The Victorian London Dictionary site is an incredibly addicting resource. Before I settled on my topic, I found myself skimming through a ton of interesting and engaging material. I was particularly interested in the roles of women during this era of rapid progress. I stumbled upon an article defining and examining the lives of working girls. The term ‘City-Work Girls’ strikes me as patronizing because I am a modern reader, but overall I consider this article quite contemporary in its depiction of women considering the time period.

There were several aspects of this article I found to be important to our understanding of Victorian Literature and the physical makeup of London. . The author begins by educating the reader about how important working girls are to the economic well being of London. Over one hundred trades would have ceased to be profitable or would cease to exist, without working girls. That is a pretty powerful statement. While I did know women worked as book binders during this time, I had no idea they held positions making surgical instruments or spectacles. The various job titles the article highlights seem so romantic to me. I am sure it caused a ton of migraines but working as a ‘perfumer’ sounds so lovely. What impressed me the most about this article was that even though women had only begun to spread out and occupy such jobs, there was an interest in unionizing and equal pay. Early on the narrator states that these girls are, “forming Trade Unions and making friends with workers of the other sex, who begin to think that if the work is the same, the pay should be equal.” I couldn’t believe this was written in 1889! There is even contact information for girls who wish to unionize or learn more about it.

The City-Work Girls article is not really about native London girls, but focuses more on the country girls who the author says, “daily flock into our Modern Babylon from small towns and country villages.” Due to their lack of familial support and experience, most employers refuse to hire them or only employ them temporarily. This discrimination by geographical origin is something that reminded me of the division between North and South London, yet it takes place within North London through the divides between native Londoners and country girls. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice came to mind when I envisioned these young country girls.

The article transitions into the dangers these girls face in London. The term ‘slack time’ gets thrown around a lot and is used to describe the lay off period that plunges these City-Work Girls into what appears to either resemble modern dating or is a higher form of prostitution. There is a subterranean society in London in which, “The girls fall into no trap, for the men help to eke out their wages, and add to the brightness of their lives by tickets for theatres, visits to music-halls, novelettes, and gifts of jewellery and dresses.” The article goes as far as to document and relay to its readers a sting operation of sorts in which they sent a commissioner into a tenement house that regularly houses these City-Work Girls! I thought that was hilarious. The commissioner witnessed the girls spending nights with their sweethearts and going out with them on dates. The article gives his account of two girls who “received money and presents from these young men, besides being treated by them to places of entertainment and to outings.” The article also notes that this particular housing establishment “is especially recommended by the clergy of the district.” I found this article to be entertaining. It almost reads like Cosmopolitan Magazine. A the same time it indicates what I perceive to be some early attempts to examine or perhaps even erode, the Madonna/Whore complex because these girls are describe as girls you would encounter everyday. It states, “This hidden trade has recruits among all classes of young women in London, from the pretty, neatly dressed little governess who trips into the precincts of the Law Courts on Saturday night, to the flower-girl who would swear until black in the face if she heard herself accused of anything so nefarious.” I can’t imagine finding a more controversial article but I really hope I do this semester.

“http://www.victorianlondon.org/publications3/newtoilers-16.htm”