Victorian values

and Oscar Wilde

The Victorian era
during the reign of Queen Victoria – 1837 -1901

distinct social and cultural values

Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901)
- reign: 1837 – 1901 ​

- married to Prince Albert

- their traditional values set a model for Victorian society

- constitutional monarchy

- expansion of the British Empire

 - Russia vs. Ottoman Empire, Britain,
France

- over religious rights in the Holy Land

- Treaty of Paris - 1856

- changes in European power dynamics

Crimean War (1853 - 1856)

Second Opium War
(1856 - 1860)
- Qing Dynasty (China) vs. Britain, France, United
States, Russia

- prolonged conflicts over trade and diplomatic tensions

- multiple treaties

- ended with China paying indemnity to foreign powers

 British imperial
expansion
- colonization across Asia, Africa, and Oceania

- India
- direct Crown rule from 1858

- Queen Victoria - Empress of India in 1876

- economic exploitation

- Egypt and Suez Canal

- Suez Canal - trade routes to India

- Anglo-Egyptian War in 1822 led to British control

- fascination with Egyptian history

 Industrial revolution
- economic shift - industrial transition, rapid factory growth

- urbanization

- social changes - emergence of working class, intensified class

divides:
 Upper class

 Middle class

 Working class

 The poor

- rise of industrial capitalism

 Victorian values
- moral uprightness

- education for both genders

- strong work ethic - valued hard work and

self-discipline

- emphasis on sexual modesty and restraint

- family life
- idealization of the nuclear family structure

- clearly defined gender roles

- family seen as a sign of social stability

- fascination with death – a large number of deaths due
to diseases

- spiritualism - séances, ghost stories

- strange social events for the upper class - taxidermy

parties, cemetery picknicks, mummy unwrapping
parties…

- use of arsenic despite its toxic nature – green pigments

(wallpapers, fabrics, toys…), also in medicinal and
cosmetic products
 Oscar Wilde
- born in 1854, in Dublin

- attended Oxford

- gained fame through his contributions to various

magazines and his plays

- married Constance Lloyd in 1884, two sons

Oscar Wilde

- Lord Alfred Douglas

- personal and legal challenges due to his

homosexuality - 2 years of hard labor in prison

- died in 1900, in Paris

- posthumously pardoned in 2017, recognizing the

injustice he faced
 Writing style
- known for his flamboyant writing style

- paradoxes, epigrams, and satirical wit

- influenced by the aesthetic movement - "art for art's

sake“

- mastery of dialogue

- elaborate language
 Works

- "The Canterville Ghost" 1887 – a novella

that blends elements of comedy and the

supernatural

- "The Importance of Being Earnest" 1895 -

a comedic play satirizing Victorian society and its

social norms

- "De Profundis" 1905 - a long letter he wrote

to his former lover during his imprisonment
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
- a novel

- 1890

- Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward, Lord Henry Wotton

- hedonism and the pursuit of pleasure

- the consequences of aestheticism and moral decay

- dual nature of humanity

 Summary
- 1837-1901

- Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

- Crimean War and Second Opium War

- expansion of British colonies across Asia, Africa, and Oceania

- social changes because of the Industrial revolution

- distinct values surrounding morality, work-ethic, gender roles, class divides…

- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) – poet and playwright – “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Sources:
- https://www.britannica.com/event/Victorian-era

- https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/what-happened-during-victorian-era

- https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/queen-victoria-prince-albert

- https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/victorian-era-timeline

- https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/women-in-history/queen-victoria/

- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oscar-Wilde

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2vnec2sGVo

- https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Victorian-Fashion/

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZoUlMrWuCU

- https://en.wikipedia.org/