Victorian America

Louis Vuitton - Fashion, the atom - a revolutionary discovery, Abraham Lincoln - revered leaders, and the Civil War. All of these things were contained within a 64 year time period, the Victorian Era, named after Alexandrina Victoria, Queen of England, this time can be described as elegant yet, it shaped us into what we are today. No other times can compare as it is unique, incomparable to any other. Ladies in gorgeous gowns and men in nice and tailored suits is what first comes to mind, but there

The Victorian Period is marked by Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901. The Romantic Period preceded the Victorian Period and served as a transition period between 20th-century literature. The salvaging of themes in classical literature and medieval literature were repurposed into the writings of the English Victorian Period. The Victorian writers exhibited well-established styles of writing from previous eras, while at the same time pushing various customs to new and interesting directions.

Racism is not just restricted to slavery and blacks, racism can be applied to anyone, and in 19th century England this was a huge problem. The 19th century was a trying time for those who were concerned with the abolition of slavery, those who were opposed to it were greatly concerned about losing their wealth or just concerned with the principle of a lower race being free. However those who were opposed to slavery were sick of seeing other humans being treated so poorly and saw it as inhuman.

Sharp Objects follows a story through the eyes of a journalist named Camille Preaker. The setting is modern day America, in the 2000’s, somewhere down in the bible-belt south. Preaker – a white female in her thirties – has a multitude of mental issues, two recounted in the book are depression and self-injurious behavior (e.g. cutting). Recently being discharged from her 6-month care at a psychiatric hospital for the aforementioned ailments, she is sent for work to her hometown. There are two seemingly-linked

From past tales of Victorian monsters to modern movies with sparkly teenagers, the vampire genre has always been used to address issues in sexuality since its creation. Vampires are metaphors for us to project our sexuality and desires onto; they don’t have to follow the rules of society or culture, and because of this they let us examine sexuality and social roles more in-depth than ever before. Earlier texts like Dracula address issues with gender roles in the 19th century, while more modern

and it was their duty to keep their husbands and children proper. How they chose to deal with their new surroundings would have greatly impacted their families. Women offer an interesting perspective, as women were traditionally the epitomes of Victorian morality. Historian Lillian Schlissel writes that unlike the men, “...women did not always see the venture in the clear light of the expectation of success. There were often shadows in their minds, dark areas of reservation.”5 Women usually had

Oscar Wilde is one of the most celebrated playwrights and poets of the Victorian era. He led an incredible complex life, he was a gay man living in the Victorian era and was also interested in Catholicism. The influence of Catholicism and Christianity can be seen in many of his works. His struggles with his sexuality are also laminated in his poetry. The two often go together, Wilde struggled to rationalize his sexuality with Catholicism, this struggle is seen in the themes in his poems. The religious

dangerous by contrast to the femininity of their idealized counterparts, Amelia and Lucy. Both novels involve a man’s choice between satisfying his sexual desire for the dangerous girl and fulfilling his promise to the ideal girl. As is typical in Victorian novels, the narrators spend more time exploring the bad girl option than the less-exciting alternative. In the context of denying the novel’s focus on

In this figure 2-1, two women are walking bare feet and their head have been shaved because they have been accused of sleeping with the enemy. One can also notice the Swastikas tattooed on their foreheads. A French woman describes the fate of women accused of collaborating with the enemy: The war was not finished, but in Paris it assumed another form – more perverse, more degrading … The “shorn woman” of rue Petit-Musc… walked along with her wedged-soled shoes tied around her neck, stiff like those

Beauty Standards In her poem “Phenomenal Woman,” Maya Angelou is stating that the world’s view on beautiful women, or how they should look like, is ridiculous. She is not saying that directly, however, it is undeniable that her irony is present in this poem regarding beauty standards. Angelou speaks as a self-confident woman. She wants the world to know that what makes her unique and beautiful is her self-confidence, challenging stereotypes stating that as a woman, she is capable of surpassing preconceived