The main reason, in my opinion, that Martineau’s work in sociological areas of marriage, children, and domestic life were ignored is that, during that time, there was not a want or a need for change. Women were seen as not to be above their stations and there was absolutely no need for them to think, much less even ACT upon the ideas that Martineau put forth. While it’s true that Queen Victoria herself was a fan, most of the ideas put forth by women at this time were strictly ideas and were never, ever thought to be put in practice, but to just help them “get through it.” It is only recently that her ideas have been recognized by sociologists all around the world as scholarly. Remember—during the time, women were not meant to be scholarly past playing the piano forte.
