According to Labouchère Amendment, any man engaging in homosexual behavior, “shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and being convicted thereof shall be liable to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years with or without hard labor.”  In Chapter 7 of A Picture of Dorian Gray, Basil admits his feelings for Dorian.  Basil states that he was worried about putting his painting on for show because, “I grew afraid that the world would know of my idolatry.”  Basil’s fear is reasonable considering he could be jailed for being found to have feelings for Dorian.  It is also surprising that Basil is willing to admit these feelings to Dorian due to this law.  I think that this passage reveals that Basil trusts Dorian.  I think Wilde is commenting on this law because Basil has not acted on his feelings for Dorian, but could still be punished by law.  I think the words the Basil uses to describe his feelings for Dorian are interesting.  Basil uses words like idolatry and worship.  This is interesting because homosexuals were describe using Greek mythology and these kinds of words echo the divine and mythical.

Tristan describes prostitution in the Victorian period as being an issue created by men.  She believes that because women and men are not treated equally, particularly in regards to sexuality, prostitution has become a lifestyle for fallen women.  She is quiet sympathetic to prostitutes and states, “When a dog dies he is watched over by his master, whereas the prostitute ends on a street corner without anyone’s throwing her a glance of pity!”  (Tristan 5).  This illustrates that a dogs life is more valued by society than a prostitutes.  I think the Thomas Hood poem agrees with Tristan’s article, because he too seems sympathetic towards prostitutes.  In his poem, he talks about a dying prostitute and states, “Take her up tenderly / Lift her with care” (Hood 1).  The poem still uses words like sin and mutiny to describe her profession, but uses caring language about how she should be treated in her death.  I think in a way Hood is blaming the women, but also takes the woman’s life history into account.  Tristan’s article blames society and does not blame women at all for becoming prostitutes, but Hood’s poem is harder to determine.  Hood seems to blame homelessness for prostitution because he references a woman not having a home a few times.  He also describes a homeless woman as being cold which I think is his way of giving her reasoning to become a prostitute.  Tristan brings money into the equation the same way that Hood does.  If a woman is homeless than how else is she supposed to live?  I do think that Hood partially blames the woman because of the way he discusses prostitution, but he also seems to be stating the only God can judge her sins, not men.  The last stanza of the poem seems to support this.

The author of the piece in the appendix is clearly against women becoming governesses.  The author believes that it is detrimental for a woman to become a governess because “the miseries of the governess may even swell that sickening glamour about the ‘rights of women,’ in which would never have been raised had women been true to themselves” (570). The author believes that women should not be educated and also makes claims that becoming a governess will make women go insane.  The author also seems concerned with how the role of a governess has upset the class system.  The author states that women who used to work in shops have now become governess and when they decide they don’t want to be governesses, women of lower class have taken their spots at the shops (569).  I think the author is upset that women have found a way to raise themselves up in class without the help of a man.  Bronte clearly does not agree with this portrayal of the governesses.  The author clearly thinks that becoming a governess leads to insanity, but in the novel Jane becomes a governess because, “I remembered that the real world was wide, and that a varied field of hopes and fears, of sensations and excitements, awaited those who had the courage to go forth into its expanse, to seek real knowledge of life amidst its perils” (151).  The author also seems to think women almost brag about their intelligence once they acquire it, but in the novel Jane is quite modest about her abilities.  Mr. Rochester is also fascinated by Jane and speaks with her as if she is his equal.  I think in this sense Bronte is trying to eliminate class differences.  Jane also does not upset the class system thus far in the novel because she was a teacher at Lowood and then becomes a governess which isn’t much of a raise in class.

I read an article about thin women in the Victorian period.  I find it interesting that the topic of the attractiveness of women’s bodies has been going on since such an early period.  I was not surprised that the author of this article was against thin women as being thin did not become popular until the 20th century.  What I did find interesting is the way that the author of the article discusses the reasons for thinness is the way that people in the modern era have talked about the reasons people are overweight.  The article states, “Thinness is often caused by too poor living-that is, by badly-chosen and insufficient food-and by over-fatigue, especially when brought on by prolonged brain-work and excessive anxiety. It is also promoted by a nervous and bilious temperament and a gloomy disposition” (1).  The author discusses poor diet as a reason for thinness which in our time is usually associated with being overweight.  What I also find intriguing is that the demeanor of a thin woman is discussed in this article.  The author states multiple times that thin women are gloomy,  unpleasant, etc.  Physical appearance has nothing to do with personality, yet society has been making claims such even during the Victorian period.  The author also claims that being thin takes away from a women’s femininity.  I knew before that women have always been scrutinized for their appearance, but I didn’t realize how similar the verbiage of the subject would be.  Words like “thin” and “fat” are basically interchangeable in articles like this and if the word “fat” were in this article instead of “thin,” I would have assumed the article was written during the 20th century.  The article goes on to discuss women’s attractiveness in relation to their husband’s happiness.  I find it interesting that in discussing bodies, the idea is always to appear attractive to someone else and not about being healthy.

“Advice and Recipes.”  Victorian London Dictionary.  Web.  14 February 2016.  victorianlondon.org.