The Victorian Age (1830-1901) Sambourne House, London.❑Victoria became queen atthe age of 18; she wasgraceful and self-assured.❑Her reign was the longestin British history.Franz Xavier Winterhalter, The young Queen Victoria, 1842❑In 1840 she married aGerman prince, Albert ofSaxe-Coburg.❑They had nine children andtheir modest family lifeprovided a model ofrespectability.❑During this time BritainFranz Xavier Winterhalter, The young Queen Victoria, 1842changed dramatically.British Empire throughout the World, 19th century, Private Collection.•England grew to become the greatest nation on earth “The sun never sets on England”.British Empire throughout the World, 19th century, Private Collection.•British Empire included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Kenya, and India.British Empire throughout the World, 19th century, Private Collection.•Great Britain imported raw materials such as cotton and silk and exported finished goods to countries around the world.British Empire throughout the World, 19th century, Private Collection.•By the mid-1800s, Great Britain was the largest exporter and importer of goods in the world. It was the primarymanufacturer of goods and the wealthiest country in the world.British Empire throughout the World, 19th century, Private Collection.•Because of England’s success,the British felt it was their duty to bring English values,laws,customs,and religion to the“savage”races around the world.•1832: The First Reform Act granted the vote to almost all male members of middle-class.•1833: The Factory Act regulated child labour in factories.•1834: Poor Law Amendment established a system of workhouses for poor people.•1867: The Second Reform Act gave the vote to skilled working men.•1871: Trade Union Act legalised trades unions.•1884: The Third Reform Act granted the right to vote to all male householders.•Women‟s suffrage did not happen until 1918.The Rights of Women or Take Your Choice (1869)4. The woman’s questionSuffragettesIndustrial revolution: factorysystem emerged; for the firsttime in Britain’s history therewere more people who lived incities than in the countryside.Technological advances:introduction of steam hammersand locomotives; building of a Workers in a Tobacco Factorynetwork of railways.Economical progress:Britainbecame the greatesteconomical power in the world;in 1901 the Usa became theleader, but Britain remainedthe first in manufacturing.Workers in a Tobacco FactoryCrystal Palace was built forthe Great Exhibition of1851; it was destroyed byfire in 1936.The Crystal PalaceIt was made of iron andglass, exhibited hydraulicpresses, locomotives,machine tools, power looms,power reapers andsteamboat engines.The Crystal PalaceIt had a political purposeit showed British economicsupremacy in the world.The Crystal PalacePollution in towns due to factory activity.Homeless Boys (1880)London in 1872Lack of hygienic conditions: houses were overcrowded, most people lived in miserable conditions; poor houses shared water supplies.Homeless Boys (1880)London in 1872•Epidemics , like cholera, thyphoid, caused a high mortality in towns. They came to a peak in the Great Stink of 1858.•This expression was used to describe the terrible smell in London, coming from the Thames .•The “Miasmas”, exhalations from decaying matter, poisoned the air.8. The “Great Stink”Caricature appearing on the magazine «Punch»in18589. The Victorian compromise •The Victorians were greatmoralisers theysupported: personal duty,hard work, decorum,respectability, chastity.W. H. Hunt, The Awakening Conscience,1853-4, London, Tate Britain.•…Victorian‟, synonym for prude, stood for extremerepression; even furniturelegs had to be concealedunder heavy cloth not to be“suggestive”.•New ideas were discussed &debated by a large part of society.W. H. Hunt, The Awakening Conscience, 1853-4, London, Tate Britain.•The middle-class wasobsessed with gentility,respectability, decorum.•Respectabilitydistinguished the middle fromthe lower class.John Lamb, Victorian family portrait, 1879.Decorum meant:a.Victorian private lives weredominated by an authoritarianfather.b.Women were subject to maleauthority; they were expected tomarry and make home a “refuge”for their husbands.John Lamb, Victorian family portrait, 1879.John Stuart Mill and hisideas based on Bentham’sUtilitarianism.John Stuart MillKarl Marx and his studiesabout the harm caused byindustrialism in man’s life. Karl MarxCharles Darwin andthe theory of naturalselection.Charles Darwin•There was a communion of interests and opinions between the writers and their readers.•The Victorians were avid consumers of literature. They borrowed books from circulating libraries and readvarious periodicals.•Novels made their first appearance in instalments on the pages of periodicals.•The voice of the omniscient narrator provided a comment on the plot and erected a rigid barrier between «right»and «wrong», light and darkness.•The setting chosen by most Victorian novelists was the town.•Victorian writers concentrated on the creation of characters and achieved a deeper analysis of their inner life.12. PoetryAlfred, Lord Tennyson:the most popularVictorian poet. He wrotenarrative poems.Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, by George FredericWatts (died 1904), given to the National Portrait Gallery,London in 1895.Robert Browning: heraised the dramaticmonologue to new heightsmaking it a vehicle for adeep psychological study.Robert BrowningElizabeth Barrett Browning:she wrote love sonnets valuedfor their lyric beauty.Elizabeth Barrett Browning。