The Victorian era lasted for 64 years of the 19th century, occupied 20% of the land, and affected a quarter of humanity. The Victorian era dates back to the reign of the British Queen Victoria, who was the monarch of the largest empire and reigned from 1837 to 1901.
Queen of Great Britain and Empress of India Victoria.
The reign of Queen Victoria falls on the period of the development of sciences, active technical progress, changes in society, the gradual weakening of the influence of the church. Although all this happened without her direct influence.
Steam harvester and car.
It was during this period that, thanks to scientific discoveries, a new society and a new life were gradually formed. The world is being conquered by steam locomotives, steamers, electricity, telegraph, telephone, camera, steam engines, airships, rifled weapons, cars, trams, which begin to shrink space and tie the continents closer together. It was during this period that capitalism was actively developing, the bourgeoisie and bourgeois morality arose, in connection with this, an even greater stratification of people into classes occurred and inequality was exacerbated.
Liverpool, 70s of the XIX century.
It was during the Victorian era that the concept of gentleman and lady emerged.
The best-selling books in England of that era: the Bible, books on etiquette and home economics. This list reflects well the characteristics of that era.
Promotional video:
Man in a Case
Although it was enough to demonstrate these qualities to have their place in society. Each person had to correspond to the place occupied, if you are not a laborer or a poor man, then you need to smile correctly, speak, know all the manners in order to be in a good company, and not in a gutter.
Every detail of the appearance had to speak eloquently about what a person is. As the saying goes, the man's hat was supposed to say more about him than he himself. Let's remember Sherlock Holmes!
Gentlemen in hats, representatives of the bourgeoisie.
Hypocrisy was considered a must. People should be comfortable in each other's company, so emotions, tears, sighs, discontent, criticism were condemned. No one is frank in public, and with loved ones - in the most extreme cases.
The Victorians did not tolerate physical and mental nudity. This even extended to objects: every thing must have a case, even a toothpick or a comb for a mustache, which in turn must lie in a chest that is removed in a chest of drawers, which will be covered with ruffles or a blanket. On carpets, carpets, on the walls, portraits or decor. (here it is a consumer society when it began to form then … here it is …)))
Photo of the 19th century, the interior of the Victorian era (and the lady on the piano plays in the background).
Shame
All of the above, of course, was reflected in the female half of society. A woman in the Victorian era, as a rule, was a powerless creature; married girls were actually considered the property of her husband. Divorces were extremely rare.
At this time there was a reprehensible attitude towards contraception.
Photo of Victorians, 19th century, second half.
The female body, by inertia, was considered a stronghold of sin, or rather the upper half is something divine, and the lower half is devilish. The body was required to be carefully hidden by both women and men. There was a special taboo on the legs and everything connected with them. Men's pants were sewn so as to hide the nuances of physiology as much as possible. At this time, hefty bustles appear designed to hide the outlines of the female buttocks.
Dresses with bustles.
Even visiting doctors was difficult for women. When describing ailments, women used metaphors, and the places where it hurt were indicated on a mannequin. The examination took place in the semi-darkness, which complicated the doctors' work.
Debauchery
Sex education of girls was reduced to the phrase "Lady does not move."
It is not surprising that in this era there is such a diagnosis as "female hysteria", which was treated with (sorry) masturbation, both natural and with the help of special devices. Moreover, for men, according to etiquette, it was considered shameful to bother their wife with harassment.
Means for the treatment of female hysteria of the 19th century.
Despite such a controversial situation and the ubiquitous etiquette, both doctors and the church believed that men should visit women of easy virtue, primarily to strengthen "mental health", the more justification for this was found in the writings of Augustine the Blessed. Nobody should have known about adultery with a night butterfly. In some regions of the British Empire, there was one moth for every 8-12 males. Moreover, there were relatively few brothels, but there were special dating houses that were furnished, had billiards and other entertainments, and other people's wives were also brought there for dates. photo of women of easy virtue, late 19th century.
Night butterfly, late 19th century.
In connection with this situation, a boom in sexually transmitted diseases gradually happened, and then contraception, especially after the invention of rubber, condoms became more common. In addition, virgins became especially appreciated, and brothels appeared in England specialized in girls 12-14 years old, where they were sold by families from the poor. Gradually, voyeurism, sadism, masochism and other perversions began to flourish in Victorian society, but behind closed doors.
Victorian bdsm.
Of course, the life of the poor strata of society was different from the nobility and the bourgeoisie. The peasants and the working class carried a rather miserable existence, many had problems with housing and even food. The exploitation of the exploited was intensified thanks to the industrial revolution and developing capitalism, which ultimately led to the popularization of revolutionary sentiments, the ideas of socialism and communism.
By the way, the life and people of the Victorian era are depicted with high historical meticulousness in Jack Finney's novel Between Two Times.
