8. A double standard for criminals: society accepted gentlemen as burglars, but not women
Society in the Victorian Age viewed all aspects of life as driven by their natural proclivities, rather than by education or changing circumstances. Those of low birth were by nature possessed with the characteristics of low birth. The advantages of education were wasted on those ill-equipped to apply them. Those born of the servant class may find themselves elevated above it due to good fortune, or hard work, or both. But by nature, they could never be more than the class into which they were born. Such thought applied to criminal behavior as well. People were simply born to it unless outside forces intervened. Such outside forces included mental illness (known simply as madness for the most part), drugs, alcohol, or other factors outside of the individual’s control.
Women could easily be viewed as criminals capable of theft, deception, violence, even cold and calculating murder. None of those activities violated the Victorian’s image of the natural role of women. To them, women were imbued with the innate need to nurture, to create and protect the home. Female robins built nests and protected the young within. Female humans did the same, and for them to violate the sanctity of the home violated the natural tendencies and traits of their gender. It was only possible for them to do so through nefarious means, led into actions they did not understand by ruthless men. Courts routinely applied such standards when considering the cases of women accused of burglary and housebreaking, even those of the most hardened recidivists. Many women recognized the relatively free ride offered by the justices, using it to their advantage.