Victorian Society and Morality Overview

The Victorian Compromise

• Coined by Prof. Lawrence Friedman
• Refers to a double standard of behavior
• Victorian society tolerated sin and vice if kept hidden in private
• This duplicity characterized Victorian morality, society, and empire

Victorian Morality

• Men and women had to maintain a respectable reputation.
• It was more important to appear respectable than to actually be respectable.
• Virtues were displayed publicly, while vices were kept private.

Respectable Man

• Possessed connections, status, money, education, good taste, and good manners
• Displayed godliness

Respectable Woman

• Was accomplished, elegant, connected, chaste, and devoted

Social Victorian Compromise

• Industrial progress created both wealth and suffering.
• Upper and middle classes saw significant wealth gains.
• The working classes suffered due to poor living conditions, exploitation, child labor, and high mortality rates.

Social Darwinism

• Human groups and races are subject to natural selection.
• Societies evolve from lower (barbarian) to higher (civilized) forms.
• The most capable members of society survive.
• It was believed to be wrong to interfere with natural selection
• This theory was used to justify imperialism, racism, eugenics, and social inequality

Victorian Compromise and the Empire

• The British empire greatly expanded
• Patriotism was influenced by ideas of racial superiority.
• The "white man" had a civilizing mission and duty, justified by perceived cultural superiority
• This concept led to exploitation, submission, and destruction of native cultures.

Robinson Crusoe as a Prototype of a Colonizer

• Robinson Crusoe showed submission, servitude, and an apparent desire to serve as a colonizer.
• Crusoe takes actions towards Friday with little understanding. Friday had previously lived under a lifestyle of freedom until Robinson took him into servitude; thus, Friday was subjected to an entirely new way of living.

The White Man's Burden by Kipling

• Duty of the white race to take up the burden of governing and civilizing non-white peoples.
• Involved sending forth the best, binding sons to exile, and serving captives.

The Poem: Kipling's Revision

• The poem was originally written to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria (1897)
• It was revised later to encourage the American conquest and rule of the Philippines (1899).
• Kipling defined white imperialism and colonialism as a burdensome duty.

Summary of the White Man's Burden

• The speaker urges white people to fulfill a difficult task which stems from their perceived whiteness
• This task is associated with leading and governing foreign, savage populations; these populations needed to be controlled and subdued.
• The speech argues that these foreign peoples are not human beings but rather, childlike and evil
• Imperialism was presented as a solemn duty, rather than an adventurous endeavor
• This task was largely thanksless and done purely out of good will
• White colonialism was a grand sacrifice for the benefit of conquered peoples.

Racism

• Belief that white people are superior and have a right to conquer and dominate other races.
• This ideology led to devastating consequences for conquered lands and native people, including enslavement, exploitation, and destruction of cultures.

Conclusion

• The Victorian period was marked by dualism in many aspects, particularly the contradiction between public display and hidden truths.
• This era saw the emergence of the concept of "public virtues and secret vices" as a key characteristic of Victorian society.