Artificial Light In Disenchanted Night

In the present day, electricity and light bulbs are so abundant that it is easy to forget that they are an imitation. Due to the developments of artificial light with reference to the light of the sun, moon, and fire, man has conquered the mystery of darkness. In Disenchanted Night, Wolfgang Schivelbusch analyzes the social, political, cultural, and economic significance of lighting advancements in the public and private lives of nineteenth-century urban citizens. In Europe, these advancements were more consequential in the public lives of city dwellers by influencing the portrayal of class distinctions, adapting methods of urban security, affecting the public mindset regarding the technology’s safety. allowing for the unrestrained development

Artificial lighting created more ways for the different classes to separate themselves. For instance, Europeans initially recognized oil lamps as being a part of the workshop setting and the homes of the poor. Thus, this form of artificial light emphasized the distinction between the higher and working classes. However, as advancements persisted in artificial lighting, the higher classes affirmed their distinctions by modifying these lights to fit their elegance. In addition, day-time grand festivities for the elite were now able to take place at night and | were not restricted to celebrations by the upper classes. Anyone could take part in festivals and celebrations in the nighttime due to artificial lighting through fireworks and street lights. Therefore, to cement more separation from each class, members of high society used the night scene as a measure of social distinction: the later an individual began the day, the higher the class they belonged to. Members of the upper classes had the privilege of staying out from sunset to the early morning hours. Meanwhile, the lower and middle-class citizens had to awake early to go to work as the elites retired home from their night out. Bringing light into the night further emphasized the different lifestyles that Europeans were able to have as a consequence of their

Light advancement of the gaslight and electric light, particularly drew concern since light without wicks deviated from people’s understanding of normal light and in the case of the light bulb, light without flame invoked the same curiosity and confusion. Furthermore, gaslights generated a fear of gas poisoning, contamination, pollution, and explosion. For instance, a gas explosion in Paris in 1862 and another in London in 1865 heightened people’s fear of the gas lighting system. As a result, decided approval by the gas industry and commissions established by these governments attempted to reassure the public that this light method was safe and effective. In addition, the conversation between a couple and a man about electric light in a theater described at the end of “The Lamp” illustrates the ignorance members of the public had in regards to artificial lighting technology. Because artificial lighting technology continually changed and adapted, the general public, who were not experts on the science of light innovations, did not completely understand the potential dangers of the technology and therefore, the negative attributes and effects of the lighting influenced their