Victorian Schools of Thought

The world today consists of children roaming the streets, technology taking over the world, and being able to work wherever you'd like but, could you imagine a life without all these things? Believe it or not there was a time in life where these things were very uncommon to see. This would be known as the victorian era. This time period was between 1837 and 1901. Daily life was very different from now. Health, social classes, and fashion are just three examples of how daily life was different in the victorian era.

“Manifest destiny”, the effects of industrialization, and the addition of millions of immigrants to American ranks mark America as it stood in the 1800’s. The introduction of a plethora of differing cultures and traditions meant that ideas of what it meant to be American were still forming as the country surged into its position as a global powerhouse. The “wild, wild West” had made its appearance as the Homestead Act of 1862 beckoned large numbers of landless citizens seeking to remedy such circumstances (Peopling of the West, 51). At the same time, Victorian standards for dress and poise still permeated the American middle-class. These strange cultural amalgamations of America in the 1800’s proved to be catalysts for the change that the turn of the century brought in – the millions of Americans on whose back the country had flourished sought recompense in the form of leisure to match their work. While the 1800’s had been chock full of Victorian values and industrious yearnings, the 1900’s entered with a demand for less rigorous social expectations. The Victorian values instilled in middle-class Americans were faced with a sudden challenge in the form of amusement parks that offered overburdened workers a respite from their dreary work days. While this new entertainment excluded some races, it allowed more classes and ethnicities to intermingle, enticed women from their traditional roles in the home, and disregarded the standards Victorian values had set for respectable

Spirituality, at its best, resembles a river, both dependable and mysterious. The Reverend, with his respect for tradition, embodies the steady timelessness that rivers and God share, while Paul?s stubborn wild streak represents the entities? indefinite, uncontainable quality. Through his spare yet lyrical prose, Maclean manages to both explicate and illustrate a balance between a prudent, rational Protestant existence and an unrestrained, whimsical one. This elusive equilibrium is Maclean?s path to faith. Religious belief should strive to be unshakeably firm while also flexible and ever-evolving; in this way, human convictions can serve the same unifying capability which Maclean claims for rivers. ?Eventually,? he says, ?all things merge into one, and a river runs through it? (104). Faith, along with rivers, leads to this universal understanding and harmony.

Religion is everywhere we turn whether we like it or not. Religion is in war; it is in the foundations of schooling and, in many cases, it is in literature. When we first began this course, religion was one of the first topics of discussion in the Declaration of Independence. Religion and how everyone sees God is especially important during the 18th century because it is a time where people begin to visualize God differently. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas observes the troubles of religion, and the troubles of thinking God is on your side. This book and Wieland: or the Transformation both examine the lives of those who proclaim to be religious, yet their actions say otherwise. These revolutionary books showcase how God is being

Thomas Paine had something in common with Emerson when it came to faith. He didn’t believe in any church; proof of this being, “My own mind is my only church” (Paine, 654). Emerson had these same ideals, he believed in the true self and the universal spirit; he says, “Trust thyself” (Emerson, 270). He enjoyed the silent church before the service began. He also embraced infancy because it is a model of nonconformity: he says “we are like children who repeat by rote the sentences of granddames and tutors…” (Emerson, 278).

Emerson in fact had a first hand account of having a difference in opinion when it came to religion. He started his career as a Unitarian minister in Boston’s prestigious Second Church, only to find himself doubting the very religion that he had committed himself to after his beloved wife’s tragic death (“Ralph Waldo Emerson”). At first, young Emerson attempted to search for religious solace and consolation but to no avail; there was simply a part of the philosophy that was false in his eyes. He tried to seek religious relief and consolation through his religion but to no avail. Thus, he became disheartened by the Unitarian philosophy and turned to other inspirations during his grand tour of

In 1837, the start of the Victorian era, Britain began experiencing massive changes in the culture of the nation and in the industrial sector. Cultural works began to move away from rationalism, and became more romanticized and more influenced by mysticism. Privacy became a hallmark of British life as well; the outer walls of citizens’ homes were transformed into a façade by which innumerable mysteries resided behind. This romanticized idea of mystery that seemed to lurk behind the doors of the common, everyday man became a prevalent theme in the works of many writers and artists throughout the time period. Robert Louis Stevenson uses this theme of not knowing the true nature of an individual, as well as the idea of duality, to develop his theme that an evil side lies within every man and that balancing both sides is vital to preservation of ones sanity.

Everyone has a hero, someone that they look up to and are influenced by. Joseph Smith Jr. and Ralph Waldo Emerson were revered during their times and are still worshipped and quoted during our times. In this Essay, I will try to tell the story of two very influential men during their times, Joseph Smith, Jr. and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Although their lives and jobs were different they have similar features that make them remarkable. Religion was very popular during the times of both men and they each respectfully had their commitments to God.

England’s Victorian Era lasted sixty-four years. It occurred during Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 (the year she rose to the throne) to 1901 (the year of her death).In the course of this time period, many important events took place such as The Irish Potato Famine, The Crimean War, and The Great Rebellion. The Irish Potato Famine was a time of disease, emigration, and mass starvation that lasted from 1845 to 1852 due to a terrible rot that attacked the potato crop, which the people had become massively dependent on. The following year, The Crimean War (one of the first “modern” wars) broke out in 1853 and ended in 1856 although Britain did not join until 1854. Originally the war was fought by Turkey and Russia due to Russia’s expansion into the Danube region which was controlled by Turkey, but eventually Britain joined in because it feared that Russia would continue its expansion down to British India.

While standards for “proper” behavior hold steadfast throughout nineteenth century’s England, Christian beliefs and moral standards that hold concrete in the beginning of the Victorian Era, begin to crack towards the middle, as a result of major scientific publications and theories that contradict much of the Christian faith. Men and women of the upper and higher middle classes receive books to guide them on “proper” etiquette in public, and if any individual digresses from these rules, their name arises in gossip everywhere, until another’s mistake becomes more interesting. Despite this farcical behavior, many men and women with an education, ironically also belonging to the upper and higher

Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, romanticism begins to fade, while the Victorian world begins to come into play. During this time, democracy and capitalism came together as one. Also, many poets described justice in two different aspects: spiritual and freedom. Carlyle believes capitalism should be replaced with a powerful individual whom is appointed (Ten Commandments) by God. However, Mill believes that a perfect society should be based upon individual freedom. Later in the Victorian period, the women of this period started to voice their opinions throughout Great Britain. These women started the Women’s Rights movement, and started joining the gentlemen by writing poetry through the two aspects of spiritual and freedom. So throughout

The Victorian Period was a great influence to the authors who composed novels at that time where distinctions between social classes as well as between men and women were strongly marked. During this period, it was precisely a woman who ruled. Alexandrina Victoria who was born on May 24, 1819 became Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from June 20, 1837 until her death on January 22, 1901. Victoria’s reign was one of the longest of a female in history. At only the age of 18, after her uncle William Henry IV died, she began a span of 63 years of reign. In spite of her independence and power, Victoria fell into a deep depression when her husband died in 1861 and ever since she wore black every day for the rest of her

Victoria was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 to 1901. She was the only daughter of Edward, the Duke of Kent. Her father died shortly after she was born and she became heir to the throne. The Victorian Age was characterised by rapid change and developments in almost everything. From advances in medical, scientific and technological knowledge, to changes in population growth and location. Today, we associate the 19th century with the work ethic, family values, religious observation and institutional faith. In 1840, Queen Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. At first, the British public did not particularly like the German prince, and he was excluded from holding any official political position. At times, their marriage was hectic because they both had

The Victorian Age's morality also condemned any kind of sexual reference in literature. Victorian critics demanded from "serious" literature a didactic content and respect to the Victorian conventions which established that sex

great prosperity in Great Britain's literature. The Victorian Age produced a variety of changes. Political and social reform produced a variety of reading among all classes. The lower-class became more self-conscious, the middle class more powerful and the rich became more vulnerable. The novels of Charles Dickens, the poems of Alfred,