The Victorian Age appunti facili

Introduction to the Victorian era

1837: Victoria becomes queen

1851: London’s great exhibition

1859: Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species

1901: Death of Victoria

Overview of the Victorian era

The years between 1837 and 1901 marked a period of great change in Great Britain. This era was characterized by the development of London, which became the center of culture and influence. The Victorian era was marked by both industrialization and increased comfort, but it also brought problems connected to rapid industrialization.

Thanks to industrial progress, England became wealthy and the greatest exporter of cotton and other manufactured products. The profits were invested in the colonies, making Britain the greatest imperial power in the world.

Literary reactions to progress

In literature, there were various reactions to progress. Many celebrated progress as a hymn to development, while others were worried about human unhappiness and the sacrifices made to build this great power. There was anxiety due to too many changes in a short time, leading to a crisis of religious certainties.

The Victorian values

The term ‘Victorian’ Age is linked to Victoria herself, who encouraged her own identification with the qualities of the period, which included propriety, moral responsibility, and earnestness. She became an idol.

Many writers considered it an age of transition, feeling a sense of break with the past and self-consciousness. They urged to leave the introspection of the romantics and to turn to the high moral values of figures like Goethe. After the romantic dream, writers wanted to focus on reality.

After Victoria's death, there was a reaction against past achievements. The past creations and writers had been deemed too important, and there was an effort to make them less intimidating with mocking. For instance, Virginia Woolf in Orlando described the Victorian age with metaphors of nature's excessive growth, indicating that Victorian literature and culture had great energy but was too spread and too cumbersome.

After the Victorian age, the term Victoria was used in a pejorative sense or to recall prudery.

The early period: A time of troubles (1830-1848)

Two important events

• Opening of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway: This event gave a great impulse to the creation of many other railways and helped commerce.
• 1832: Reform Bill: This bill extended the right to vote to all males having an annual rent of at least £10, allowing the lower middle class to vote.

The nation faced strong problems during the decade between the 1830s and 1840s, known as the Time of Troubles. It was a bad period marked by a crisis of unemployment, poverty, and poor conditions for mining workers and factory employees. There was also a terrible crisis regarding the price of bread due to years of bad crops and food scarcity.

In 1845, the Tory Prime Minister Peel decided to abandon traditional protectionism and introduced a system of free trade, allowing the import of goods with minimal tariff duties. Thanks to this reform, in 1848 England was unaffected by the revolutions that swept the rest of Europe.

The mid Victorian period economic (1848-1870)

The content for this section wasn't provided in the original text.