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1837-1901The Story of the Times

CHAPTER 1∏

THE VICTORIAN AGE

The sixty-four year reign of Queen Victoria was the longest reign in the history of British monarchy until her great-great granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth, surpassed it on September 9, 2015. Queen Victoria’s long-held reign deemed this time period the Victorian Era, and it was during this time that Britain experienced unprecedented economic and technological growth and dramatic political and social change.

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The Industrial Revolution was booming, and it created vast new wealth for England’s rapidly growing middle class. Middle class Victorians enjoyed indulging themselves in displays of often absurd and unnecessary material goods from top hats to ruffled dresses to large houses crammed with heavy, ornate furniture, fancy knickknacks, and at least one servant. Hostesses vied to serve the most lavish feasts in their elaborate homes, and they tried to outdo each other in displaying refined manners and behavior.

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The Rise of the Middle Class

Ornate Victorian Decor

Because of the prosperity of the middle class, Victorian society began to form strict cultural norms that insisted on proper behavior. There was a code of etiquette that dictated everything from how to dress for every occasion, when to write letters, to even how long to mourn relatives who had died. Conventions were gender-specific as well. Women were expected to cover their ankles and wrists, and if a woman went out by herself, it was thought inappropriate. Women were to be feminine and innocent or give the impression of innocence. A woman’s place was in the home and the man’s was in business and politics. The home was considered a haven in a heartless world. The middle-class husband battled his way through the

cruel, indifferent war zone of business, then took shelter in the warm household ordered and managed by his dutiful wife.

The Victorian views of marriage were well-defined for the social classes. When choosing a wife or husband, middle class people considered economic reasons and their parent’s wishes. For the upper class, wealth and a prestigious family background were the qualifications for marriage. From infancy, women who were born above the level of poverty were to prepare for marriage that would allow them to rise in the world, indicating that marriage was considered not so much a sacred union but more of a commercial value.

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Cultural Norms

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Prudishness reached its golden age in the straitlaced Victorian era. So delicate were Victorian sensibilities that members of polite society would blush at the mention at anything physical. Instead of being pregnant, women were in a delicate condition, in a family way, or expectant. Women did

not give birth; they experienced a blessed event. Their children were not born; rather they were brought by the stork, or came into the world. Victorian standards were so exacting that Victorians couldn’t refer to something as vulgar as legs. They had to call them limbs, even when talking about the legs on a chicken or a piano. Instead of asking for a

leg of chicken, they would ask for dark meat, and they went so far as to cover up piano legs with little skirts!

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Etiquette

Video: Code of Etiquette

Select the video to learn some spe-cific conduct rules in Victorian society.

Clearly, some Victorian attitudes and beliefs were so extreme much of English life proved to be most absurd, particularly when intolerable conditions for the poor grew rapidly. Factory workers spent 16 hour days toiling for low wages under harsh and dangerous conditions. Children, especially, suffered. Paid just a few cents a day, child workers endured empty bellies, frequent beatings, and air so filled with dust that they could hardly breathe.

Because of the stark contrast with trivial concerns like speaking euphemisms and dire poverty, many Victorian writers saw the universe as an uncaring force, indifferent to human suffering, and uncertainty pervaded the literature of the late Victorian period. So, it wasn’t surprising that Victorian readers began to avoid serious literature, finding it depressingly bleak. Instead, the readers turned to escapist fare that mocked, criticized, and parodied the absurdities and hypocrisy of Victorian society. In George Bernard Shaw’s popular play of this era, Pygmalion, he has one of his characters state, “Such nonsense, all this early Victorian prudery.” Fellow Victorian writer, Oscar Wilde agreed. Through his witty drawing-room comedies, Wilde, much like Shaw, exposed the problems and pretensions of Victorian life.

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Factory Workers

Video: Child Labor

Select the video to hear testimonials on the ab-horrent conditions of child labor.

Most notably, Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest, highlights the shallowness of the Victorian attitudes about relationships, marriage, and family life, all of which, provide great comedy. The play’s witty content delivered the escapism many of this time sought. The Importance of Being Earnest is the perfect paradox of how the characters are serious about trifles. As you read Wilde’s “trivial comedy for serious people,” you will clearly see how the characters represent the absurd ideas and behaviors that permeated Victorian society.

Oscar Wilde

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Video: Parody

Select the video to see a parody of Victo-rian speech.

1. WRITE DOWN 2 THINGS THAT YOU LEARNED FROM EACH SECTION: RISE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS, CULTURAL NORMS, AND ETIQUETTE.

2. EXPLAIN WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM READING THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST.

QUESTIONS∏

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Absurd

something that is criticized because it is ridiculous or does not make sense

Related Glossary Terms

Index

Chapter 1 - Rise of the Middle Class

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Dutiful

a person who does everything that they are expected to do.


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Chapter 1 - Cultural Norms


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Etiquette

a set of customs and rules for polite behavior, especially among a particular class of people


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Chapter 1 - Cultural Norms


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Euphemisms

a polite word or expression that is used to refer to things that people may find upsetting or embarrassing to talk about, for example, sex, the human body, or death.


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Chapter 1 - Etiquette


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Exacting

something that demands a great deal of care


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Ornate

a building, piece of furniture, or object that is decorated with complicated patterns or shapes.


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Paradox

a statement that seems contradictory but reveals a truth


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Parodied

a parody is a humorous piece of writing, drama, or music that imitates the style of a well-known person or represents a familiar situation in an exaggerated way.


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Prudishness

being excessively proper or modest in speech, conduct, dress etc...


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Trifles

a matter, affair, or circumstance of trivial importance or significance


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Vied

to strive in competition or rivalry with another


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