The Victorian Era time period for England was a time of great growth and prosperity for society. Queen Victoria was in reign during this time period, coining the term Victorian Era. During this time, England found large technological advance along with many changes among the societal views, especially due to a shift in labor from agricultural to industrial. This era helped to move England along its way to a global power, earning much respect among fellow European countries in company with respect from colonies across the sea in North America.
Queen Victoria came into this world in the year 1819, in only 18 short years she would take her place on the throne. The young queen had much skepticism due to her age along with the idea of a feminine ruler having so much power. However, her ruling was quite strong in the fact that she had very strict views on society. These views brought great feminist dignity and grace as she focused among the importance of women in society along with the importance of England’s Military.
Victoria did not express much interest in patronage of the arts or science, but took tremendous pride in the direction of her military, along with its strength (Briggs 33). The strong and independent views of the young Queen Victoria set the tone for her ruling as well structured, leading to a time of great growth among the society. The people of Victorian England expressed tremendous importance on the reputation of oneself. Individuals in this time period felt that it was crucial to be successful in the society and workplace.
A large majority of the population during this era would conduct themselves in a manner found acceptable to the religious views of the Church of England, bringing forward the idea of appropriate manners among fellow members of a society. These manners were a crucial part of the society as they would help to increase the overall mood and happiness of England with its fellow citizens along with allowing the members of Victorian England to be considered kind and hardworking people. During this time period, England began to see a separation of the community into social classes that were determined by financial condition.
The lower, working class would have different morality views than the higher, richer social class, also known as the upper class. For example the romantic process varied among social classes. The upper class would have a much more thorough process for romance. These individuals would have to find love under the extensive supervision of his or her parents. Much of the time, these young individuals would be expected to be the recipients to a large amount of financial wealth. Finding a suitable romantic partner was crucial to the security of the family’s wealth.
However, the lower/middle class would have a much less extensive process. There were fewer implications among wealth and financial inheritance, but if a man were to suspect feelings for a young woman, he was expected to follow the announcement of these feelings with marriage (Sabine McKellen). All of these societal occurrences helped to set the prosperous tone of the Victorian Era along with the strict views of the queen herself. A large societal achievement during this era was thought to be the development of the middle class.
The members of this class were thought to be the great motivating factor behind the growth during the Victorian Era. This class brought to attention advancements such as bridges, stores, and railways. But not only did this class want these various objective advancements; they had also wanted the ability to elect and direct their leader These ideas reflect much of the governmental views in today’s ociety. Not only are these governmental views found in modern-day America, but the social division into classes is also seen in today’s society of America. The individuals of this society orked in large respect to themselves and not their elected leaders (Briggs 56). The Victorian People would work to better their own lives through bettering their society by introducing new ideas, inventions, and processes in attempt to make the country of England more successful and respected among fellow countries of the world. However, Victorian England also had changed views athletically. Prior to the Victorian Era, sports were tremendously rough and unforgiving. Many players would come away from a game with many broken bones, leaving them unable to work or function in society.
During this era, sports became much more tame and controllable, helping people to stay healthy. The development of rules helps to give them the ability to work. Along with the development of rules, longer work days reduced the amount of time a person would have to participate in athletic activities. The main sport mainly focused upon in Victorian England was a rugby type game (Alex Perry). This game would later develop into what is now played in America which is known as football. Sports were a large part of everyday social life for the working class of Victorian England.
Literature helped to bring a spark of imagination to the Victorian people. A still largely used form of writing during this era was still known to be poetry along with novels. A large number of these writing would address simple societal problems. However, another large topic of writing was supernatural forces and mysteries (Josh Rahn). A major contributor to this movement was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with his stimulating series including the major characters Sherlock Holmes and Watson. A quite tremendous literary figure during the Victorian Era was known to be Arthur Conan Doyle.
Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on May 22nd, 1859. He was born into a family with his alcoholic father, Charles, and his lively mother, Mary. He was raised in a normal childhood until the age of nine at which he was then transferred to a Jesuit study school known as Stonyhurst. At Stonyhurst, Doyle ran into conflict among peers with the issue of bullying, along with the quite harsh environment created by the teaching staff. However, upon completion of his grade school education at Stonyhurst, he was then expected to follow in his family’s expected occupation, art.
Arthur decided to attend the University of Edinburgh to study the topic of medicine. During his time at the university, he had met a few instrumental acquaintances. The most vital of which was his professor, Joseph Bell. Bell was a very smart, keen man. He was the inspiration for Doyle’s character Sherlock Holmes. Not only did Doyle meet Bell, he had also met two men by the names of James Barrie and Robert Stevenson. These two men were soon to be authors that would help to ignite Doyle’s imaginative spark for literature.
Upon the ignition of this spark, Doyle wrote two introductory works: Mystery of Sasassa Valley and The American Tale. Later, after his medical education he went on a sailing trip as a surgeon aboard a ship sailing the Arctic Circle. This trip led to the writing of a book named Captain of the Pole Star. Along with this book, the trip had made Arthur realize he did not believe in the Roman Catholic faith. He strongly followed the beliefs of spiritualism. As his life progressed, he moved away from his practice of medicine and began to focus his attention to writing.
Finally, he wrote the book A Study in Scarlet. This book introduced one of the most infamous characters of all Doyle’s work, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes, along with his sidekick, Watson, was and still is a couple of the most known literary figures known to literature. These characters, along with their journeys, brought great publicity to Arthur. Eventually, Doyle would die peacefully in his private garden on July 7th, 1930 (Biography. com editors). Arthur was a great literary figure of Britain and mirrored the curiosity and intelligence of England during the Victorian Era with his great literary works.
During the Victorian Era, technology was hitting a large surge of development. This surge was caused by the Industrial Revolution. This revolution required great amounts of labor from humans and technology would help with a large part of this. Among some of these advances were the steam engine and telephone. However the steam engine was one of the largest focuses in the Victorian society as it led to be the presiding source of power during this era. The steam engine would lead to the surge of dependence on railroads and trains as they began to become the most frequently used mode of transportation (Briggs 63).
These railways would help to widen Victorian England’s markets with fellow European countries. The widening of industrial markets would drive the wealth of England higher as income increased. Later, with the invention of the telephone came the great improvement of communication. This improvement helped to better the community’s social aspect, as it was much easier to communicate with on another. Along with the invention of the telephone also came the use of residential electricity (Briggs 58). The community had great curiosity with this electricity.
The people could not see it but it could power the different inventions to come along with it. All of these inventions helped to better the society in a technological standpoint, however these inventions had also brought conflict. The steam engine could work and transport without rest, meaning that more human labor was needed in the city’s factories (Briggs 61). The movement of workers from outdoor agricultural occupations to indoor, cramped working conditions would be the largest source of conflict in Victorian England. The tremendous growth of population in cities led to a significant rise in disease and illness.
With illness on the rise, pressure was placed upon the medical field to supply the community to answers concerning survival and health. The major focuses would be upon cholera, tuberculosis, typhus, and smallpox. The medical personnel needed to find a cure for these illnesses as they were causing a decline in available labor. A huge breakthrough caused by these great pressures was Louis Pasteur’s Germ Theory. This theory would provide evidence that illness was caused by small, living organisms known as germs or bacteria. He would eventually develop antiseptics that would help to prevent infection, especially during surgical procedures.
Ultimately, this theory led to fewer deaths in the community. Along with the development of antiseptic procedures came the use anesthesia. This allowed the doctor to have the ability to work at a slower pace with a much greater sense of precision. Ultimately, anesthesia would lower the death rate to illness along with Pasteur’s work. Unfortunately, women were largely unwelcome in the medical world except for small roles such as nurses (Bruce Robinson). Medical advances made during this time period were to later be instrumental in today’s modern practice of medicine, saving millions of lives across the world.
Victorian England was a time for prosperity for the English ople, however it came with great death tolls. The Industrial Revolution was one of the largest influential factors during this era under the strong ruling of Queen Victoria. With the revolution came great advances in medicine and technology. All of these advancements were mirrored by the hardworking, sturdy societal views of Victorian people. The world was influenced heavily by many of the developments that over many years have saved millions of lives.
