Literatuur klas 6
Hand-out: reader Victorian Age
The Victorian Age
“The empire upon which the
sun never sets”
During C.19, England went
through formidable changes, as it
built the most extensive empire in
world history.
The Victorian Age 1832-1901
Named after
Queen Victoria.
The Victorian Age 1832-1901
1832-1848
Time of troubles
1848-1870
Economic prosperity
1870-1901
Prosperous, but also decay of
Victorian values + increased
competition
Interesting times, interesting
literature
Charles Dickens
- Oliver Twist
- Christmas Carol
- David Copperfield
- Great Expectations
Interesting times, interesting
literature
The Brontë Sisters
- Jane Eyre
- Wuthering Heights
Interesting times, interesting
literature
Jane Austen
- Sense and sensibility
- Pride and prejudice
Classic stories…
Revolution!
• Industrial Revolution
From agriculture to industry.
• French Revolution (1789)
Liberty, equality, fraternity.
Victorian belief
Effects of Industrial Revolution
- Dramatic growth of cities
- Agricultural  industrial
- Middle class emerging
Belief in progress!
Material, intellectual, spiritual
Great Exhibition (1851)
Victorian problems
1. Rise of democracy (reform)
2. Position of the poor
3. The Woman Question
These forces combined:
Victorian belief:
Progress in every field
Victorian problems:
1) Rise of democracy
2) Position of the poor
3) The Woman Question
make
notes
Victorian belief: Progress
Material
Manufacturing industries, railway (1840s), photography (1830s),
telegraph (1850s), concrete (1849), telephone, cars (1885), bicycle
(1872), toilet (1852), pasteurizing of food (1856), oil discovered
(1859), gas light, electric light bulb (1879), steamships, typewriter
(1873), anaesthetics….
Intellectual/ spiritual
Darwin: “Origin of Species” (survival of the fittest), Marx
The Empire
Feeling of superiority: the right/obligation to govern other people and
territories. “White man’s burden”
Victorian problems (1)
1) Rise of democracy: reforms
• Economic reform
Repeal of Corn Laws (1848)
Call for free trade
Trade Unions
• Social reform
Reform Bills (1832, 1867)
Factory Acts (1802, 1833…)
Education Act (1870)
Factory Act (1802, 1833)
• Factory owners must obey the law.
• All factory rooms must be well ventilated and limewashed twice a year.
• Children must be supplied with two complete outfits of
clothing.
• The work hours of children must begin after 6 a.m., end
before 9 p.m., and not exceed 12 hours a day.
• Children must be instructed in reading, writing and
arithmetic for the first four years of work.
• Children may not sleep more than two per bed.
• On Sundays children are to have an hour's instruction in
the Christian Religion.
• Children (ages 9-13) must not work more than 9 hours.
Criminal Law Amendment
Acts
Made visiting a prostitute illegal, if
the girl was younger than 13 (later
16 yrs, because many girls were
sold to brothels).
Proscribed homosexual relations.
Life in the factory…
“Ideal working clothes”
Victorian problems (2)
2) The position of the poor
- Movements for better working
conditions (Factory Acts)
- Movement for education (Education Act)
(increased literacy rise of novel)
- Movement for electoral representation
(Reform Bill, 1867)
Victorian problems (3)
3) The Woman Question
-
Women couldn’t vote (Reform Bill for men)
Textile factory work (poor conditions)
Stay at home, but no rights at home
Many driven into prostitution
A lot of people protested against this. As
usual, those in power held out for a long
time…
The ideal wife…
Victorian problems (3)
3) The Woman Question
By the end of the Victorian Age, a lot of
things had improved for women. They could,
for example, go to university and own a
house. Suffrage in 1918.
The “white man’s burden”
Summarizing…
Century of enormous material
and intellectual progress.
Prosperity, empire.
Inevitably, many social problems
(the poor; women; traditional
beliefs).
Learning objective
After this discussion, you should be able to:
Explain why the Victorian Age was an age of dramatic
progress, but also of dramatic social changes.
Relate the literature of the time to this context.
The Victorian Age
The Victorian Age