How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
The duties of her married life, contemplated as so great beforehand, seemed to be shrinking with the furniture and the white vapour-walled landscape. (3.28.3)
This passage shows how frustrating married life could be for intelligent women during this period. Even intelligent, capable women like Dorothea were expected to limit themselves to the conventional role of wife and mother. Dorothea is full of passion and energy, but there's nothing for her to do. Her world seems to be "shrinking" around her, turning from a vast landscape of possibilities to a small "white vapour-walled" room filled with Victorian "furniture."
Quote #8
there was the stifling oppression of that gentlewoman's world, where everything was done for her and none asked for her aid – where the sense of connection with a manifold pregnant existence had to be kept up painfully as an inward vision, instead of coming from without in claims that would have shaped her energies. (3.28.4)
Dorothea's position is paralleled with that of all "gentlewomen" during the period. Upper-class women had nothing to do. At least lower-class women had stuff to do around the house, and middle-class women might help with the family business to some extent, but upper-class women like Dorothea had servants to do everything. They were expected to content themselves with doing embroidery, making music, and having tea with their neighbors. That might be fun for a couple of days, but we think it would get boring pretty quickly.
Quote #9
the gentlewoman's oppressive liberty. (3.28.4)
This phrase sums up the position of upper-class women during the period: they were at "liberty" to do whatever they wanted, since all their basic needs were catered to by servants, but it was an "oppressive liberty." They were trapped by social conventions that limited their activities. So even though they were at "liberty," it was a severely limited, "oppressive liberty."