Transcript The Victorian Era

The Victorian Era
Overview of an Era
"We are of the time of chivalry....We are
of the age of steam."
-William Makepeace Thackery
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Rule Britannia?
Between 1800 & 1850:
• population doubled from nine to eighteen
million
• Britain became the richest country on
earth
– first urban, industrial society in history
By 1890:
• 1 in 4 people on the earth were under
British rule
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General Overview
The Victorian Era was marked by:
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Rapid growth of industry
Rise to power of the industrial middle class
Enormous increase in population
Tendency of the new science to undermine
deeply held religious convictions
Science as reflected in literature caused a
growing disillusionment with the traditional
moral values.
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(continued)
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Throughout the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s, an
increasing number of able writers turned
their attention to current social evils.
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Plight of the poor
Evils of child labor
Incessant conflict of middle class & working class
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Industrialization
• Land owning aristocracy lost power
• The insecure, “ever expanding” urban
middle class gained power
1. Businessmen
2. Professionals
• Millions of rural workers forced into
poverty
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Morals during Victorian Period
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Rooted in Religion
Social acceptance depended on
conformity to rigid ideals
Education instilled moral and religious
principles
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We Are Not Amused…
Victoria and the Victorians
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“… the head of our morality”
During the tumultuous time, The Queen
ultimately came to represent:
• England & Empire
• Stability & Continuity
• Duty, Family, & Propriety
• A stern, conservative, durable symbol of
her dynamic, aggressively businesslike
realm.
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An Exception to Her own Rule:
• Victoria herself was study in contradiction; a
publicly projected image that held a privately
unfulfilled ideal :
1. World’s most powerful woman, but did not
support the “mad, wicked folly of Women’s
Rights”.
2. Her face was known around the world, but she
lived in constant seclusion
3. Held as an icon of motherhood, but hated
pregnancy, childbirth and babies
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What is a Victorian?
• The adjective "Victorian" was first used in 1851
to celebrate the nation's mounting pride in its
institutions and commercial success.
• This historical/literary period is defined by the
duration of a monarch’s rule, rather than any
one unifying idea as was the case with the
Romantics.
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Society
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Class distinction was apparent / social status was
important.
Social pressure dictated individual behavior / virtues
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Hard work, sobriety, thrift, and poetry were valued.
Regular church attendance
Support of missions and charities
Proper dress and etiquette were carefully observed
Obedience to authority was very important (Queen,
parents)
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Social Ills
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Classes:
1. Upper class – didn’t feel many
troubles of society; took things
for granted
2. Middle class – literate, good
jobs, hard-working, wealthy
3. Lower class – extreme poverty;
often uneducated
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Victorian Behavior
• Stereotypically, “Victorian” social
conduct is governed by:
1. Strict rules
2. Formal manners
3. Rigidly defined gender roles
• Relations hampered by sexual prudery
• Intense obsession with a public appearance of
propriety (private facts were often the compete
opposite!)
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Contradictory Behaviors
• Perceived Image:
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Energetic
Phenomenal work ethic
Sense of duty towards the “Public Good”
Self-confident
A Society of “over-achievers”
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Contradictory Behaviors
Their contemporary literature hints that:
• Public responsibility = an excuse to ease doubts:
1. Religious faith
2. Gender roles
3. Class privilege
• Conservatism = FEAR OF CHANGE
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