The Victorian Era1830-1901

Family Structure, Industrialization, and the Status of Women.

Queen Victoria

1837-1901 The population of England had almost

doubled from 16.8 million in 1851 to 30.5 million in 1901

The reign of Victoria was the longest in British history and will continue to be so, unless Elizabeth II remains on the throne until 2017

Landscape

Changing landscape rural urban. By 1850 half the country's former

peasants were squashed into Britain's cities.

Growing industries Railroad

Family Structure

Home was a symbol of prosperity and security

Churches did marriages, government did divorces (if any)

Child rearing is dependent on social class

Men

Divorce only allowed when spouse commits adultery

Men had legal right of wives Men worked Undisputed HOH Men expected obedience and

compliance from wives

Women

Kept the home in working order Supervisor of servants and children Reinforce family social status Pregnant between 18-45 Cannot act without consent of husband Gentle and sentimental Could not vote, own land, etc.

Industrial Revolution

Jobs for women (coal miner, weaver, brick workers, cook)

Upper class women didn’t work and the paleness of the skin was a sign of beauty.

Human power Machine power Factories, pollution, population inc. Crime, slums, bad working conditions.

Rich Children

Only children of the rich went to school.

Girls did not have same education as boys

Seen and not heard Saw little of their parents Raised by servants and in-house

nannies.

Class Structure

Class determined by source of money rather than amount

Man’s status is dependent on occupation and family

Woman’s status is dependent on husband

Literature

Expansion of newspapers and periodical press

Debate over political and social issues Debates affected literary representation Writers gave a voice to those who were

voiceless Dickens, Tennyson, Brontë sisters,

Romanticism Victorian Era a.k.a. Age of the Novel

Social Change

Challenges to religious faithScientific knowledge

(Darwin)Roles of women changingShift from land to tradeMigration of workers