Context
Victorian Gentlemen
● Social class was crucial in Victorian society, reputations had to
be maintained. People were expected to have strong morals and
hide their emotions and desires for sex and alcohol.
Victorian London
● The Industrial Revolution meant the working-class migrated to the
cities, slums were heavily populated, were of very poor quality,
there was often no running water and as they were very near to
the factories many people suffered from pollution.
● A respectable man wouldn’t want to be seen at the slums, brothels
and public houses, many ‘gentlemen’ would travel to these areas
to satisfy the desires they hid. This links to one of the main
themes of the book: the hypocrisy of middle-class men.
Victorian Religion
● Christianity had a strong influence on life in Victorian England,
particularly Evangelicalism
● The Evangelicals taught that all people are naturally sinful and
that it’s up to individuals to seek forgiveness from God.
Evangelicals should do this by adhering to a strict moral and
religious code.
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
● In the early 1800s, Christianity taught that God created every
species to be perfectly adapted to its environment and that
humans were made in God’s image.
● Darwin published the book ‘On the Origin of the Species’ in 1859,
which claimed that all creatures evolved from common ancestors
through ‘natural selection’ and that humans shared common
ancestry with apes
● Darwin’s ideas went against the Christian idea that man’s nature
was different from other animals. This was an unsettling idea
that there may be an animalistic side to everyone, capable of
uncivilised acts and violent crimes.
Victorian Gentlemen
● Social class was crucial in Victorian society, reputations had to
be maintained. People were expected to have strong morals and
hide their emotions and desires for sex and alcohol.
Victorian London
● The Industrial Revolution meant the working-class migrated to the
cities, slums were heavily populated, were of very poor quality,
there was often no running water and as they were very near to
the factories many people suffered from pollution.
● A respectable man wouldn’t want to be seen at the slums, brothels
and public houses, many ‘gentlemen’ would travel to these areas
to satisfy the desires they hid. This links to one of the main
themes of the book: the hypocrisy of middle-class men.
Victorian Religion
● Christianity had a strong influence on life in Victorian England,
particularly Evangelicalism
● The Evangelicals taught that all people are naturally sinful and
that it’s up to individuals to seek forgiveness from God.
Evangelicals should do this by adhering to a strict moral and
religious code.
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
● In the early 1800s, Christianity taught that God created every
species to be perfectly adapted to its environment and that
humans were made in God’s image.
● Darwin published the book ‘On the Origin of the Species’ in 1859,
which claimed that all creatures evolved from common ancestors
through ‘natural selection’ and that humans shared common
ancestry with apes
● Darwin’s ideas went against the Christian idea that man’s nature
was different from other animals. This was an unsettling idea
that there may be an animalistic side to everyone, capable of
uncivilised acts and violent crimes.
