Gender roles in the Victorian era were strict and well-defined. A typical woman was considered “weak, fragile, and hysterical” (Stearns 2012). The ideal woman was seen as an angel of the house, in which she would perfect domestic tasks and be constantly placed under the patriarchal nature of society, while being weak, frail and hysterical. Authors Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens both challenge this traditional view of women in society. Collins and Dickens do not adhere to the depiction of strictly interpreted gender roles. However, the ways in which the two authors challenge these roles differ. Collin challenges society's definition of an ideal woman through her character Marian Halcombe, a strong female character who portrays typically masculine traits of the Victorian era. Dickens also questions the Victorian ideal woman, but he challenges it by placing value on his character Nancy, a prostitute with an extremely positive moral value. Wilkie Collins challenges the typical female role of the Victorian era in her book The Woman in White with one of the main narrators, Marian Halcombe. His narrative writing style depicts the story from multiple first-person points of view. Marian Halcombe's diary is one of the most important in the novel. Collins' novel is known for challenging gender roles, and Marian Halcombe has not gone unnoticed by critics. Her novel includes a “strong thematic concern with how the identities of all Victorian women were constituted and regulated” (Liddle 2009) in that society. Marian's masculinity, however, challenges the typical role of women in Victorian society, and the respect Marian receives confirms Collins' point that women do not need to be weak to be admirable. Marian is respected in the middle of paper. ......e sympathetic approach to her challenging actions, including a prostitute with a heart of gold and forcing readers to see her as more than just a prostitute, but also as a human being with a good heart and a kind soul. Works CitedCollins, Wilkie. The Woman in White. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble, 2005. Print. Dickens, Charles. Olivier Twist. New York: WW Norton and Company, 1993. Print. Hyder, Clyde. “Wilkie Collins and the Woman in White.” PMLA 54.1 (1939): 297-303. Web. Lennox, Sara. “Bachmann reading/reading Bachmann Wilkie Collins, the Woman in White at Todesarten.” The German Quarterly 61.2 (1988): 183-92. Web.Liddle, Dallas. “Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White (1859-60).” Victorian Review 35.1 (2009): 37-41. Web. Meyer, Susan. "Anti-Semitism and Social Criticism in Dickens's 'Oliver Twist'" Victorian Literature and Culture 33.1 (2005): 239-52. Web.