Reimagining the Domestic Sphere: Gender, Space, and Power Dynamics in Nineteenth‑Century British Women’s Novels (1810–1890)

Eleanor Whitmore¹, Dr. Ananya Sen

Department of English Literature ,English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad

1. Abstract

This article examines the ways in which British women’s novels from the nineteenth century (1810–1890) reshape the concept of the domestic sphere, focusing on the intersections of gender, space, and power. By integrating feminist spatial theory with detailed textual analysis, the study charts how interior environments—such as homes, parlors, gardens, and estates—serve as arenas for the contestation, negotiation, and redefinition of gender identities. Utilizing works by Jane Austen, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, among others, this research highlights that the domestic realm is not just a backdrop but a dynamic site where patriarchal authority is both perpetuated and challenged. The study emphasizes spatial metaphors, narrative frameworks, and the influence of space on female agency. The findings indicate that while nineteenth-century women authors portray domestic systems of confinement, they also present domesticity as a space for subversion and change. This research thus adds to the fields of feminist literary studies, spatial humanities, and Victorian literature.

Keywords: Home Environment, Gender Roles, Spatial Dynamics, Authority Relations, 19th-Century British Literature, Feminist Criticism

2. Keywords

Domestic Environment, Gender and Space, 19th-Century British Literature, Power Relations, Feminist Theory, Spatial Humanities, Victorian Fiction