Shops and Shopping in Victorian England As the population of London grew during the nineteenth century, the means of production and distribution would need to change to meet the needs of the increasing masses. Prior to this period goods and products for the most part were gotten at markets or fairs. "From a country which had been predominantly agricultural and self-sufficient in essential commodities, England became a great manufacturing centre. The industrial towns of the North and Midlands
Holiday Customs in Victorian England Although Christ's Nativity has been celebrated since the 4th century, most of the English customs we are familiar with today are as recent as the mid-19th century. Many of the early ceremonies were started with pagan beliefs. “The Protestant Reformation condemned most of these pagan customs as superstitious and banned public celebrations of Christmas.” Michelle J. Hoppe. It wasn't until Prince Albert married Queen Victoria and brought many German customs with
Bentham's Utilitarianism in Victorian England The philosophy of Utilitarianism influenced many of the social reforms in Great Britain during the early half of the nineteenth century. The name most frequently associated with Utilitarianism is that of Jeremy Bentham. Bentham's philosophical principles extended into the realm of government. These principles have been associated with several reform acts entered into English law such as the Factory Act of 1833, the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834
Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is just the sort of book that made Victorian England shiver. This decadent masterpiece is anything but a vehicle for the propagation of middle-class morality. We have in Wilde the ultimate aesthete, a disciple of Walter Pater, a dandy who in his personal life seems to have lived out Pater's quiet injunction to "burn with that hard, gemlike flame" in experiencing art and, no doubt, other things. How could Wilde's book, given its affinities with the age's decadent
Today, deaths from influenza, cholera, and tuberculosis are rare in England; however, in Victorian England, these diseases and many more health problems were widespread. Victorian England was a time of great change, socially, economically, and politically. From the rise of factories to increased urbanization, the lives of many Britons changed during the Victorian era. Ultimately, many facets of change led to the transformation – both positive and negative – of one aspect of every citizen’s life:
Education in Victorian England Monitorial System In the Monitorial System, there was no direct instruction from the teacher. This was, in fact, one of its greatest selling points in the late 1700's; it was incredibly economical. There could be as many as 500 students under one teacher. The teacher selected a few older students(10-12 years old) to act as monitors who, in turn, were responsible for instructing small groups of students, the teacher acting as supervisor, examiner, and disciplinarian
history of Victorian England as they were going through one of the most important eras of time: the Industrial Revolution. This revolution proved beneficial to some but detrimental to others. Discontent induced reforms and writers were engaged to reform the country of England. The constitutional monarchy of England during the years 1837 to 1901 shaped its culture while the literature of Elizabeth Barrett Browning evinces its cultural connection. England, during the period of the Victorian Era, was
Servants in Victorian England Servants were imperative to the functioning of middle and upper class homes in Victorian England. Without the veritable army of servants for the upper and upper-middle classes, women would not be able to live the leisured lives they had grown accustomed, and would certainly not have the time to flaunt their status with neighbor-calling and the numerous balls and social activities. Even most lower-middle and middle-middle classes employed at least one servant, as
Since its discovery, alcohol has long been synonymous with parties and general rowdiness. It should come as no surprise that the same holds true during the Victorian Era in England. The Victorian era was a time of peace and prosperity for much of Britain, the emergence of industrialism and the further development of British colonies led to a middle-class to distinguish itself. Naturally leisurely activities emerged and the British people soon found themselves new and exciting ways to enjoy the prosperity
Taxidermy in Victorian England: The “Bone Articulators” “Taxidermy” is Such a Funny Word! The word “taxidermy” has its roots in Greek, and it means “to arrange skin” (Historical Review of Taxidermy 1). The text from which I found most of my material (A Historical Review of Taxidermy) stated that taxidermy could have meant many things in ancient times, such as preserving mummies, or even leather working (arranging of animal skins) but by the time it reached England it was known quite solely as
Introduction At the beginning of the industrial revolution in England during the mid-nineteenth century, the railroad was the most innovative mode of transportation known. The British Rail system was a forerunner in railroad technology, uses, and underground engineering. Though the rail system was extremely slow at first and prohibitively expensive to build and run, the British were not to be dissuaded in their pursuit of non-animal driven transportation. The most advanced mode of transportation
Child Labor in Victorian England “The report described the children as ‘Chained, belted, harnessed like dogs…black, saturated with wet, and more than half-naked, crawling upon their hands and knees, and dragging their heavy loads behind them’” (Yancey 34). This quote from Ivor Brown probably best describes the strenuous work preformed by a child laborer during the Victorian Era. Child laborers played an important part in developing the country’s economy. Children, one of the main sources of labor
Domestic Violence in Victorian England “Wife beating” was a prominent occurrence in Victorian times. It is socially acceptable and may be seen as a characteristic of the lower classes, but “wife beating” is prevalent in all classes. In William Montagu’s social investigation Round London: Down East and Up West, he tells of women in the hospital: “Sometimes as many as twelve or fourteen women may be seen seated in the receiving-room, waiting for their bruised and bleeding faces and bodies to be
The Othered Victorians Introduction The Victorian period was a time of great hypocrisy. Despite the fact that the Protestant work ethic was gaining popular support amongst the Victorians and myths such as Samuel Smiles' "rags to riches" became part of mainstream Victorian culture, the Victorians were greatly divided into their respective social classes. Works like Thomas Carlyle's "The Irish Widow" and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "The Cry of the Children" exemplified the blatant disregard of
Meeting the Demand for Clergy in Victorian England Many new changes came to Victorian England as a result of the age of industrialization. Where there were once small country parishes, manufacturing towns were springing up. One change resulting from industrialization was the shortage of clergy to fill the new parishes in these towns. These new parishes reflect the demographic changes of the English countryside. Rural villages grew into booming towns. Where a single parish was once sufficient, there
Credit and Debt in Victorian England The majority of Victorian society’s economic dealings can be summed up in two words: credit and debt. These ominous specters, which seemed to haunt Victorian England, were simultaneously able to evoke feelings of delight and doom in their “victims of vanity”. There were several different factors that contributed to the Victorian’s propensity to abuse their credit, and as a result, fall deeply into debt. In her essay, “A Husband and His Wife’s Dresses”, Erika
of fashion and daily life for women, both in the middle and upper class, for over 400 years. While the specific designer of the corset is unknown the peak of its popularity spans past the Baroque period and from the Elizabethan era through to the Victorian era. First going by the name stays the later and more popular term for the item, corset, comes from the french meaning a kind of laced bodice. Through this paper the social identity of the item, its timeline, misconceptions, design variations, and
The Jewish Population of Victorian England HISTORY The Jews had their roots in Eastern Europe but were also scattered in western European countries such as England. The Jewish population has been historically scapegoated since the time of the medieval Church. Stereotypes have been formed of the people practicing this religion for hundreds of years in England and elsewhere on the Continent. The timeline shows the progression of the population in England and the strides they have made over a
EDUCATION VICTORIAN STYLE Education was an extremely controversial issue in the Victorian Era. Some thought that education belonged in the church others believed that the responsibility of teaching the youth of England rested with the state. Then there were the people who did not want any kind of modern schooling at all for it would take away a form of very cheap labor. Victorians had a lot to learn but not many people could agree on what to learn or who to learn it from. And, while they
It was from the late eighteenth century that Britain bit by bit getting changed from an agrarian to modern culture, as the populace moved from nation to mechanical urban communities, looking for better wages if worse living condition. Victoria's England was a tyke overwhelmed society. All through her long rule, one out of each three of her subjects was less than fifteen years old. In the 1830s and 40s, poor kids toiled in material plants and coal mines, where working conditions frequently demonstrated