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The Victorian era and gender roles
Victorian middle class gender roles
Impact of Darwin during the late 19th century
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Quest for Identity in the Victorian Era
"'Who are you?' said the caterpillar" to Alice (Carroll 60). This was a question she could not answer. Why doesn't Alice know what constitutes her being? Humans desire completeness, and a solid identity. Up to the age of Darwinism, that void was filled by religious faith. But with the emergence of Charles Darwin's theories on natural selection and survival of the fittest, Victorians were reevaluating their paths to righteousness. Without God as a foundation, what were life's rules?
Peter Bowler argues in Charles Darwin: The Man and His Influence that the old road to salvation had been damaged by one of Darwin's greatest triumphs - being the catalyst for the transformation of Victorian thought (150). Darwin made man question his belief system and, as Richard Altick presents in Victorian People and Ideas, revisions of man's destiny and place within the universe had to take form (232). "Since no divine agency could be relied upon to ameliorate his condition, man must turn himself to make whatever he can of his life" (235), thus helping himself. This idea of self-help brought Victorians in search of mens sana in corpore sano, or total health or wholeness, in which "they adopted the well-knit body as their model for spiritual health, the harmony of the self with external principles of growth and order" (Anderson). Through this model, they attempted to identify their purest and most desirable form through the use of drugs and a yearning for eternal youth. They admired Grecian characteristics as well, which was the exact opposite image Darwin placed within the Victorian mind - that man was a descendent of a hairy quadruped. All of these goals were sought after ...
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...York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. 1866. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Sign of Four. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1994.
Gardner, Martin. The Annotated Alice. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.
Haggard, H. Rider. She. 1887. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
"Man or Beast? The Lasting Effects of Darwin." Florida Gulf Coast University. Unpublished essay, 2001.
Mitchell, Sally. Daily Life in Victorian England. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1996.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 1886. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. 1891. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1993.
Robert, Stevenson L. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Dover Publications, 2013. Print.
Michael Ruse, The Darwinian Revolution, pub. 1979 by The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
Stevenson Robert L., Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales. (USA: oxford university press, 2008)
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Michael Patrick Gillespie, Editor. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007.
a level area of land. She is not concerned about the shape of the plot
Anyone with even a moderate background in science has heard of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Since the publishing of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, Darwin’s ideas have been debated by everyone from scientists to theologians to ordinary lay-people. Today, though there is still severe opposition, evolution is regarded as fact by most of the scientific community and Darwin’s book remains one of the most influential ever written.
Lennox, James. "Darwinism." Stanford University. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010 Edition). , 13 Aug. 2004. Web. 12 May 2014.
such as the quality of life of a country. And in turn how does the
Page, Norman. "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson." Encyclopedia of the Novel. Eds. Paul Schellinger, Christopher Hudson, and Marijke Rijsberman. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998.
I have been given 1000 meters of fencing and my aim is to find out the
How Light Affects the Stomatal Opening in a Leaf Abstract = == == ==
Klin, Candyce. “Darwinism as A Cultural Issue” Cedar Crest College, 2 June 2001. Web. 17
Wilde, Oscar, and Michael Patrick. Gillespie. The Picture of Dorian Gray: Authoritative Texts, Backgrounds, Reviews and Reactions, Criticism. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2007. Print.
Wilde, O. (1945). The picture of Dorian Gray. The Electronic Classics Series, The Pennsylvania State University. p. 3/ Retrieved January 3, 2014 from http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/oscar-wilde/dorian-gray.pdf
The Victorian Era is marked by Queen Victoria’s reign in England from 1837-1901 (Eras of Elegance). It is known for its attention to high morals, modesty, and proper decorum, which was inspired by the Queen and her husband, Prince Albert. Importance was placed on civic consciousness and social responsibility, including equality towards all. Science, technology and Christianity thrived. Humanitarian and religious organizations, such as the Salvation Army, reflected the Victorian concern for the poor and needy. The Church was wealthy and powerful. Only the rich could afford education, so most were left uneducated, unable to think critically. The people believed the word of the Bible and that was all that mattered. However, growing industrialization led to numerous challenges to Christianity. Education became available to all, so they had the ability to form opinions. Urbanization took effect. Problems included growing trends on materialism, nationalism, communism and higher criticism of the Bible (Eras of Elegance).