The Victorian Period 1832 – 1901

Queen Victoria became queen in 1837 when she was only eighteen married Prince Albert and had nine children set an example for proper manners and moral behavior expanded the British Empire; by the 1890s, reigned over one fourth of the world’s population © Gianni Dagli Orti/CORBIS Queen Victoria

Victorian Worldviews At the beginning of the Victorian period people believed that “progress”—advances in science and technology—could solve all social problems such as disease, poverty, immorality At the end of the Victorian period people reevaluated the idea of progress and developed a more pessimistic view of life as a struggle against indifferent natural forces

Victorian England The Victorian period was characterized by colonization industrialization social reform scientific inquiry

Colonization By the 1890s, England had colonized one fourth of the globe. India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many African nations were among the colonial holdings. The English communicated with their far-flung empire by telegraph wires and submarine cables. The English benefited commercially from the colonies. In return, the English worked against the slave trade and built roads, railways, bridges, and buildings.

Industrialization Benefits created many jobs improved standard of living for some by creating wealth offered the lower classes hope of climbing to the middle classes Problems promoted exploitation of workers contributed to overcrowding and dismal living conditions for lower classes created industrial pollution Though it began in the 1760s, the Industrial Revolution’s impact was fully realized in the Victorian period.

Social Reform Legislation enacted during the Victorian period extended the right to vote to men who owned property and then to most working-class men limited child labor and the number of hours per day and days per week that laborers could work in factories created public schools and made attendance mandatory for children between five and ten years old gave women the right to control property, see their children in the case of divorce, and seek higher education

Scientific Inquiry English scientists contributed to scientific fields and knowledge. Joseph Lister pioneered antiseptic surgery. Charles Darwin opened the inquiry into the evolution of life forms. Charles Lyell proposed an extended view of geological time. John Dalton hypothesized about the size and nature of atoms.

Scientific Inquiry However, many of the new scientific ideas and theories were controversial and troubling to Victorians. Geological descriptions of the world’s creation did not match biblical descriptions. Theories about the evolution of species disturbed the long-held belief that humans were the apex of creation. Astronomy suggested that the universe was more vast than anyone had thought. Psychology delved into the workings of the human mind and implied that unconscious desires drive actions and thoughts.

Early Victorian Literature Early Victorian writers had much in common with the Romantics. They still trusted in a transcendental power sought to make readers aware of the connection between earth and heaven, body and soul, and material and ideal often looked to the past for the settings of their plots believed in the possibility of self-improvement and stressed the rule of the heart

Mid-Victorian Literature The novels of Charles Dickens typify the literature of this period and feature an honest, hard look at how the lower classes lived criticism of institutions that “served” the poor an injunction for middle- and upper-class people to care for the poor © Bettmann/CORBIS Charles Dickens

Late Victorian Literature Late Victorian literature reflected a sense of doubt and pessimism as Realism displaced Romanticism. The fiction and poetry of Thomas Hardy and A. E. Housman told stories of betrayal and troubled lives. New scientific ideas, a widening gap between rich and poor, and problems associated with industrialization led people to question the idea of “progress.”

What Have You Learned? 1.One of the most important benefits of _________ was the creation of many jobs. a. colonization b. industrializationc. social reform 2.By the end of the Victorian period, most men could vote. a. trueb. false 3._________ literature reflected a sense of doubt and pessimism. a. Early Victorianb. Mid-Victorianc. Late Victorian

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