Question

How print culture brought change in the life of women

Answer 1

(i) Women as readers : Lives and feelings of women began to be written in intense ways. So women became important as readers. Penny magazines were especially meant for women, as were manuals teaching proper behaviour and housekeeping.

(ii) Women as writers : Many women novelists like Jane Austin, Bronte Sisters, George Eliot wrote about women. Novels and other journals began exploring the world of women – their emotions, identities, their experiences and problems. The writings of woman became important in defining a new type of woman – a person with will, strength of personality, determination and the power to think.

(iii) Novels and books on women : As the readership of women was increasing publishers started producing novels and journals for women. Many journals began carrying writings by women, and explained why women should be educated.

Answer 2

Print culture had a profound impact on the lives of women in 19th century India. Their lives and feelings which were previously confined within the four walls of their homes became the topics of writing and discussion. Women’s reading increased enormously in middle class homes and journals began to be written by women explaining the necessity of women education. Autobiographies and novels written by women writers highlighted the exploitation of women and became the source of social reform. Issues like women education, widowhood, widow remarriage and the national movement began to be discussed and debated by women.

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