The Victorian era, like any other, is characterized by its own unique features. When they talk about it, then, as a rule, there is a feeling of sadness, because it was a time of high moral standards, which is unlikely to return.
This period was characterized by the flourishing of the middle class, high standards of relations were established. For example, such qualities as: punctuality, sobriety, diligence, diligence, economy and economy have become a model for all residents of the country.
The most significant thing for England at that time was the absence of hostilities. The country did not wage wars at that time and could concentrate its funds for internal development, but this is not the only characteristic feature of that time, it was also distinguished by the fact that it was precisely in this era that the rapid growth of English industry began.
During this period, the young She ascended the throne and was not only wise, but also a very beautiful woman, as her contemporaries noted. Unfortunately, we mostly know of her portraits, where she is in mourning and no longer young. She wore lifelong mourning for her husband, Prince Albert, with whom she lived happy years. The subjects called their marriage ideal, but revered. dreamed of being like the queen respected by all.
An interesting fact is that during the reign of Queen Victoria, a custom arose for Christmas to decorate the Christmas tree and give gifts to children. The initiator of this innovation was the Queen's husband.
Why is the Victorian era famous, why do we often remember it, what was so special about it? First of all, it is an industrial boom that began in England and led to rapid changes in the country. The Victorian era in England forever destroyed the old, familiar, old and very stable way of life. There was literally no trace left of it before our eyes, it uncontrollably disintegrated, changing the attitude of the inhabitants. At that time, mass production was developing in the country, the first photography studios, the first postcards and souvenirs in the form of porcelain dogs appeared.
The Victorian era is also the rapid development of education. For example, in 1837, 43% of the population in England were illiterate, but in 1894 only 3% remained. At that time, the printing industry also developed at a rapid pace. It is known that the growth of popular periodicals has grown 60 times. The Victorian era is characterized by rapid social progress, it made the inhabitants of their country feel at the very center of world events.
It is noteworthy that at that time the writers were the most respected people in the country. For example, Charles Dickens, a typical Victorian writer, left a huge number of works in which moral principles are subtly noticed. In many of his works, defenseless children are depicted and retribution is necessarily shown to those who unfairly treated them. Vice is always punishable - this is the main direction of social thought of that time. This was the Victorian era in England.
This time was characterized not only by the flourishing of science and art, but also by a special style in clothing and architecture. In society, everything is subject to the rules of "decency". Suits and dresses, both for men and women, were strict but refined. Women, going to the ball, could wear jewelry, but they could not afford to put on makeup, as this was considered the lot of women of easy virtue.
Victorian architecture is a special property of that time. This style is loved and popular so far. It has luxury and a variety of decorative elements, it is attractive to modern designers. The furniture of that time was solemn, with stucco lush forms, and many chairs with high backs and curved legs are still called "Victorian".
A lot of small tables with oddly shaped ottomans and, of course, paintings and photographs were an indispensable attribute of every decent house. Tables were always covered with long lace tablecloths, and heavy, multi-layered curtains covered the windows. It was a style of luxury and comfort. This is how the stable and prosperous middle class lived in the Victorian era, which ensured the prosperity of England for many years.
Victorian architecture is, first of all, a successful mixture of such styles as: neo-gothic, styles, and also there are elements in it. Architects used rich details with pleasure, used bright decorative techniques. This style is characterized by very high windows that resembled an inverted shield, elegant wood paneling, traditional granite fireplaces, and fences with majestic Gothic spiers.
The British, who lived in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, that is, in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, witnessed rapid changes and scientific discoveries that changed their life at its very core.
Some of the innovations brought about by the new age have had unexpected and sometimes terrible consequences.
Cheap bread with alum
In order to feed the rapidly growing population of London and other large cities and at the same time make as much profit as possible, bakery owners invented ways to make production cheaper. 
Gypsum, bean flour, chalk or alum were added to the dough. Alum is an inorganic substance containing aluminum atoms, used today as a detergent.
In those days, with their help, whiteness was given to bread, replacing part of the flour with alum. A person who ate such surrogate bread suffered from malnutrition. Also, alum was the cause of diseases of the digestive tract in children, often fatal.
Boric acid in milk
Not only the bread recipe changed - an analysis of twenty thousand samples of milk taken in 1882 found foreign substances in every fifth sample. The composition of milk was changed not by merchants, but by the farmers themselves - it was believed that boric acid eliminates the characteristic smell and taste of sour milk. Buyers were assured that this is a completely harmless additive, but this was a mistake. 
Even small amounts of boric acid cause nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and diarrhea. But this was not the main danger. Before the discovery of the pasteurization process, milk often contained bovine tuberculosis pathogens, and boric acid creates an environment favorable for the growth of bacteria.
Bovine tuberculosis affects the internal organs and bones of the spine. During the Victorian era, approximately half a million children died of bovine milk-borne tuberculosis. On the site you can read about the most famous epidemics in the world.
Dangerous bathrooms
As we know, the bathroom in the house is a Victorian invention that has taken root all over the world, but at first it could be a very dangerous place. In the bathroom, one could not only get burned with boiling water, but even fly into the air. 
The explosions were caused by accumulations of methane and hydrogen sulfide emitted by the waste, rising to the upper floors and exploding from the fire of a candle or a kerosene lamp. Later changes in sewer designs solved this problem.
killer stairs
The number of floors in houses grew rapidly, but stairs, especially those intended for servants, have not changed since the days of two- and three-story buildings. Too steep and narrow, with unequal intervals between steps, they were often deadly. A maid with a heavy tray, entangled in a long skirt, could easily become a victim of the negligence of the builders. 
Flammable parksin
A now-forgotten British chemist, Alexander Parkes, invented an easily moldable material that today we would call plastic. The discoverer dubbed the substance parksin, but it soon became known under the American trade name "celluloid".The industry welcomed the new material - everything from brooches to combs and billiard balls, previously available only to a few and made from ivory, was made from it. Celluloid collars and cuffs were easily cleaned of dirt.
Unfortunately, it turned out that parksin is highly flammable, and if partially decomposed, it can ignite spontaneously and even explode on impact. To put it mildly, not an ideal raw material for billiard balls.
Phenol poisoning
The Victorians regarded cleanliness as a companion of morality and respectability. The opinion is deeply rooted that external neatness is an indispensable attribute of piety. Advances in science only increased the zeal of housewives in the war against microbes, which, as they now knew, were not visible to the eye. 
New household products were advertised aggressively and were highly effective, but their toxic ingredients, such as phenol or carbolic acid, were often found in the home alongside harmless substances. Cooking baking powder could easily be confused with caustic soda.
In September 1888, the Aberdeen Evening Express reported a massive phenol poisoning with five deaths. Only in 1902, a special act forbade the sale of dangerous chemicals in the same bottles as ordinary products.
Radium
In Edwardian times, a magical new element, a source of energy and light, was discovered that caused excitement in society - radium. The authorship of the discovery belongs to Maria Sklodowska-Curie and her husband. It quickly became fashionable and found use in cigarettes, condoms, cosmetics, toothpaste and even chocolate. 
In addition, watches with luminous dials have become fashionable. As we all now know, radium is a source of radioactive radiation. Once inside the body, it causes anemia, bone fragility, jaw necrosis and leukemia. It is known that Marie Curie herself wore a radium medallion on her chest, and eventually died of cancer.
wonder material
Edwardian engineers thought they had discovered a marvelous material—a non-flammable, cheap, and pure mineral. It was used to make anything - hair dryers, floor tiles, toys, kitchen mitts, thermal insulation, even clothing. 
As it turned out later, the miracle material, and simply asbestos, is deadly. Asbestos fibers lead to the destruction of lung tissue. We still do not know how many deaths were caused by the use of asbestos, because it can still suffer from it in our time.
Refrigerators
Home refrigerators appeared in ordinary homes during the Edwardian era. They were a symbol of progress and prosperity, but were far from reliable. Leaks of poisonous gases such as ammonia, methyl chloride and sulfur dioxide could easily lead to fatal poisoning. 
Electricity
Electricity in the house was an outstanding innovation. At first, people did not understand how to use it - warning signs advised them not to approach the electrical panel with matches. 
At the beginning of the 20th century, electric companies decided to interest the consumer in the use of electricity not only for lighting. Some of these attempts failed - the electric tablecloth, which could be directly connected to incandescent bulbs, did not interact well with spilled water.
But the real danger was caused by users trying to connect several devices to one outlet or fix the breakdown themselves. The newspapers were full of reports of deaths.
Even something as beautiful as progress can become a real danger. Insufficiently researched discoveries often lead to tragic consequences. The editors of the site invite you to read about the largest man-made disasters in the world.
Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen
Queen Victoria
In the Victorian era - this is the period of the reign of Victoria - Queen of Great Britain (1837-1901).
It was in the second half of the 19th century that England showed its power to the whole world.
As a colonial empire, England developed industry with the help of the firm positions of the bourgeoisie. Neither war nor class struggle interfered. England during the Victorian era was a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system and a two-party system.
This time period was characterized by such phenomena as:
- no major wars;
- savings stabilization;
- industrial development.
The Victorian era is also known as the Railway Age or the Age of Coal and Iron.
The period of the reign of Queen Victoria was not accidentally dubbed the railway. When construction began in 1836, the railroads covered the entire country within 10 years.
On the streets you could see cabs, omnibuses, and if you go to the countryside, then cabriolets and chariots drove around more.
An omnibus is something like a horse-drawn bus.
For the first time they began to use the electric telegraph, the sailing fleet was replaced by iron and steel steam ships. In production, pig iron was smelted, half of the reserves of which were supplied to other countries by Britain.
By the way, foreign trade gave big profits. The gold mines in North America and Australia did their job, and England took a leading position in world trade.
Agriculture also got off the ground, and now one could see machines that facilitate agricultural work. When the "Corn Laws" were canceled in 1846, social tension subsided, as the working people finally saw worthy incomes for themselves.
The Corn Laws are laws that were in force in Great Britain from 1815 to 1846. Any imported bread was taxed to protect English farmers.
But social inequality as a phenomenon has not disappeared; rather, on the contrary, it has become as contrasting as possible. One researcher even spoke of two races in England, the red-cheeked and the sallow-complexioned race.
The poor often didn't even have a roof over their heads, and those who were more fortunate huddled in the damp slums across the Thames. Poverty reached such an extent that at the age of 30 young people looked like 60-year-olds, losing their ability to work and strength. And malnutrition, miserable living conditions were just one of the reasons for this order of things - the owners forced their workers to work for 18 hours.
At the same time, lords, high churchmen, ambassadors and dignitaries of the state settled in the west of the city in their magnificent mansions. They adored hunting, racing, swimming, boxing, and in the evening they went to balls and theaters, where high society ladies wore corsets in fashion.
However, only the richest among the aristocrats could afford this, while the rest - officials, merchants and the highest paid workers - had fun only on Sunday, relaxing in the city park on the lawn.
Queen Victoria was only 18 years old when she took the throne in 1837. She ruled for 64 of her 82 years of life. She was respected, although there was no need to talk about a brilliant mind or talents. Throughout her life, she adhered to the principle of "reigning, but not ruling", giving all the reins of government into the hands of the ministers.
Sources:
- Encyclopedia for children. Volume 1. World History
- http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_laws
- Soroko-Tsyupa O., Smirnov V., Poskonin V. The world at the beginning of the 20th century, 1898 - 1918
Meet the Victorians - the wildest of all civilized creatures in the world.
Tata Oleinik
The years are merciless. Some thirty years pass - and the young coquette in pink frills turns into a caricature of herself (unless, of course, she has the wisdom to change her wardrobe, manners and habits). The same thing happened to England in the 19th century. Having met the young age with classicism, enlightenment, strict morality and other miracles of the Regency era, this stately maiden with a proud profile, by the end of the century England arrived in the form of an aged prude in lace bustles and glass beads.
Well, well, an old woman arrived there in a car, accompanied by airplanes, owning a good half of the land on this planet, but she did not become less funny from such magnificence.
In general, the Victorian era is one continuous contradiction. This is the time of the most daring discoveries and the most cautious morals; a time when a person was as free as possible and at the same time entangled hand and foot with a dense network of rules, norms and social contracts. This is the time of the most false hypocrisy and the most daring movement of thought, the time of impeccable rationality and nonsense elevated to the rank of virtue ... In short, the Victorians are worth having a passionate interest in them.
Little woman in black
It is probably still worth starting with the queen, who gave the era its name. Never before has such an insignificant creature been on such a high throne (in any case, managed to stay on this throne). Alexandrine Victoria of Hanover became ruler of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1837 at the age of 18. She was a plump little girl a little over five feet tall, not the sharpest mind, and extremely well-bred. The fact that someday she would have to become a queen, the little one knew from infancy.
Her father died when Victoria was still quite a baby, and there was no one closer to the throne than she was in the family. The British, having already learned over the past centuries that a woman on the British throne is almost guaranteed prosperity for the country, did not try to find a suitable blood for her to replace the boy, and this turned out to be a far-sighted decision.
When little Victoria talked about her coming reign, she reported that "it will be good, very, very good." Usually, growing up, we are not in a hurry to implement our childhood plans (otherwise, there would be no breathing space around from astronauts, firefighters and ice cream sellers), but Victoria turned out to be a person of her word. At least she wasn't bad. Brought up in the already mentioned era of the Regency, above all, the queen put morality and virtue.
Morality and virtue, however, can be very bloody tools of power, but it all depends on the scale of the personality of the one who undertook to look after them. Fortunately, Victoria was just a little good-natured philistine and managed to remain so even when half the world obeyed her rule - a test that would have broken even the most powerful titans of the human race. At a very young age, she married a distant relative and defiantly adored her husband.
Victoria gave birth to children annually, and soon the royal family consisted of a brood of nine princes and princesses. So after some time, almost all the monarchs of Europe turned out to be sons-in-law, grandchildren and granddaughters of Victoria, who added the nickname “grandmother of Europe” to the titles of Queen of Great Britain, Empress of India and others. (Empress Alexandra, the wife of our Nicholas II, was the granddaughter of Victoria *.)
* Note Phacochoerus "a Funtik:
“In fact, the fertility of Victoria led to tragic consequences for the European monarchy. She turned out to be the ancestor of the most dangerous mutation leading to hemophilia - a disease in which blood coagulates very poorly and any scratch can be fatal. Only men get sick with it, but they cannot pass it on to their descendants, but women, remaining only carriers of a dangerous gene, risk giving birth to sick sons.
Tsarevich Alexei, the son of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, suffered from this very disease, inherited from his great-grandmother. In general, the deck is shuffled in an interesting way. If Victoria had not been a carrier of the hemophilia gene, the Tsarevich would have been healthy, his parents would not have fallen under the influence of Rasputin, who knew how to alleviate the suffering of the boy, and, perhaps, our story would have gone in a completely different direction. And this comment would not be read by you at all, but by some completely different person.
After the death of her husband, Prince Albert (he died of typhus), Victoria wore mourning all her life. True, this did not prevent the queen from having an affair, apparently absolutely platonic, with his former valet, the Scot John Brown, who for many years was her closest friend and confidant.
Was Victoria really a dim-witted creature? This question is up in the air. She handled parliament, ministers, and admirals with the ease with which a wise mother of a large Victorian family handled the male part of the family, respecting their opinions with utmost respect in words and not taking them into account when it came to business. The fact that, under the leadership of the Queen, England has finally become a world leader in everything related to the economy, progress, science, technology and culture, is in any case beyond doubt. And the Queen's love of moralizing plays, smelling salts and embroidered napkins should not deceive us too much.
Victoria ruled the country for 63 years and died three weeks after the turn of the 20th century, in January 1901.
Everyone in their place
The best-selling titles in Victorian England were:
a) Bible and edifying religious pamphlets;
b) books on etiquette;
c) housekeeping books.
And this selection very accurately describes the situation there. Led by a burgher queen, the British were filled with what Soviet textbooks liked to call "bourgeois morality." Shine, splendor, luxury were now considered things not quite decent, fraught with depravity. The royal court, which for so many years was the center of freedom of morals, breathtaking toilets and shining jewels, turned into the abode of a person in a black dress and a widow's cap.
The sense of style made the aristocracy also slow down in this matter, and it is still widely believed that no one dresses as badly as the highest English nobility.
Economy was elevated to the rank of virtue. Even in the houses of the lords, from now on, for example, candle stubs were never thrown away - they had to be collected and then sold to candle shops for pouring.
Modesty, diligence and impeccable morality were prescribed to absolutely all classes. However, it was quite enough to seem the owner of these qualities: they did not try to change the nature of a person here. Agatha Christie once compared the Victorians to steam boilers that boil inside (and every now and then someone leans back with a terrible whistle).
You can feel whatever you want, but betraying your feelings or doing inappropriate acts is highly discouraged, unless, of course, you valued your place in society. And the society was arranged in such a way that almost every inhabitant of Albion did not even try to jump a step higher. God grant that you have the strength to hold on to the one you are occupying now.
Inconsistency with one's position was punished mercilessly by the Victorians. If the girl's name is Abigail, she will not be hired as a maid in a decent house, as the maid must have a simple name such as Ann or Mary. The footman must be tall and able to move dexterously. A butler with an unintelligible pronunciation or a too direct look will end his days in a ditch. A girl who sits like this will never get married. Don't wrinkle your forehead, don't spread your elbows, don't sway as you walk, otherwise everyone will think you're a brick factory worker or a sailor: that's exactly how they're supposed to walk. If you drink your food with your mouth full, you won't be invited to dinner again. When talking to an older lady, bow your head slightly. A person who signs his business cards so clumsily cannot be accepted in a good society.
Everything was subject to the most severe regulation: movements, gestures, voice timbre, gloves, topics for conversation. Every detail of your appearance and mannerisms had to scream eloquently about what you are, or rather, you are trying to represent.
A clerk who looks like a shopkeeper is ridiculous; the governess, dressed like a duchess, is outrageous; a cavalry colonel should behave differently from a country priest, and a man's hat says more about him than he could tell about himself. Being Sherlock Holmes in Victorian England is like being a duck in a pond, that is, natural to the extreme.
Victorian feeling naked
A living person fit extremely poorly into the Victorian value system, where each subject was supposed to have a specific set of required qualities. Therefore, hypocrisy was considered not only permissible, but also obligatory.
To say what you don't think, to smile if you feel like crying, to lavish pleasantries on people who shake you - this is what is required of a well-mannered person. People should be comfortable and comfortable in your company, and what you feel yourself is your own business. Put everything away, lock it up, and preferably swallow the key. Only with the closest people you can sometimes afford to move the iron mask that hides the true face by a millimeter. In return, society readily promises not to try to look inside you.
What the Victorians did not tolerate was nudity in any form - both mental and physical. And this applied not only to people, but also to any phenomena in general. Here is what Christina Hughes, author of Daily Life in the Regency and Victorian England, writes: “Of course, the fact that the Victorians put pantaloons on the legs of furniture so as not to conjure up an indecent allusion to human legs is an anecdote phrase. But the truth is that they really couldn't stand anything open, naked and empty."
If you have a toothpick, then there should be a case for it. The case with the toothpick should be stored in a box with a lock. The box should be hidden in a chest of drawers locked with a key. So that the chest of drawers does not seem too bare, you need to cover every free centimeter with carved curls and cover it with an embroidered bedspread, which, in order to avoid excessive openness, should be made with figurines, wax flowers and other nonsense, which is desirable to cover with glass caps.
The walls were hung with decorative plates, engravings and paintings from top to bottom. In those places where the wallpaper still managed to immodestly crawl out into the light of God, it was clear that they were decently dotted with small bouquets, birds or coats of arms. There are carpets on the floors, smaller rugs on the carpets, the furniture is covered with bedspreads and dotted with embroidered pillows.
Today's directors, who make films based on Dickens or Henry James, have long given up on attempts to recreate real interiors of the Victorian era: it would simply be impossible to see the actors in them.
But human nakedness, of course, had to be carefully hidden, especially female. The Victorians considered women as some kind of centaurs, who have the upper half of the body (undoubtedly, the creation of God), but there were doubts about the lower half. The taboo extended to everything connected with the legs. The very word was forbidden: they were supposed to be called "limbs", "members" and even "pedestal". Most of the words for pants were taboo in good society. The case ended with the fact that in stores they began to be quite officially titled "unnamed" and "ineffable."
As the corporal punishment researcher James Bertrand wrote, “an English teacher, regularly pulling off this part of the toilet from his students to perform due punishment, would never say aloud either its name, or, of course, the name of the part of the body it covers.”
Men's trousers were sewn in such a way as to hide the anatomical excesses of the stronger sex from the eyes as much as possible: dense fabric pads along the front of the trousers and very tight underwear were used.
As for the women's pedestal, it was generally an extremely forbidden territory, the very outlines of which were to be destroyed. Huge hoops were put on under skirts - crinolines, so 10-11 meters of matter easily went on a lady's skirt. Then bustles appeared - lush pads on the buttocks, designed to completely hide the presence of this part of the female body, so that modest Victorian ladies were forced to walk, dragging behind them cloth priests with bows, protruding half a meter back.
At the same time, the shoulders, neck and chest were not considered so obscene for quite a long time to hide them excessively: the ballroom necklines of that era were quite bold. Only towards the end of Victoria's reign did morality get there, wrapping high collars under the chin around the ladies and carefully fastening them on all the buttons.
Ladies and gentlemen
In general, there are few societies in the world in which the relationship between the sexes would please an outsider's eye with reasonable harmony. But Victorians' sexual segregation is in many ways unparalleled. The word "hypocrisy", already mentioned in this article, here begins to play with new bright colors.
Of course, things were easier for the lower classes, but starting with the middle-class townspeople, the rules of the game became extremely complicated. Both sexes got it to the fullest.
According to the law, a woman was not considered separately from her husband, all her property was considered his property from the moment of marriage. Quite often, a woman also could not be the heiress of her husband if his estate, say, was a majorate *.
* Note Phacochoerus "a Funtika: « Scheme of inheritance, according to which the estate can only pass through the male line to the eldest in the family».
Women of the middle class and above could only work as governesses or companions; any other professions simply did not exist for them. A woman also could not make financial decisions without the consent of her husband. Divorce at the same time was extremely rare and usually led to the expulsion from a decent society of the wife and often the husband.
From birth, the girl was taught always and in everything to obey men, obey them and forgive any antics: drunkenness, lovers, family ruin - whatever. The ideal Victorian wife never reproached her husband with a word. Her task was to please her husband, to praise his virtues and to rely entirely on him in any matter.
Daughters, however, the Victorians provided considerable freedom in choosing spouses. Unlike, for example, the French or Russian nobles, where the marriages of children were decided mainly by the parents, the young Victorian had to make her choice on her own and with her eyes wide open, her parents could not forcefully marry her to anyone. True, they could prevent her from marrying an unwanted groom until the age of 24, but if a young couple fled to Scotland, where it was allowed to get married without parental approval, then mom and dad could do nothing.
But usually young ladies were already trained enough to keep their desires in check and obey their elders. They were taught to appear weak, gentle and naive - it was believed that only such a fragile flower could make a man want to take care of him. Before leaving for balls and dinners, young ladies were fed for slaughter so that the girl would not have a desire to demonstrate a good appetite in front of outsiders: an unmarried girl was supposed to peck food like a bird, demonstrating her unearthly airiness.
A woman was not supposed to be too educated (at least not to show it), to have her own views and, in general, to show excessive awareness in any issues, from religion to politics.
At the same time, the education of Victorian girls was very serious. If the boys were calmly sent by their parents to schools and boarding schools, then the daughters had to have governesses, visiting teachers and study under the serious supervision of their parents, although there were also girls' boarding schools. Girls, it is true, were rarely taught Latin and Greek, unless they themselves expressed a desire to comprehend them, but otherwise they were taught the same as boys. They were also specially taught painting (at least in watercolor), music and several foreign languages. A girl from a good family was bound to know French, preferably Italian, and German was usually the third language.
So the Victorian had to know a lot, but a very important skill was to hide this knowledge in every possible way. Of course, only from strangers - with friends and parents, she was allowed to be even Spinoza, even Newton.
Having acquired a husband, a Victorian often produced 10-20 children. The contraceptives and miscarriage-inducing substances so well known to her great-grandmothers were considered so horribly obscene in the Victorian era that she had no one to discuss their use with.
* Note Phacochoerus "a Funtik:
« By the way, the development of hygiene and medicine in England at that time kept alive a record 70% of newborns for humanity at that time. So the British Empire throughout the 19th century did not know the need for brave soldiers.».
Gentlemen
Receiving such a submissive creature as a Victorian wife around the neck, the gentleman took a deep breath. From childhood, he was brought up in the belief that girls are fragile and delicate creatures that need to be treated with care, like ice roses. The father was fully responsible for the maintenance of his wife and children. He could not count on the fact that in difficult times his wife would deign to provide him with real help, he could not. Oh no, she herself would never dare to complain that she lacked something!
But Victorian society was vigilant that husbands obediently pulled the strap. The husband who did not give his wife a shawl, who did not move a chair, who did not take her to the water when she coughed so terribly all September, the husband who makes his poor wife go out for the second year in a row in the same evening dress - such a husband could put an end to his future: a favorable position will float away from him, the necessary acquaintance will not take place, in the club they will communicate with him with icy politeness, and his own mother and sisters will write indignant letters to him in sacks daily.
The Victorian considered it her duty to be sick all the time: good health was somehow not to the face of a true lady. And the fact that a huge number of these martyrs, forever moaning on the couches, survived to the First, and even to the Second World War, outliving their husbands by half a century, cannot but amaze.
In addition to his wife, a man also had full responsibility for unmarried daughters, unmarried sisters and aunts, widowed great-aunts. Although the Victorian did not have the extensive marital rights of the Ottoman sultans, he often had a harem larger than theirs.
Victorian free love
Officially, the Victorians believed that girls and girls were devoid of sexuality, or, as it was then called in a whisper, carnal lust. And in general, an unspoiled woman should submit to shameful bed rituals only within the framework of the general concept of obedience to a man. Therefore, the slogan "Ladies don't move!" was really close to reality. It was believed that a woman goes for it only in order to have a child and ... well, how should I put it ... to pacify the demons that torment the sinful flesh of her husband.
The public treated the sinful flesh of her husband with squeamish condescension. At his service were 40,000 prostitutes in London alone. They were mostly the daughters of peasants, workers and merchants, but there were also former ladies among them who took 1-2 pounds for their services against the usual fee of 5 shillings. In Victorian jargon, prostitutes were supposed to be named allegorically, without offending anyone's ears by mentioning their craft.
Therefore, in the texts of that time, they are referred to as "unfortunate", "these women", "devil cats" and even "Satan's canaries." Lists of prostitutes with addresses were regularly published in special magazines, which could be purchased even in some quite respectable clubs. Street women who gave themselves for copper to any sailor, of course, were not suitable for a decent gentleman. But even when visiting a hetaera of the highest rank, the man tried to hide this unfortunate fact even from close friends.
It was impossible to marry a woman with a tarnished reputation, not even a professional, but just a stumbled girl: a madman who decided on such a thing turned into a pariah himself, before whom the doors of most houses were closed. It was impossible to recognize an illegitimate child. A decent man had to pay a modest amount for his maintenance and send him somewhere to the village or a rundown boarding house, never to communicate with him again.
Humor, folly and skeletons in closets
It is quite natural that it was in this strained and decent to the point of complete nonsense world that a powerful opposition to the varnished routine of everyday life arose. The Victorian passion for horror, mysticism, humor and wild antics is the very whistle on the steam boiler that has kept the artificial world from exploding and flying to pieces for so long.
With the avidity of civilized cannibals, the Victorians read the details of the murders that the newspapers always put on the front pages. Their horror stories are capable of sending shivers of disgust even to fans of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Having described on the first pages a delicate girl with clear eyes and pale cheeks, watering daisies, the Victorian author delightedly devoted the remaining twenty to how her brains were steaming on these daisies after a robber with an iron hammer broke into the house.
Death is that lady who is inexcusably indifferent to any rules, and, apparently, this is what she fascinated the Victorians with. However, they made attempts to trim and civilize even her. Funerals occupied the Victorians as much as the ancient Egyptians. But the Egyptians, making a mummy and carefully equipping it in the next life with scarabs, boats and pyramids, at least believed that this was reasonable and prudent. Victorian coffins with rich carvings and floral paintings, funeral cards with vignettes and fashionable styles of mourning bandages are a futile exclamation of “Please be polite!” Addressed to the figure with a scythe.
It was from the early Gothic novels of the English that the detective genre developed, they also enriched the world cultural treasury with such things as surreal humor and black humor.
The Victorians had another absolutely amazing fashion - for quiet lunatics. Stories about them were published in thick collections, and any inhabitant of Bedlam, who had escaped from the nurses and walked along Piccadilly in "unspeakable" on his head, could entertain guests at social dinners in London for months. Eccentric persons, who, however, did not allow serious sexual violations and some other taboos, were highly valued as a pleasant condiment to society. And keeping at home, say, an aunt who loves to dance a sailor dance on the roof of a barn, was, though troublesome, but not deserving of public discontent.
Moreover, ordinary Victorians, especially middle-aged ladies and gentlemen, got away with strange antics, if these antics, say, were the result of a bet. For example, Gilbert Chesterton's story of a gentleman who wore a cabbage on his head for a week and then ate it (as retribution for the careless exclamation "If this happens, I swear to eat my hat") is a real case taken by him from a Devonshire newspaper .
We know exactly when Victorianism ended. No, not on the day of the death of the little queen, but thirteen years later, with the first radio messages about the beginning of the First World War. Victorianism is that wax bouquet under the cap, which is completely out of place in the trenches. But in the end, the Victorians could admire with trepidation the ease with which all this colossus of decency scatters into small rubbish, forever freeing the captives who have been basking in them for so long from their fetters.
The prim British in the era of the reign of Queen Victoria seem to be an example of decorum and good manners. It's hard to imagine, but the British of those years wore pantaloons with a hole in the most interesting place, and reputable doctors saved them from hysteria with a thorough massage ... of the clitoris. Rotten food and canned food with arsenic, dead children in the photo, the glutton queen, and other strange and nasty facts about the Victorian era.
Doctors of that era treated hysteria in women with masturbation.
In those days, female "hysteria" (i.e. restlessness, irritability, nervousness and other similar symptoms) was seen as a serious problem. But doctors have discovered that these symptoms can be relieved for a while with "finger massage in the intimate area," which, if done correctly, will cause "hysterical paroxysm."
Victorian pantaloons were, as it were, cut in two, the halves for each leg were cut separately and connected with ties or buttons at the waist, on the back. Thus the crotch (i.e., the crotch) was opened, which could be very convenient in certain cases, which we, being very well-mannered, will not mention.
Many historians believe that due to the lack of special hygiene products at that time and the fact that women's clothing consisted of many layers of fabric, most women during menstruation did nothing at all and allowed blood secretions to freely flow out and soak into petticoats. Other solutions to the delicate problem were the use of cloth diapers, which were fastened with a belt, or sheep's wool, which was glued to the vulva with lard. Thank God modern women have pads and tampons.
In the Victorian era, there were no such useful items as a safety razor. And although depilation formulations were already invented then, they were very toxic and were used only to remove hair from the face and hands. So the armpits, legs and intimate area were terribly overgrown. But given that they were all hidden under several layers of clothing, it didn't matter.
By 1860, about a thousand tons of feces were dumped into the waters of the Thames every day, since there was simply no other storage for sewage. And at the same time, the river was the main source of drinking water for the inhabitants of London. People were dying like flies from dysentery, cholera and typhoid, believing that dirty air was to blame. Oh, how wrong they were!
A written certificate from 1891 by Lady Harberton states that during a short walk around London, the hem of her long dress gathered together: two cigar butts, nine cigarettes, a piece of pork pie, four toothpicks, two hairpins, a slice of cat food, half the sole of a shoe , tobacco bar (chewed), straw, dirt, scraps of paper and God knows what else.
The "Age of Crinolines" lasted from 1850 to 1870. At that time, the dome-shaped shirred skirt became the basis of the women's toilet, the shape of which was given by numerous petticoats. Sometimes a lady in such an outfit really could not squeeze through the door. And you could inadvertently touch the candle and knock it over yourself, and this is really life-threatening. The satirical magazine Punch even advised husbands to purchase insurance for their wives specifically in case of fire due to crinolines. So this fashion trend did not last long.
Before the invention of pasteurization, milk could be a source of tuberculosis. It was impossible to rely on the safety of products, especially those bought in large cities. Unscrupulous traders sold rotten meat mixed with fresh carcass fat; bakers added alum and chalk to the dough to make the bread whiter. Arsenic was added to pickles and other canned foods to enhance the taste and make it brighter. Well, and kill the buyer.
Victoria hated spicy food, but as the ruler of India, she insisted on currying every day - just in case "oriental people" came to visit her.
As a child, Victoria was brought up in great strictness and was not allowed to eat much, so when she became queen, she did everything to catch up. She ate a lot and at an incredible speed, which was a problem for her guests - after all, according to etiquette, they had to finish each dish as soon as the queen finished eating it (even if they managed to bite off only a piece). In general, by today's standards, Queen Victoria was a rather obese woman.
A beauty-advice author recommended to readers: “Make a mask every night using thin slices of raw beef, which is said to protect the skin from wrinkles and give it a freshness.” Of course, if your dog does not gnaw your face in a dream.
This Russian boy was called Fedor Evtikhiev, and he suffered. Fyodor and his father Adrian were presented to the public as "the two greatest curiosities of our time." Their faces were covered with hair, which made them look like Skye Terriers. Subsequently, Andrian died from complications caused by alcoholism, but Fedor continued to "please people" for many more years.
In wealthy families, small children, regardless of gender, were usually dressed in white, elegantly decorated dresses with frills and lace. And bonnets with ribbons were also the same for both girls and boys.
The highest infant mortality rate was, of course, in the slums. The slums of Seven Dials in London and Angel Meadow in Manchester were so creepy they were called hell on earth. Manchester had over 30,000 workers, mostly Irish immigrants, in an area of just one square mile. The children there were left to their own devices, eating whatever garbage they could find, and some even eating cats and rats.
Rich people usually took photos, and those who could not afford this expensive pleasure hired an artist. For example, a kind-hearted artist named John Callcott Horsley often visited morgues to paint portraits of recently deceased children. Such a posthumous image was often the only memory of departed relatives.
In the Victorian era, when gluttony coexisted with incredible frugality, not a single piece of food was wasted. For example, whole veal heads were boiled for dinner, and brains were cooked as a separate dish: they looked like pink blocks floating in an oily sauce. Veal ears were shaved, boiled, and then fried in boiling oil. A kind of feast in the style of Hannibal Lecter.
Darwin not only studied rare animals, but also loved to feast on them. He joined the Cambridge Gluttony Club, whose members ate unusual dishes of hawks, squirrels, grubs and owls. And while traveling, the scientist tasted an iguana, a giant tortoise, an armadillo and a cougar.
