The Victorian Age

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The Victorian Age

• 1832-1900

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The Beginnings

• Began in 1837 when Victoria became Queen of
  England (18!!)-ended with her death (1901)
• Wealthiest nation
• Most influential colonial power

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• Views of Victorians
• Synonymous with prude
• Extreme repression
• Classist

• Reality
• Discussion and debate re new ideas
• Voracious readers (novels AND politics)
• Social Climbing
• Emphasis on material success

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Democratic Reform

• Reform Bill of 1832
• Extended vote to men who owned property worth
  certain sum
• Reduced power of upper class land owners by
  redistributing parliamentary representation
• Result?? Peaceful social change/Social
  climbing

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Victorian Attitudes

• Hard Work
• Seriousness
• Morality
• Social Respectability
• Success through effort and devotion

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• Evangelicalism
• Dedicated to social reform/humane causes
• Strict code of morality
• Victorian way of life an outgrowth of this
  movement!
• Successful often twisted these principles to
  justify success- also condescending attitude
  toward poor

• Utilitarianism
• Use reason to determine usefulness of aspects of
  life
• The moral worth of something was determined by
  its ability to be utilized (meaning make people
  happy)
• Does it provide happiness to the greatest number
  of people?
• Non-religious but also impacted Victorians in
  concern for less fortunate
• Mechanical view often ignored ordinary human need

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Intellectual controversy

• (Lyell) Earth took more than 7 days to create
• (Darwin) Origin of Species
• Both challenge long held belief systems
• - Karl Marx does research IN ENGLAND though his
  theories have little effect on the country

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Non-Fiction and Drama

• Great age of English prose
• Essays, pamphlets, longer works on historical,
  philosophical, and artistic analysis.
• Themes/Concepts
• Materialism
• Commitment to vitality of self (Emerson?)
• Elevation of status of art
• Civilizing power of literature and education

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Poetry

• Difficulty feeling at home in the world due to
  industrial society
• Expresses doubt and alienation as a result
• Saw need for objective and socially engaged
  poetic vision
• Adapts Romantic sense of personal feeling to
  concerns of society (blending)
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson
• Robert Browning

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Novel

• Directly concerned with issues of society
• realistic sense of 19th century life
• Often published in serial form (Dickens)
• Inner moral life/Finding a role in life (George
  Eliot)

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FEMALE STEREOTYPES

• Emotional (love, sympathy, fear sadness)
• Weak
• Nurturing
• Submissive
• Pure
• Childlike
• Passive
• Domestic
• Naturally Religious
• The Cult of True Womanhood

• Enjoys art but softer arts such as watercolors
  --- oil is just too much for them! They also like
  domestic subjects in art.
• Enjoys poetry but light poetry too much depth
  makes those small brains hurt
• Must be accomplished

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MALE STEREOTYPES

• Rational
• Strong (Physically and Emotionally)
• Protective
• Decisive
• Expresses only pride and anger
• Active
• Coarse
• Self-Reliant
• Aggressive
• Daring
• Successful
• Status

• The Victorian gentleman did NOT WORK but was
  already a man of means who simply studied art,
  literature, language---anything intellectually
  HEAVY