The Victorian Age:

As we can know by the name of this period, the Victorian Age coincide with the period of
Queen Victoria’s reign. When Victoria came to the throne in 1837 (after the death of
William IV her uncle), she was just 18 years old. She ruled for almost 64 years, and her
kingdom can be considered the second longest-lived kingdom of England, after the
Elisabeth II (the actual queen) reign.
The Victorian age was a period of great contrasts and contradictions (as said by Dickens),
we can say that this period was rich in prosperity (understood as material progress), wealth,
imperial expansion, stability due to the political and social reforms, which led to a general
feeling of faith in the future and optimism. Also, because the Victorians were heirs of
middle-class mentality, so characterized by strong dynamism, enterprising and pragmatism.
As for the positive aspects of Victorian Age, we can say that when Victoria came to the
throne, Britain was becoming to the workshop of the World, it was flourishing in trade
especially of minerals such as iron and coal and was facing a second wave of industrial
revolution as a protagonist. So, we can consider the Victorian Age as a period of
technological, industrial and scientific flourishing promoted in particular by Queen
Victoria’s husband (prince Albert) and started with the invention of steam locomotive, not
only important for materials transport that were faster and more productive but also
important for people transport that could travel easiest and faster. Regarding the most
important invention of this historical period, apart from the steam locomotive we had the
steam ships, that allowed to England to reinforce its control on trade and seas, also taking a
better control on different colonies. Communications also benefited from technological
progress, with the invention of the telegraph and a postal service. But not only, because
printing was also mechanized, this led to the process and to the distribution to be faster and
easier, as consequence we had the increase of literacy. These technological innovations
were presented in the 1851 Great Exhibition held at the Crystal Palace and promoted by
Prince Albert.
As a consequence, due to this scientific progress, we can also see an increase of economic
wealth. In economics the theory of Free Trade proposed by Adam Smith according to which
the Government must not intervene in commercial affairs, since the economic prosperity of
individuals would benefit the economic prosperity of the community and therefore of the
country was reintroduced, and replaced The Protectionism, that was introduced with a corn
law (1815) after Napoleonic wars when landowners to protect their profit imposed duties on
imported corn, so people were forced to buy local corn with an high price. The economic
wealth was also due to a series of reforms about the working-class condition, who since the
first industrial revolution were considered as slaves. The reforms were not only about the
social condition but also constitutional and electoral so, political kind. The first reform was
The First Reform Bill (1834) that had given right to vote to middle class but it had excluded
working class and women. This led to the creation of a revolutionary movement called
Chartism whose members belonged to the working class, they asked (failing) the male
universal suffrage so continuing to exclude women and also the payment of MPs (members
of parliament), but the movement failed. But Chartism creates the way to the Second
Reform Bill (1867), that extended the right of vote to town workers, so excluding
agricultural workers and miners. We to wait the 1884 for the Third Reform Bill that
extended the right to all male worker excluding women who had to wait the 1928 with
suffragette’s movement to achieve the right of vote.
As for women condition during the Victorian Age, we can say that they were educated and
trained to be excellent mothers and wives, from there the appellative of Angel of the House,
they had to be pure and chaste. So, was the father to be the Bread Winner, and as we can
understand we are in the presence of a patriarchal society.
A great contribution to the social development of the country was certainly due to the
campaigns, which were useful in promoting social problems, known by everyone but never
considered. This led to the enactment of different laws as:
~ The factory acts (1833): that was a sort of reform that limited working hours and
woman and child work.
~ The education act (1870): it imposed basic education on all children, so as to
drastically reduce illiteracy.
~ Public heal act (1875): it improves public sanitation (described by the author of this
period as one of the most important problem due to the industrialization).
~ Public Trade act (1875): authorized workers union
The political scene that characterizes this period is a bicameral parliament formed by
Liberal, whose representant was Gladstone and Conservatives, whose representant was
Disraeli. The political power of working class give rise to the Labour Parties.
The main aspect that characterizes the Victorian Age is certainly the expansionist
development of the Empire of England. The real aim of these expansion activity was due to
an economic reason, they want to protect their hegemony on oceans trade especially
between colonies, and in particular with India. India was considered the Jewel of Empire, so
the other colonies were instituted in order to preserve the trade with India. The Indian
Mutiny of 1857 was a series of acts of armed rebellion that resulted in a major generalized
revolt against the oppressive British colonial power in India of the British East Indian
Company. eventually Queen Victoria became empress of India. Also regarding, the Imperial
Expansion, we have to analyse the general feeling of the Victorians about this extended
kingdom. In general, we can notice a strong nationalism and the presence of a national
pride, also called Jingoism. This feeling derived from the idea of Victorians (as Britain) of
their racial superiority which translates into a moral duty which consisted in educating the
colonized peoples and improving their living conditions. So, the colonialism was seen by
Victorians as a philanthropic activity which allowed them to improve the quality of life of
underdeveloped Countries. Also, intellectuals discussed about this altruistic activity for
example Kipling, that in his poem “The white man burden” shares these philanthropic
activities. The real aim was really different, in fact, they want to preserve the commercial
and governmental power on the Country, also because they want to obtain new raw
materials and work-force.
Always relate to foreign policy, during the Victorian age were made different wars abroad,
that had the aim to protect trades. The most important were certainty:
- The First Opium War: fought in 1839 between China and Great Britain, was
triggered by the Qing dynasty's campaign against the British merchants who sold
opium in China.
- Crimean War fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula (1853) between the Russians
and the British, French, and Ottoman Turkish, with support the army of Sardinia-
Piedmont. The war arose from the conflict of great powers in the Middle East and
was more directly caused by Russian demands to exercise protection over the
Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman sultan. One of the most important events regarding
the Crimean war was the foundation of the red cross by Florence Nightingale. During
the Crimean war Florence Nightingale was surnamed “The Lady with the Lamp”,
because she created a field hospital to heal the wounded soldier.
Another relevant event during the Victorian age regards the relationship between Ireland
and Britain. We know, that the relationship between these two countries were difficult, as
represented by different authors of literature as Swift that in “Modest Proposal” analyse
using irony the behaviour of Britain compared to Ireland. But, under the reign of Queen
Victoria the relationship declined, because of a series of starvation, the most important of
which was the “Potato Blight”. This was a kind of potato disease on which the economy of
Ireland was based on. So, the population was forced to emigrates toward other counties, but
at the same time a movement was born to improve the Ireland social condition, in fact they
asked home rule but the proposal was rejected.
Victorian age can be considered as a period of contrasts and contradictions, so can be
divided into two seasons:
- The season of the light: where we can find all the positive advantages of this
historical period, as the technological innovation, wealth, richness and etc…
- The season of darkness: where we can notice all the negative aspects of this period so
crime, poverty, bad sanitation, the condition of working-class and etc…
As we can certainly understand, the advantages of progress do not always involve everyone,
indeed very often it is only the upper middle classes who perceive the possible advantages
given by progress. Progress does not benefit the poorer classes at all and they were forced to
live in the slums, that is, overcrowded neighbourhoods and in poor sanitation conditions. In
particular way the Poopers were also called Destitute and they were forced to work for long
hours in work-houses in order to receive in exchange food and shelters. Work-houses were
introduced with the “Poor Law” in 1834 also linked to parishes. Work-houses reflected
Victorians but indirectly also Puritan mentality, according to which poverty was a crime and
linked with laziness. Work-houses were so, a way to force the lazy to work harder and to not
rest unoccupied.
The Victorian age was a period of contrasts and contradictions, because on one hand we
have a period of prosperity, stability, wealth that contributed to Victorian awareness, their
self-reliance, their moral certain. Victorians were proud of their moral values, achievements
in science and technology, as a matter of fact they had a great faith in progress, they
believed that progress could be a solution to all kind of problem and also the only aspect
that could drive humankind towards self-improvement as said by Positivism. On the other
hand, we can see the dark side of Victorian Age, so a period of ugliness, decay and injustice
because as times goes by it became apparent that progress could not solve all kind of
problems, but on contrary it gives rise to more problem. This kind of contradiction passed to
History as “The Victorian Compromise”. In particular, we can see how there is a kind of
compromise between morality and hypocrisy in Victorian society. On the one hand, the
Victorians had a rigid moral code, based on values such as respectability, and therefore
having a good reputation, being philanthropic, giving charity. Show yourself, even only to
appear, as a citizen with a great ethics and morals. On the other hand, there is the hypocrisy
of people who were only apparently respectable and who in truth were the opposite. The
highest expression of morality was certainly the family a patriarchal family, in which the
father was seen with the fulcrum, that is, the one who provides the sustenance "The bread
Winner", and the mother was the one who had to take care of the family and the house. This
contradiction also derived from the philosophical theories of the time as the “Utilitarianism”
by Bentham, that has a materialistic philosophy of life. According to Bentham what is
useful is good, and every action that have a positive result on our life condition and give us
wealth (economic and social) has to be done. Another kind of compromise regarding this
period is between faith and science. We know that Victorian society was the result of that
process of evolution of the bourgeois class also derived from the Puritan one, therefore
religion has always played a pregnant role and the utmost devotion was part of those canons
of respectability to which families referred. During the central part of the Victorian age the
theories of Charles Darwin began to circulate, therefore gradually began to arise the doubt
about that absolute faith that the Victorians placed in Bible and in what in that was said.

The Victorian Novel:

During the Victorian Age, the relationship between writers and readers became increasingly
important. Previously, this type of communication between readers and writers had helped
to consolidate a new literary taste and had contributed to the development of the novel, in
fact the authors of this period become spokesmen of the middle class, where they come
from. They were interested, especially in periodicals. It was precisely in periodicals that the
first essays, verses and novels were published with “serial publication” (in order to increase
the interest of lectors). This allowed the writer to feel in constant contact with his public.
The story had to be interesting, otherwise the periodic would not have been bought by the
audience. A strong influence comes from the readers themselves, regarding the appreciation
of literary works and the formation of public opinion, and on the contrary opinion, the story
or the characters could be changed to respect the expectation of audience. Also, to preserve
the interest of lectors the writer had to introduce melodramatic or picaresque elements and
also unexpected events. The presence of these elements could compromise the logical union
of the story.
The Victorians showed a marked interest in prose, so the novel became important as a major
form of entertainment. Due to the spread of scientific theories, the novel becomes realistic
and analytical, also thanks to the spread of democracy it becomes social and unitary.
In this period, the idea of a thematic unity (introduced by Jane Austen) remains intact, but
the writers wanted to talk about social changes that have been going on for a long time, such
as the industrial revolution, the struggle for democracy and the growth of cities. Early
Victorian novelists described society with a realistic and critical point of view. They were
conscious of their society’s problem, such as the appalling conditions of manual workers
and the exploitation of children. but their criticisms were certainly less aggressive than those
of authors such as Balzac, Flaubert and Dostoevsky, because the historical conditions of
Great Britain were very different from those of France or Russia, and also because the
Victorian Compromise.
The Victorian Age can be considered as the golden age of novel for different reasons:
- First of all, we had an increase in literacy and therefore many more people could take
advantage of literacy productions.
- There were more cheaper editions so books and periodicals were easier accessible as
a consequence of mechanized printing.
- The novel become the major form of entertainment. Novels had an educational
background, and they guaranteed realistic plots. Victorian novelists gave in their
work a realistic picture of their society, they felt the moral duty to portrait the society
as it was, so with all the evils of their society such as, corruption the terrible
condition of slums, poverty, the suffering of masses, etc…. So, we can say that
Didacticism was one of the main features of Victorian novels. Novelist were made
conscious their reader about the evils of society.
Technically the events in the Victorian Novel were told in chronological order by a third
person narrator generally omniscient, that was used as a moral guide and also as a kind of
character’s personality analyser. The writers set the stories in the city, the main symbol of
industrial civilization as well as an expression of prosperity and also of anonymous lives
and lost identities, fallowing the dichotomy represented by the Victorian Compromise. For
this reason, to represent verisimilitude, the characters are realistic and often represent the
people (as in Oliver Twist written by Charles Dickens).

The genres of novel that spread in this period are:

- The novel of manners. They dealt with economic and social problems and described
a particular social class. The greatest exponent was William M. Thackeray.
- The humanitarian novel. It represents the life of the poorest people and denounces
situations of exploitation. An example are the novels of Charles Dickens, which uses
a lot of humour.
 - The novel of formation. Also called Bildungsroman (the most important are:
Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Dickens' David Copperfield), they deal with the
story of a character from youth to old age.
- Literacy nonsense. A particular aspect of Victorian novel is what is called
"nonsense", created by Edward Lear (1812-88) and Lewis Carroll. In his famous
novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), Carroll created a meaningless
universe in which social rules and conventions are disintegrated. It's a fantastic story
with an underlying moral.
During this period, the novels written by women Charlotte and Emily Brontë and George
Eliot also publish the first novels, enjoying great success (even if they sometimes hid behind
a male pseudonym). From Jane Austen to George Eliot, the woman's novel had moved in
the direction of a realistic exploration of women's daily life and values within the family and
community.

Charles Dickens:
Charles Dickens is one of the most prolific writers in English Literature, much of the
content of his novel is affected by events of his life, for instance when he was forced to
work. He was born in Portsmouth on the southern coast of England, in 1812. He had an
unhappy childhood. His father was imprisoned for debt and at the age of 12 he was forced to
work in a factory. When the family finances improved and his father was released, he starts
a period of study. At 15, he found an employment as an office boy, in a law firm and studied
shorthand (journalist) at night. In 1832 he become a very successful shorthand reporter of
parliament debates in the House of Commons, and began to work as a reporter for a
newspaper. In 1833 he started to write different Sketches using “Boz” as a pen name, in
which he describes London’s people and scenes, written for the periodical “Monthly
Magazine”. In 1836 he became editor of Bentley’s Miscellany and started his careers as a
novelist, producing works of increasing complexity. The first one was Oliver Twist started
in 1837 and finished in 1839, because of his monthly publication. He also wrote others
different novels, as “David Copperfield” or “A Christmas Carol”. The protagonist of his
autobiographical novels, became symbols of an exploited childhood confronted with the
bitter realities of slums and factories. Other novels such as “Hard Times” or “Great
Expectations” describes the conditions of poor and of the working class in general. He died
in 1870, in Kent and he was buried in Westminster Abbey.
As a Victorian writer he was interested to the problem of his society, his novel focused on
social criticism as matter of fact he documented the situation of work-houses, where poor
were forced to work in exchange of feed and shelter. He criticises certain aspects of
Victorian Compromise, such as the hypocrisy of people, material and spiritual corruption as
a consequence of industrial revolution, the result of Victorian morality on poor. So, his
novels have a clear moral aim. Didacticism is one of the main features of Dickens’
productions, his main purpose is to denounce the sufferings of poor, the exploitation of
children and the terrible condition of working class. We can say he believe in ethical and
political potential of literature, that can be considered as an instrument to educate and
inform readers about the problems of the time, that most of them ignores. So, he wants to
describe the society around him, but without a violent critic as a matter of fact he advocates
benevolence, compassion, a moral solution using reforms.
Setting:
Dickens like most Victorian novels choose as setting of is novels, London, that is the
symbol of Industrial prosperity with the invention of this period as the locomotive but also a
sign of despair, with work-houses and slums. London so, can be considered as the
embodiment of the Victorian Compromise.
Characters:
As for Characters we have to remember that Dickens was a great entertainer, he created
unforgettable characters coming from middle and lower classes, that he transforms using
different hyperboles, he emphasizes one of vices or virtues of that character as: physical
appearance, gesture, accents and making them as “stereotypes characters” also called
“Types”. His characters are therefore devoid of introspection, but interpret only the
stereotype associated with them. Dickens can also be considered a genius when it comes to
the creation of the names of his characters who very often tend to synthetically represent the
character himself, just think of Oliver Twist. The term Twist refers in a cryptic
interpretation to the various adventures that Oliver lives during the verse. Children are often
the most important characters in Dickens’s novels, children become the moral teachers
instead of the taught, the examples instead of the imitators. The novelist's ability lay both in
making his readers love his children and putting them forward as models of the way people
ought to behave to one another. We can undoubtedly understand that in Dickens’ production
good and bad character are easily divided, so we have the impression to be in front of two
factions.
Style and reputation:
Dickens employed the most effective language and accomplished the most graphic and
powerful descriptions of life and character ever attempted by any novelist. He did so with
his careful choice of adjectives, repetitions of words and structures, juxtapositions of images
and ideas, hyperbolic and ironic remarks. But we have to say that, caused by the serial
publication, he has to introduce picaresque elements and melodramatic elements, creating
sometimes a lack of coherence.

Oliver Twist:
Oliver Twist like other Dickens novels it was published in instalments and reflected much
of Dickens events especially the sense of frustration that he felt when he was a child, so we
can say that different episodes of his live become fictionalised. As a matter of fact, we can
notice autobiographical themes. Just by the name and as a consequence by the Title itself,
we can understand how Dickens wanted to represent or at least hint at the different
adventures and misfortunes that Oliver will live through history. Oliver Twist is born in the
1830s in a certain workhouse in England. His mother died at his birth, and her name is not
revealed. For the first nine years of his life, Oliver lives in an orphanage but is then
transferred to a warehouse later. He is bullied by some boys here to ask for more food after
their meals. Oliver becomes an apprentice for Mr. Sowerberry, who was an undertaker.
Oliver gets into an altercation with another apprentice who insulted his mother, and he is
forced to run away from the wrath of Sowerberry. He escapes to London. There he is tired
and starving when he meets a boy, Jack Dawkins who offers him some shelter. As it turns
the owner of the shelter is Fagin, a criminal who turns orphans into pickpockets. He is
caught after some confusion and escapes conviction for theft. Oliver is taken in by Mr.
Brownlow, a man they had stolen from. A portrait in Brownlow’s house resembles Oliver.
Later, two members of Fang’s gang kidnap Oliver and take him back to Fang. Oliver is
forced into burglary and ends up getting shot. The owner of the house, Mrs. Maylie and her
niece Rose take him in, and he is even invited to spend summer with them in the
countryside after they grow fond of him. Fagin is set on capturing Oliver again. Oliver is
reunited with Mr. Brownlow by the Maylies, and it is discovered that Oliver has a half-
brother named Monks who have been looking for him to ensure that Oliver does not get a
claim to the inheritance. Brownlow gets Monks to give Oliver his share of the inheritance.
Rose is discovered to be Oliver’s aunt and the sister of Oliver’s mother. Fagin gets hanged
for the crimes. Mr. Brownlow adopts Oliver. They relocate to the countryside with the
Maylies to live in bliss.

We can notice the happy ending of the novel, that is one of the characteristics of Dickens
novel. you can see from the novel the number of misadventures that Oliver has to face, these
also refer to the publication in episodes, as Dickens was forced to insert innovative
elements, such as twists or picaresque elements, in order to keep the public interest alive.
Naturally, in Oliver Twist, Dickens combined the story of an orphan with social criticism,
denouncing the terrible condition of poor and the bad treatment of orphan in workhouses,
that he considered as a product of utilitarianism. We know that workhouses were introduced
after the Poor Law, in order to implement the productivity of those who did not find work.
(RIPRENDERE IL DISCORSO SULLE WORKHOUSES DALLA PARTE GENERALE).
Obviously, Dickens use as setting, London, where Oliver gets in touch with three different
worlds. He comes in touch with the world of workhouses, whose portrait is an attack to the
middle-class hypocrisy, and their moral values, so themselves as the embodiment of Cristian
spirit, as a matter of fact they devoted themselves to philanthropic activity, such as the
building of workhouses. Oliver experienced the criminal world, where people have no
chance to rescue themselves, to redeem themselves, and we can consider the criminal world
as an alternative world to workhouses. When Oliver saves himself by the criminal worlds,
he discovers that not all the middle-class were was as he had known her, but a part of it was
really respectful of the dignity of people.