Nineteenth Century Insane Asylums No matter where they were, mad houses, or insane asylums, have the same basic features and functions. The views of asylum life changed drastically over the course of the nineteenth century. The growth of the number of mad houses during the nineteenth century is quite remarkable. Before 1810, only a few states had insane asylums. By 1850, most of the Northeastern and Midwestern states' legislatures supported having asylums. As early as 1860, 23 of the 33 existing
meat. By the nineteenth century, scientists had abandoned this theory (called spontaneous generation) as an explanation for the existence of visible animals, but not for diseases. Infections and illnesses were thought to have been caused by impurities in the air. Doctors did not understand the necessity of cleanliness when dealing with patients and were unaware that they could be transmitting diseases from one patient to another with their unwashed hands. Doctors in the mid-nineteenth century made
Public Health and Nineteenth-Century Literature "To envy nought beneath the ample sky; to mourn no evil deed, no hour misspent and, like a living violet, silently return in sweets to heaven what goodness lent, then bend beneath the chastening shower content." -Elliot The concerns and problems of the people living in nineteenth century England differed dramatically from those that eventually challenged those living in the same place during the 20th century. During the nineteenth century the English
The Suppression of the Nineteenth-Century Catholics Missing Works Cited During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, vicars were under direct authority from Rome, and controlled the Roman Catholic Church of England. It was not until the early nineteenth century, under Pope Pius IX, that the Church decided to split England into several smaller districts, each headed by a bishop. London papers began following the growth and leadership change of the Roman Church in England. One article in
Gypsies in Nineteenth-Century England Missing Works Cited Despite the important role Gypsies played in the nineteenth-century, they were not automatically accepted as equals in society. In fact, from the moment they set foot on European soil, the Gyspies were misunderstood and even feared. These feelings became manifest in prejudices, which led to discriminatory actions. At the same time, however, Victorian society found itself fascinated with these strange Gypsies. The gypsy motif in Jane Eyre
Sensationalism - Sensation Novels of the Nineteenth Century The "sensation novels" began to appear during the mid-to-late 1800's. The term first used by W. M. Thackeray, in his own Cornhill Magazine, was in reference to "a particular literary or dramatic phenomenon." Courtroom scenes, corpses, secrets, adultery, insanity and prostitution were all staples of the novel's plot that would offer the many unexpected twists and turns of the story. The author's goal was to have the reader feel basic
Orphans in Nineteenth-Century England There is no denying that the nineteenth century in England was a time of tremendous changes throughout the social and economical spectrums. As the adults adjusted to these changes prompted by the Industrial Revolution as best they could, many children, in particular orphans, were faced with poor living conditions that limited their successes later in life. Although most orphaned children were fortunate enough to be placed into sufficient living circumstances
Overcrowding and Housing in Nineteenth-Century London From 1801 to 1851, the population of London grew from under 1 million inhabitants to 2.25 million. This was due in large part to immigration, both from other countries and from the countryside of England. Hundreds of thousands of people were moving to the newly industrialized cities and towns to find work, having been squeezed off the land because of the enclosure of farms. There was also displacement of the working-class within the city
Education of Women in A Vindication of the Right of Women and Woman in the Nineteenth Century In two centuries where women have very little or no rights at all, Mary Wollstonecraft and Margaret Fuller appear as claiming voices, as two followers of feminism. Two women separated by a century but united by the same ideals. In these male- dominated societies, these two educated women tried to vindicate their rights through one of the few areas where they could show their intelligence: literature
The Female Martyr of Nineteenth Century Literature The literature of the nineteenth century is abundant with stories about children dying, partially because it was common for people to die young. One of the most popular forms of the dying child in literature is the martyr, who is almost always female. During the nineteenth century, white men held virtually all of the power in American society. The only way female characters could obtain power was through transcendence in death, but white
Education of Nineteenth Century Women Artists The formal education of women artists in the United States has taken quite a long journey. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that the workings of a recognized education for these women finally appeared. Two of the most famous and elite schools of art that accepted, and still accept, women pupils are the Philadelphia School of Design for Women and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (the PAFA). Up until the early nineteenth century, women
Women's Progress in the Late Nineteenth Century Women didn't gain the right to vote until the twentieth century but great strides were made starting in the 1840s to help women on their way to winning legal privileges and responsibilities. Below is rundown by year of the most important laws passed in England to try to help out the situation of all women, especially working and middle class. Just imagine what life would have been like before these laws were passed. We read all the time about
Work Conditions and Child Labor in the Nineteenth Century At the beginning of the 1800’s most laborers worked at home. The family functioned together as a working unit for the common good of all its members. Children would stay at home to help until they got married. They usually did not become contributing members until they reached the age of ten. Girls started somewhat earlier because they would be assisting their mothers with the domestic economy(Gaskell, 91). Agriculture was still the
Farmers everywhere in the United States during the late nineteenth century had valid reasons to complaint against the economy because the farmers were constantly being taken advantage of by the railroad companies and banks. All farmers faced similar problems and for one thing, farmers were starting to become a minority within the American society. In the late nineteenth century, industrialization was in the spotlight creating big businesses and capitals. The success of industrialization put agriculture
Hopelessness of the Irish in Nineteenth Century England Throughout my research into the subject of the Irish in England's industrial north during the early nineteenth century, one fact became quite clear; contemporary writers' treatment of the Irish was both minimal and negative. I consulted many sources, Friedrich Engels, Leon Faucher, James Kay-Shuttleworth to name but a few and the reoccurring theme as pertaining to the Irish in all these works was mainly consistent; the Irish were a lazy
Most of the reasons concerning agrarian discontent in the late nineteenth century stem from supposed threats posed by monopolies and trusts, railroads, money shortages and the demonetization of silver, though in many cases their complaints were not valid. The American farmer at this time already had his fair share of problems, perhaps even perceived as unfair in regards to the success industrialized businessmen were experiencing. Nevertheless, crops such as cotton and wheat, which were once the
Childhood Mortality in Nineteenth-Century England The issue of childhood mortality is written into the works of Gaskell and Dickens with alarming regularity. In Mary Barton, Alice tells Mary and Margaret that before Will was orphaned, his family had buried his six siblings. There is also the death of the Wilson twins, as well as Tom Barton's early death --an event which inspires his father John to fight for labor rights because he's certain his son would have survived if he'd had better food
Charles Dickens and Lawyers in the Early Nineteenth Century Lawyers. In today's culture, just the word alone is enough to inspire countless jokes and endless sarcastic comments. Far from being the most loved profession, lawyers have attained a very bad image despite the importance of their work and the prestige and wealth that usually accompanies it. Were lawyers seen in this fashion when Charles Dickens was writing his magnificent pieces of literature? The image of lawyers of that time may not
Jane Eyre and Education in Nineteenth-century England Jane Eyre provides an accurate view of education in nineteenth-century England, as seen by an 1840s educator. The course of Jane's life in regard to her own education and her work in education are largely autobiographical, mirroring Charlotte Bronte's own life. Jane's time at Lowood corresponds to Charlotte's education at a school for daughters of the clergy, which she and her sisters Maria, Elizabeth and Emily left for in 1824. Jane went
The Impact of Opium Use in Nineteenth-Century England Introduction Evidence from contemporary newspapers and other sources suggest that by the mid nineteenth-century England was beginning to realize the depth of its opium problem. Opium had been introduced by the Arabs around the sixteenth-century, England began to seriously trade it around the late seventeenth- century. English citizens, by this time, through its exploits, were using the drug for medical reasons. However, most of these new