VICTORIAN ERA 1837 1901 Victorian Era period of

VICTORIAN ERA 1837 -1901

Victorian Era ◦ period of Queen Victoria's reign ◦ June 1837 until her death January 1901 ◦ It was a long period of peace, prosperity, "refined sensibilities" and national self-confidence for the United Kingdom There she is!

An overall glance at the time period ◦ It was a time of prosperity, as the national income person grew by half ◦ increasing industrialization as well as to the worldwide network of trade ◦ There was peace abroad (apart from the short Crimean war, 1854– 56), and social peace at home. ◦ Companies provided their employees with welfare services ranging from housing, schools and churches, to libraries, baths, and gymnasia

Population growth ◦ The population of England Wales grew significantly ◦ Cause: birth rates increased from earlier marriages also life expectancy rates increased with medical science advancements ◦ About 15 million people emigrated from the UK to the United States, Canada and several other countries.

Morality/Appearances ◦ Victorianism refers to the study of late-Victorian attitudes and culture, with a focus on the highly moralistic, straitlaced language and behavior of Victorian morality. ◦ Personal morality was revered in the middle and upper classes on the outside ◦ In reality, people were quite the opposite of moral when it came to their own personal lives ◦ Essentially, the pressure to operate in a certain way forced the need for an outlet

Privacy ◦ The concept of "privacy" became a hallmark of the middle class life. ◦ The English home closed up and darkened ◦ The interior space was often heavily curtained off and wary of intrusion, and was opened only by invitation for viewing on occasions such as parties or teas. ◦ The unknowability of each individual and the mysteries that surrounded this society were themes which preoccupied many Victorian novelists Victorian style gates became a popular way for people to maintain privacy and security

Fun F Leisure act: t h the w e 1874 Fa ork cto encou raging week to 5 ry Act limi event the move 6. 5 hours, ted ual ei ght-h ment towa our w r orkda d an y. ◦ Opportunities for leisure activities increased dramatically as real wages continued to grow and hours of work continued to decline ◦ the nine-hour workday became increasingly the norm ◦ Furthermore, a system of routine annual vacations came into play ◦ Some 200 seaside resorts emerged thanks to cheap hotels and inexpensive railway fares ◦ widespread banking holidays and the fading of many religious prohibitions against secular activities on Sundays. Ramsgate beach in 1899

Important Advancements ◦ Improvement in rail systems ◦ Creation of a sewage system ◦ Better lighting systems in houses and on streets ◦ Medical Advancements: ◦ Different types of anesthetics ◦ Gloves for medial procedures & they finally realized the importance of washing hands and instruments after a surgery Fun fa ct: A or lau lthough ni trous ghin propo sed a g gas, had oxide, s back as 17 an anesth been when 99, it wasn etic as far name an Americ 't until 184 d 6 a using William M n dentist e o anest ther on his rton starte d hetics patie the m became c nts that o edica l profe mmon in ssion.

Journalism ◦ There were four major factors that radically transformed newspapers in 19 th century Britain. ◦ government ended very high taxes ◦ new machines, especially the rotary press, allowed the printing of tens of thousands of copies a day at a low cost ◦ the newspapers reached out to new readers in multiple ways, including features, illustrations, and advertisements that enlarged the audience ◦ the franchise was expanded from one or two percent of the men to a majority, and newspapers became the primary means of political education A wounded British officer reading The Times's report of the end of the Crimean War

Child Labor ◦ employment of young children in factories and mines and as chimney sweeps ◦ In 1840 only about 20 percent of the children in London had any schooling ◦ Children as young as 4 were put to work Working class life in Victorian Wetherby, West Yorkshire

VICTORIAN LITERATURE

The Novel Two major novelists Dickens worked diligently and prolifically to produce the entertaining writing that the public wanted, but also to offer commentary on social problems and the plight of the poor and oppressed. Charles Dickens You might recognize: The Pickwick Papers, A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities While p Era, t oetry ruled he no vel ru in the Rom led in the V antic ictoria Era n With a similar style but a slightly more detached and bitter satirical view of his characters, he also tended to depict a more middle class society than Dickens did William Thackeray You might recognize: Vanity Fair

The Bronte Sisters ◦ Anne, Charlotte and Emily Brontë produced notable works of the period ◦ Many of these were not immediately appreciated by Victorian critics. ◦ Wuthering Heights (1847), Emily's only work, examines class, myth and gender through a woman’s point of view ◦ Jane Eyre (1847), by Charlotte ◦ The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), by Anne, is mainly considered to be the first sustained feminist novel

Other genres ◦ Poetry: Elizabeth Barrett Browning & Robert Browning & others ◦ Other Novelists: George Eliot, Thomas Hardy ◦ Drama: Shakespeare productions & we will come back to this! ◦ Children’s books ◦ Science: Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species – evolution ◦ Oxford English Dictionary ◦ Nature: Henry David Thoreau ◦ Fantasy titles: Dracula, Sherlock Holmes Charles Darwin

Oscar Wilde ◦ Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde ◦ (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) ◦ an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet ◦ became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890 s. ◦ He is remembered for his epigrams (memorable line), his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, his plays, as well as the circumstances of his imprisonment and early death.

The Importance of Being Earnest By O scar W ◦ protagonists maintain fictitious persona to escape burdensome social obligations. ◦ the play's major themes center on the insignificance with which society treats institutions as serious as marriage ◦ and the satirical mannerisms of the Victorian period Mrs G eorge Canni nge a s M Prism and E iss velyn Millard a s C e Carde w in th cily e first produ ction ilde