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INTRODUCTION TO VICTORIAN TIMES
The long reign of Queen Victoria defined this historical period from 1837 to 1901. She became an icon in Great Britain and a role model for her subject who embraced Victorian qualities like honesty, moral responsibility and domestic propriety (values of family and domesticity).
Victoria Times will be a time of domestic debates and crisis of values. Queen Victorial will become the empreses of India and she is going to propagate english language with the purpose to Asia India and Afriga to enable civilizaton to the progress. Moreover, there is going to be an spread of cristianity in Victorian Times becaise the british empire controls so much territory. British empire controls ¼ of the world territory.
During her reign, the world moved further ahead faster than in the previous 2000 years put together. It was a time of prosperyty, search of new values, sciencifict and economic progess and controversies but also for conflictive debates about us and the world around us and espiritual pessimis. There was also the popular belief that progress was unavoidable (political and social changes). Victorian priciples will either embraced or criticized by importact thinkers, and these las tones tried to detect a crisis of the old values and the nevessity to change to modern values because it is necesity for the sociey. This debate in phylosiphical, religious, scienficm and socioeconomic matters will enrich english thoyght during v.t. Some of this controversies will try
London become the most important city in the world experienced a rapid growth.At the beginning of the century, it had 2000000 of inhabitants, and at the end 6500000.
The economy will experience a dramatic change, from agricultural model (owners of pieces of lands) to a moder and urbanistic one. Traid and manufactury would be more important than agriculttural activities. Great Britain became an economical power as the first industrilized country and found new markets to sell their products all over the world. London keep the role of internacional bamker and investor that control and earns prokets from the very lucratuve market of the colonies. London kept the role of internacional banker and investor that controlled and earns prokets from the very lucratuve market of the colonies. Despite the rapid economical growth that England had, lower social clases experienced
It is also a time for great important technological inventios like the railway, the steam power, the development of the printing industry and the telegraphe. There were reforms in education that allowed males to enjoy of a compulsury education. Due to these rapid changes, life and mentality of victorians changed. England will become one of the first industrialzed countries in the world but this is not favourable bevause there is going to be social and econmical probles because of the very rapid porcess of industrialization. Low clasees (women and children working in factories)
Many intellectuals, like mathew Arnlod, had the feeling that something was being lost in human nature because of this socioeconmical improvement: human principles. He stated that progreess and modernity threatened humanism and machines were going to replace man either in life or work. He also believed that tradictional life and happy rural communities were being destroyed by the process of industrilization.
In terms of religión, the church of england would be divided in the evalgelicals, the high church and the broad church. Evangelicals, who were a minoritary part of faithfull population, believed in espiritual convertion. They were a very powerful minority that was againts the slavery and believed that corrupted men could be saved by Christ.
The high church felt indentified with catholicims because they believed in the important of traditions. Conextion between the high church of england with the catholicism than with other sectors of t-
Important religious and intellectual movemment called the Oxford movement, ked by Henry Newman. He believed that church can only maintain his power by resisting liberalism and respected the authority of the church.
The broad church did not want to be involved in both controversies.
Very important population senses will reveal that there is still a huge believement between Victorians. In addition, there is going to be a high afiliation to churches especially in the east and south of England. They are going to be dissenters and the working classes will fail to attend because they will prefer alternative activities (sport, tourism..).
There are going to be also religious debates and growing doubts among educated classes and intellectuals and this will be foster by the ideology of utilitarianism and the theories of Charles Darwin.
Utilitarianism as a Victorian doctrin is a racionalism challnege to religión. It is established that political and social reforms should be base don the principles of maximize pleasures and minizing pain. Human have to evaluate and judge everyung according to their utility; what it is useful is good, and what it is not good is useless. What it is usefull is happeniss and prosperity and what is not usefull does not allow any hapiness and prosperity. However many intellectualism would be against utilitarialism because it disregards religious feelings and spirituality.
The sicientific discoveries and the theories of Darwin who will influence phylosophy and loterature and social thinking in vt. And after victorian times. There are going to be intelelctual spirit and anxieties about religión and about the evolutionary science beneath the plasibly prosperous surface of victorian imes. It seems that everything is peaceful and its seems there is. The theory of Darwin will be an eathquake against this feeling of stability and self confident. Search of values to better understan our world and ourselves on it.
Later reforms Bills will take place in 1876 and in 1874 as a consequence of working clases to have the right to vote.
V T is a time for national achievemnet that can be divided in 3 perior:
- Early period (1830-1848): the most important event is that there is going to be the fist public railway line between Manchester and Liverpool. This new technological invention will transform the natural landscape of great Britain.
In addition, working clases will demand their right to vote and more economic and polítical power. This would break up with the monotony of land owners. They wanted to be represented in the Parliament. Working class would ask for reforms. Some men form the low clases would have some properties.
This early Victorian Period will be also a time for travels, beacuse due to an economic crisis, pocerty and bad working conditions. Economy properity.
During this period, some organization called charist appeared to spread the right to vote between the middle clases. These institutions were mainly dedicated to make changes in the legislation. Despite the importance of the charties, specially to create an atmosphere opened to reforms, they would fall apart in 1948.
- Midd Victorian Period(1848-1870): it is the time for religious controversies, economic prosperities and the growth of the British Empire.
In relation with literature, Realistic Novels will dominate.
The theory of ¿let alone will continue for the flusrishment o bussines. Aristocrats will become investor to take care of lands and agricultural activities.
It will be a time of gradual improvememnt of working clases. The midd Victorian period would be a time for improvement and stability. English technological progress and improvement in architecture (Cristal Palace in London). This is the real time of the expansión of Great britain around the world.
Briths peole will invest economiclyin the colonies which were the source of many wçrwçaw material to produces godos. Later these gooods were sold to the colonies. Emigration overseas, Canada, eeuu, south africa…Unification of the Canadian provinces which belongs to the english empire.
Late Victorian period (1870-1901): time for excepticims and victorian progress. Decadence of victorian values. Time of decadence, rebellion and massacres. The public opinion started to think that maybe colonialism is not good for the British population. It is the time of the Jubilees to celebrate the 30th^ anniversary of the Queen Victoria in the throne. A crisis in 1873 involves emigration to other countries. Karl Marx theories (Marxism said that there were no properties, everything belonged to everyone) in Germany influenced the British ideas.
The reign of Queen Victoria is named as ‘Victorian Age’ to describe the mentality of the society. She was a very beloved queen. We can define the Victorian age with three different concepts:
Earnestness (‘honestidad’) Domestic propriety (‘decencia’) Moral responsibility: Related to devotion to duty and devotion to hard work.
These concepts will be also the basis for Victorian novels. They can be defined as realistic novels. After the death of Queen Victoria, many writers started to criticize the Victorian ages, so that the adjective ‘victorian’ would be used as a pejorative concept. We now consider the Victorian Age as a period of transition. We have writers that oppose to the Victorian values; they would criticize the doctrines of the system. It is the time of debate, and the age when philosophy grows up because of the crisis of values. Many writers would be very enthusiastic about colonialism, and some of them would be very critical about it. Some of them criticized the hard working conditions and even the British Empire. Women writers would denounce the discrimination to them (until the 19th^ century women were not allowed to vote, and they were considered inferior to men). Education for low- class girls were developed on charity, while high-class girls were allowed to study basic education, but not at university.
VIDEO 3
Introduction to Victorian Novels
Thanks to technoligcal development, like the printer, reading materials (newsparers, books, magazoones) will be more available to readers because of their lower prices and the. More people will be literacy thanks to a particular law for compulsury male education which oblied mal children to go to school. Moreover, the victoria practice of reading aloud.
In Victorian Times, literature will have the double purpose of entertaining and instructing the reader. There will be a movement against this which will support the reading just for pleasure called “Art for the art´s sake” (1870) Lietrature is going to become a good bussiness for editors and writers due to the high demand of novels by the middle clases. Libreries will be very succesful because books are lent for a cheap price.
The main form of literatura will be novels. Victorian Novels will be published serialized; on a montlhy form and when they were finished, novels were published in novels for the public. The fist one to implement it will be Charles Dickens with the ‘Pickwick Papers’.
Victorian Novels belonged to an artistic movement called Realism, which is characterized by the representation of a matter truthfully.With novels, writers like Charles Dickens reflected and critized values in their society. They write about issues that precupied readers like the conflicts between social clases, relations between the individual and society or the nature of women, who usually were the protagonist of these novels. Very often, the novels will have an instructive
better conditions. The living conditions were very hard (in some areas there wasn’t
drinking water, people died of tuberculosis…). Abolition of high tariffs, there were high
tariffs to import grain from other countries, so poor people starved and died.
-Mid period Economic prosperity and the growth of the Empire. There are many
religious controversies. There would be novels that denounced the problems of the
Victorian Age. In general terms, this is a time of optimism. Middle classes and aristocratic
classes would benefit themselves from the colonial empire. The working hours were
limited and there were also a limitation on the children working. Technological progress,
being the best example was the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851 because of the
Cristal Palace. It is the time when the British Empire had the most control of the world
because of its colonies. The telegraph was invented, and this allowed the communication
between the British Empire and the colonies. There are two kinds of colonies: white
colonies (Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and the rest of colonies (India, Africa…).
Religious debates between the Broad Church and the High Church. The Oxford
movement is a religious revival, the Anglican Church wanted to get closer to the
Catholicism. They felt that, in order to get back to Catholicism, they had to get back to
the past habits. Evangelical Church was about the emotional reactions and joy; this
evangelical church was very important at the age, they were progressive in the sense that
they were an important group against slavery. Charles Darwin’s theorist about evolution
were a huge shock, since people believed that human beings were created by God.
‘Utilitarianism’ was coined by Jeremy Bentham, who said that we have to maximize the
pleasure in life and minimize the pain; the important thing is to achieve happiness.
-Late period Time of decadence, rebellion and massacres. The public opinion
started to think that maybe colonialism is not good for the British population. It is the
time of the Jubilees to celebrate the 30th^ anniversary of the Queen Victoria in the throne.
A crisis in 1873 involves emigration to other countries. Karl Marx theories (Marxism said
that there were no properties, everything belonged to everyone) in Germany influenced
the British ideas.
The reign of Queen Victoria is named as ‘Victorian Age’ to describe the mentality of
the society. She was a very beloved queen. We can define the Victorian age with three
different concepts:
Earnestness (‘honestidad’)
Domestic propriety (‘decencia’)
Moral responsibility: Related to devotion to duty and devotion to hard work.
These concepts will be also the basis for Victorian novels. They can be defined as
realistic novels.
