VICTORIAN AGE
Victoria became queen in 1837. She ruled for 64 years. Her sense of duty made her the ideal head of a
constitutional monarchy. She provided her country with stability. Victoria and Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
married in 1840. They had nine children, and their family life provided a model of respectability. He died in 1861.
The 1830s had seen the beginning of the “age of reform”.
The First Reform Act (1832) = voting privileges extended to the large industrial towns
The Factory Act (1833) = prevented children aged 9 to 13 from being employed more than 48h a week,
and no person between 13 and 18 could work more than 72h a week
The Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) = workhouses became a deterrent against poverty
Abolition of the Corn Laws (1846)
The Second Reform Act (1867) = voting privileges extended to part of the urban male workers
Ballot Act (1872) = introduction of the secret ballot
Workhouses
Workhouses were places where employment was provided for the poor, orphans, physically and mentally sick,
disabled, the elderly and unmarried mothers. The government, in the fear of encouraging laziness, made sure
that people feared the workhouse and would do anything to keep out of it. Workhouses were designed to
separate groups: families were split up, people in the same family could meet during meals or in the chapel but
they were not allowed to speak to each other, all meals were taken in silence and the official diets were so
meager that they were described as a slow process of starvation. Workhouses were mainly run by the Church.
Religion was a strong force and promoted study and abstinence from alcohol.
Chartism
In 1838 a group of working-class radicals drew up a People’s Charter demanding: universal male suffrage, equal
electoral districts, voting by secret ballot, pay for Members of Parliament and annual elections of Parliament. The
Chartist movement failed, although their influence was later felt in the Second Reform Act in 1867.
Irish Potato Famine
Causes: Rise in population in 1845, Dependence on potato crops and Destruction of crops because of bad
weather and unknown plant disease. A lot of people died and many emigrated in search of better life. In 1846,
Prime Minister Peel abolished the Corn Laws, which imposed tariffs on imported corn, keeping the price of bread
high. Consequences: 1 million died of disease and starvation, many emigrated by 1851, decline of Irish language,
New Catholic landlords and Hatred for Britain.
Great Exhibition
In the mid oh the 19th century, England experienced a second wave of industrialisation. In 1851 a Great
Exhibition, organized by Prince Albert, showed the world Britain’s industrial and economic power. It showed the
increasing power of the middle classes. The Exhibition was housed at the Crystal Palace, in Hyde Park. It was built
so other countries could show off their scientific and technological developments. Everyone from all over the
British Empire gathered there to see the pride of the nations. On each industrial country’s exhibit, they
showcased their biggest designs, fabrics, and creations to show that their home nation was better than any
other. Money was invested in setting up museums. In 1860 the railways started to transform the landscape and
people lives.
Foreign policy
In the mid-19th century England was involved in:
- Two Opium Wars England gained access to five Chinese ports and the control of Hong Kong after the
Second Opium War
- Indian Mutiny British rule acquired greater responsibility after the Indian Mutiny
, - Crimean War Florence Nightingale led a team of 38 nurses at Scutari base hospital during the
Crimean War. Once back to England, queen Victoria formed an institution for the development of the
nursing profession
Victorian compromise
The V. A. was marked with complexity. It was an age in which progress, reforms and political stability coexisted
with poverty and injustice. The Victorians were great moralisers. Modernity was praised but there was a revival
of Gothic and Classicism in art. Religion played an important role in people’s lives. Philanthropy led to the
creation of societies which addressed every kind of poverty and depended especially on the voluntary efforts of
middle-class women.
Respectability
Increasing emphasis was placed on education and hygiene was encouraged to improve health care. Self-restraint,
good manners, and self-help came to be linked with respectability. Respectability was a mixture of morality and
hypocrisy. The unpleasant aspects of society – dissolution, poverty, social unrest – were hidden under outward
respectability. There was growing emphasis on the duty of men to respect and protect women, seen as physically
weaker but morally superior, divine guides and inspirers of men. General attitudes to sex were crucial with an
intense concern for female chastity, and single women with a child were marginalised as “fallen women”.
Sexuality was generally repressed in both its public and private forms, and moralizing prudery in its most
extreme manifestations led to the denunciation of nudity in art and literature. The powerful middle-class was
obsessed with gentility and decorum. Decorum = strict ideas about authority. Victorian private lives dominated
by an authoritarian father. Women were subject to male authority; they were expected to marry and make home
a ‘refuge’ for their husbands.
Utilitarianism
Was based on Jeremy Bentham’s principles. The origins of this movement can be traced back to the Greek
philosopher Epicurus.
Neglected human and cultural values
Any problem could be overcome by reason
Usefulness, happiness, avoidance of pain
Darwin and the theory of evolution
According to the theory:
All living creatures have developed their forms through a slow process of change
Favourable physical conditions determine the survival of a species, unfavourable ones its extinction
Man evolved from a monkey
On one hand, Darwin’s theory discarded the version of creation given by the Bible, on the other hand, it seemed
to show that the universe was not static.
VICTORIAN POETRY
During Victoria’s reign, poetry became more concerned with social reality and was expected to express the
intellectual and moral debate of the age. This led on the one hand to the creation of majestic poetry linked to the
myth and, on the other hand, to the creation of poetry more inclined towards anti-myth.
New image of the poet
The poet was seen as a “prophet” and a “philosopher”. He was expected to reconcile faith and progress.
Optimists believed that the benefits of progress could be reached without altering the traditional social
organization or destroying the beauty of the countryside.
Victoria became queen in 1837. She ruled for 64 years. Her sense of duty made her the ideal head of a
constitutional monarchy. She provided her country with stability. Victoria and Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
married in 1840. They had nine children, and their family life provided a model of respectability. He died in 1861.
The 1830s had seen the beginning of the “age of reform”.
The First Reform Act (1832) = voting privileges extended to the large industrial towns
The Factory Act (1833) = prevented children aged 9 to 13 from being employed more than 48h a week,
and no person between 13 and 18 could work more than 72h a week
The Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) = workhouses became a deterrent against poverty
Abolition of the Corn Laws (1846)
The Second Reform Act (1867) = voting privileges extended to part of the urban male workers
Ballot Act (1872) = introduction of the secret ballot
Workhouses
Workhouses were places where employment was provided for the poor, orphans, physically and mentally sick,
disabled, the elderly and unmarried mothers. The government, in the fear of encouraging laziness, made sure
that people feared the workhouse and would do anything to keep out of it. Workhouses were designed to
separate groups: families were split up, people in the same family could meet during meals or in the chapel but
they were not allowed to speak to each other, all meals were taken in silence and the official diets were so
meager that they were described as a slow process of starvation. Workhouses were mainly run by the Church.
Religion was a strong force and promoted study and abstinence from alcohol.
Chartism
In 1838 a group of working-class radicals drew up a People’s Charter demanding: universal male suffrage, equal
electoral districts, voting by secret ballot, pay for Members of Parliament and annual elections of Parliament. The
Chartist movement failed, although their influence was later felt in the Second Reform Act in 1867.
Irish Potato Famine
Causes: Rise in population in 1845, Dependence on potato crops and Destruction of crops because of bad
weather and unknown plant disease. A lot of people died and many emigrated in search of better life. In 1846,
Prime Minister Peel abolished the Corn Laws, which imposed tariffs on imported corn, keeping the price of bread
high. Consequences: 1 million died of disease and starvation, many emigrated by 1851, decline of Irish language,
New Catholic landlords and Hatred for Britain.
Great Exhibition
In the mid oh the 19th century, England experienced a second wave of industrialisation. In 1851 a Great
Exhibition, organized by Prince Albert, showed the world Britain’s industrial and economic power. It showed the
increasing power of the middle classes. The Exhibition was housed at the Crystal Palace, in Hyde Park. It was built
so other countries could show off their scientific and technological developments. Everyone from all over the
British Empire gathered there to see the pride of the nations. On each industrial country’s exhibit, they
showcased their biggest designs, fabrics, and creations to show that their home nation was better than any
other. Money was invested in setting up museums. In 1860 the railways started to transform the landscape and
people lives.
Foreign policy
In the mid-19th century England was involved in:
- Two Opium Wars England gained access to five Chinese ports and the control of Hong Kong after the
Second Opium War
- Indian Mutiny British rule acquired greater responsibility after the Indian Mutiny
, - Crimean War Florence Nightingale led a team of 38 nurses at Scutari base hospital during the
Crimean War. Once back to England, queen Victoria formed an institution for the development of the
nursing profession
Victorian compromise
The V. A. was marked with complexity. It was an age in which progress, reforms and political stability coexisted
with poverty and injustice. The Victorians were great moralisers. Modernity was praised but there was a revival
of Gothic and Classicism in art. Religion played an important role in people’s lives. Philanthropy led to the
creation of societies which addressed every kind of poverty and depended especially on the voluntary efforts of
middle-class women.
Respectability
Increasing emphasis was placed on education and hygiene was encouraged to improve health care. Self-restraint,
good manners, and self-help came to be linked with respectability. Respectability was a mixture of morality and
hypocrisy. The unpleasant aspects of society – dissolution, poverty, social unrest – were hidden under outward
respectability. There was growing emphasis on the duty of men to respect and protect women, seen as physically
weaker but morally superior, divine guides and inspirers of men. General attitudes to sex were crucial with an
intense concern for female chastity, and single women with a child were marginalised as “fallen women”.
Sexuality was generally repressed in both its public and private forms, and moralizing prudery in its most
extreme manifestations led to the denunciation of nudity in art and literature. The powerful middle-class was
obsessed with gentility and decorum. Decorum = strict ideas about authority. Victorian private lives dominated
by an authoritarian father. Women were subject to male authority; they were expected to marry and make home
a ‘refuge’ for their husbands.
Utilitarianism
Was based on Jeremy Bentham’s principles. The origins of this movement can be traced back to the Greek
philosopher Epicurus.
Neglected human and cultural values
Any problem could be overcome by reason
Usefulness, happiness, avoidance of pain
Darwin and the theory of evolution
According to the theory:
All living creatures have developed their forms through a slow process of change
Favourable physical conditions determine the survival of a species, unfavourable ones its extinction
Man evolved from a monkey
On one hand, Darwin’s theory discarded the version of creation given by the Bible, on the other hand, it seemed
to show that the universe was not static.
VICTORIAN POETRY
During Victoria’s reign, poetry became more concerned with social reality and was expected to express the
intellectual and moral debate of the age. This led on the one hand to the creation of majestic poetry linked to the
myth and, on the other hand, to the creation of poetry more inclined towards anti-myth.
New image of the poet
The poet was seen as a “prophet” and a “philosopher”. He was expected to reconcile faith and progress.
Optimists believed that the benefits of progress could be reached without altering the traditional social
organization or destroying the beauty of the countryside.
