Victorianism “can be taken to mean the parent of the modern” (Landow). The term Victorianism refers to the attitudes, ways, ideas, changes and events of the Victorian Era. “The Victorian Era is generally agreed to stretch through the reign of Queen Victoria” (Miller), from 1837 to 1901. During this period, which was “sometimes called the Second English Renaissance” (Miller), the Victorians faced many modern problems. However, the Victorian Era was an age of power which allowed the Victorians to come up with modern solutions and ideas. First, “[I]n science and technology, the Victorians invented the modern idea of invention” (Landow). They created “the notion that one can create solutions to problems, that man can create new ways of bettering himself and the environment” (Landow). Victorians believed “that science and the practical men could change the world through invention and implementation” (MacRalid). The Victorians built “[s]team locomotion, iron, steel ships, telegraphy and many other developments” (MacRalid). Also, “Victorianism [was] associated with industrialism, urbanization, transport, technologies, travel and communication” (MacRalid). “In religion, the Victorians experienced a great age of doubt” (Landow). They started to question Christianity. As a result, “Victorianism balanced the ancient regime Anglicanism of the Church of England with a growing pluralism through alternative Christianities, new faiths and the toleration of unbelief” (MacRalid). Additionally, in politics, society, governance, economy, and culture “the Victorians created astonishing innovation and change” (Landow). For example, “democracy, feminism, socialism, Marxism and other modern movements took form” (Landow). “Modernity was fea...
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...ing in life (AllAboutPhilosophy).
Bibliography
Landow, George P. Victorian and Victorianism. 2 August 2009. 17 March 2011 .
MacRalid, Donald. Victorianism. 2005. 17 March 2011 .
Miller, Ilana . The Victorian Era (1837-1901). n.d. 18 March 2011 .
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In the essay, Late Victorians written by Richard Rodriguez discusses an extremely controversial topic about homosexuality in San Francisco, California during the nineteenth century. Rodriguez begins his essay with a captivating perspective about human unhappiness as he writes, “Human unhappiness is evidence of our immortality,” (Rodriguez 121). This gripping statement conveys the meaning that happiness or forever happiness is an illusion, therefore it cannot exist in the individual's life. The main idea of the essay Late Victorians draws out numerous opinions because of the historical impact of this specific era. For example, the limitations of sexuality or thoughts about sexuality for women, and homosexuals. The reoccurring theme appears to be stereotypes of
A Fierce Discontent by Michael McGerr delves into the revolution of values from the victorian era to the progressive within the late nineteen century to the early twentieth century. McGerr’s major argument is the contrast between this set of values. The gilded age which McGerr focuses is the period where progressive values begin to take form and societal change ensues. The victorian values are values which epitomizes the British culture as just the name of the era is derived from queen Victoria. Alternatively the progressive era was a political reform focusing on anti corruption, women suffrage, and fixing the social problems plaguing society. McGerr argues that the victorian era and progressive era strikes few similarities within the
In America, the late 19th Century was known as the Victorian Era. It was a time when pro-private upper class culture dominated the nation, a time of liberation from the burden of the past and a time when the development of science and technology flourished. The Victorians believed that the advancement in science and technology served as a mean for protection, and could bring in an abundant of wealth and power, something they desired. The middle-class admired those from the upper-class, as they imitated the lives of the wealthy families. It was a period of competition and the survival of the fitness for the Victorians. While these neighbors, friends and families competed against each other for wealth, there was competition between workers and machineries in the cities, as labor was gradually being replaced by modern technology.
Overall, politics are key in determining whether this era was predominantly liberal or conservative as well as economic and social reforms. On an aside, conservatism can be defined as a political philosophy based upon tradition and social stability while liberalism can be defined in two ways. Modern Liberalism emphasizes liberty and rights but, believes in strong government intervention in order to prevent the growth of a capitalist society, while classical liberalism advocates liberty and the autonomy of the individual. With these definitions given it can be concluded that the progressive era promoted change as well as government intervention to prevent capitalism from spreading and the autonomy of the individual. In conclusion, for the most part the Progressive Era from 1901-1907 was a triumph for modern and classical liberalism.
In Victorian society, the beliefs of the people were generally strict. They had a low tolerance for crime, good social ethics, and believed in sexual repression. Any criminal who was publicly found guilty of a crime was punished harshly and looked down upon (Chesterton 3). Upper class citizens prided themselves on looking and acting like royalty. The upper classes held parties often, dressed in only the best, and spent most of their time with other members of the same class (Wagner 5-8). Though they shared these beliefs publicly, crime, poverty, and prostitution were rampant for the majority of the era (Gorman 325-326). The upper class focused on impressing other upper class members; so much that the lower classes lived in terrible conditions. They forced children to work, and men often showed little sexual restraint in their private lives. This is represented by one of the main carvings on the Westminster Palace. The Palace is decorated in and out with carvings of countless people and animals. After the building burnt down in 1834, a competition was held for a design of a new palace. Charles Barry would win (Foley, Mark). He was a well known architect in the t...
When French Noble Prize winning author, journalist, and philosopher, Albert Camus, died in 1960 at the age of 46 his literary works that incorporated ideas of existentialism and absurdism were still studied and interpreted by scholars and his colleagues. Existentialism was one of the two philosophies Camus believed in and used in his works; existentialism is philosophical movement that focuses on the importance of the individual experience and self responsibility. The individual is seen as a free part in a deterministic and meaningless universe. The second philosophy Camus used and believed in was absurdism; a philosophy based on the idea that life and work are meaningless and looking for order causes inner and outer chaos. Camus had a dual culture as he was born in Algeria and lived most of his life in France, his culture duality also is expressed in his works. 1920's Algerian writer Albert Camus's works were profoundly impacted by his experiences in French colonial Algeria, his philosophical ideas and findings of existentialism, and current events of his times such as war, independence,and violence.
Kant’s definition of Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred nonage (immaturity). Immaturity is the inability to use one's own understanding without the external guidance. This immaturity is self-incurred by an individual and it is not because of lack of understanding, but rather lack of resolution and courage to use it without the guidance of another. So the motto of enlightenment is Sapere aude (Latin word which means ‘dare to know’ or ‘dare to be wise’) or in other words it is to have courage to use your own understanding. Reasons for the large proportion of people to be immature are laziness and cowardice. And it is convenient to immature as it is an easier option available. Suppose I have a book which understands me, a spiritual adviser to have a conscience for me, a physician to judge my diet for me and so on then I don’t need to make any efforts at all and I need not think as long as I can pay, others will take up my tiresome job and this is an easier choice than to do all the work by myself. Naturally lot of people prefer easier things instead of taking a chal...
Martha Nussbaum makes an important point when she suggests that literature is useful when it comes to understanding philosophy and philosophical concepts. In particular, Simone de Beauvoir’s All Men Are Mortal is useful in the way that Nussbaum describes because the treatment of existential concepts in the book allow the reader to gain insight into the life of a committed existentialist and into the desirability of this type of life. The book does so by being more accessible to readers and reaches a wider audience since it is not written using jargon like many dense philosophic writings. Also, the literary treatment of existentialism is insightful because the universal human desires and dilemmas that are explored inclines the reader to imagine
In the Victorian Britain there was 88 minors were killed from the start of 1851 to the end of 1851 from many, many different things. I am talking about deaths in Victorian Britain and what I think the deaths mean is that the people who died, died cruelly. There may be some people who die of accidental deaths but most people die of a cruel death. The Victorians viewed death as a sad time because the deaths caused a great deal of sadness and pain to the person's family mates and friends.
Victorian Mourning was referred to by many as the “cult of death.” This type of mourning existed as early as 1800, but it was popularized by Queen Victoria in 1861 after the death of Prince Albert (“Victorian Days: Victorian Death and Mourning”). Queen Victoria mourned for her husband until she died, and most of England mourned with her for the whole 40 years (Mitchel 163). If one did not follow mourning customs to a tee, it was seen as an enormous sign of disrespect, and they ran the risk of being ostracized. While Victorians did not fear death, they did fear not being properly mourned (Flanders 378). Most mourning customs were based on primitive superstition, but even as the world advanced, the traditions stuck with families. Although there are some slight similarities between current mourning customs and Victorian mourning customs, Victorian mourning customs were radically different than ours today.
to find his or her own unique vocation. As he wrote in his journal, “I must find
To start with, some information is in order about the Victorian Period itself. Queen Victoria, England’s longest reigning monarch, sat on the throne from 1837 to 1901. The span of time is referred to as the Victorian Period (Abrams 1860). At the death of Queen Victoria, her subjects reacted in such a way that they rebelled against many of the ideas put forward during her reign. Even her own country recognized her life and rule as a distinct historical period separated from the rest (Abrams 1861).
Oscar Wilde was born in October 16, 1854, in the mid era of the Victorian period—which was when Queen Victoria ruled. Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901.While she ruined Britain, the nation rise than never before, and no one thought that she was capable of doing that. “The Victorian era was both good and bad due to the rise and fall of the empires and many pointless wars were fought. During that time, culture and technology improved greatly” (Anne Shepherd, “Overview of the Victorian Era”). During this time period of English, England was facing countless major changes, in the way people lived and thought during this era. Today, Victorian society is mostly known as practicing strict religious or moral behavior, authoritarian, preoccupied with the way they look and being respectable. They were extremely harsh in discipline and order at all times. Determination became a usual Victorian quality, and was part of Victorian lifestyle such as religion, literature and human behavior. However, Victorian has its perks, for example they were biased, contradictory, pretense, they cared a lot of about what economic or social rank a person is, and people were not allowed to express their sexuality. Oscar Wilde was seen as an icon of the Victorian age. In his plays and writings, he uses wit, intelligence and humor. Because of his sexuality he suffered substantially the humiliation and embarrassment of imprisonment. He was married and had an affair with a man, which back then was an act of vulgarity and grossness. But, that was not what Oscar Wilde was only known for; he is remembered for criticizing the social life of the Victorian era, his wit and his amazing skills of writing. Oscar Wilde poem “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” typifies the Vi...
The Victorian Era in English history was a period of rapid change. One would be hard-pressed to find an aspect of English life in the 19th century that wasn’t subject to some turmoil. Industrialization was transforming the citizens into a working class population and as a result, it was creating new urban societies centered on the factories. Great Britain enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity at home and thus was extending its global reach in an era of New Imperialism. Even in the home, the long held beliefs were coming into conflict.
For about 1000 years, Europeans maintained traditions, the most significant were the traditions held by the Roman Catholic Church, which was the protector of knowledge. Thus, traditional knowledge was embedded in the church. In order to make a transition from the early modern world into the modern world, substantial changes were needed, especially intellectual changes. Thus, it was necessary to change the way that people think about themselves, meaning a radical change in the way of using their intellectual.