Married women in the Victorian era were considered to have legal rights similar to those of children. They were not allowed to vote, hold bank accounts, sign contracts, or hold any professional position other than teaching. Husbands owned all the money and property a wife brought to the marriage, even if they divorced; and had sole custody of their children. Domestically and socially, they were expected to act as "the general of the household", a term coined in 1861 by Isabella Beeton in her textbook, Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Victorian_era) Women were expected to run their homes like streamlined machines. Social events were coordinated to promote her husband's prestige and establish new social and economic ties. They devoted much time to meeting the physical and emotional needs of their husbands and children, often at great personal sacrifice in self-interest and self-development. Queen Victoria did little to promote the advancement of women during this time. There were, however, influential Victorian English writers, for example John Stuart Mill, Lord Tennyson and Thomas Carlyle, who recognized the plight of women and wrote with the aim of promoting awareness and perhaps initiating reform. Of the three aforementioned writers, Mill is the most outspoken on the subject of women's equality. In 1869, John Stuart Mill wrote The Subjugation of Women. Read in a historical context, this work is considered radical. Mill tends to focus on the question of principle rather than seeking active reform. It rejects sexual inequality in domestic and social contexts. He wrote: “That the principle which governs the existing social relations between the two sexes – the legal support...... middle of paper ... touches the essential; highlighting human rights deficiencies and calling for reforms. It would be safe to assume that Carlyle was influenced by his wife, who actively advocated for women's rights. In conclusion, these three Victorian writers championed the rights of both men and women, each using their own style to convey their message. . All from very different backgrounds, these gentlemen were progressive and not afraid to denounce the status quo. Works Cited “John Stuart Mill: The Subjugation of Women”. The Constitutional Society. Internet. April 18, 2011. .Damrosch, David and Kevin JH Dettmar. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Flight. 2B. New York: Longman, 2010. “Women in the Victorian Age” print. Wikipedia. Internet. April 18. 2011. .