Victorian period social classes. What were the social classes in Victorian England? 2022-10-08

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The Victorian period, named after Queen Victoria who ruled from 1837 to 1901, was a time of great change and progress in England. During this time, the country underwent rapid industrialization and urbanization, leading to the development of a complex and stratified social structure. In Victorian society, social class played a significant role in shaping the lives and opportunities of individuals.

At the top of the social hierarchy were the aristocracy, who were the titled nobility and the landed gentry. These individuals held immense wealth and power, and their status was passed down through inheritance. The aristocracy lived in grand mansions and estates, and their lives were filled with luxury and leisure. They were also heavily involved in politics and held a great deal of influence in society.

Below the aristocracy was the middle class, which was made up of wealthy business owners, professionals such as doctors and lawyers, and high-ranking government officials. The middle class enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle and held a significant amount of economic and social power. They were educated and often held liberal beliefs, and were generally supportive of social reform and progress.

The working class, on the other hand, occupied the lowest rung of the social ladder. This group included factory workers, miners, and other manual laborers who worked long hours for low wages. They lived in crowded and often unsanitary conditions, and had few opportunities for advancement or social mobility. Despite their hard work, the working class was often looked down upon by the upper and middle classes, and they were often subject to poor treatment and discrimination.

In addition to these main social classes, there were also a number of other groups in Victorian society who occupied a more precarious social position. These included the poor and destitute, who were often forced to live in slums and work menial jobs to survive. There were also many women and children who worked in factories and mines, and who were often subjected to harsh and dangerous working conditions.

Overall, the Victorian period was marked by a great divide between the wealthy and powerful upper and middle classes, and the poor and disadvantaged working class. Despite this, the period was also one of great social reform, and many individuals and organizations worked to improve the lives and conditions of the working class and the poor. Today, the legacy of the Victorian period lives on, and the issues of social class and inequality continue to be important and relevant in modern society.

Victorian and Edwardian Era: Social, Historical and Cultural Contexts

victorian period social classes

The upper class, when they got sick, received excellent medical treatment, because they were the higher priority, and they were able to pay more for it. Soon, the middle class and its values came to dominate Victorian society. The next highest class that a woman would have a role in would be the middle class. These new manufacturing processes gave society their first taste of mass production, which largely provided abundance through worker exploitation. The merchant was an employer, employing a captain and a crew for his ship, and men to load and unload the boats. Thus, the middle class dealt with textiles and quilting to earn money and comfort. The Middle Class These were the people who used to work meaning they had jobs to do.

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Victorian Era Social Classes in England

victorian period social classes

Novelist and historian Walter Besant observed the transformation of the mind and habits of the ordinary Englishman during the reign of Queen Victoria, after whom the Victorian Age is named. Overtime, Pip realizes the dangers of being driven by a desire of wealth and social status. It was an age that began confidence and optimism resulting into economic boom and prosperity that further gave outlet to uncertainty and doubt related to various facts in the surviving world. From 1837-1901, Queen Victoria reformed societal behaviors by developing a class system with set rules and etiquette Mitchell 5. The Poor The Wealthy had few luxuries.

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Social Class During Victorian England History Essay

victorian period social classes

Depending on what class you were a part of determined the type of diversion you got to participate in. Many factories opened their doors to women, offering women some financial independence. Streetcars were an easy way of transportation and were fast, clean, and quiet. Women joining the workforce started reshaping the traditional gender-based family roles that had long been in place. You should never wear pants or trousers, and legs should never be shown in public. The lower classes activities were limited and not as diverse.

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Victorian society social structure. Various classes and their lives

victorian period social classes

The top class was known as the aristocracy. The Victorian Era was defined by the rule of Queen Victoria from June 1837 until her death in January 1901; the figurehead of a vast empire. Then there were indentured servants and slaves, who had basically no rights. In Victorian era England, the division of the upper and lower class was much more extreme. Then based off of those requirements there were then six specific classes that one would fall into. All upper-class children were educated. His work inspired the artists of the 20 th century, but sadly he was never able to fully enjoy any of his success.

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The Victorian Class System

victorian period social classes

Middle class children were also educated at boarding school and by governesses. A decade and a half later, Dickens released A Tale of Two Cities, with the opening line, ''It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Full of dance, literature, art, and music. Many children died of disease. Christian values such as self-criticism and self-improvement were important, too.

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Social Issues In The Victorian Period

victorian period social classes

The debates on evolution versus biblical creation, which began in the Victorian period, are ongoing to this day. What were Victorian houses like for the poor? A growing number of people traveled from rural to industrial centers, such as London and Birmingham. It was extremely rare to advance in social class for British citizens at the time. As the Victorian era progressed, these rules were bent and eventually broken, and I will talk more about this in another blog post. This was a time period where the legs were known as extremities and meant to be covered.

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Social Class In The Victorian Era

victorian period social classes

This era even marks the emergence of modern and European nationalism. The women in the working class had almost no leisure time because the men and total control of their money to spend, and they often spent it, and the women were rarely allowed to participate in leisure activities outside of their household Johnson. These individuals would most likely own their own home and be able to employ some domestic help. Penny dreadfuls and sensation novels, seen at their best in the work of. The Industrial Revolution greatly changed the way of the life for the middle class citizens by opening up many more job opportunities for the lower and middle class, so you could make a decent amount of money and have a decent way of living life. This was where a woman would attempt to marry a man what was of higher social class than she was. The idea of trains was a very new thought to the lower and middle class, and they were only used to the idea that they had to stay in their respective village or town.

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Victorian England Social society chart

victorian period social classes

Since laws were not yet implemented to protect these works, they often set up camps in buildings and streets. Their lack of money in turn brought in a negligible food supply. They could buy expensive clothes imported from Europe, or afford other riches of life that was beyond the scope of others. In the Communist manifesto, Marx discusses the class type of his time, bourgeois and proletariat. There were hundreds of magazines and newspapers available at ever cheaper prices. Many say that the Victorians were the ones who put science and technology on pedestal go , as well as religion. Hertfordshire: Eagle Editions ltd.


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What was the class system like in the 19th century?

victorian period social classes

In fact, it was a general unspoken rule that no men would sit down at the table before all the women were seated. Such activities were very much prevailing in those days when changes were taking place in society of England. . Biography of Queen Victoria. Going along with the Victorian times views, Pride and Prejudice and the documents show women in the way that agreed with the people of this time, and also agreed with Victorian times views of women working. The working class was the successors of the earlier defined peasant class, and their living and working conditions were equally as bad as previous generations.

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