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Power and Control over Women in Victorian England: Male Opposition to Sacramental Confession in the Anglican Church

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2009

Rene Kollar
Rene Kollar
Affiliation:
rkollar@stvincent.edu
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Abstract

The patriarchal environment of nineteenth century England viewed women as weak and naïve creatures who should submit to the dictates of men. Religion, however, could give women a sense of freedom and independence from male authority. When auricular confession began to gain acceptance in some sections of the Anglican Church, women saw this as a way of asserting their independence because they could confide their personal thoughts and problems to a clergymen. This could, in the opinion of some, threaten the powerful role of the husband or father by substituting an alternative patriarchal system, and many critics warned of the dangers associated with the confessional, especially the weakening of the male dominated family structure. The Priest in Absolution gave advice to Anglican confessors, but the sexual nature of the questions, made public in 1877, shocked the public and confirmed the fears of the opponents of auricular confession.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Anglican Studies , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , June 2005 , pp. 11 - 31
Copyright
Copyright © SAGE Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore) and The Journal of Anglican Studies Trust 2005

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