The Victorian Era 1837 -1901

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Queen Victoria
-Her long reign provides economic
and social stability
-She is married with nine children -
Her reign will stress family values
-England becomes the dominant
world economic power because
Of colonization (especially India) and Industrialization.
“The sun never sets on the British Empire” (Queen
Victoria) –What does this mean?
Queen Victoria
Rules from 1837-1901

Science, Technology and Change
The Victorian Era is full
of life changing inventions and ideas:
1830 - the first and the Railroad opens in England
1851 – The “Crystal Palace” exhibition opens to
showcase achievements of science and technology
1847 – Writing in London, Marx publishes
The Communist Manifesto
1848 – First Women’s College opened in London
1859 - Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species changes the concept of human evolution
1890 – By this date, ¼ of the territory of the earth is under British control.

The Industrial Revolution
Changes England – huge
numbers move to the city
To work in factories
-Conditions in factories are
terrible. Child labor is common.
Rural families and social structures are broken. Cities become overcrowded and criminal.
At the same time, the era sees the first public schools, hospitals, and amazing technological progress:
Some Victorian writers will praise “progress”, others will condemn it.

Literature in the Victorian Age
-Reaction against the Romantics – Victorians think they are too individualistic, immoral and fantastical
-Victorians favor SOCIALLY USEFUL works based on MORAL PRINCIPALS of improving Mankind
-“Social Realism” becomes the dominant literary movement
-The Individual versus Society becomes the dominant theme:
Human hopes and dreams Versus the harsh realities of the world

The Victorian Novel
Political stability encouraged long works – the Novel becomes the new dominant genre (compare to the Romantics)
Increase in population and education means a lot more readers – the novel is the new popular entertainment, like theater in Shakespeare’s time
Novels are often serialized: a chapter is published each week in a magazine. This encourages long, complex plots that will keep readers reading.
-Victorian novels reflected many real elements of their own time:
The French writer Stendhal called the Victorian novel “a mirror wandering down a road” – what might this mean?

Major Novelists of the Victorian Era
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities, etc. etc.
William Thackeray (1811-1863) Vanity Fair
Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) Jane Eyre
Emily Bronte (1818-1848) Wuthering Heights
George Elliot (Mary Ann Evans 1819-1880) Silas Marner, Middlemarch, The Mill and the Floss

Charles Dickens
Dickens's novels, which combine
Biting sarcasm with emotional pathos were hugely
successful in his time
-They came out as serials – sometimes Dickens's would give dramatic readings.
Dickens's novels champion the struggles of the poor and the innocent while lampooning the powerful and corrupt. He focused on social problems such as poverty, child labor, and the cruelty of an impersonal bureaucracy.
Although he is called a “realist,” comic and tragic exaggeration are at the heart of his work.
His work is praised for his mastery of language, deep human themes, humor, and unforgettable characters

Charles Dickens
Dickens's family was middle class. Dickens's father lost his money and was put in a ‘debtor’s prison.’ Dickens attended a poor and inadequate school. His parents wanted him to become a factory worker.
Dickens had other ideas – he became a reporter, a journalist, and eventually one of the most successful novelists of his era. His childhood experiences of being poor deeply influenced his writing.