert elements of Victorian England gender roles during their time abroad, while expanding their cultural horizons.

Comments

Written for HIST 428: Letters and Letter Writing

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Counsil, Camryn, "“Indescribable but Never to be Forgotten”: Challenging the Gender Roles of Victorian Era Women and Expanding Cultural Horizons Through Travels Abroad" (2024). Student Publications. 1139.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/1139