o 1 HISTORY WARM UP THE VICTORIAN COMPROMISE 1 Can you “The Victorian period was a time of contradiction, often referred to as the Victorian perenne ‘Compre bn the one hand there was the progress brought about by the Industrial dates of Queen Revolution, he cing wealth oie pet and mid lis ‘and the expanding. SETS power of Briain and its empire; on the other hand there was the poverty, disease, deprivation and injustice faced by the working classes. “The change brought about by the Industrial Revolution was rapid: towns apd cis eres ot an incredible ‘pace as new factories and industries were started and thousands of people moved to the cies s for work. The eae rons, developments and new industries showed how advanced the country was and how it was a world power, The upper classes continued to prosper and the middle classes had che possibility to smprove, themselves and their forranes. Under Queen Vict ign (1837-1901) the values of the Church, family and home ¥ese fundamental. The family unit was based around the authoritarian father, with the mother in a submis e role. Morality and respectability were key and society became almost puritanical ‘Monuments and buildings were a oeatructed to celebrate civic identity and pride, Philanthropy and charity were important, so libraries, wash Eouses and swimming baths were also buil to affow members of the working classes to improve themselves, sancyer, in reality, this was hardly possible. The mortality rate, disease and deprivation faced by the working classes in Victorian towns and cities across thé count some Of the jorld. People were forced to live in overcrowded rooms, in degraded slums ‘With a lack of hygiene. Young children were forced to oree fox example in textile mills, mines and as chimney sweeps, and poverty and debt were considered crimes ro be punished with imprisonment. - onsidered crimes Iris clear that the morals, beliefs and values of the Victorians were not reflected in the reality of the society. around them. Nonétheless, this contradiction meant many reformers fought to improve and change conditions for the working and lower classes, particularly in areas such as health and education.a J ge of progre: The Victorian age took its nafhe from Queen Victoria The Victorian era was fhe a ; in tice and social unrest and great social reforms but in the same time was characterised by poverty, injus (tensioni social) VICTORIAN VALUES The Vietorians were great moralisers. They promoted a code of values based on personal duty, __ Fespectability and charity These values were of equal application to all strata of soclety, but were given their essential Victorian form by the upper or middle classes. y was a mixture of The idea of respectability distinguished the middle from the lower-class, Respecta __ Morality, hypocrisy and conformity to social standards, It meant (significava) « 1# RiBisjanily sobinfieal Uae puioaled coal i = The possession of good manners [buone maniere); jage (carrozza); ‘The ownershif [proprieta) of a comfoRable ho: \dance at church (presenza regolare in chiesa); _ Charitable activity (ativitacaritativa) Philanthropy was a wide phenomenon that absorbed the energies of thousands of Victorians. Bourgeois ideals also dominated Victorian family life: The family was a patriarchal unit; ‘The man represented the authorit The women had the key role regarded the education of children and the managing of the house The categary of “fallen women’, adulteresses (adultere) or unmarried mothers (ragazze madri) or ~ prostitutes, was qpndemned and emargigated ‘ Q , Sexuality was generally repressed and prudery in its most extreme manifestations (nella sua estrema manifestazione) led (ha portato) to the denunciation of nudity in art and the rejection (rifiuto) of words with, sexual connotation from everyday vocabulary (vocebolario quotidiano), » elects /rodhs “pf fee F ave Loubv Wovk-ers he 2 pht Lovede /HR cae al i i o[pape 2 leroleo) do a2 puoke work ers -