Lesson Introduction: 

Exploring Gender in Fingersmith

👋   Welcome to the Lesson

Have you ever wondered what life was like for women in Victorian England?
How much freedom did they have — and what happened when they defied society’s expectations?

In this lesson, we will explore how Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith:

• Challenges traditional gender roles

• Explores female agency and same-sex relationships

• Reveals how women navigated power, class, and identity

Through rich, character-driven storytelling, Fingersmith presents an alternative vision of Victorian womanhood — one that reclaims voice, resistance, and desire.

🕰️ Why This Matters

Understanding the past helps us recognize the present.
This lesson invites you to think critically about:

• How Neo-Victorian literature reimagines historical realities.

• What gender roles meant then — and what they still mean today.

• How literature becomes a mirror of identity and resistance.

📚 What You'll Do in This Lesson

• Analyze the characters of Sue and Maud through a gendered lens.

• Engage in discussions, debates, and role-play.

• Compare historical realities with modern perspectives.

• Create your own alternative scene with flipped power roles.

• Reflect on what freedom, identity, and gender mean to you.