Victorian England
Queen Victoria Born May 14, 1819 Died January 22, 1901 Ruled 1837-1901 Associated with Britain’s great age of industrial expansion and economic progress Her reign placed a strong emphasis on morality and family values
Charactertistics of the Victorian Age Age of firm moral values Authors had to suggest the sins being committed by their characters rather than name them. An age of class-consciousness, when lower classes were learning to read and better themselves and upper classes were trying to keep things as they were.
How proper were the Victorians? No lady would lift her skirts to reveal her ankles. Tables, sofas, and pianos were draped so ladies would not be offended by seeing legs. The euphemism drumstick was created so that a lady could ask properly for a leg of chicken.
Social Basics for Young Ladies Upon being introduced to a gentleman, a lady will never offer her hand. She should bow politely and say “I am happy to make your acquaintance.” When bowing in the street, it is appropriate to incline the head, but not the body. When traveling by train, tramcar, or omnibus, the well-bred lady has a delicate sense of self-respect that keeps her from contact with her neighbor, as far as contact is avoidable
Social Basics for the Gentleman A gentleman will always tip his hat to greet a lady. A gentleman should never place his arm on the back of a chair occupied by a lady. A gentleman always stands to shake hands. During the day a gentleman never offers a lady his arm, unless to protect her in a large crowd. In the evening, it is appropriate for her to take his arm.
More on the “rules” can be found: Anna R. White’s Youth Educator for Home and Society (1896) http://www.history.rochester.edu/ehp-book/yefhas/toc-m.htm
Literary Works Some Authors of the time: Bram Stoker Oscar Wilde Mary Shelly Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Purpose of Victorian Horror Novels Terrified on a psychological level, not a physical one. Pages were not sprinkled with blood but with suspense. Readers examine tortured minds that are faced with their own or others’ evil; readers do not confront piles of tortured bodies.
Farce Farce - a light, humorous play in which the plot depends upon a skillfully exploited situation rather than upon the development of character.
Satire the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
Comedy of Manners witty, cerebral form of dramatic comedy that depicts and often satirizes the manners and affectations of a contemporary society. is concerned with social usage and the question of whether or not characters meet certain social standards. Often the governing social standard is morally trivial but exacting. The plot of such a comedy, usually concerned with an illicit love affair or similarly scandalous matter.
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 - November 30, 1900) He wrote 9 plays, one novel and numerous poems, essays and short stories
Aesthetic Movement Wilde was a proponent of the Aesthetic movement, which emphasized aesthetic values more than moral or social themes. This doctrine is most clearly summarized in the phrase 'art for art's sake'.
More on Wilde Besides literary accomplishments, he is also famous, or perhaps infamous, for his wit, Epigrams, flamboyance, and affairs with men. He was tried and imprisoned for his homosexual relationship (then considered a crime) with the son of an aristocrat.
Epigrams A short, witty, often paradoxical saying designed to surprise the audience. “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.”
Epigrams, cont. “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” “It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But… it is better to be good than to be ugly.”