Victorian_Era

The Victorian Era’s attitude and ways of thinking are seen to be reflected of a study of their texts and fictional characters, allowing responders to gain a greater insight in the 19th century context. The religious, economical and philosophical paradigms are utilised to aid in the exploration of the context. In Browning’s poetry, Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem The Beggar Maid and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, contextual values such as censorship, class structure and patriarchal values are identified and explored. This allows responders to develop a greater appreciation of the previous social and literary context of the 19th century ways of thinking. The Victorian Era is prominent for its acts of censorship following strong religious beliefs regarding appropriate sexual behaviour. Censorship arose in response to the Romantic era where composers often drew on human sensuality and emotions. This threatened the religious idea that a woman’s virginity could be affected by the exposure of sexual materials. As such, the Comstock Act 1873 was introduced in America to make any “lewd, obscene or lascivious matter...of indecent character illegal”. This allows responders to gain an insight of this enforced religious paradigm. The focus of the Victorian Era upon religion is shown in North and South. Mrs Hale is seen to have turned to God to remedy her sickness as she was “on her knees...evidently prayer for strength”. This implies that religion was a central concern in society. Furthermore, the move to Milton triggered Mr Hale’s doubts in religion also demonstrates the importance of religion in society. By moving away from his hometown so no one “can ever talk about me [him]” and isolate him due to his uncertainties in religion, it illustrates the heavy influence and power religion had over the lives of people. Thus it can be inferred that religion was a large significance of society as it had major affects on the lives if people during the Victorian Era. The connotations of sexual materials are conveyed in Browning’s poem, ‘Meeting at Night’. The imagery, “as I gained the cover with pushing prow” connotes sexual intercourse and the alliteration of the ‘p’ further adds to the creation of a heated and intense atmosphere. Hence, Browning ‘absents’ sexuality but retains his intended sexual message. The central nature of Christian values is also implicit in Jane Eyre throughout the story, reflecting the prominence of Christianity during its Victorian compositional context. However for Jane, religion helps control immoderate passions to stimulate on ones efforts and achievements. Jane’s world revolves around religion and it foreshadows her life exemplified in “Conventionality is not morality. Self righteousness is not religion”. The use of forthright tone and direct sentences highlights the possession of one’s rectitude is not a sign of devotion to God. As such, Jane Eyre conflicts in order to uphold the Victorian ideals and conform to the social conventions of the time by concealing transcendental endeavours. The economical paradigm of the Victorian Era reveals the relevance of the Industrial Revolution and its consequences for attitudes regarding class structure. The Industrial Revolution brought many conflict between the rich and poor class due to strikes and disagreements in low wages and poor working conditions. As such, relationships between different classes were perceived as immoral and did not often exist covertly. ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ portrays how interclass relationships were socially unacceptable through its depiction of the subsequent murder of an upper class woman with a lower class man. It is known that she is of higher class evident in the emotive imagery, “struggling passion free from pride” symbolises her aristocratic ties. This demonstrates her upper class status causing a concern in the relationship. However, when the man murders the lady, “God has not said a word”. This allusion to God, seen to be the creator of morals, indicates that it was the right and accepted action to do; end this interclass relationship. Thus it is explicitly conveyed that the class structure was rigid in Victorian society and interclass relationships were regarded morally wrong. The fairytale archetype of “rag to riches” is established in ‘The Beggar Maid’ to further enhance the understanding of the economic paradigm of different social classes. The poem involves the prince Cophetua being mesmerised by her beautiful charm and despite of her class, he marries her. The use of forthright tone, hyperbole and exclamation mark in “This beggar maid shall be my queen!” reveals the nonsensical belief in marriage. The historical context of the rift between the rich and the poor has remained deep. Moreover, individuals from lower class could not easily become queen suddenly thus making the situation unrealistic. The attributes of differentiating social class structure is demonstrated through the representation of the beggar being “barefooted “and dressed in “poor attire”. On the other hand, prince Cophetua is described as a “royal oath” which symbolises his nobility through the use of jargon. This attribute of the king endorses to the idealistic marriage between upper and lower class. The allusion of Tennyson’s poem eradicates the thematic concern of class conflict through the influence of romance hence resulting in an explicit and prevailing value. Correspondingly, in ‘My Last Duchess’ by Browning reveals patriarchal values present in the 19th century, showing the objectification of women. As the title suggests, the persona perceives his wide to be an object rather than a human which symbolises the patriarchal objectification of women. Thus is further endorsed by repetition of “my” throughout the poem, such as “my lady’s wrists” and “my last duchess”. This connotes signs of obsession and ownership by the persona and his belief that he posses the duchess, a woman. Furthermore, the metaphor “the curtain I have drawn for you” implies that the person keeps his duchess hidden away behind a curtain. Hence depicting that women were treated like objects where men could ‘hide’ them away. As such, both texts convey similar notion of a patriarchal society in the 1800s and gain an insight into the values and attitudes. Through the specific positioning of the persona as either adhering or rebelling against social expectations, both composers experiment with ideas and forms to create the dichotomy within the text to epitomise the paradoxical nature of the Victorian paradigms. As such, Browning, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Elizabeth Gaskell and Charlotte Brontë have presented their underlying tension of their time to a significant extent. This allows readers to comprehend the values and attitudes inherent in this time in the religious, economical and philosophical paradigms in the 19th century.