1889 Magazine "Tit-Bits" Asked Women Why They Were Single, And Received Hilariously Savage Answers
Maybe the thought that Victorian women were dull and prudish is completely off base.
Victorian newspapers loved turning women’s private lives into public entertainment, and one 1889 magazine issue took that habit to a whole new level. Instead of quietly accepting the label of “spinster,” a group of single women answered back with sharp, funny, and surprisingly brutal honesty.
The magazine Tit-Bits asked women why they were still unmarried, then printed the replies for readers to enjoy. The result was a mix of sarcasm, self-awareness, and total shade, all wrapped in the strict social rules of Victorian England.
The answers are still funny more than a century later, and a few of them hit a little too close to home. Read on.
"Why Am I A Spinster?"
DigiVictorianPublishers share in the article that they were dividing the prize.
The responses were just too good to pick only one winner.
DigiVictorianQuite a simile; like a tart, nice to look at, but upon closer inspection, stale and hollow.
DigiVictorian
Marriage is akin to being electrocuted.
DigiVictorian
Miss Newton slaying me with "an setterar."
("an setterar" = etcetera)
DigiVictorian
No man looks quite handsome enough for Miss Moore.
DigiVictorian
"Always ready, but not yet wanted."
DigiVictorian
Miss Sparrow likens taking a husband to adding to her menagerie of pets.
DigiVictorian
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Miss Jones blames her love for being unable to earn enough, so he moved abroad.
DigiVictorian
Because Americans.
DigiVictorian
And if you’re thinking “that’s petty,” this hits close to the cousin demanding grandma’s meatloaf recipe for a cooking blog.
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Miss Kennerly prefers her freedom to marriage.
DigiVictorian
Being a wife is more work for little reward.
DigiVictorian
Miss Roberts sets her worth to match a rare piece of china.
DigiVictorian
The addition of the addresses helps find more information on the self-proclaimed spinsters.
DigiVictorian
One woman gave up spinsterhood and subsequently lost details about who she was and what she did.
DigiVictorian
DigiVictorian
In the Now-Times, it seems wild to publish addresses in a public magazine.
Suw
Ms. Kennerly certainly had an artistic way with words.
liliales
Honestly, same.
NicholaDeadman
With some house numbers as low as 8, that's an understandable concern.
0xabad1dea
Could you IMAGINE 1880's Twitter?!
emma_mp
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Tit-Bits apparently had a long run.
Tit-Bits was in publication from October 22, 1881, to July 18, 1984.
arborlowenviron
Yet women still make less than men more often than not over a hundred years later.
MittereMary
Did you read the responses with an old-timey English accent, too?
ilrosso_
How do you think you'd fare back in Victorian times? Would you dutifully wed and take on the role of wife, knowing that you would no longer be seen as an individual?
While some more obvious things have changed since then, there are still some surprising similarities shared by the 1889 spinsters. Let us know if you agree in the comments below, and be sure to share this with your fellow modern spinsters.
Want more “built different” history? See these vintage photos proving your grandparents lived way differently.
