En route Project – Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana

In the Victorian era, the condition of women was primarily centered around overseeing the household, along with their role as wives and mothers. Young women from good families, once introduced into society, had only a few years to find a husband and settle down. Once married, their responsibilities included bearing children—especially heirs—and managing the household and its activities.

The exhibition pathway dedicates a transitional passage between the display rooms and the Sala Barberini to illustrating this social and cultural condition—now fortunately surpassed. This space offers an overview of some of the main editorial fields and publications aimed at the female audience of the time.

In a large showcase placed on one of the so-called Poniatowski tables, visitors can admire two examples of didactic narratives with a Protestant background and a strongly pedagogical character, dedicated to youth education: Household Troops, or Small Service is True Service by Mary Harriette Debenham (R.G. Lett. Est. 2.V.53) and the famous A Peep Behind the Scenes by Amy Catherine Walton, better known as Mrs. O. F. Walton (R.G. Lett. Est. 2.V.52).

Also displayed is a volume of La Mode Illustrée, which, despite its name, was not a magazine dedicated to fashion and costume but rather a women’s periodical founded in 1860 by Emmeline Raymond, though its editorial staff was almost entirely male. It targeted a bourgeois female audience, offering advice and guidance on various aspects of daily life, including clothing, coiffure, home decoration, child-rearing, gardening, embroidery, cooking, etiquette, and social life management.

Next: In dialogo con Maria Grazia Chiuri