What if Oliver were a girl, victimization of women in Victorian society , Which types of problems he has to face?

1. What if Oliver were a Girl…?
Prepared and Presented by: Minkal Italiya
Paper-5 The Romantic Literature
Semester 2
Roll No. 19
Enrollment No. 2069108420190020
Email id: italiyaminkal@gmail.com
S.B.Gardi Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

2. Oliver Twist
• Charles John Huffam Dickens
• Born: February,1812
• First published as a serial 1837-1839
• Representation of Victorian society
• Child labour,crime,poverty
social class
• Well known works are:
The Pickwick Papers
Bleak House
A Tale of two Cities
Great Expectations

3. Roles of women In the Victorian Era
Women
of Higher
class
• Luxuries life
• Expected to be
Highly educated
Women
of Middle
class
• Not as reach as
noble class
• Expected to be
educated
Women
of Lower
class
• Extreme poverty
• prostitution,
laborers or any
activity which
• involves physical
exertion

4. Victimization of women in Victorian Era
• Women were victimized by Victorian society
and patriarchy
• They were rejected by society if they
rejected the old social institutions and values
represented these institutions
• Women’s individualism and freedom did not
have space
• Prostitution was a means of survival for a
women of lower working class in Victorian
society

5. Orphanage and Workhouse
• Powerlessness of children
• Orphanage age and Workhouse were controlled by
powerful adult Mrs.Mann and Mr. Bumble.
• She kept a large percentage of money the children
made and fed them with the rest
• Hunger and ill usage leaded Oliver to cry very
naturally
• “Please sir, I want some more”
• This statement convinces boardmember that Oliver
“Will come to be hung?”
• Mr.Bumble offered five pounds to anyone who will
take the boy away from the workhouse.

6. If Oliver were a girl….
• At workhouse and an orphanage where Oliver had to suffer and
go through if he were a girl she would be mentally as well as
Physically exploited by authority.
• If he were a girl, Mr.Bumble would not think to send him away
from workhouse rather than he would have been forced Oliver to
become child prostitute or sexual harassment could be done as
well as some kind of mental torture would be done
• In a way as a girl Oliver would become more powerless

7. Life at London
• Arrived in new city, it became quite difficult for orphan
child to survive in new town without friend and family
• As being boy, he was vulnerable to exploitation. And indeed
what precisely what happen to him. He was used by Fagin and
Bill Sikes to commit thefts and participated in burglaries
• But fortunately Mr. Brownlow was there for him and adopted
him at last.

8. If Oliver were a girl….
• Fagin’s own sense of moral depravity would not
have hesitated to use Oliver as a girl for any
purpose as long as it benefited himself
• If he were a girl, Fagin would have used Oliver as a
tool of physical exploitation or sexual harrasment
could be done with her rather than to involve him
in his gang of pickpocketers.

9. If he were a girl, Did Mr.Brownlow adopt
Oliver?
• If Oliver were a girl, definitely Mr.Brownlow
might not adopt Oliver.
• In the Victorian age women of Lower working
class women were not got the equal respect
as boys
• Ex. As being a street girl, Nancy served as
prostitute
• If he were a girl, there might not be
Mr.Brownlow to adopt her as well as Oliver
might have to face problems like Nancy

10. Oliver’s way of looking at world
• Oliver looked the world with innocence
and purity, but as a girl he might not be
able to see the world in the same way
• As being an orphan girl, Oliver’s voice
might not be heard by anyone, which
might be converted in hatred for the
people
• He would have been started to look at
world with cruelty if he were a girl
• If Oliver were a girl, he might have to face
more violations and manipulation

11. • After facing such a kind of problems in
Workhouse and at London, Oliver was able to
survive, but if he were a girl, he might not able
to survive.
• The Angelic concept of Victorian era might be
conflicted with the concept of fallen women
• Should Oliver as a girl able to survive in Victorian
era?
Less chances of
survival

12. .
If the Oliver were a girl,
novel might have been become more
challenging and darker due to violations,
sexual harrasments or manipulation of
girl child

13. Conclusion
• If Oliver were a girl, might he have
been become the Prostitute?
• Would the society give Oliver the same
respect if he were a girl?
• If the protagonist character of the
Oliver were a girl, Would the novel
been become popular or sunk in the
ocean of darkness?

14. Thank you