While the portrayals of Western women and non-Western women were quite different in Victorian era art, one theme that seemed to be present in both representations was the role of nurturer. While there are multiple examples of this theme across the artworks, I will focus on two. My example of the Western nurturer is “Feeding the Motherless.” In this image, a woman is feeding a nest of young birds. As they have no mother, she must step in to provide them with motherly love. This not only emphasizes the expectation that women be caring and protective towards the young, but it also shows that this expectation extends past children and applies to all creatures (including animals and husbands).
My non-Western example comes from the image, “Within the Lines Siege of Agra 1857.” In this artwork, a woman is looking at and cradling a baby. The woman is portrayed as non-Western (presumably Indian, as the title suggests) through her tanned skin and the scarf on her head. According to the title of the work, the woman and the child are in Agra during a time of violent conflict. Here, the theme of protection arises again as it seems like she is working to keep herself and the child safe from the dangers outside. The main way that this image differs from “Feeding the Motherless” is the fact that the woman is experiencing a conflict of some kind, furthering the imperialist stereotype that non-Westerners are savage and violent. Yet, despite this, the message of motherhood and nurturing still persists, showing that no matter whether a woman is Western or not, she is expected to act as a caregiver.