Victorian Age - Social Background

lingue

Victorian Age

Social Background

With Victorian Age is usually referred the period of the reign of Queen Victory, and a few of years after her death (the Edwardian Age).

It was an age of complex political, social and relig 333b16d ious unrest; there was a democratization of the reign, and also increased tollerance with Catholics, whose cause a little group of defender of the Church of Rome, the Oxford Movement; was enchouraged the scientific research and traportation sperad and improved.

The class that benefited most from this changes was the middle classe that was made up of merchants, bankers and manufacturiers.

The Victorians were proud of this condition of modernization, but there were some classes, expecially working class, in which misery and distress improved: whole families had to live in a single room, and the lack of hygiene led occasionaly to colera; the New Poor Law had not been a solution for the poors, and the creation of the hated workhouses, had often made a life like a hell; also the education had his problems: in fact the teacher were often incompetent and use corporal punishment to maintain discipline.

This situation, that saw the contrast between the middle class and poor class, and the increasement of corruption and ethical conformism, is usually called as Victorian Compromise.

In this particular situation was founded the Fabian Society, in 1884, by Sidney and Beatrice Webb; this was a corporation inspirated by Marxist doctrine, and was formed by socialist that not believed in revolution, but in a gradual process of reform. Its name derive from Quintus Fabius Maximus.

The manners of life and to speech had a deep change in this period: in fact, thanks to the Queen Victoria, the age turned extremely puritans. Tha word sex or vaguely sexual were taboo, and were replaced by euphemism.

In this time it's too valorized the family: the Victorian family was too large, and the father increased his power in the family.