Victorian Period 1832-1900

Victorian Period Queen Victoria took throne in 1837 (at 18) Long reign, died in 1901 (at 82) England became wealthiest nation

Victorian Period Industrial Revolution Created new towns, goods, wealth, jobs for people climbing through middle class Social & economic changes expressed in gradual political reforms Focus: Economics/Social Class Victorian Thought Science and Religion Reform bills reduced the power fo upper-class landowners by redistributing parliamentary representation. Demonstrated that social change could take place peacefully, without violence, marked emergence of middle class as dominate force. Depression of 1840s – known as The Hungry Forties because so many people were literally starving. Economic conditions led to protest and rioting. Lower classes suffered from potato blight in Ireland in 1845 & from Corn Laws – import tariffs that protected price of grain for English farmers but mad price of bread and other foods very high. Repeal of Corn Laws in 1846, establishment of Free Trade moved England towards greater prosperity & living conditions that characterize the later years of Victorian Age. Real wages did not keep up with price of urban living. Along with repeal of Corn Laws and the development of the railroad in 1850, England emerged from the depression.

The Time of Troubles 1830’s and 1840’s Unemployment Poverty Rioting Slums in large cities Working conditions for women and children were terrible

The Mid-Victorian Period 1848-1870 A time of prosperity A time of improvement A time of stability A time of optimism The shift in the English economy moved away from agriculture and toward the production of manufactured goods Great Exhibition of 1851-Prince Albert-housed in the Crystal Palace (made of glass and iron) exhibited hydraulic presses, locomotives, machine tools, power looms, power reapers, and steamboat engines

The Late Victorian Period 1870-1901 Decay of Victorian values British imperialism Boer War Irish question Bismarck's Germany became a rival power United States became a rival power Economic depression led to mass immigration Socialism

Victorian Period Paradox of progress Victorian – synonym for prude; extreme repression; New ideas discussed & debated by large segment of society Voracious readers Intellectual growth, change and adjustment Literacy rate increased from 40% to 90% from 1840-1900. Extreme repression – terms “dark & white” meat used to avoid “breasts & thighs) Rules for etiquette very strict; manners, etc. (upper class) Progress associated with materialistic

Victorian Period Decorum & Authority – Victorians saw themselves progressing morally & intellectually Powerful middle-class obsessed with “gentility, decorum” = prudery/Victorianism Censorship of writers: no mention of “sex, birth, or death” People arrested for distributing information about sexually transmitted diseases. Double standards for sexes: adulterous women (but not male counterparts) seen as “fallen.”

Victorian Period Decorum – powerful ideas about authority Victorian private lives – autocratic father figure Women – subject to male authority Middle-class women expected to marry & make home a “refuge” for husband Women had few occupations open to them Unmarried women often portrayed by comedy by male writers Excesses, cruelties, and hypocrisies of all these repressions were obvious to Victorians. But the codes and barriers fo decorum changed slowly because they were part of the ideology of progress. Prudery and social order were intended to control licentiousness that the Victorians associated with political revolutions of the 18th Century and the social corruption of the regency of George IV.

The Victorian Novel The novel was the dominant form in Victorian literature. Victorian novels seek to represent a large and comprehensive social world, with a variety of classes. Victorian novels are realistic. Major theme is the place of the individual in society, the aspiration of the hero or heroine for love or social position. The protagonist’s search for fulfillment is emblematic of the human condition. For the first time, women were major writers: the Brontes. Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot. The Victorian novel was a principal form of entertainment.

Victorian Period Materialism, secularism, vulgarity, and sheer waste that accompanied Victorian progress led some writers to wonder if their culture was really advancing by any measure. Trust in transcendental power gave way to uncertainty & spiritual doubt. Late Victorian writers turned to a pessimistic exploration of the human struggle against indifferent natural forces.

Victorian Period Intellectual Progress Understanding of earth, its creatures & natural laws (geology, Darwin – theory of evolution) Industrialization of England depended on and supported science and technology.

Victorian Period Victorian writing reflects the dangers and benefits to rapid industrialization, while encouraging readers to examine closely their own understanding of the era’s progress.

Challenges to Religious Belief Science Darwin- the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man Psychology – Freud Higher Criticism Examination of the Bible as a mere text of history Source studies Geology Astronomy Anthropology

Other Thoughts… Herbert Spencer (1820-1903): Applied Darwinism to human society: as in nature, survival properly belongs to the fittest, those most able to survive. Social Darwinism was used by many Victorians to justify social inequalities based on race, social or economic class, or gender Adam Smith-18th century economist, held that the best government economic policy was to leave the market alone—to follow a laissez faire or “let it be” policy of little or no gov’t intervention