Creepy photos from the Victorian era. Victorian morality
The Victorian era in England began with the coming to power of Queen Victoria in 1837. Historians describe this period with admiration, art historians consider it with genuine interest, and political scientists from all over the world study the Empress's system of government. This era in England can be called the heyday of a new culture and the age of discovery. Such a favorable development of the kingdom during the period of Victoria's rule, which lasted until 1901, was also influenced by the relatively calm situation of the country and the absence of major wars.
Personal life and reign of Queen Victoria
The Queen came to the throne at a very young age - she was only 18. However, it was during the reign of this great woman that great cultural, political and economic changes took place in England. The Victorian era gave the world many new discoveries, outstanding writers, and scientists, who later influenced the development of world culture. In 1837, Victoria became not only Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, but also Empress of India. Three years after the coronation, Her Majesty was married to Duke Albert, whom she fell in love with even before ascending to the royal throne. For 21 years of marriage, the couple had nine children, but in 1861 the queen's husband died. After that, she never married again and always wore a black dress, grieving for her early departed spouse.
All this did not prevent the queen from brilliantly ruling the country for 63 years and becoming a symbol of an entire era. These times were marked by an unprecedented development of trade, since England had a large number of colonies and well-established economic relations with other states. Industry was also actively developing, which led to the relocation of many residents of villages and villages to cities. With the influx of population, the cities began to grow, while the power of the British Empire covered more and more territories of the globe.
It was a secure and stable time for all the English. During the reign of Victoria, morality, hard work, honesty and decency were actively promoted among the population. Some historians note that the queen herself served as an excellent example for her people - among all the rulers of the country, she is unlikely to be able to find equals in love for work and responsibility.
Victorian Achievements
A huge achievement, according to historians, was the way of life of Queen Victoria. She was strikingly different from her two predecessors in her lack of love for public scandals and stunning modesty. Victoria created a cult of home, family, thrift and economy, which significantly influenced all her subjects, and with them the whole world. Exceptional industriousness, family values and sobriety of mind became the main moral foundations in the Victorian era, which led to the flourishing of the middle class in England, establishing a social and economic situation in the country.
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."
Women's underwear was open in the crotch area
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 this era, women were very hairy... everywhere
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.
The Thames was so full of feces, garbage and dead animals that you could walk on it.
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.
In the 1960s, crinolines became so wide that women got stuck in doors.
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, 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.
Boys wore dresses as children - until it was time to go to school
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.
Almost 50% of children died before they reached the age of five
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.
Charles Darwin was very fond of dishes from exotic animals
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.
(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 one), 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-dames 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 condition 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 begin to revise 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 already, 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 reduce 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 in favor of 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-churchists, Catholic fanatics and O'Connell alike burst into denunciations against the godless 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 Pil into 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 the 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 acquired 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 reason 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 the eyes of people. 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 of the primitive mud a million years ago? 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 due to 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 (beginning 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 numerous pleats, high collars rising to the throat. Men's clothing was much more comfortable.
However, even as the struggle for the reform of women's dress was being waged in England, female travelers stubbornly continued to wear corsets and hats and took great 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. Since 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 progressing 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, and 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, coarse (“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 eight-year-old boys from aristocratic families went to live in schools, what did their sisters do at that time?
They learned to count and write first with nannies, and then with governesses. For several hours a day, yawning and bored, looking longingly out the window, they spent in the room reserved for classes, thinking about what wonderful weather for riding. A table or a desk was placed in the room for the student and the governess, a bookcase with books, sometimes a black board. The entrance to the study room was often directly from the nursery.
“My governess, her name was Miss Blackburn, was very pretty, but terribly strict! Extremely strict! I was afraid of her like fire! In the summer my lessons started at six in the morning and in the winter at seven, and if I came late, I paid a penny for every five minutes I was late. Breakfast was at eight in the morning, always the same, a bowl of milk and bread and nothing else until I was a teenager. I still can not stand either one or the other, We did not study only half a day on Sunday and all day on a name day. There was a closet in the classroom where books were kept for classes. Miss Blackburn put a piece of bread on her plate for her lunch. Every time I couldn’t remember something, or didn’t obey, or objected to something, she locked me in this closet, where I sat in the dark and trembled with fear. I was especially afraid that a mouse would come running there to eat Miss Blackburn's bread. In my confinement, I remained until, suppressing sobs, I could say calmly that now I am good. Miss Blackburn made me memorize pages of history or long poems, and if I was wrong even a word, she made me learn twice as much!”
If nannies were always adored, then poor governesses were rarely loved. Maybe because nannies chose their fate voluntarily and stayed with the family until the end of their days, and governesses always became by the will of circumstances. In this profession, educated middle-class girls, the daughters of penniless professors and clerks, were most often forced to work to help a ruined family and earn a dowry. Sometimes the daughters of aristocrats who had lost their fortune were forced to become governesses. For such girls, the humiliation of their position was an obstacle to them being able to get at least some pleasure from their work. They were very lonely, and the servants did their best to express their contempt for them. The more noble the family of a poor governess was, the worse they treated her.
The servant believed that if a woman is forced to work, then she is equated in her position with them, and did not want to look after her, diligently demonstrating her disdain. If the poor thing got a job in a family in which there were no aristocratic roots, then the owners, suspecting that she looks down on them and despises them for their lack of proper manners, did not like her and endured only so that their daughters learned to behave in society.
Apart from teaching their daughters languages, playing the piano and watercolor painting, the parents cared little for deep knowledge. The girls read a lot, but chose not moral books, but love stories, which they slowly dragged from their home library. They went down to the common dining room only for lunch, where they sat at a separate table with their governess. Tea and pastries were carried upstairs to the study room at five o'clock. After that, the children did not receive any food until the next morning.
“We were allowed to spread butter or jam on bread, but never both, and eat only one serving of cheesecakes or cakes, which we washed down with plenty of fresh milk. When we were fifteen or sixteen, we no longer had enough of this amount of food and we constantly went to bed hungry. After we heard that the governess went into her room, carrying a tray with a large portion of supper, we slowly descended barefoot down the back stairs to the kitchen, knowing that there was no one there at that time, since loud conversation and laughter could be heard from the room, where the servants ate. Stealthily we collected what we could and returned to the bedrooms satisfied.
Often, French and German women were invited as governesses to teach French and German to their daughters. “Once we were walking along the street with Mademoiselle and met my mother's friends. That same day they wrote her a letter saying that my prospects for marriage were being jeopardized because the ignorant governess was wearing brown shoes instead of black ones. “Darling,” they wrote, “cocottes walk around in brown shoes. What can they think of dear Betty if such a mentor looks after her!”
Lady Hartwrich (Betty) was the younger sister of Lady Twendolen, who married Jack Churchill. When she came of age, she was invited to hunt quite far from home. To get to the place, she had to use the railway. Early in the morning she was escorted to the station by a groom, who was obliged to meet her here that same evening. Further, with the luggage that made up all the equipment for hunting, she rode in a stall car with a horse. It was considered quite normal and acceptable for a young girl to travel sitting on straw with her horse, since it was believed that he would protect her and kick anyone who entered the stall car. However, if she were unaccompanied in a passenger car with the whole audience, among which there could be men, society would condemn such a girl.
In carriages pulled by little ponies, the girls could travel alone outside the estate, visiting their girlfriends. Sometimes the path lay through forest and fields. The absolute freedom that the young ladies enjoyed on the estates disappeared instantly as soon as they got into the city. Conventions were waiting for them here at every turn. “I was allowed to ride alone in the dark through the forest and the field, but if I wanted to walk through a park in the center of London full of walking people in the morning to meet my friend, they would immediately put a maid on me.”
For three months, while the parents and older daughters moved in society, the younger ones on their upper floor, together with the governess, repeated lessons.
One of the famous and very expensive governesses, Miss Wolf, opened classes for girls in 1900, which worked until the Second World War. “I myself attended them when I was 16, and therefore, by personal example, I know what the best education for girls was at that time. Miss Wolfe had previously taught to the finest aristocratic families and eventually inherited enough money to buy a large house on Mather's Adley Street South. In one part of it, she arranged classes for selected girls. She taught the best ladies of our high society, and I can safely say that I myself have benefited a lot from this beautifully organized mess in her educational process. For three o'clock in the morning, girls and girls of all ages met at a long table in our cozy study room, the former living room in this elegant 18th-century mansion. Miss Wolfe, a small, frail woman with huge glasses that made her look like a dragonfly, explained to us the subject that we were to study that day, then went to the bookcases and took out books for each of us. At the end of the classes, there was a discussion, sometimes we wrote essays on topics in history, literature, geography. One of our girls wanted to study Spanish, and Miss Wolf immediately began to teach her grammar. It seemed that there was no subject that she did not know! But her most important talent was that she knew how to kindle in young heads the fire of a thirst for knowledge and curiosity for the subjects studied. She taught us to find interesting sides in everything. She had a lot of familiar men who sometimes came to our school, and we got a point of view on the subject of the opposite sex.
In addition to these lessons, the girls also learned dancing, music, needlework and the ability to stay in society. In many schools, as a test before admission, the task was to sew on a button or overcast a buttonhole. However, this pattern was observed only in England. Russian and German girls were much more educated (according to Lady Hartvrich) and knew three or four languages perfectly, and in France the girls were more refined in manners.
How difficult it is now for our free-thinking generation, practically not subject to public opinion, to understand that just a little more than a hundred years ago, it was precisely this opinion that determined the fate of a person, especially girls. It is also impossible for a generation that grew up outside estate and class boundaries to imagine a world in which insurmountable restrictions and barriers arose at every turn. Girls from good families were never allowed to be alone with a man, even for a few minutes in the living room of their own house. In society, they were convinced that if a man was alone with a girl, he would immediately harass her. Those were the conventions of the time. The men were in search of prey and prey, and the girls were protected from those who wanted to pick the flower of innocence.
All Victorian mothers were very concerned about the latter circumstance, and in order to prevent rumors about their daughters, who often dissolved in order to eliminate a happier rival, did not let them go and controlled their every step. Girls and young women were also under constant surveillance by the servants. The maids woke them up, dressed them, waited at the table, the young ladies made morning visits accompanied by a lackey and a groom, they were at balls or in the theater with mothers and matchmakers, and in the evening, when they returned home, sleepy maids undressed them. The poor things were almost never left alone. If a miss (an unmarried lady) eluded her maid, matchmaker, sister and acquaintances for just an hour, then dirty assumptions were already being made that something might have happened. From that moment on, the contenders for the hand and heart seemed to evaporate.
Beatrix Potter, a beloved English children's writer, recalled in her memoirs how one day she and her family went to the theater. She was 18 at the time and had lived in London all her life. However, near Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, the Strand and the Monument - famous places in the city center, which it was impossible not to drive past, she had never been. “It is amazing to state that this was the first time in my life! she wrote in her memoirs. “After all, if I could, I would gladly walk here alone, without waiting for someone to accompany me!”
And at the same time, Bella Wilfer, from Dickens's book "Our Mutual Friend", traveled alone through the whole city from Oxford Street to Hollowen Prison (more than three miles), according to the author, "as if a crow flies", and no one I didn't think it was weird. One evening, she went to look for her father in the city center and was only noticed because there were only a few women on the street in the financial district at that time. It's strange, two girls of the same age, and so differently treated the same question: can they go out alone on the street? Of course, Bella Wilfer is a fictional character, and Beatrix Potter actually lived, but the point is that there were different rules for different classes. The poor girls were much freer in their movements due to the fact that there was no one to follow them and accompany them wherever they went. And if they worked as servants or in a factory, then they made the way back and forth alone and no one thought it was indecent. The higher the status of a woman, the more rules and decorum she was entangled.
An unmarried American woman who had come to England with her aunt to visit her relatives had to return home on inheritance matters. Aunt, fearful of another long voyage, did not go with her. When six months later the girl reappeared in British society, she was received very coldly by all the important ladies on whom public opinion depended. After the girl made such a long journey on her own, they did not consider her virtuous enough for their circle, suggesting that, being left unattended, she could do something unlawful. Marriage for a young American woman was in jeopardy. Fortunately, having a flexible mind, she did not reproach the ladies for their outdated views and prove them wrong, but instead, for several months she demonstrated exemplary behavior and, having established herself in society on the right side, having, moreover, a pleasant appearance, very successfully got married.
As a countess, she quickly silenced any gossipers who still had a desire to discuss her "dark past".
The wife had to obey and obey her husband in everything, just like the children. A man, on the other hand, should be strong, decisive, businesslike and fair, since he was responsible for the whole family. Here is an example of an ideal woman: “There was something inexplicably tender in her image. I will never allow myself to raise my voice or simply speak to her loudly and quickly, for fear of frightening her and hurting her! Such a delicate flower should be fed only by love!”
Tenderness, silence, ignorance of life were typical features of the ideal bride. If a girl read a lot and, God forbid, not etiquette books, not religious or classical literature, not biographies of famous artists and musicians or other decent publications, if she had seen Darwin's On the Origin of Species or similar scientific works in her hands, then it looked as bad in the eyes of society as if she had been seen reading a French novel. After all, a smart wife, having read such "nasty things", would begin to express her ideas to her husband, and he would not only feel stupider than her, but also would not be able to keep her in check. Here is how Molly Hages, an unmarried girl from a poor family, who herself had to earn a living, writes about this. Being a hat milliner and having lost her business, she went to Cornwall to her cousin, who was afraid of her, considering her modern. “After a while, my cousin complimented me: “They told us that you are smart. And you are not at all!”
In the language of the XIX century, this meant that, it turns out, you are a worthy girl with whom I will be happy to make friends. Moreover, it was expressed by a girl from the outback to a girl who came from the capital - a hotbed of vice. These words of her cousin made Molly think about how she should behave: “I must hide the fact that I was educated and worked by myself, and even more hide my interest in books, paintings and politics. Soon, I gave myself wholeheartedly to gossip about romance and "how far some girls can get" - a favorite topic of the local society. At the same time, I found it quite convenient for me to seem somewhat strange. It was not considered a defect or a defect. Knowledge is what I had to hide from everyone!”
The already mentioned girl from America, Sarah Duncan, remarked bitterly: “In England, an unmarried girl of my age should not talk much ... It was quite difficult for me to accept this, but later I realized what was the matter. You need to keep your opinions to yourself. I began to speak rarely, little and found that the best topic that suits everyone is the zoo. No one will judge me if I talk about animals."
Also a great topic for conversation is opera. The opera Gilbert and Sillivan was considered very popular at that time. In Gissing's work entitled "Women in Discord", the hero visited the friend of an emancipated woman:
“What, is this new opera Schilberg and Sillivan really that good? he asked her.
- Very! Have you really not seen it yet?
- No! I'm really ashamed to admit it!
- Go tonight. Unless, of course, you get a free seat. What part of the theater do you prefer?
“I am a poor man, as you know. I have to be content with a cheap place."
A few more questions and answers - a typical mixture of banality and intense insolence, and the hero, peering into the face of his interlocutor, could not help smiling. “Isn't it true, our conversation would have been approved over traditional tea at five o'clock. Exactly the same dialogue I heard yesterday in the living room!”
Such communication with conversations about nothing led someone to despair, but most were quite happy.
Until the age of 17-18, girls were considered invisible. They were present at parties, but did not have the right to say a word until someone addressed them. Yes, and then their answers should be very brief. They seemed to have an understanding that the girl was noticed only out of politeness. Parents continued to dress their daughters in similar simple dresses so that they would not attract the attention of suitors intended for their older sisters. No one dared jump their turn, as happened to Eliza Bennet's younger sister in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. When their hour finally came, all attention at once turned to the blossoming flower, the parents dressed the girl in all the best so that she would take her rightful place among the first brides of the country and be able to attract the attention of profitable suitors.
Every girl, entering the world, experienced a terrible excitement! After all, from that moment on, she became noticeable. She was no longer a child who, with a pat on the head, was sent away from the hall where the adults were. Theoretically, she was prepared for this, but practically she had not the slightest experience of how to behave in such a situation. After all, at that time the idea of evenings for young people did not exist at all, as well as entertainment for children. Balls and receptions were given for the nobility, for royalty, for the guests of their parents, and the young were only allowed to attend these events.
Many girls aspired to get married only because they considered their own mother to be the worst of evils, saying that it was ugly to sit cross-legged. They really had no idea about life, and this was considered their great advantage. Experience was seen as bad form and almost equated with bad reputation. No man would want to marry a girl with a bold, as it was believed, daring outlook on life. Innocence and modesty were traits highly valued in young girls by the Victorians. Even the colors of their dresses, when they went to the ball, were surprisingly uniform - different shades of white (a symbol of innocence). Before marriage, they did not wear jewelry and could not wear bright dresses.
What a contrast with spectacular ladies dressed in the best outfits, traveling in the best carriages, cheerfully and uninhibitedly receiving guests in richly furnished houses. When mothers went out into the street with their daughters, in order to avoid explaining who these beautiful ladies were, they forced the girls to turn away. The young lady should not have known anything about this "secret" side of life. It was such a big blow for her when, after marriage, she discovered that her husband was uninteresting and he preferred to spend time in the company of such cocottes. Here is how the Daily Telegraph journalist describes them:
“I stared at the sylphs as they flew or swam in their delightful traveling costumes and intoxicatingly beautiful hats, some in beaver hunting with flowing veils, others in coquettish green-feathered cavaliers. And as this magnificent cavalcade passed by, the mischievous wind slightly lifted their skirts, exposing small, tight-fitting boots with a military heel, or tight riding trousers.
How much excitement at the sight of dressed legs, much more than now at the sight of undressed ones!
Not only the whole system of life was built in such a way as to observe morality, but clothing was an inevitable barrier to vice, because the girl was wearing up to fifteen layers of undershirts, skirts, bodices and corsets, which she could not get rid of without the help of a maid. Even assuming her date was skilled in lingerie and could help her, most of the date would have gone into getting rid of the clothes and then putting them back on. At the same time, the experienced eye of the maid would instantly see the problems in the petticoats and shirts, and the secret would still be revealed.
Months, if not years, passed in Victorian times between the onset of sympathy for each other, which began with a twitch of eyelashes, timid glances that lingered a little longer on the subject of interest, sighs, a slight blush, rapid heartbeat, excitement in the chest, and a decisive explanation. From that moment on, everything depended on whether the girl's parents liked the applicant for the hand and heart. If not, then they tried to find another candidate who met the main criteria of that time: title, respectability (or public opinion) and money. Interested in the daughter's future chosen one, who could be several times older than her and cause disgust, her parents reassured her that she would endure and fall in love. In such a situation, the opportunity to quickly become a widow was attractive, especially if the spouse left a will in her favor.
If a girl did not marry and lived with her parents, then most often she was a prisoner in her own house, where she continued to be treated as a minor who did not have her own opinions and desires. After the death of her father and mother, the inheritance was most often left to the elder brother, and she, having no means of subsistence, moved to live in his family, where she was always put in last place. Servants carried her around the table, her brother's wife commanded her, and again she found herself in complete dependence. If there were no brothers, then the girl, after her parents left this world, moved to her sister's family, because it was believed that an unmarried girl, even if she is an adult, is not able to take care of herself. It was even worse there, since in this case her brother-in-law, that is, a stranger, decided her fate. When a woman married, she ceased to be the mistress of her own money, which was given for her as a dowry. The husband could drink them away, walk away, lose or give them to his mistress, and the wife could not even reproach him, as this would be condemned in society. Of course, she could be lucky, and her beloved husband could be successful in business and reckon with her opinion, then life really passed in happiness and peace. But if he turned out to be a tyrant and a petty tyrant, then all that remained was to wait for his death and be afraid at the same time to be left without money and a roof over his head.
To get the right groom, they did not hesitate to use any means. Here is a scene from a popular play, which Lord Ernest himself wrote and often performed in the home theater:
“The rich house on the estate, where Hilda, sitting in her own bedroom in front of a mirror, combs her hair after an event that occurred during a game of hide and seek. Her mother Lady Dragon enters.
Lady Dragoy. Well, you did the same, dear!
Hilda. What's up, mom?
Lady Dragon (derisively). What business! To sit all night with a man in the closet and not make him propose!
Hilda, Not all night at all, just a short time before dinner.
Lady Dragon. It is the same!
Hilda. Well, what could I do, mom?
Lady Dragon. Don't pretend to be stupid! A thousand things you could do! Did he kiss you?
Hilda. Yes mom!
Lady Dragon. And you just sat there like an idiot and let yourself be kissed for an hour?
Hilda (sobbing). Well, you said yourself that I shouldn't oppose Lord Paty. And if he wants to kiss me, then I have to let him.
Lady Dragon. You really are a real fool! Why didn't you scream when the prince found you two in his wardrobe?
Hilda. Why did I have to scream?
Lady Dragon. You don't have a brain at all! Don't you know that as soon as you heard the sound of footsteps, you should have shouted: "Help! Help! Get your hands off me, sir!" Or something similar. Then he would have been forced to marry you!
Hilda. Mom, but you never told me about it!
Lady Dragon. God! Well, it's so natural! You should have guessed! As I will now explain to my father... Well, all right. It's no use talking to a brainless chicken!
The maid enters with a note on a tray.
Housemaid. My lady, a letter for Miss Hilda!
Hilda (reading the note). Mother! It's Lord Pati! He asks me to marry him!
Lady Dragoy (kissing her daughter). My dear, dear girl! You have no idea how happy I am! I always said that you are my smart one!
The above passage shows another contradiction of its time. Lady Dragon did not see anything reprehensible in the fact that her daughter, contrary to all the Norms of Behavior, was alone with a man for an hour! Yes, even in the closet! And all this because they played a very common home game of "hide and seek", where the rules not only allowed, but also prescribed to scatter, breaking into pairs, since the girls could be frightened by dark rooms lit only by oil lamps and candles. At the same time, it was allowed to hide anywhere, even in the owner's closet, as was the case.
With the beginning of the season, there was a revival in the world, and if a girl did not find a husband for herself last year, her excited mother could change her matchmaker and start hunting for suitors again. At the same time, the age of the matchmaker did not matter. Sometimes she was even younger and more playful than the treasure that she offered and at the same time carefully guarded. It was allowed to retire to the winter garden only for the purpose of offering a hand and heart.
If a girl disappeared for 10 minutes during the dance, then in the eyes of society she was already noticeably losing her value, so the matchmaker relentlessly turned her head in all directions during the ball so that her ward remained in sight. During the dance, the girls sat on a well-lit sofa or in a row of chairs, and young people approached them to sign up for a ballroom book for a certain dance number.
Two dances in a row with the same gentleman attracted the attention of everyone, and the matchmakers began to whisper about the engagement. Only Prince Albert and Queen Victoria were allowed three in a row.
And it certainly was completely unacceptable for ladies to make visits to a gentleman except on very important matters. Every now and then in the English literature of that time, examples are given: “She knocked nervously and immediately regretted it and looked around, afraid to see suspicion or mockery in the passing respectable matrons. She had doubts, because a lonely girl should not visit a lonely man. She pulled herself together, straightened up and knocked again more confidently. The gentleman was her manager and she really needed to speak to him urgently.”
However, all conventions ended where poverty reigned. What kind of supervision could be for girls who were forced to earn a living. Did anyone think that they alone walked along the dark streets, looking for a drunken father, and in the service also no one cared that the maid was left alone in the room with the owner. The moral standards for the lower class were completely different, although here the main thing was that the girl took care of herself and did not cross the last line.
Born into poor families, they worked to the point of exhaustion and could not resist when, for example, the owner of the store in which they worked, persuaded them to cohabitate. They could not refuse, even knowing what fate befell many others who had previously worked at the same place. The addiction was terrible. Having refused, the girl lost her place and was doomed to spend long weeks, or even months, in search of a new one. And if the last money was paid for housing, it means that she had nothing to eat, she could faint at any moment, but she was in a hurry to find a job, otherwise she could lose the roof over her head.
Imagine if at the same time she had to feed her elderly parents and little sisters! She had no choice but to sacrifice herself for them! For many poor girls, this could be a way out of poverty, if not for children born out of wedlock, which changed everything in their situation. At the slightest hint of pregnancy, the lover left them, sometimes without any means of subsistence. Even if he helped for a while, the money still ran out very quickly, and the parents, who had previously encouraged their daughter to feed the whole family with the means earned in this way, now, without receiving more money, dishonored her daily and showered curses. All the gifts that she had received before from a rich lover were eaten up. Shame and humiliation awaited her at every turn. It was impossible for a pregnant woman to get a job - it means that she settled with an extra mouth on the neck of an already poor family, and after the birth of a child, there were constant worries about who would look after him while she was at work.
And all the same, even knowing all the circumstances, before the temptation to hide at least for a while from oppressive poverty, open the curtain to a completely different joyful, elegant world, walk down the street in stunningly beautiful and expensive outfits and look down on people from whom so much work depended on for years, and therefore life, it was almost impossible to resist! To some extent, this was their chance, which they would have regretted in any case, accepting it or rejecting it.
The statistics were relentless. For every former store clerk who proudly strutted around in expensive outfits in the apartment her lover rented for her, there were hundreds whose lives were ruined for the same reason. A man could lie about his status, or intimidate, or bribe, or take by force, you never know the ways in which resistance can be broken. But, having achieved his goal, he most often remained indifferent to what would happen to the poor girl, who would surely get tired of him. Will the poor thing manage her life? How will she recover from the shame that has befallen her? Will she die of grief and humiliation, or will she be able to survive? What will happen to their common child? The former lover, the culprit of her disgrace, now avoided the unfortunate and, as if afraid of getting dirty, turned away, making it clear that there could be nothing in common between him and this dirty girl. She might as well be a thief! Driver, move!"
Even worse was the situation of the poor illegitimate child. Even if his father provided financial assistance until he came of age, even then every minute of his life he felt that they did not want him to be born and that he was not like the others. Still not understanding the word illegitimate, he already knew that it had a shameful meaning, and all his life he could not wash off the dirt.
Mr. William Whiteley cohabited all his saleswomen and abandoned them when they became pregnant. When one of his illegitimate sons grew up, then, experiencing a burning hatred for his father, one day he went to the store and shot him. In 1886, Lord Querlingford wrote in his journal after he had passed through one of the main streets of Mayfair after supper: "It is strange to pass through the rows of women silently offering their bodies to passing men." Such was the result of almost all the poor girls who, to use the terminology of the 19th century, "plunged themselves into the abyss of debauchery." The cruel time did not forgive those who neglected public opinion. The Victorian world was divided into only two colors: white and black! Either virtuous to the point of absurdity, or depraved! Moreover, as we saw above, one could be ranked in the last category, just because of the wrong color of the shoes, because of flirting in front of everyone with a gentleman during the dance, and you never know because of which young girls were awarded a brand from old maidens that, pursing their lips into a thin thread, they watched the youth at the balls.
Text by Tatjana Dittrich (from Daily Life in Victorian England.
Reproductions of paintings by James Tissot.
source
http://gorod.tomsk.ru/
