A difficult sentence

[fire]

I have some difficulty in understanding the structure of the sentence in bold type. Could you help me?

He accepted with the humility of ignorance, and something of the learner's gratitude, her woman generally, from Romola down to Mrs. Pullet. But his sense of sex was strong enough to make him deny the possibility in any stage of being of nearly all the governesses in revolt it pleased her to put forward as men; for with very few exceptions he knew they were heroes of the divided skirt.

 

[SoothingDave]

I don't know what any of it is talking about. How do you accept women generally? What does it mean to be a "governess in revolt" who is "put forward as men"? What the heck is a "divided skirt"?

 

[fire]

I don't know what any of it is talking about. How do you accept women generally? What does it mean to be a "governess in revolt" who is "put forward as men"? What the heck is a "divided skirt"?

Here's the link whereby you can have more context.
George Eliot