Victorian Era Synthesis Question

Just as the Romantic era was a rebellious response against the Enlightenment era, the Victorian era grew out of a negative response to the free, naturalistic ideals of the Romantic era, clinging instead to morality and prudery. The Romantic period was characterized by loose restrictions on human behavior and instead giving into the natural tendencies of the human character. People became more connected with the world around them, seeking oneness with nature during the Romantic era. During this period there was much complexity seen in the arts especially literature. The Victorian era closed its doors to all of these principles and instead turned to religion, morality and classical art forms.

The Victorian era corresponds with the reign of Queen Victoria in England from 1837 to 1901 and is known for its morals, modesty, and proper decorum, as inspired by the Queen and her husband. This can be attributed to the growing class discrepancy between the rich and the poor due to urbanization and industrialization in addition to the opposite nature of the previous era. Wealth was abundant for the upper class, but the working class population often lived in poverty, though economic times during the Victorian era were relatively stable which allowed for prosperity and peace of mind. This enabled people to focus more on developing the arts whereas during the dark times of the Romantic era people sought for meaning within because of economic troubles. Music and literature returned to classical straight forward forms such as Charles Dickens’ easily relatable books on common situations.

The proprietary example Queen Victoria set for this time focused on self-control, social responsibility and returning to classical forms of art a reactionary response to the more relaxed previous period providing a deep contrast in social values.