Also known as Forster's Education Act, the Elementary Education Act of 1870 was the first of many acts that set standards for the education of children between the ages of 5 and 12. This was a huge milestone for the time and came about as an expressed need to educate the recently-enfranchised public thanks to the Reform Act of 1867. Despite the influx of votes the Reform Act procured, it still mainly applied to men. Therefore, as a result, the Education Act primarily focused on boys. It was still considered inclusive, however, since it pertained to school-age children as a whole population. Although not highly reformatory in regards to education as a whole, it set the stage for later reforms to give education to the masses, especially in areas that were lacking educational opportunities before the Education Act. This is especially progressing for women's education, which had been discouraged by many due to the popular belief that education lowered women's reproductive health. This resulted in college being a fairly taboo action for women, particularly before education reform began taking place towards the end of the Victorian Era. This is highly contradictory considering that one of the few socially-acceptable career choices for unmarried women was being a teacher.

Lucy Snowe, as a professional young woman, has garnered herself a respectable reputation has a school teacher with Madame Beck. She commands her classroom and properly teaches young children English, as a young woman should. Even without an education, it doesn't take much of a woman to know that she should be highly regarded. Not only does she conduct herself well in the classroom, she learned all of that without proper education herself! While it's evident she had been taught as a young girl, she received no instruction for the management of youths, many of whom are in a similar boat as her, I'm sure. Though, on that topic, her education may be a reason she has yet to wed. After all, should she wed she wouldn't have all of the financial troubles that have woefully possessed her life up until this point. That is just one reason women don't need much formal education; if they get along with learning on the job until a man comes to save them from financial troubles, there's no need. I myself get along just fine; my husband earns a wealthy wage and my children are the light of my life. What more could an English woman ask for?

works cited:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_Education_Act_1870#Effects

Villette by Charloette Bronte