Gender and Agency

Ida and Juliet exercise agency through defiance, flight, and manipulation of social norms, while male characters like Lord Culvers are depicted as passive or easily dominated, challenging Victorian gender roles.

Juliet's ability to assert her will against her stepmother and father illustrates the limited but real agency available to women of her class.

Ida's limited options as a woman in a patriarchal society are highlighted as she seeks a separation through her own initiative.