Middlemarchvpride and prejudice: women in the novels Middlemarch clearly defines the expectations and functions of middle and upper class women in nineteenth century England. It becomes immediately obvious that the woman is inferior in every way to the man and that the function of the wife is that described in the words of the marriage ceremony; "to love, honour and obey", with emphasis on obedience. "A woman dictates before marriage in order that she might have an appetite for submission afterwards". The woman's role was to serve her husband, to entertain him, to adorn his house much like a bunch of flowers or a paintin