Victoria Era

Victorian Era

• The Victorian era in British history spans from approximately 1820 to 1914, roughly corresponding to Queen Victoria's reign (1837-1901).
• The period is characterized by a class-based society, growing number of people able to vote, a growing state and economy, and Britain's status as the most powerful empire in the world.

Society and Culture

• Britain was a powerful nation with a rich culture, stable government, growing state, and expanding franchise during the Victorian period.
• The country controlled a large empire and was wealthy due to industrialization and imperial holdings, despite three-fourths of its population being working-class.

Victorian Stereotype

• The term "Victorian" connotes a prudish refusal to admit the existence of sex, hypocritically combined with constant discussions of sex.
• Some educated Victorians wrote about sex, including pornography, medical treatises, and psychological studies.
• Respectable middle-class women were proud of how little they knew about their own bodies and childbirth.

Sexual Double Standard

• Victorians lived with a sexual double standard where men wanted and needed sex, and women were free of sexual desire and submitted to sex only to please their husbands.
• This standard did not mesh with the reality of prostitution, venereal disease, women with sexual desires, and men and women with same-sex desires.

Social Hierarchy

• Victorian society was organized hierarchically, with gender and class as the main organizing principles of identity and status.
• Race, religion, region, and occupation were also important aspects of identity and status.

Gender and Class

• Victorian gender ideology was premised on the "doctrine of separate spheres," stating that men and women were different and meant for different things.
• Men were considered physically strong, while women were weak; men were independent, while women were dependent.
• Men belonged in the public sphere, while women belonged in the private sphere.

Working and Middle Class

• The working class (70-80% of the population) got its income from wages, with family incomes usually under £100 per annum.
• The middle class (growing from 15 to over 25% of the population during the 19th century) got its income from salaries and profit, with incomes ranging from £100 to £1,000 per annum.