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U50 - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Parliamentary, labor & social welfare Reforms
        
        Great Reform Act of 1832
        
        Factory Act of 1833
        
        Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834
        
        Mines Act of 1842
        
        Ten Hours Act of 1847
        
        The Reform Act (i.e. the ‘Representation of the People Act’), aimed to extend the voting rights (to all males owning property worth £10 or more in annual rent) & redistribute Parliamentary seats/representation, thus satisfying many of the demands of the male middle classes who were gradually taking over England’s economy. Next year, the reformed Parliament stated a legislative accomplishment regarding 1st, the emancipation of slaves in the British colonies throughout the British Empire, and 2nd:
        
        The Factory Act (1833), an effective act regulating child labour in factories which set the minimum age (9 years), the hours of work (8 hours), and the kind of labour to carry out.
        
        The Poor Law, however, aimed to reduce the cost of poor relief and make the system more efficient by encouraging the poor to become self-reliant rather than dependent on government aid, which forced them into hash workhouses.
        
        The Mines Act dealt with the exploitation of women and children in coal mines by prohibiting the employment of women/girls & boys under 10.
        
        The Ten Hours Act limited the workday to 10 hours for women & underage children.
        
        (1832-33-34-42-47)
      - Beginning of Free Trade
        
        Repeal of the Corn Laws (1846)
        
        The Corn Laws were a series of protectionist measures enacted between 1815-1846 that imposed tariffs & restrictions on imported grain ("corn" being a term for all types of grain, including wheat). They were designed to keep grain prices high to benefit domestic landowners and farmers over foreign competition, however, this lead to higher food prices which particularly hurt the working class.
        
        The Repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 marked the beginning of Britain’s shift towards free trade, helping solidify its position as the world’s leading trading nation during the Victorian era. The repeal helped lower the price of food (grain & bread), allowing workers to spend more of their income on other goods, which stimulated demand in other sectors of the economy (economic & industrial growth). It heightened the political power of the urban middle class over the landowning aristocracy. Also, by relieving the situation the working classes, it saved England from the revolutionary movements which took place over Europe at that time.
      - Political rise of the working classes
        
        Trade Union Congress (1868)
        
        Second & Third Reform Acts
        (1867, 1884)
        
        Trade unions had been forming since the early 1800s, but these were often small, localized & faced legal obstacles. In 1868, trade unions achieved national unification by the establishment of the Trade Union Congress, gaining legal recognition & political strength/representation. Its influence grew rapidly, the Conservative and Liberal politicians saw the necessity of winning working-class support and by 1900 the working classes were consolidated enough to form their own Labour Party.
        
        The Second Reform Act of 1867 extended the right to vote to a larger portion of the male urban working class. It doubled the electorate by reducing property qualifications in urban areas. However, it still excluded women & men in rural areas. The Third Reform Act of 1884 extended the franchise to rural areas (the rural working class), including men over 21 who met the property qualifications. This was a significant step toward universal male suffrage & the gradual democratization of Britain. However, women were not enfranchised until well into the 20th c. (1928).
      - Education reforms
        
        Before 1870, education in Britain was largely provided by religious organizations, charities, and private schools, which meant that many children, particularly those from working-class families, had little or no access to formal education, and there was a growing concern about the lack of basic literacy & numeracy among the population.
        
        The Education Act of 1870 was the first step by the British government to establish a system of elementary education for all children aged 5 to 13. But still, a large number of children did not attend school regularly. The Elementary Education Act of 1880 made attendance to board schools compulsory and even placed restrictions on child labor. The Education Act of 1902 created a more unified system, increasing state control & expanded secondary education schools. This, in turn, gradually led to an enormous reading public.
        
        (1870, 1880 & 1902)
    - - Scientific revolution & Religious crisis
        
        During the 19th c. religion had been a powerful force in Victorian life & literature, however, discoveries in science & biology, specifically the appearance of Darwin's On the Origin of Species in 1859 challenged all accepted religious views.
        
        Darwin's new system of knowledge of the world and his theory of evolution by natural selection through "On the Origin of the Species" (1859) provided the intellectual framework that led to the Golden Age of medicine, agriculture & industry by the end of the 19th c. Due to the evolutionist theory, the idea of God became less & less relevant, leading to an unpredecented religious controversy.
      - Demografic revolution
        
        With the movement of large masses of the population from the country to the towns and the new division of labor (factory system); came the distinction of two basic social classes: the rich & the poor. I.e., the capitalist employers (proletarians) & the workers, employees or working class (proletariat). The industrial middle class, often factory owners or merchants, accumulated wealth through industry & trade, widening the gap btw them and the impoverished working class, leading to class tensions & the rise of labor movements /trade unions.
        
        The specialization of work for mass production meant that: Workers lived in workhouses in factory towns in poor working conditions (unsafe, crowded & dirty), and had to work all day long (12-16h workdays). Men & women/children were separated as factories often assigned different roles to them, which involved family separation & disruption. Like women, children were paid significantly less and were left unsupervised or entered the workforce at 5-6, but this would later change with the regulation of child labor.
- - - - The settings (whether rural, urban, interior or exterior) reflected the character's personalities and signalled the direction of the plot. They are often about upper-middle-class Englishmen in London and their environments. Yet, behind and around these men are women, workers & servants, characters who disappear to & reappear from places like India, Africa, Australia, the Orient, the West Indies and the Middle East, which transform them. Victorian novels often deals with the emerging middle class, its manners & expectations, as opposed to the dominating aristocratic forms of previous ages. Victorian novels are filled with allusions, images, figurative language and a variety of themes: literary, artistic or musical works, mythology, the Bible, historical events or contemporary social and political events.
        
        The novel was considered not only the premier form of entertainment but also a primary means of analyzing and offering solutions to social & political problems, only challenged by the revival of drama towards the last two decades. This king style, the novel, is presented with a political, philosophical or social overtone since this was the ideal form to describe contemporary life & to entertain the middle class.
  - - - The Victorian period is also the time of the women artists; no other time has produced such a number of women novelists and of such importance; their existence must be linked with their struggle towards personal independence during the period.
  - - - Philosophical writings reflect the most outstanding philosophical and moral problems of the period:
        
        George Eliot: Silas Marner
        
        George Meredith
        
        Thomas Henry Huxley
        
        Social writings centre around the pervasive social problems which emerged in the Victorian period:
        
        William Makepeace Thackeray
        
        the Brontë sisters,
        
        Wilkie Collins
        
        Thomas Hardy
        
        Charles Dickens,
        
        Joseph Conrad
        
        Rudyard Kipling
- - - - (1865-1936)
      - Indian origins & Difficult childhood
        
        Journalist of colonial life
        
        Advocate of imperialism
        
        Born in Mumbay, India to expatriate British parents, his early childhood was deeply influenced by the sights & culture of India. At the age of 6 he was sent to England to live with a foster family. Referred by him as "The House of Desolation", it was a place of misery where he was treated harshly & bullied, which is reflected in some of his darker writings.
        
        Kipling began his writing career in India, working as a journalist for several English-language newspapers. His first stories showcased his observations of Anglo-Indian society & the complexities of colonial life.
        
        Kipling was a strong advocate of British imperialism as a force for good. He believed that it was not only right & proper, but a moral obligation for Britain to “own” India & rule its people (the civilizing mission), whom he depicted as unable to govern themselves effectively, never questioning the possibility that this may be wrong. And although this stance has made him a controversial figure, there are many contradictions in his works which show an awareness of its darker aspects.
        
        The Man Who Would Be King (1888)
        
        The Jungle Book (1894)
        
        Captains Courageous (1897)
        
        The White Man’s Burden (poem, 1899)
        
        Kim (1901)
        
        If— (1910)
        
        Kim
        
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        The Jungle Book
        
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        If—
        
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        The White Man’s Burden
        
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    - - (1840-1928)
      - Rural upbringing
        
        Architect & transition to writing
        
        Prolific poet & pessimism
        
        Controversies & criticism
        
        Troubled marriages
        
        Burial controversy
        
        Born in the county of Dorset (Wessex) into a modest family. His father was a stonemason & builder. His well-read mother encouraged his education at a local school. Most of his works are set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex, based on the countryside where he spent his youth. This rural background gave him a unique perspective on the lives of the rural poor, a central theme in his works.
        
        Hardy was initially trained as an architect, working in the restauration of churches, which developed his appreciation for historical archuitecture & English heritage reflected in his novels. However, he began writing novels in his spare time and his passion for literature grew, deciding to pursue writing full-time despite some early rejections.
        
        Although Hardy is more widely recognized as a novelist, he considered himself primarily a poet. He wrote over 1,000 poems, and his poetry is noted for its pessimistic vision/tone and exploration of themes like love, loss & human suffering. His fascination with fate & tragedy came from his belief in the philosophy of determinism. So, his characters often experience inevitable suffering and the indifferent forces of nature & society.
        
        Some of Hardy’s novels were controversial at publication for their frank treatment of topics like sexuality and critique of Victorian morality & social norms.
        
        His first marriage to Emma Gifford was initially happy, but they grew apart over time. However, her sudden death deeply affected Hardy, which led him to write his most moving poetry (Poems of 1912-13), which reflects his grief & guilt over their troubled relationship. He later married Florence Dugdale, 40 years his junior.
        
        After his death at the age of 87, it was decided that his heart would be buried in his first wife’s grave in Dorset, and his ashes in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.
        
        Far from the Madding Crowd (1874)
        
        Tess of the d'Urbevilles (1891)
        
        Jude the Obscure (1895)
        
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    - - (1843-1916)
      - Family of intellectuals
        
        Avid reader & prolific writer
        
        Transatlantic identity & British citizen
        
        Pioneering psychological realism
        
        Born in New York into an affluent & socially prominent family of intellectuals, his father was an theologician, lecturer and his brother was the philosopher William James, one of the founders of pragmatism & modern psychology.
        
        Early on, Henry was a shy, quiet observer and a book-addicted boy. Although he studied at the Harvard Law School, he devoted his time to reading the classics of English, American, French, German & Russian literature, becoming talented/gifted in literature, psychology & philosophy. He would become a prolific writer, and despite best known for his novels & novellas, he also wrote several plays, hundreds of short stories and essays (literary criticism).
        
        He spent his preadolescent years travelling around Europe (Geneva, Paris, London), where he acquired several languages & an awareness of Europe few Americans could fathom. Then, he moved permanently to England, living in London and Rye (Sussex), where he spent the rest of his life and wrote his last novels. He was deeply distressed by the outbreak of WWI and he wasn’t very happy with the US neutral position, so just one year before his death he decided to become a British citizen.
        
        He was a pioneer in developing/exploring the stream-of-consciousness. James' stories never describe exciting action or big events, but the life of the mind (the changing consciousness or mental processes is the real story). This experimental approach influenced many modernist writers like Virginia Woolf & James Joyce.
        
        Roderick Hudson (1875)
        
        The American (1877)
        
        Daisy Miller (1878)
        
        The Portrait of a Lady (1881)
        
        The Princess Casamassima (1886)
        
        The Bostonians (1886)
        
        What Maisie Knew (1897)
        
        *The Turn of the Screw (1898)
        
        The Wings of the Dove (1902)
        
        The Ambassadors (1903)
        
        The Golden Bowl (1904)
        
        The Portrait of a Lady
        
        It reflects James’s fascination with the contrasts between American & European cultures. The protagonist, Isabel Archer, is an American woman navigating the complexities of European society. Isabel is considered a new kind of literary heroine. Unlike many female characters in literature of the period, Isabel is independent, intelligent & determined to maintain her freedom at all costs, rejecting several marriage proposals on her way. Hence, James criticizes marriage as a trap for growth & autonomy rather than a source of happiness in a woman's life.
        
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    - - (1857-1924)
      - Polish origins & activism
        
        Sailor's life
        
        English learner, Multinational identity & British name/citizenship
        
        Born in Poland (in what is now Ukraine, and then part of the Russian empire), his Polish family was involved in political activisim against Russian occupation. His father, a poet, playwright & translator, was exiled to Siberia for his ardent patriotism.
        
        At the age of 16, he embarked on a maritime/seafaring career, sailing to many parts of the world (Australia, India, South America, Africa, etc.) first on French merchant ships and later joined the British merchant navy. His experiences at sea provided rich material & exotic settings for his novels (e.g. Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim & Typhoon).
        
        Remarkably, he did not learn English until he was in his 20s, so English was his 3rd language after his native Polish & French, and yet he became one of the greatest novelists in the English language. As a Polish-born writer who wrote in English and spent much of his life in France & England, his multinational identity was marked by a sense of exile, alienation & displacement. At 29, he changed his Polish-born name to its British counterpart & became a British citizen due to his love for British maritime tradition & culture and his desire for political stability & career opportunities.
        
        Heart of Darkness (1899)
        
        Lord Jim (1900)
        
        Nostromo (1904)
        
        The Shadow Line (1917)
        
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  - - - (1812-1870)
      - Difficult childhood
        
        Celebrity at 24
        
        Prolific writer
        
        Inspired by London
        
        Social reformer
        
        Turbulent emotional life
        
        Born in Portsmouth, he had a difficult childhood. At 12, his father was imprisoned for debt, so he was neglected education and was forced to work in a shoe-blacking factory to support his family. This traumatic experience was the source of his focus on social injustice & child labor.
        
        He was an avid reader and mostly self-educated. He first worked as a clerk, then as a journalist and became an international celebrity at 24 by popularizing the serial format with the serialized publication of The Pickwick Papers (1836).
        
        As one of the most prolific writers of his time, he wrote hundreds of essays and other articles for periodicals, but he is famous mainly for his novels. He performed dramatic public readings of his most famous works, often moving audiences to laughter and tears.
        
        Except A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens' novels are always set in London (at least partly), and they are inspired by real-life people & places he encountered/observed during his walks through the slums of London at night, as he was a tireless walker.
        
        Affected by his childhood experiences, Dickens grew into a humanitarian/social reformer, especially concerning poverty, child labor, and the treatment of the poor and working class. His novels often criticized, in a satirical way, the harsh realities of Victorian society, unlike many novels of the period, which often focused on the lives of the wealthy or the middle class.
        
        Despite his public persona, Dickens led a turbulent emotional life. He separated from his wife Catherine after 22 years of marriage & 10 children and had a secret, long-lasting affair with the 18-year-old actress Ellen Ternan, being 45 at the time.
        
        Main works
        
        The Pickwick Papers (1837)
        
        Oliver Twist (1839)
        
        Nicholas Nickleby (1839)
        
        A Christmas Carol* (1844)
        
        David Copperfield (1850)
        
        Bleak House (1853)
        
        Hard Times (1854)
        
        A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
        
        Great Expectations (1861)
        
        A comic novel following the adventures of the good-natured Mr. Pickwick and his companions.
        
        One of Dickens' most famous works, it follows the story of Oliver, an orphan boy who escapes a workhouse and encounters the criminal underworld of London.
        
        It tells the tale of young Nicholas Nickleby, who must support his family after the death of his father.
        
        It tells the story of Scrooge, a miserly old man who is transformed after being visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come.
        
        A semi-autobiographical novel, it traces the life of David Copperfield from childhood to maturity, and is considered one of Dickens' most personal works.
        
        This novel offers a vivid depiction of the English legal system through the long-running case of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce, exploring themes of social decay and corruption.
        
        A critique of industrial society, Hard Times focuses on the dehumanizing effects of factory work on women, men & children.
        
        Set during the French Revolution, this historical novel contrasts life in Paris and London, following the lives of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton.
        
        One of Dickens' most famous works, it follows the life of Pip, an orphan who dreams of becoming a gentleman, exploring themes of ambition, class, and self-discovery.
        
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    - - (1811-1863)
      - Early separation
        
        Artist ambitions
        
        Inheritance & loss
        
        Single father
        
        Prolific & famous
        
        Born in Cacutta, India, he was sent to England to get a proper education after his father's sudden death being only 4. This early separation from his homeland and the loss of his father would leave an enduring impression on him.
        
        Before becoming a writer, Thackeray had ambitions to be an artist. He studied art in Paris but ultimately decided that he did not have enough talent to make a career of it. However, he often illustrated his own novels, including Vanity Fair, which were not mere decorations, but added visual satire to complement his narrative.
        
        Thackeray inherited a considerable fortune when he came of age, but he lost most of it due to unsuccessful investments, which forced him to pursue writing more seriously to support himself.
        
        At 25, he married Isabella Shawe & had 3 daughters. His wife's severe mental breakdown after the birth of their 3rd child was the tragedy of his life. She never fully recovered, leaving Thackeray as a single father. His experiences raising his daughters alone along with the emotional toll of his wife's illness deeply affected his views on women, love & relationships in his work.
        
        He became a prolific writer for periodicals/magazines in monthly installments, using a variety of pen names. His fame came with the novel Vanity Fair, which was immediately successful, elevating him to the status of one of the leading novelist of the Victorian era, only rivaled by Dickens.
        
        The Book of Snobs (1846-47)
        
        Vanity Fair (1847-48)
        
        The History of Pendennis (1848-50)
        
        The History of Henry Esmond (1852)
        
        Denis Duval (unfinished, 1864)
        
        Vanity Fair
        
        Published serially in monthly installments from 1847 to 1848, Vanity Fair was the first work Thackeray published under his own name. Set at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, the novel follows the fortunes of two women, Becky Sharp & Amelia Sedley, as they navigate the complexities of social ambition, marriage, and morality.
        
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        Becky Sharp
        
        Amelia Sedley
    - - Tragic childhood
        
        Educated at home
        
        Pseudonyms
        
        the Brontë Myth
        
        Their father was a well-educated Irish clergyman who encouraged his children's literary pursuits. He had 6 children, all of them talented writers with short lives. Charlotte was the 3rd child, Emily the 5th. Charlotte & Emily had a tragic childhood, their mother Maria Branwell Brontë and two of their older sisters (Maria & Elizabeth) died of tuberculosis when they were very young. Branwell, the only brother, struggled with alcohol & opium addiction. Emily and Anne would later succumb to tuberculosis as well. Finally, Charlotte outlived her siblings but died at the age of 38.
        
        They were largely educated at home by their father & their aunt (except for a single year that Charlotte & Emily spent at the Clergy Daughters’ School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire). The sisters grew up in the isolated village of Haworth, on the Yorkshire moors. Their childhood was largely confined to their home, church, and the surrounding countryside (which influenced Wuthering Heigths). In their mid-twenties, they traveled to Brussels to study languages & literature, with the hopes of opening their own schools, but their plan never materialized as they found the work as a teacher difficult & unfulfilling.
        
        All three sisters initially published their works under male pseudonyms to avoid the prejudices against female writers at the time (Currer, Ellis & Acton Bell). Each sister had a distinct literary voice. Charlotte is best known for Jane Eyre. Emily wrote Wuthering Heights. Anne, often overshadowed by her sisters, was also a talented writer; her novel Agnes Grey addresses the issue of social justice, particularly the struggles of women.
        
        Emily Brontë was known for her reclusiveness & intense shyness. She rarely left her home and had little interest in socializing. Instead, she found solace in nature. Emily was always delicate in health. She suffered from respiratory problems throughout her life, and died from tuberculosis at the age of 30.
        
        Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (1846)
        
        Wuthering Heigths (1847) by Emily
        
        Agnes Grey (1847) by Anne
        
        The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848) by Anne
        
        Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte
        
        Shirley (1849) by Charlotte
        
        Villette (1853) by Charlotte
        
        Wuthering Heigths
        
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        Jane Eyre
        
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      - (1816-1855 & 1818-1848)
    - - Pseudonym
        
        Excellent education
        
        Religious crisis
        
        Editor & translator
        
        Unconventional marriage
        
        Delayed start & success
        
        Mary Ann Evans adopted the pen name "George Eliot" to ensure that her works would be taken seriously in a male-dominated literary world, as women writers were often stereotyped & marginalized. It also protected her privacy, avoiding the scandal associated with her unconventional personal life.
        
        Born in Warwick, England, she received an excellent education for a woman of her time, attending several schools and being tutored at home. She also was an avid reader, particularly interested in religious, philosophical & scientific texts.
        
        She experienced a profound religious crisis in her twenties and became agnostic, thus rejecting the evangelical Christianity of her family & upbringing. This break with conventional religion was seen as quite radical in Victorian England and separated her from some of her family & friends.
        
        Before becoming a novelist, Eliot made her mark as an editor of the Westminster Review and translator of important philosophical works (such as Ethics by Baruch Spinoza).
        
        For 20 years, she lived together as a couple with George Henry Lewes, a philosopher & literary critic. Lewes was married but separated from his wife, whom he couldn't divorce for legal reasons. This unconventional relationship by Victorian standards was a source of controversy & gossip, making Eliot lose contact with some of her family & friends. However, Lewis supported her emotionally & intellectually, encouraging her to write fiction.
        
        Eliot did not publish her first work of fiction until she was almost 40 years old. Despite early struggles & social stigma, Eliot became one of the most respected & best-selling authors of her time.
        
        Silas Marner
        
        Silas Marner tells the story of a reclusive weaver who, after being falsely accused of theft, becomes a miser and isolates himself from society. The arrival of a young orphan girl named Eppie transforms his life, leading him toward redemption and a renewed sense of community and love.
        
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        Middlemarch
        
        Set during the early 1830s, a period of political, social & scientific reform/progress/change in England, the novel is inspired by real historical events such as the Great Reform Act. Also, it explores the evolution/development of the medical profession (professionalization of medicine)
        
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      - (1819-1880)
- - - - Late period
        
        the end of British economic supremacy & decline of the British empire
        
        (1873-1901)
    - - Early period
        
        (1830-1850)
        
        the Industrial Revolution & transformation of rural England
    - - Mid period
        
        (1850-1873)
        
        the highest point of British prosperity & imperial expansion