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So many worlds, so much to do, So little done, such things to be . . . --Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Queen Victoria (House of Hanover) 1837-1901 (the longest reign of a monarch in British history)
During the 64 years of Queen Victorias reign, (1837-1901), Britains booming economy and rapid expansion encouraged great optimism.
The year's at the spring, And day's at the morn; Morning's at seven; The hill-side's dew-pearled; The lark's on the wing; The snail's on the thorn; Gods in his heaven Alls right with the world!
-- Robert Browning
After the British defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, Britain was not involved in a major European war for nearly 100 yearsuntil World War I began in 1914.
Economic and military power (especially the Royal Navy) helped Britain acquire new colonies in farflung parts of the globe.
Factory towns grew into large cities as Britain became the worlds leader in manufacturing. Banks, retail shops, and other businesses expanded.
These changes spurred the growth of two important classesan industrial working class and a modern middle classwho were able to live a better life because of the low cost and large variety of mass-produced factory goods.
History meant progress, and progress meant material improvements that could be seen and touched, counted and measured.
Middle-class Victorians prided themselves on the material advances th of the 19 century and on their ability to solve human problems.
Depression put a million and a half unemployed workers and their families on some form of poor relief.
The Hungry Forties The rapid growth of cities made them filthy and disorderly. The Thames River in London was polluted by sewage, industrial waste, and the drainage from graveyards where bodies were buried in layers six or eight deep.
From the butchers and greengrocers shops the gaslights flared and flickered, wild and ghastly, over haggard groups of slipshod dirty women, bargaining for scraps of stale meat and frostbitten vegetables, wrangling about short weight and bad quality. Fish stalls and fruit stalls lined the edge of the greasy pavement, sending up odors as foul as the language of sellers and buyers. Blood and sewer water crawled from under doors and out of spouts, and reeked down the gutters among offal, animal and vegetable, in every stage of putrefaction. --Rev. Charles Kingsley
Violence broke out at massive political rallies in the 1840s to protest government policies that kept the price of bread high and deprived most working men (and all women) of the vote and representation in Parliament.
Factories and railroads made postage, newspapers, clothing, furniture, travel, and other goods and services cheap. A series of political reforms gave the vote to almost all adult males by the last decades of the century.
The Movement for Reform: Food, Factories, and Optimism A series of Factory Acts limited child labor and reduced the usual working day to 10 hours, with a half-holiday on Saturday. State-supported schools were established in 1870, made compulsory in 1880, and made free in 1891. By 1900, literacy was widespread.
Members of polite society blushed at the mention of anything physical. Instead of becoming pregnant, women were in a family way, in a delicate condition, or expectant.
blessed event.
Children were not born; rather, they were brought by the stork, or
Decorum and Authority Unmarried middle-class ladies could become governesses or teachers; working-class women could be servants in affluent households. Unmarried middle-class women were made fun of in literature written by men.
Intellectual Progress: The March of Mind When the views advanced by me in this volume . . . are generally admitted, we can dimly foresee that there will be a considerable revolution in natural history.
--Charles Darwin, from On the Origin of Species
Can material comfort fully satisfy human needs and wishes? What is the cost of exploiting the earth and human beings to achieve comfort?
The materialism, secularism, vulgarity, and sheer waste that accompanied Victorian progress led some writers to wonder if their culture was really advancing by any measure.
Questions and Doubts Robert Browning sought to portray individuals with un-Romantic authenticity through his use of the dramatic
monologue.
By mid-century, writers were saddened by what seemed to them to be the withdrawal of the divine from the world.
From Trust to Skepticism and Denial Naturalism sought to put scientific observation to literary use. Naturalists crammed their novels with gritty details, often with the aim of promoting social reform. Opposite to the Romantics, they portrayed nature as harsh and indifferent to the human suffering it caused.
-- Matthew Arnold, To MargueriteContinued * Made into an island; set apart from others
Victorian Fiction
If one form of literature can be seen as quintessentially Victorian, it is the novel. Members of the new middle class were avid readers, and they loved novels. Responding to the demand, weekly and monthly magazines published novels chapter by chapter in serial form. Curious readers had to continue to buy the magazine to learn what happened next.