This thesis discusses how Sarah Perry’s novel The Essex Serpent subverts the common conceptions of Victorian womanhood, and how she gives her main female characters the voice to speak for themselves. The starting point of the investigation is that Cora Seaborne can be viewed as the antithesis of the stereotypical Victorian widow. Considering that she is the main protagonist, the main part is heavily based on her personality, describing her intellectual interests as well as motherhood. This thesis also examines how other two equally important female characters, Martha and Stella, oppose the Victorian conceptions of being an ideal Victorian housewife.