*“We rode our bicycles to the courthouse. They were the most wondrously
modern conveyances, right down to the specialized attire they entailed.
…Pedaling past Swinburne traffic felt deliciously urgent and dangerous.”
—Premeditated Myrtle*
Summer 2020 is seeing a *surge in the popularity of bike riding*, thanks in
large part to coronavirus concerns, and efforts to find new ways to enjoy
the outdoors in a responsible, socially-distant way. The late 19th century
also saw a cycling boom, with the development of the modern bicycle. For my
heroine Myrtle Hardcastle, her bicycle is a key part of her crime-solving
equipment. And for many middle-class girls in the Victorian era, the
bicycle represented even more.
During the 19th century, two huge changes swept the globe: the twin forces
of industrialization and colonization. A direct consequence of these
developments was the emergence of a new sort of middle class of clerks,
businessmen, bankers, lawyers, bureaucrats, and civil servants.
College-educated men filled the offices of corporations and government on a
scale never seen before.
*A popular British bicycle of the 1880s-90s. £12 is about £1000 today, or
$1200*
As middle class jobs exploded, middle class incomes went up, and for the
first time, many families could survive on only a single income—the man’s.
Previously, middle-income families of shopkeepers, manufacturers,
tradespeople, merchants, and more would run businesses *together. *But in
the Victorian era, it became a mark of status—and, indeed, virtue—for a man
to make enough money to support his family and employ at least one servant.
Gender roles took on a strict division: women belonged in the domestic
sphere of home and family, and men belonged in the public world of business
and politics. Girls and women were expected to be the “angels of the home,”
to provide a soothing respite for their menfolk, away from the bustle of
worldly cares of running the empire.
This resulted in a vast population of affluent, well-educated women with
plenty of leisure time and disposable income. Middle class girls and women
began to question why *they* weren’t going off to college and pursuing
careers and voting and running the world. (Meanwhile, of course, working
class girls and women were too busy working their fingers to the bone to
worry about how to occupy their half-day off per week.)
Enter the bicycle. Variations on human-powered wheeled vehicles had been
around since the Renaissance, but it took the ingenuity and technology of
the 19th century to develop the bicycle as we know it today. It was an
immediate sensation among those who could afford it.
Early bicycles were expensive, so they appealed primarily to those with the
income and free time to appreciate them. But what the bicycle offered
middle class girls most was freedom.
For the first time in generations, young women could move through their
world independently, under their own power. They did not have to rely on a
coachman or a chaperone to get somewhere—the bicycle was, by design, a solo
vehicle. As American activist Frances Willard (*who learned to ride at age
53!*) put it, “I began to feel that myself plus the bicycle equaled myself
plus the world.”
1902 Sears ad for kids’ bikes. $10.75 is about $330 in today’s money.
Not surprisingly, there were naysayers. Doctors cautioned against the
effect such vigorous exercise might have on girls’ health, and some people
worried that the sight of girls on bicycles would prove dangerously
distracting for men. (Naturally, it did not occur to them that a better
solution for *that* problem was for the men look away, not for the girls to
stop riding.) But girls *didn’t* stop riding, and by the mid-1890s, it was
clear to everyone that they never would.
*Maria Ward’s 1896 manual on riding and maintenance*
*Bloomer suits for girls and young women, circa 1895*
There was one genuine obstacle to overcome, however, and that was that the
typical female attire of the day was impractical if not hazardous in this
new sport. Not to worry: the Victorian fashion industry was just as
inventive as all the others, and enthusiastically entered the market.
Cyclists could choose from all sorts of specialized garments, like the
puffy bloomers many of us are familiar with today, or *convertible skirts
for those not quite daring enough to sport pantaloons in public (many
designed and patented by women)*. Accessories abounded, including specially
designed shoes and boots, capes, and hats. And let us not forget that most
quintessential of Victorian women’s garments, the corset.
Bicycle manufacturers worked to make their products more affordable, and as
the cost of bicycles came down, even more girls and young women were
empowered to see where this new vehicle might lead them.
1895: Cyclists in Montana get a lesson on bicycle maintenance
Occasionally, young women might let the boys tag along, too. (Colorado, c.
1900)
These 1890s girls have bikes AND cameras! There’s nothing they can’t do….
Ride on!
The post #Myrtle Mondays: Victorian Girls on Bicycles! appeared first on Elizabeth
C. Bunce.