THE VICTORIAN AGE

The Victorian Compromise

The Victorian Age takes its name from Queen Victoria who ruled from 1837 to 1901; it was a
complex era, characterised by stability, progress and social reforms, but, at the same time, by
great problems such as poverty, injustice and social unrest; thats why the Victorians felt
obliged to promote and invent a rigid code of values that reflected the world as they wanted it
to be, based on:

duty and hard work;

respectability: a mixture of both morality and hypocrisy, conformity to social standards

(possessions of good manners, ownership of a comfortable house, regular attendance at

church) which distinguished the middle from the lower classes;

charity and activities that involved many people, especially women.

The family was strictly patriarchal: the husband represented the authority and respectability,
consequently a single woman with a child was marginalized (fallen woman). Sexuality was
generally repressed.

Queen Victorias Reign

Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 and died in 1901, but the Victorian age is
considered to have begun in 1832 with the First Reform Act (this reform extended the right to
vote to more people, but completely excluded the working classes).
The Queen reigned constitutionally and became a mediator above parties (the Liberals and the
Conservatives): thats why the UK managed to avoid the Revolution which spread all over
Europe in 1848.
The power of the middle class increased with the expansion of industry and trade; in order to
conquer new markets Britain extended its power all over the world. The Great Exhibition
(1851), where goods coming from all the Empire were collected, symbolised the British
leadership in the world of economy.
With the extraordinary industrial development, more and more people went to live in the city:
the poor had to live in slums, segregated quarters characterised by disease and crime.
The growing awareness of the exploitation of working people led to a series of important bills:
in 1833 the Factory Act established rules and limitations in the exploitation of workers of the
factories, while in 1847 the Ten Hours Act established that children couldnt work more than
48 hours a week. Consequently, the social unrest increased and the Government had to make
Social Reforms such as the legalisation of Trade Unions (1882) and the Third Reform Act
(1884) which granted the right to vote to all the male population. In 1906 the Labour Party
was born.
The Government also promoted a campaign to improve the urban environment: hospitals,
water, gas and lighting, public parks, places of entertainment, boarding schools.
Education became a necessity and in 1870 the Elementary Education Act introduced the state
compulsory education system.

The Victorian Novel

Novels were written for the middle class and usually published in periodicals: the contact
between the writer and his public was strong and constant.
The novelists felt they had a moral and social responsibility, therefore they described the
society as it was, in order to make readers realise social injustices (the favourite setting
was the city as the symbol of industrial civilisation and expression of anonymous lives).

Several novels were written by women, who often used male pseudonyms; these novels
explored the daily lives and values of women within the family and the community.
Features of the Victorian novel:

omniscient narrator who comments the plot and distinguishes right and wrong

long and complicated plots

deeper analysis of the characters

Early-Victorian Novel

Mid-Victorian Novel

Late-Victorian Novel

social and
themes

continuity of Romantic and

Gothic
tradition
and
a
psychological vein.

A scientific look at human

behaviour and discontent with
values (Naturalism)

(Bronte sisters
Stevenson)

(Thomas Hardy and Oscar Wilde)

humanitarian

(Charles Dickens)
and

Louis

The Victorian Comedy

There is a gap in the history of the English Theatre between 1700 and the late 19th
century; this situation can be explained by several factors such as the popularity of novel
and the fact that actors were still considered as men of little respectability.
However, new theatres were built during the Victorian age, smaller and more comfortable
playhouses.
The best playwrights of the end of the 19th century were George Bernard Shaw and Oscar
Wilde.
Features of Victorian Comedy:

brilliant dialogue;

caricatures of social types;

humorous remarks to express the hypocrisy of the upper class.