Frightening traditions of the Victorian era: death as an excuse for the show. Victorian era in England

In the Victorian era, real erotic and pornographic literary works like My Secret Life were in circulation. There was even a pornographic magazine, The Pearl... But the Victorian code of conduct, in fact, required not the absence of sins in a person - the main thing was that they should not be known in society.

The reign of Queen Victoria

The current attitude towards this phenomenon is at best ironic, more often frankly negative. In English, the word "Victorian" is still a synonym for the concepts of "sanctimonious", "hypocritical". Although the era named after the queen had little to do with her personality. The social symbol "Her Majesty Queen Victoria" meant not her personal views, but the basic values of the time - the monarchy, the church, the family. And these values were postulated even before the crown was placed on Victoria.

The period of her reign (1837-1901) for the internal life of England was a time of calm digestion after a grandiose gluttony. The previous centuries were filled with revolutions, riots, Napoleonic wars, colonial conquests... And regarding morality itself, British society in previous times was by no means distinguished by excessive strictness of morals and stiffness of behavior. The British knew a lot about the joys of life and indulged in them quite unbridled - with the exception of a not too long period of existence in the country of a powerful puritan movement (which for a time turned England into a republic). But with the restoration of the monarchy, a long period of considerable relaxation of morals began.

Generations of Hanover

The generations of Hanoverians preceding Victoria led a very dissolute life. For example, King William IV, Victoria's uncle, made no secret of the fact that he had ten illegitimate children. George IV was also known as a womanizer (despite the fact that his waist circumference reached 1.5 meters.), An alcoholic, and also drove the royal house into huge debts.

Prestige of the British Monarchy

was at that time as low as ever - and no matter what Victoria herself dreamed of, time pushed her to a fundamentally different strategy of behavior. She did not demand high morality from society - society demanded this from her. The monarch, as you know, is a hostage of her position ... But there were reasons to believe that she inherited the extremely passionate temperament of the Hanoverians. For example, she collected images of male nudes… She even presented one picture to her husband, Prince Albert, and never did this again…

Victorian code of conduct

The Victorian code of conduct is a declaration of every conceivable virtue

. Diligence, punctuality, moderation, thriftiness et cetera… In fact, no one calculated or formulated all these principles. The most concise summary of their essence is contained, oddly enough, in the American novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: “You are required to do a thousand of some unnecessary things just because it has always been done” ...

Victorian persecution of sensuality

Victorianism erected especially cruel persecutions on sensuality. Men and women had to forget that they had a body. The only parts of it that were allowed to be opened in the house were the hands and face. On the street, a man without a high standing collar and tie, a woman without gloves, were considered naked. All of Europe has long been fastening pants with buttons, and only in England did they use ropes and laces.

The principle of "separation of the sexes"

At the feast, the principle of “separation of the sexes” was observed: at the end of the meal, the women left, the men remained to smoke a cigar, skip a glass of port wine and talk. By the way, the custom of leaving the company without saying goodbye ("departure in English") really existed, but in England it was called "departure in Scotch" (in Scotland - "departure in French", and in France - "departure in Russian" ).

Open manifestations of sympathy between a man and a woman were strictly forbidden. The rules of everyday communication recommended that the spouses address each other officially in front of strangers (Mr. So-and-so, Mrs. So-and-so), so that the morality of those around them would not suffer from playfulness of tone. The height of swagger was considered an attempt to speak with a stranger.

The word "love" was completely taboo. The limit of frankness in the explanations was the password "Can I hope?" with the response "I have to think."

courtship

Courtship consisted of ritual conversations and symbolic gestures. For example, a sign of affection was the gracious permission of a young man to carry the young lady's prayer book upon his return from Sunday service.

A girl was considered compromised if she was left alone with a man for a minute. The widower was forced either to leave with an adult unmarried daughter, or to hire a companion in the house - otherwise he would be suspected of incest.

Girls were not supposed to know anything about sex and childbearing. It is not surprising that the wedding night often became a tragedy for a woman - up to suicide attempts.

The pregnant woman was a sight that offended Victorian morality beyond measure. She locked herself within four walls, hid the "shame" from herself with the help of a dress of a special cut. God forbid to mention in a conversation that she is “pregnant” - only “in an interesting situation” or “in happy waiting”.

It was believed that a sick woman was more worthy to die than to allow a male doctor to perform “shameful” medical manipulations on her. Doctors' offices were equipped with blank screens with a hole for one hand, so that the physician could feel the pulse or touch the patient's forehead to determine the heat.

statistical fact

: in the years 1830-1870, about 40% of English women remained unmarried, although there was no shortage of men. And the point here is not only the difficulties of courtship - the matter also rested on class and group prejudices: the concept of misalliance (unequal marriage) was brought to the point of absurdity.

Who to whom is a couple and not a couple - was solved at the level of a complex algebraic problem. Thus, the conflict that occurred between their ancestors in the 15th century could prevent the marriage of the offspring of two aristocratic families. A successful rural merchant did not dare to marry his daughter to the butler's son, for the representative of the "senior master's servants", even without a penny behind his soul, stood immeasurably higher than the shopkeeper on the social ladder.

Classes in English society

However, harsh Victorian rules were introduced into English society only to the level of the lower middle class. Common people - peasants, factory workers, small traders, sailors and soldiers - lived very differently. It was in high society that children were innocent angels who had to be protected from the world in every possible way - children from the lower social strata began working in mines or factories as early as 5-6 years old ... What can we say about other aspects of life. Ordinary people have never heard of all sorts of politeness in relations between the sexes ...

However, things were not so simple in high society either. It circulated real erotic and pornographic literary works like "My Secret Life". There was even a pornographic magazine The Pearl… But the Victorian code of conduct, in fact, required not the absence of sins in a person - the main thing was that they should not be known in society.

Born a little before the accession of Her Majesty, Victorianism died before her. This is well seen in English literature. The three Brontë sisters are complete mature Victorians. The late Dickens recorded signs of the destruction of the Victorian codex. And Shaw and Wells have only described the "Canterville Ghost" of the Victorian era. Wells was a particularly remarkable figure: the author of popular novels was a desperate, top-notch womanizer. And he was proud of it.

(1837-1901) - the period of the reign of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India.
A distinctive feature of this era is the absence of significant wars (with the exception of the Crimean war), which allowed the country to develop intensively, in particular in the field of infrastructure development, construction of railways.

In the field of economics, the industrial revolution and the development of capitalism continued during this period. The social image of the era is characterized by a strict moral code (gentlemanship), which consolidated conservative values and class differences. In the field of foreign policy, British colonial expansion continued in Asia (the "Great Game") and Africa (the "fight for Africa").

Historical overview of the era

Victoria succeeded to the throne on the death of her uncle, the childless William IV, on 20 June 1837. The Whig cabinet of Lord Melbourne, which the queen found upon her accession, was supported in the lower house by a mixed majority, only partly composed of old Whigs. It included, in addition, the radicals who sought to expand the suffrage and short-term parliaments, as well as the Irish Party, led by O'Connell. The opponents of the ministry, the Tories, were animated by a firm determination to oppose any further triumph of the democratic principle. New elections, called after the change of the monarch, strengthened the conservative party. The great cities of England, Scotland and Ireland voted predominantly in favor of the Liberal and Radical factions, but the English counties for the most part chose the opposition to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the policy of previous years created significant difficulties for the government. In Canada, the discord between the mother country and the local parliament assumed dangerous proportions. The Ministry received permission to suspend the Canadian constitution and sent the Earl of Dergham to Canada with extensive powers. Dergam acted energetically and skillfully, but the opposition accused him of abuse of power, as a result of which he had to resign his position.
The weakness of the government showed itself even more clearly in regard to Irish affairs. The Irish Tithes Bill could not be approved by the Ministry except by the complete removal of the appropriation clause.

Foreign and domestic policy

In the spring of 1839, the British successfully fought Afghanistan, which since that time has become, as it were, the front cover for their East Indian possessions and the subject of jealous guardianship on the part of England.
In May of the same year, a ministerial crisis broke out, the immediate cause of which was the affairs of the island of Jamaica. Disagreements between the mother country, which abolished Negro slavery in 1834, and the interests of the planters on the island threatened to lead to the same rupture as in Canada. The ministry proposed suspending the local constitution for several years. This was opposed by both the Tories and the Radicals, and the ministry's proposal was passed by a majority of just 5 votes. It resigned, but took over again the conduct of business when Wellington and Peel's attempts to form a new cabinet ended in failure - by the way, due to the fact that Peel demanded that the stats ladies and ladies-in-waiting of the Queen, who belonged to the Whig families, be replaced by others from the camp. Tories, and the Queen did not want to agree to this (in English constitutional history, this issue is known as the Bedchamber question). The parliamentary session of 1840 was opened with a solemn announcement of Queen Victoria's impending marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; The wedding took place on February 10th.

On July 15, 1840, the representatives of England, Russia, Austria and Prussia concluded an agreement aimed at putting an end to the strife between the Porte and the Egyptian Pasha. Mehmed-Ali rejected the decision of the conference, counting on the help of France, offended by the exclusion from participation in such an important matter; but this calculation was not justified. An English squadron, reinforced by Turkish and Austrian military forces, landed in Syria in September and put an end to Egyptian rule there.
The triumph of foreign policy did not in the least strengthen the position of the ministry; this came to light during the parliamentary session that opened in January 1841. The government suffered one defeat after another. Already in 1838, in Manchester, under the leadership of Richard Cobden, the so-called anti-corn law league (en: Anti-Corn Law League) was formed, which set itself the task of abolishing the existing patronage system and, mainly, duties on imported bread. Enraged by the aristocracy and landowners, who profited enormously from the high tariff, the league demanded the free importation of all foodstuffs as the only means of raising declining state revenues, improving the position of the working classes, and facilitating competition with other states. Partly under the pressure of financial difficulties, partly in the hope of finding support in the opponents of the grain tax, the ministry announced its intention to start revising the Corn Laws. It was subsequently defeated on the question of the sugar tax by a majority of 317 votes to 281. The Ministry dissolved Parliament (23 June).

The Conservative Party, superbly organized and led by Peel, prevailed, and when the ministerial draft address was rejected by a strong majority in the new parliament, the ministers resigned. On September 1, 1841, a new cabinet was formed. Peel was at its head, and the chief members were the Dukes of Wellington and Buckingham, Lords Lyndhurst, Stanley, Aberdeen, and Sir James Graham. And earlier, on the issue of the emancipation of Catholics, Peel, who had shown some sensitivity to the requirements of the time, in February 1842, spoke in the lower house with a proposal to lower the import duty on bread (from 35 shillings to 20) and adopt the principle of gradually lowering tariff norms. All the counter-projects of the unconditional free-traders and protectionists were rejected, and Peel's proposal was accepted, as well as other financial measures aimed at covering the deficit (introduction of income tax, reduction of indirect taxes, etc.). At this time, the Chartists stirred again and submitted to Parliament a gigantic petition in terms of the number of signatures, outlining their demands. They found a strong foothold in the displeasure of the factory workers, fueled by the commercial crisis, the lull in industrial activity, and the high prices of the necessities of life. Disagreement with the North American States from abroad was settled by convention on August 9, 1842. The strain on France caused by the 1840 treaty still continued; its echo was the refusal of the French government to sign the convention concluded by the great powers on the destruction of the slave trade and on the right to search suspicious ships (English droit de visite).

The old quarrels with China over the opium trade led as early as 1840 to open war. In 1842, this war took a favorable turn for the British. They climbed up the Yantsekiang to Nanjing and dictated peace to the Chinese. The British ceded the island of Hong Kong; 4 new harbors were opened for trade relations.
In Afghanistan, the rapid success of 1839 blinded the British; they considered themselves masters of the country and were taken by surprise by the uprising of the Afghans, which broke out unexpectedly in November 1841. Trusting the insidious enemy, the British negotiated for themselves a free exit from the country, but on the return trip to India they suffered terrible losses from the climate, deprivation and fanaticism of the inhabitants. The Viceroy, Lord Ellenborough, decided to take revenge on the Afghans and in the summer of 1842 sent new troops against them. The Afghans were defeated, their cities destroyed, the surviving British prisoners were released. The devastating nature of the campaign was strongly condemned by the opposition in the House of Commons. The year 1843 passed uneasily.

The Catholic direction of some part of the Anglican clergy (see Puseism) grew more and more. In Scotland there was a rupture between the state church and the Presbyterian nonintrusive sect. The main difficulties faced the government in Ireland. From the moment he took office in the Thorian ministry, Daniel O'Connell resumed his agitation for the dissolution of the union between Ireland and England (Eng. Repeal). He was now gathering gatherings of 100,000 people; armed clashes could be expected. O'Connell and many of his supporters were prosecuted. The trial was postponed several times, but the agitator was eventually found guilty. The House of Lords appealed the verdict due to formal violations of the law; the government abandoned further persecution, but the agitation no longer reached its former strength.

In the session of 1844 the question of the Corn Laws again came to the fore. Cobden's proposal for the complete abolition of the grain duty was rejected by the lower house by a majority of 234 votes to 133; but already during the discussion of the Factory Bill, when the famous philanthropist Lord Ashley (later Earl of Shaftesbury) succeeded in passing a proposal to reduce the working day to 10 hours, it became clear that the government no longer had the previous strong majority.
The most important financial measure in 1844 was Peel's Banking Bill, which gave the English bank a new organization.
In the same year an important change took place in the supreme administration of the East Indies. In December 1843, Lord Ellenborough undertook a victorious campaign against the Gwalior district in Northern Hindustan (even earlier, in 1843, Sindh was conquered). But it was precisely this belligerent policy of the viceroy in connection with unrest and bribery in the civil administration that caused the intervention of the directorate of the East India Company. In the exercise of her legal right, she succeeded Lord Ellenborough and appointed Lord Harding in his place. In 1845, the internal disintegration of the former parties was completed.

Everything that Peel did in this year's session was achieved by him with the help of his former political opponents. He proposed an increase in funds for the maintenance of the Catholic Seminary at Minooth, which, being the only public institution of its kind in Ireland, represented a deplorable contrast to the luxurious furnishings of the Anglican schools. This proposal aroused the strongest opposition on the ministerial benches, which vividly outlined all the callousness of the old Torhorian and Anglican orthodoxy. When the bill was admitted to the second reading on April 18, the former ministerial majority no longer existed. Peel acquired the support of 163 Whigs and Radicals. Church agitation received new food when the ministers came up with a proposal to establish three higher secular colleges for Catholics, without the right to interfere with the state or the church in religious teaching.
Because of this measure, Gladstone, then still a strict churchman, left the office; when it was introduced into Parliament, Anglican High Churchmen, Catholic fanatics, and O'Connell alike burst into denunciation of the ungodly project. Nevertheless, the bill was passed by a huge majority. This changed position of the parties became even more pronounced in economic questions. The results of the last financial year were favorable and showed a significant increase in income tax. Peel petitioned for the continuation of this tax for another three years, assuming, at the same time, to allow a new reduction in customs duties and the complete abolition of export duties. His proposals aroused the displeasure of the Tories and landowners, but they met with ardent support in the former opposition and were accepted with her help.

Meanwhile, a terrible famine suddenly broke out in Ireland due to a crop failure for potatoes, which constituted almost the only food of the poorest classes of the population. The people were dying and tens of thousands sought salvation in emigration. Thanks to this, the agitation against the Corn Laws reached its highest degree of tension. The leaders of the old Whigs openly and irrevocably joined the movement, which until then had been in the hands of Cobden and his party. On December 10, the ministry resigned; but Lord John Rossel, who was commissioned to draw up a new cabinet, met with no less difficulty than Peel, and restored his powers to the queen.
Peel reformed the Cabinet, which Gladstone re-entered. Peel then proposed the gradual abolition of the Corn Laws. Part of the old Tory party followed Piel to the free trade camp, but the main body of the Tories raised a furious agitation against their former leader. On March 28, 1846, the second reading of the Corn Bill was passed by a majority of 88 votes; all changes, partly proposed by the protectionists, partly tending to the immediate abolition of all grain duties, were rejected. The bill also passed in the upper house thanks to the influence of Wellington.

In spite of this success, however, and the immense popularity which Peel had gained by carrying out his great economic reform, his personal position became more and more precarious. In the struggle against the poisonous attacks of the protectionists, especially Disraeli, who, together with Bentinck, took over the leadership of the old Tories, Peel, of course, could not count on the protection of his long-term opponents. The immediate cause for his downfall was the issue of emergency measures against Ireland, resolved in the negative by a coalition of Whigs, Radicals and Irish deputies. External affairs at the time of the removal of the Tory ministry were in a very favorable position. The former strained relations with France gradually gave way to a friendly rapprochement. There were disagreements with North America due to mutual claims to the Oregon region, but they were peacefully settled.
In June 1846, the Sikhs raided British possessions in India, but were defeated.

On July 3, 1846, a new Whig ministry was formed under Lord John Rossel; its most influential member was the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston. It could count on a majority only if Peel supported it. Parliament, which opened in January 1847, approved a number of measures taken to help the distress of Ireland. About the same time O'Connell died, on his way to Rome, and in him the National Party of Ireland lost its chief foothold.
The issue of Spanish marriages led to a chill between the London and Paris cabinets. Taking advantage of this, the Eastern powers decided to annex Krakow to Austria, disregarding the belated protests of the British Foreign Minister.
In the general election of 1847, the protectionists were in the minority; the Peelites constituted an influential middle party; the combined Whigs, Liberals and Radicals formed a majority of 30 votes. The Chartists found a representative in the talented lawyer O'Connor. Inside the country, the situation was bleak. Increasing crime in Ireland called for a special repressive law. In the English manufacturing districts, poverty and unemployment also assumed appalling proportions; bankruptcy followed one after another. The shortfall in public revenues due to the general stagnation in business and the impossibility of reducing spending led the ministry to propose a law to increase income tax by another 2 percent. But the increase of this unpopular tax caused such a storm within and outside Parliament that at the end of February, 1848, the proposed measure was withdrawn.

Victorian architecture(Eng. Victorian architecture) is the most general term that is used in English-speaking countries to refer to the whole variety of varieties of eclectic retrospectivism common in the Victorian era (from 1837 to 1901). The dominant trend of this period in the British Empire was neo-gothic; entire neighborhoods in this style have been preserved in almost all former British colonies. British India is also characterized by the Indo-Saracenic style (a free combination of Neo-Gothic with national elements).

In the field of architecture, the Victorian era was marked by the general spread of eclectic retrospectivism, especially neo-Gothic. In English-speaking countries, the term " victorian architecture».

Victorian art and literature

Typical writers of the Victorian era are Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, the Brontë sisters, Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling; poets - Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and Matthew Arnold, artists - Pre-Raphaelites.
British children's literature is taking shape and flourishing, with a characteristic departure from direct didactics towards nonsense and "bad advice": Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, William Rands.

The Victorian era is not very easy to describe, if only because the reign of Queen Victoria turned out to be incredibly long. Styles and trends in literature and art changed, but the fundamental worldview remained.
We have already said that the old, stable world was disintegrating before people's eyes. Green hills and valleys were built up with factories, and the development of science called into question the very origin and essence of man: is he really the image of God, or a descendant of strange creatures that crawled out a million years ago from the primitive mud? Therefore, through the whole era, through all art, there is a desire of people to somehow hide from reality or recreate it themselves. (This is done by Turner and Constable: in their paintings they seem to re-create light and color). Some try to escape modernity by hiding in the Middle Ages, like the Pre-Raphaelites, Morris and Pugin.

Others try to oppose a crumbling world with simple, reliable middle-class values: family, children, home, honest work. Queen Victoria herself sets an example. In her youth, Victoria was very beautiful, and the stereotype that arises at the mention of her - the image of an overweight old woman in eternal mourning - is her later years. Victoria was an exemplary wife, remaining faithful to her beloved husband even after his death (hence the lifelong mourning), perpetuating his memory in monuments such as the Albert Hall. They were the perfect family, true to middle class values. It was Prince Albert who introduced the Christmas tree and the custom of giving gifts to children at Christmas into English use, and gradually this desire to find warmth and joy in a cruel world turns into syrupy sentimentality so characteristic of Victorianism - or, conversely, moralizing. The Victorian of the Victorians in this sense is Charles Dickens, with his innocent angel children and the inevitable punishment of vice.
At the same time, revolutionary changes were taking place in the country. Industrialization affected more and more areas of life. Mass production appears (the same porcelain dogs, lithographs and postcards), the phonograph, photography. The level of education is also growing: if in 1837 in England 43% of the population was illiterate, then in 1894 - only 3%. The number of periodicals has grown 60 times (among others, fashion magazines such as Harpers Bazar appear), a network of libraries and theaters have emerged.

Perhaps mass production is the reason why when we use the term "Victorian", especially in relation to design and interiors, we most often think of a room with lush, heavy furniture, where it is impossible to turn around because of the numerous tables, armchairs, ottomans, shelves with figurines, where the walls are completely hung with paintings and photographs. This eclecticism was not some single style; this was for the most part a middle-class house, and for the most part such interiors belong to the period that is commonly called High Victorian (1850s - 70s).

Moreover, even in the furniture, the Victorians expressed their strict morality: where did such long tablecloths come from, where did the chair covers come from? But the fact is that even an armchair and a table cannot be shown legs, this is indecent. "Decent" is one of the fundamental values in that era. Everyday costume was quite strict and restrained (however, at a ball or a reception one could still show off the beauty of the dress and jewelry). But even going to the ball, it was not customary to use cosmetics - this is indecent, only fallen women put on makeup. A monument to the Victorian concept of decency will forever remain the bathing cabin, which allowed ladies to bathe away from male eyes. They changed in these booths - bathing suits were not much different from the usual ones! - and then the cabins were taken out to sea so that you could enter the water and leave it without witnesses.

Around this time, people begin to realize that children are not miniature adults, but very special creatures. Education is another of the words that run like a red thread through the era. Childhood stands out in a separate period of human life, and combines all the incompatible features of Victorianism: on the one hand, children are innocence, purity, gifts for Christmas; on the other hand, children need to be brought up in strictness so that they learn the moral norms of society, accustom them to hard work and good manners.

The Victorian era is full of contradictions. This is the time of extreme optimism and extreme pessimism, the time of strict moral rules and the time when prostitution flourished in London, the time of the triumph of the empire and the time of Jack the Ripper. All this must be remembered when we speak of art, because all this is most directly reflected in it.

The Victorian era gave rise to the women's emancipation movement, but the focus was still on jewelry and accessories. Men's fashion gravitated toward greater austerity of style, and new methods of making clothes spread rapidly.
The 19th century - the century of the bourgeoisie and technological progress - had a radical impact on fashion. Thanks to the mass industrial production of clothing, the development of means of communication, fashion is becoming the property of ever wider sections of society. The accelerated pace of life and the development of civilization leads to a rapid change in fashion trends.
Despite the fact that a woman is gradually winning her rights from men, the fashion of the 19th century is still chaste and bashful in a bourgeois way. The female silhouette is now entirely determined by clothing. The open body is becoming less and less, although it is by no means forbidden to emphasize certain “places” with clothing

The Victorian Age can be divided into three periods:
- early Victorian (1837-1860)
- Middle Victorian (1860-1885)
- Late Victorian (1885-1901)

The early Victorian period is also known as the "Romantic" period. This is the queen's youth, marked by ease and a certain freedom of temper, as well as an ardent love for Prince Albert. The queen adored jewelry, and her subjects ladies, imitating her, adorned themselves with cute enamel trinkets, cabochons and corals.
Wide-brimmed hats decorated with feathers and flowers, fashionable at the beginning of the century, were replaced by practical caps, which influenced the female silhouette as a whole.
In the 20s of the XIX century, the figure of a woman resembles an hourglass: rounded "swollen" sleeves, a wasp waist, a wide skirt. The neckline of the dress almost completely exposes the shoulders. A strongly open neck allows you to "highlight" the head, and complex hairstyles, usually raised, come into fashion.

Although the skirts are wide, their length was shortened: first the shoes opened, and then the ankles. This was quite revolutionary, because the woman's legs for a long time (almost the entire European history of "AD") remained securely hidden from prying eyes.
Women's fashion of that time was complemented by long gloves, which were removed in public only at the dinner table. An umbrella becomes an obligatory fashionable attribute of women for a long time. There was not so much coquetry in this as it might seem at first glance. The umbrella had a rather pragmatic purpose - to protect the woman's skin from the sun. Until the 1920s, tanning was considered indecent, "village", pale "alabaster" skin was in fashion, so corresponding to the period of romanticism.

Also, by 1820, the corset returned to the attire of fashionistas, which would leave clothes only after a century. The waist, which in Empire times was located almost under the breast, again occupies a natural position, but an unnatural volume is required from it - about 55 cm! The desire to achieve an "ideal" waist often led to tragic consequences. So, in 1859, a 23-year-old fashionista died after a ball due to the fact that three ribs compressed by a corset stuck into her liver.

The already long corset (starting under the bust, it covered the buttocks by a quarter, pulling them in) by 1845 lengthened so much that a classic V-silhouette appeared, complemented by wide sleeves. As a result, women of fashion could hardly move their arms, and their ability to move was seriously limited. Helplessness and dependence on a man made the ladies of the Victorian era even more attractive in the eyes of their gentlemen. The color scheme became more muted, in contrast to the variegation of fabrics inherent in the beginning of the century, small details came to the fore, which made it possible to radically change the appearance. Usually these were wide belts with buckles. Women's modesty was also emphasized by white scarves around the neck, as well as white undersleeves - "engageantes". After almost a long absence, exquisite cashmere shawls are back in fashion. However, this time they were much wider and almost completely covered the female shoulders. The upper skirt gradually lost its former round shape, becoming much wider and taking on the shape of a bell. By 1850, the word "crinoline" came into fashion, denoting a woman's overskirt. The wider the crinoline, the better. Wearing it was quite problematic, so this accessory was soon abandoned.

Curls were fashionable hairstyle at that time. Laid around the head, descending to the shoulders, stabbed into a knot or gathered at the back of the head.

Women's costume sample 1833

Fashion lady in the park

The Middle Victorian period was marked by a tragic event - the death of Prince Consort Albert. Victoria, who passionately loved her husband, plunged into the abyss of sorrow and mourning. She constantly mourned and mourned her dead husband and always dressed only in black. It was followed by the entire royal court, and then, in general, by the whole society. However, the ladies concluded that they look extremely attractive in black and managed to benefit from the general grief.

The women's clothing of the middle Victorian period was one of the most uncomfortable costumes: tight corsets, long heavy skirts with many pleats, high collars rising to the throat. Men's clothing was much more comfortable.
Nevertheless, even when the struggle for the reform of women's dress was being fought in England, female travelers stubbornly continued to wear corsets and hats and carefully took care to maintain the proper appearance of a woman, no matter how difficult it was. Moreover, according to them, only this clothing was the only suitable and appropriate for a woman in unusual conditions.

The 60s of the XIX century became a turning point in the history of the development of world fashion, turning it into a real industry. Such significant changes have occurred largely due to the invention of the sewing machine, as well as the emergence of artificial dyes. At the same time, one of the main directions in the development of modern fashion, haute couture, emerged and institutionalized. From now on, fashion trends have ceased to be some kind of frozen and slowly changing form, turning into something much more dynamic and creative.

The famous dome-shaped crinoline skirt has sunk into oblivion, it was replaced by a much more elegant elongated shape. However, the very concept of "crinoline" lingered in fashion for quite a long time due to the extraordinary popularity of the creator of haute couture Charles Worth. Worth himself considered the crinoline to be a rather bulky and unattractive structure, but since his name was strongly associated with this particular accessory, he continued to experiment with the form, creating an increasingly sophisticated image. As a result, after a few years, the overskirt rose significantly and was gathered into elegant pleats just below the waist.

By 1867, the crinoline had finally disappeared from the fashionable horizon and was replaced by bustles. Experiments with upper and lower skirts literally captured almost all sections of English society. As a result, by 1878 the ladies bore a very distant resemblance to their early Victorian predecessors. A thin, graceful silhouette with a long train finally defeated massive forms. From now on, designers began to pay special attention to the figures of customers, giving the latter the desired grace, which meant further improvement in the skill of the couturier, who often had to turn the ugly duckling into a real princess.

Speaking of crinoline. The crinoline acquires its true meaning only from 1850. It was then that it is a shirred domed skirt, the shape of which was supported by numerous petticoats. Until 1856, six more petticoats were worn under the overskirt, mostly handmade, very elaborate. Making them was difficult and took an infinite amount of time. This was due to the fact that improved sewing machines began to be used in Parisian salons, at best, around 1850. Everywhere, these machines were brought into them only in 1857. From 1859, artificial crinolines were introduced, where elastic steel hoops - a technically modernized memory of the former ryfrock with its hoops - seemed to support the lighter modern material like springs. This change affected not only the outer outline of the dress, but also changed the very nature of the clothes. The skirt has taken on a new, unexpected movement. The former petticoats have disappeared, and the faux crinoline has become a machine-made commodity. As soon as the skirt expanded to the crinoline, the sleeves of the bodice narrowed, which in the 40s already tightly fitted the arm, and the bodice itself began to be complemented by a wide frill at the collar, called "berte".
Small hats, decorated with feathers and veils, came back into fashion; ladies preferred modest hairstyles - a bun or curls, tucked into French braids on the sides. Particularly relaxed ladies experienced the first model haircuts, but they have not yet received distribution.

Lady and Gentleman Model 1850

Dresses with bustles 1869

Dress with a narrow silhouette, 1889

Lady in an Amazon dress

Late Victorian period.

Industrialization is proceeding across the planet with leaps and bounds: the telephone and telegraph have already been invented, experiments are being carried out with computers, the Kodak camera has appeared, the luxurious World Exhibition has died down. Life has become dynamic and hasty, which is reflected in fashion trends. It was at this time that the famous "bloomers" were invented - wide harem pants like the clothes of harem slaves, the skirts became narrower, the silhouette began to take shape, familiar to us now. Tournament and crinoline, although they are worn everywhere, are gradually going out of fashion, giving way to practical strict dresses (most often from the atelier), Amazon cut suits and mermaid skirts (narrow top and puffy bottom). Women begin to cut their hair; perm and bangs are in fashion.
But all this concerns mainly wealthy women, representatives of the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. For ladies from the lower classes, the clothes remain unchanged - a closed dark dress with a blank collar of the most simple cut, a hard bustle made of cheap materials that mercilessly rubs the skin even through undershirts, rough ("goat") shoes or shoes with low heels.

It is characteristic that men's clothing from the beginning of the XIX century. almost didn't change. Only the details and materials changed, but not the cut. After 1875, the type of men's clothing that we know today was established - trousers, waistcoat and jacket, all from the same material - solid English fabrics.
The tuxedo is in fashion. Initially, it was worn in smoking parlors, and then when visiting theaters and restaurants. The tuxedo was worn mostly by young people. The cuffs were starched so that they could be written on.
In the 1860s, the famous bowler hat was invented, originally intended to be worn by lackeys and clerks, but then rapidly ascending to the very upper strata of society. Say what you like, but the compact and solid headdress with narrow brim was much more comfortable than the usual top hat. However, this one has also undergone changes - some models of cylinders have become folding.

When talking about the Victorian era, then, for me personally, there is a feeling of sadness from the fact that this era will never happen again! After all, it was a time of high moral principles, a time of high standards of relations. For example, at this time, the qualities that impress me very much - punctuality, sobriety, diligence, diligence, thriftiness and economy - became a model for all the inhabitants of the country. It was the time of beautiful ladies and noble gentlemen, the time of great discoveries and technological progress, the time of the industrial boom, quality things and long-lasting relationships.

During this period, the young Queen Victoria ascended the throne. She was not only wise, but also a very beautiful woman, as her contemporaries noted. Unfortunately, we mostly know 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, and the royal family was revered. The ladies of the court dreamed of being like the queen respected by all.

In general, the Victorian era in my understanding is the perfect time. But is it? Was everything so perfect? Was the life of the people of that time so good?

It is easy to judge everything without knowing the details and details. But it is they who make life not contour and illusory, but clear and truthful. Books and magazine articles that are devoted to this period will tell us about this.

The most factual guide "Queen Victoria and Britain's Golden Age" from the series "Guides to the History of the World". Here, in a brief, concise form, the biography of Queen Victoria is given, the main directions of British policy during her reign, the main trends in the development of the country's economy, the direction of industrialization and the transformation of the state into a "workshop of the world" are revealed. The advantage of this small book is its rich equipment with illustrations that make the presentation of the material visible and understandable.
"In Britain and not so much in most of Ireland, - wrote the English historian D. Cannedine, - Victoria personified the image of the mother of the nation, a moral ideal that rises above the rough everyday life; internationally, she became an imperial matriarch who presided with maternal care over the greater British family, spread over two hemispheres.. Despite the fact that the guide was written by Russian authors, reading it, you feel how proud the English nation was of its huge state, which managed to create such wonders of engineering as the London Underground, the railway network, Paddington station, etc.

However, industrialization also had a downside - the difficult working conditions of workers in factories, poverty and horrific living conditions for the citizens of the lower strata of the population, unsanitary conditions and poisonous smog in London, which has become a hotbed of dangerous diseases ...

You can read more about this in Tanya Dittrich's book. "Daily Life in Victorian England", which is designed to literally “chew” to the modern reader how people actually lived in England at that time. Where and how did they work? How did you dress and have fun? What moral and ethical standards did they adhere to? What technical improvements have been implemented? How did production and transport develop? Tanya Dittrich's book is written in a light literary style and reads like a fiction novel, although the corrosive reader clearly lacks documentary evidence and statistical evidence of the material presented.
On the one hand, the author confirms all the greatness of the era, when the previously dormant humanity seemed to wake up and light up with a flurry of ideas, projects and discoveries that radically changed the situation not only in Britain, but throughout the world. Great inventions gave impetus to the development of production, industry changed the face of cities, cities imposed their heavy tribute on the people living in them, and people, as always, adapted to new conditions and responded to changes with new ideas. The inertia of these changes is so strong that even now, one can say, any area of our life is firmly rooted in the Victorian era.
But, on the other hand, here we also see the unattractive aspects of the life of the British, and especially the Londoners of that time. If a person did not belong to the upper class, but was a simple city dweller, his life was not at all sweet! Exhausting labor for 12-14 hours in factories and plants where no safety rules were observed, lack of normal housing (whole families huddled in one room), complete unsanitary conditions (until they built sewers), constant coal smog, from which could be suffocated, and other delights ...
By the way, Tanya Dittrich's book details the construction of the sewer system in London in the 1860s. And before that, the city was the most polluted city in the world. This period is also called the "Great Stench".

The same topic is touched upon by an article in the Profile magazine (No. 23 for 2015), which is called “With the advent of toilets, chaos ensued”. This is an interview with Lee Jackson, author of Dirty Old London. Victorian battle with unsanitary conditions. The British of the Victorian era were obsessed with the idea of cleanliness: they polished silverware to a shine and tirelessly fought dust. But at the same time, the city was covered in a layer of hideous black substance, a viscous mess of soot, dust, dirt, and excrement. And the Thames was generally a sewer. But the most interesting thing is that the waste water closets only exacerbated the problem. The shortage of drinking water led to the fact that Londoners drank mainly alcoholic beverages ...

The “flaws” of English society during the reign of Queen Victoria also include an ineradicable superstition that persisted despite all scientific discoveries and research. This is the story of the book by Ekaterina Couty and Natalia Kharsa "Superstitions of Victorian England". The authors of the book retell legends, omens, fairy tales and ballads popular in 19th century England for the Russian audience. The life of the British is shown here through the prism of customs and superstitions. The whole life of a subject of the British Empire from birth to death was accompanied by unshakable traditions and rituals, many of which cause laughter and bewilderment today. Weddings and family life, childbirth and the upbringing of children, death and funerals, everything was built on the basis of various signs and predictions.
What would you think if your business partner spit on his hand before shaking yours and signing a contract? And some relative at the wedding will insist that the bride in a snow-white lace veil kiss the soot-stained chimney sweep? Believe me, what seems crazy now, 150 years ago, few people would have been surprised. What could these strange actions mean? This can be read in the presented book, which is read as fascinating and interesting as the previous one, and seems to be its direct continuation.

The life of any era is always better to study from the biographies of people who lived at that time. To do this, I propose to read three books dedicated to scientists, writers and politicians in Great Britain.

Among the scientists of that time, the names of Charles Darwin and Thomas Huxley stand out, whose life and scientific research is devoted to the book of William Irwin "Monkeys, Angels and Victorians". The Victorian era is the time when "revolutions in the scientist's office" were made. The book differs in that the image of the main characters is given against the background of a broadly and accurately depicted historical and social situation. Like real Victorians, Darwin and Huxley were consistent, noble and courageous. Despite the fact that the ideas of the founder of evolutionary theory and the largest fighter for Darwinism met with strong opposition, both from society and from the scientific community, they managed to break public opinion and turn the development of biology onto the path of truth.

If Irwin's book shows us the life of scientists against the backdrop of the Victorian era, then Margaret Forster's novel Notes of a Victorian Gentleman depicts the life of a writer of the same time. The book is dedicated to William Mikepees Thackeray, the author of the famous Vanity Fair. The English writer chose a peculiar form for her novel. She acts as the alleged publisher of Thackeray's autobiographical notes. In a vivid artistic form, the story of his life, creative searches, his relationship with his contemporaries is revealed. The aroma of authenticity is given by letters, diaries and other materials from Thackeray's legacy, freely introduced into the fabric of the narrative, as well as his original drawings. Thacker was branded a "cynic", but, according to the concepts of the 19th century, he was a real gentleman, a dandy, experienced in the subtleties of etiquette, a welcome guest in any secular salon, an excellent father, a respected citizen by all. To write a novel in Thackeray's name was a difficult task and a bold idea. But, as critics say, Margaret Forster succeeded.

If you are more interested in the life of politicians of the Victorian era, then I advise you to read the book by Vladimir Grigorievich Trukhanovsky "Benjamin Disraeli, or the History of his incredible career." How, in a country as fanatically committed to conservative traditions as England, could an obscure upstart, a foreigner who had no money, no connections, no university education, not even finished high school, achieve supreme power? A native of the wealthy, but at the beginning of the XIX century. disenfranchised Jewish environment, he led the conservative party of the aristocracy - and became Chancellor of the Exchequer. A staunch and consistent defender of the imperial interests of Great Britain, as prime minister, he significantly strengthened its position on the seas and continents.

But this is all the fate of men ...

The book by Tanya Dittrich, with which we began our review, addresses the topic of the position of women in Victorian society. Complete lack of rights and dependence on men - these are the main points of this description. Even Charles Darwin considered women to be in the lower class. Listing the features that are more pronounced in women than in men, he recalled that "at least some of these properties characterize the lower races, and therefore - the past or lower state of civilization."

The article by Natalia Kryuchkova continues this topic. "The Middle Class Woman in the Victorian Era", which is published in the journal "Knowledge is Power" (No. 8 for 2013). The author writes that women from the middle classes were much more constrained than their sisters from the working classes or from the circles of the nobility, who had much greater freedom in choosing occupations, in communication, etc. It is not surprising that feminism as a movement for women's equality originated among middle class women. The activities of women's organizations contributed to the expansion of the professional and social activity of women by the end of the 19th century. Women were allowed to vote in local representative bodies, they were officially given the opportunity to receive higher education and, thus, to engage in professional activities, reforms related to marriage relations also owe a lot to the women's movement.

In general, after reading these books and articles, you will learn a lot about that time, which, at first glance, seems almost ideal. You understand that every period has its bright and dark sides. In modern literature there is a tendency to denigrate everything, looking for unsightly moments. Personally, all the shortcomings of Victorianism do not frighten me at all, because it was at that time that people learned, and quite successfully, to overcome them - legislation changed, sanitary facilities were built, medicines were invented, medical technologies were developed ... It was the Victorian era that made our world what it is today . Just much more boring.

The cheerful 19-year-old girl who ascended the British throne in 1837 could hardly imagine what associations her name would evoke a hundred years later. And after all, the Victorian era was far from the worst time in British history - literature flourished, economics and science developed rapidly, the colonial empire reached the peak of its power ... However, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name of this queen is “Victorian morality ".

The current attitude towards this phenomenon is at best ironic, more often frankly negative. In English, the word "Victorian" is still a synonym for the concepts of "sanctimonious", "hypocritical". Although the era named after the queen had little to do with her personality. The social symbol "Her Majesty Queen Victoria" meant not her personal views, but the basic values of the time - the monarchy, the church, the family. And these values were postulated even before the crown was placed on Victoria.
The period of her reign (1837-1901) for the internal life of England was a time of calm digestion after a grandiose gluttony. The previous centuries were filled with revolutions, riots, Napoleonic wars, colonial conquests... And regarding morality itself, British society in previous times was by no means distinguished by excessive strictness of morals and stiffness of behavior. The British knew a lot about the joys of life and indulged in them quite unbridled - with the exception of a not too long period of existence in the country of a powerful puritan movement (which for a time turned England into a republic). But with the restoration of the monarchy, a long period of considerable relaxation of morals began.
The generations of Hanoverians preceding Victoria led a very dissolute life. For example, King William IV, Victoria's uncle, made no secret of the fact that he had ten illegitimate children. George IV was also known as a womanizer (despite the fact that his waist circumference reached 1.5 meters.), An alcoholic, and also drove the royal house into huge debts.
The monarch, as you know, is a hostage of her position ... But there were reasons to believe that she inherited the extremely passionate temperament of the Hanoverians. For example, she collected images of male nudes… She even presented one picture to her husband, Prince Albert, and never did this again…

She got her husband quite appropriate to the trends of the time. Albert was so puritanical that he "felt physically unwell at the mere thought of adultery." In this, he was the exact opposite of his closest relatives: his parents divorced; father, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Ernst I, was just an enchanting womanizer who did not miss a skirt - as well as Albert's brother, Duke Ernst II.
Diligence, punctuality, moderation, thriftiness et cetera… In fact, no one calculated or formulated all these principles. The most concise summary of their essence is contained, oddly enough, in the novel by American Margaret Mitchell "Gone with the Wind": "You are required to do a thousand of some unnecessary things just because it has always been done" ...

Of course, the notion that “it has always been done this way” was a lie. But in any society suddenly engulfed in the struggle for morality, a look at the past acquires a “Chinese accent”: history is presented not as it was, but as it should have been.
Victorianism erected especially cruel persecutions on sensuality. Men and women had to forget that they had a body. The only parts of it that were allowed to be opened in the house were the hands and face. On the street, a man without a high standing collar and tie, a woman without gloves, were considered naked. All of Europe has long been fastening pants with buttons, and only in England did they use ropes and laces.

There were a huge number of euphemisms, for example, to call hands and feet otherwise than “limbs” was very indecent. Feelings and emotions were written and spoken mainly in the language of flowers. The curve of the neck of a shot bird in a still life was perceived in the same way as a candid photograph is now (it is not surprising that offering a bird's leg to a woman at dinner was considered rude) ...
At the feast, the principle of “separation of the sexes” was observed: at the end of the meal, the women left, the men remained to smoke a cigar, skip a glass of port wine and talk. By the way, the custom of leaving the company without saying goodbye ("departure in English") really existed, but in England it was called "departure in Scotch" (in Scotland - "departure in French", and in France - "departure in Russian" ).

The word "love" was completely taboo. The limit of frankness in the explanations was the password "Can I hope?" with the response "I have to think." Courtship consisted of ritual conversations and symbolic gestures. For example, a sign of affection was the gracious permission of a young man to carry the young lady's prayer book upon his return from Sunday service.

Girls were not supposed to know anything about intimacy and childbearing. It is not surprising that the wedding night often became a tragedy for a woman - up to suicide attempts.

statistical fact
: in the years 1830-1870, about 40% of English women remained unmarried, although there was no shortage of men. And the point here is not only the difficulties of courtship - the matter also rested on class and group prejudices: the concept of misalliance (unequal marriage) was brought to the point of absurdity.