The lower middle class people made about one hundred and fifty to three hundred pound annually. [12] [5], Despite the vast differences between the women in this era, their similarities encouraged a change that shaped the history of Britain. Victorian London had a huge network of over-worked sewers under the city, washing away the effluence of the crowded metropolis. [2], The Working Class Of The Victorian Era Positives - The children in the working class received a basic form of education - Sunday school. [11] [24] [19] The middle class often performed the "mental" work and they were being paid either monthly or annually. [11] The squalid and unsanitary conditions that were brought on by immense overcrowding made life very dismal for poor Victorian children and their families. Most women found work in textile or clothing factories under harsh conditions, while others found trades in such things as metals, pottery or laundry. This class further got sub divided in three parts as below – 1. You either had the money or you didn’t, which in reality probably drove the middle class to extinction for a time throughout the Victorian era. This happens when lower class try to compete for equal rights in the society. Although it was a peaceful and prosperous time, there were still issues within the social structure. Women during this time enjoyed activities out of their own household, which other class women could not enjoy. Working class women wearing decent clothing. The Industrial revolution had taken what many would consider to be medium class and left them without jobs. Middle Upper Class - This class include great officers of the England, the baronets along with temporal lords. Wells' Time Machine and Its Relativity with the Victorian Era Herbert George Wells was an English writer from the nineteenth century. In the Victorian era, this work was mainly performed by teenage girls who worked in terrible conditions, often for between 12 and 16 hours a day with few breaks. [4], The lack of education that the children received resulted in that the fate of their lives was decided before they even became an adult ("Victorian Era Social Class"). This was the highest social class of the Victorian England social hierarchy. The Great Exhibition was an event that had introduced the middle and working class to trains, and it was like a world's fair. [19] The fact that they represented the royal class gave these people an advantage at everything. Women of the upper class, middle class, working class, and lower class were more prevalent in America. Very large families were not peculiar in the centuries before birth control, with the Victorian Era being no exception. Ritual and … Here we will explore lives in the women in the time between 1837-1901, known as the Victorian Era. [4] [5] [3], Many people considered the rich to be middle class if they did not have anything to do with royalty. [12] This working class was further categorised as the skilled workers and the unskilled workers. The middle class was getting many opportunities to improve their social status. The reform of the Victorian era, a time in England of refinement and high decorum surrounding the years of Queen Victoria’s reign, did not produce revolution but the opposite: stagnation. In the Victorian English countryside women even began to band together to improve their lives, both practically and spiritually. The Victorian Era in Britain was dominated by the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Research numerous resources on the world history topics! This post will discuss transportation in the Victorian Era and how it divided the classes. About 3% of all white women during the Victorian era and 25% of all black women were part of the working force and worked for wages. The middle class was a very large class and it had a very broad area of people ("Women of Victorian England"). The lower class citizens barely received any education at all, if they received any. [11] [4], 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). [4] If you hate your job now, just thank your lucky stars that you did not work during Victorian times! [1], This class was incorporated in England’s social system during Victorian era. [2] This was the only option within the Victorian era and families would go to the local butcher for meat and Grocers’ for tea and coffee. Skilled Class - They had unskilled labors working under their supervision. Although it was a peaceful and prosperous time, there were still issues within the social structure. [15] [4] (More...) At the start of the Victorian era (1830s-1900), English society was highly stratified and hierarchical, and the population fell into three main classes. [4] Due to the lack of modern technology that we have today such as televisions and the internet, the Victorian era (the era in which Queen Victoria reigned, this was between 1837 and 1901 was renowned for famous for the short stories that the authors of the time wrote. [2], There was the rich lady, who led the nostalgically stylized view of Victorian life - all bustles, petticoats and jewels, and conversely there was the somewhat less rosy existence of the poor woman; a life of chimney sweeping, workhouses, and prostitution. [4], The fourth and final class that women had a role in was the "lower" working class. There was a very large gap between the middle class and the lower class. Regardless of class standing, the lack of refrigeration was a burden shared by all in the Victorian period. [17] This working class was further categorised as the skilled workers and the unskilled workers.Due to the revolution, the industrial workers got jobs thus improving their living conditions. Here, Anna Maria Barry highlights five fascinating 19th-century performers who had a lasting influence on the world of show business - They had a range of recreational activities available to them and some even contributes to their income - trading at pawn shops, produce shows. [3] [3] These radical middle class ideals eventually spread to the not-quite-so-poor as well. [4] Woman pregnancy was very dangerous during the Victorian era. During that period many things flourished such as the school and political or religious movements. Once women married, Jalland notes, even upper class women risked death in giving birth. Domestic servants in Victorian Hastings "On the Side of the Maids" — an 1874 account of a maid's hard life "Maid in England" — the life of the Victorian domestic servant (Public Record Office exhibition) Women of the 'lower' working class in Hastings; Underclasses. The Victorian period was very prosperous for the middle class. The social classes of this era included the, Victorian England Social Hierarchy. [11] They were a very large class, and often very angry at anybody in the middle or upper class. Photograph showing a man dressed in work clothes. [15] [13] Rights Reserved. [4] [9] [3] Victorian fashion comprises the various fashions and trends in British culture that emerged and developed in the United Kingdom and the British Empire throughout the Victorian era, roughly 1830s to 1900s (decade). [4], They had a comfortable life, not being exactly poor, with steady jobs and no manual labor involved; however it was a far cry from their previous lives of leisure, and an even further cry from the lives of the lowest class of Victorian women; those of the "lower" working class. The risk of death was more concerning to the lower class women. The white industrialized European was place at the top of a racial and social hierarchy and supported program enacted during the Victorian era to "civilize" colonial subjects through increased exposure to Victorian culture and literature, namely through education programs that place English literature on a pedestal that taught British moral values. [19] [4] In the Victorian era, this work was mainly performed by teenage girls who worked in terrible conditions, often for between 12 and 16 hours a day with few breaks. [4], The regular Victorian Era boy in the middle class would not have a great education unless he went to a public school. Some of the most frequent customers at brothels were young men in the military. Unlike their lower class counterparts, upper class Victorian women more often than not had staff to help with the running of their home and the raising of their children, leaving them with plenty of time to enjoy the finer things in life. [26] [3] [19] The other part of the Middle Class, the Lower Middle Class, didn't have the perks of living in the Upper Middle Class, but they definitely had it better than the Lower Class. Prostitution in Victorian Britain was a prevalent and often well earning business, with streets and streets dedicated to its work. [4] Despite the clean-sounding name, this job actually involved collecting dog feces … After the New Poor Act, most women were pronounced "able-bodied" and were forced to move alongside with the other lower class men, like in the factories of this time. [13] Social classes had been around for a long time, but the Victorian Era redefined them. [4], Another option for lower working class women during this time period for a job was domestic service ("Women of Victorian England"). Horrible Histories - Victorian Work Song, online video, 6 June 2011, accessed 25 August 2013, < BBC n.d. [3], Victorian London food shopping was handled in the same fashion, although the baker or butcher would brings his food to the servants entrance of the home. Forced Medical Examinations. - They were allowed to choose who they married. Victorian Era: Social Class System 1. [14] [4] [13] [6] We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. [4] [2], While 'upper' working class women rented shops, the 'lower' hawked on the streets and beaches. [2] [9] [3], There was time to read a novel during the Victorian period. Most women want to dress upper class, but the lower classes often have more fun and an easier time creating a costume. [15] [25] [26] [4] - Although they didn't have the most pleasant jobs, most factory workers were still able to provide the basic amenities such as food. [4] During the Victorian era, for the most part, women never traveled alone. Cousin marriages remained popular among the upper class, however. The wealthy in the Victorian Era would use these carriages for transportation to and fro. Any worker was easily replaced with another of any age, or machine in some cases, to do the life-threatening industrial work for an incredibly low wage. The problem with the Victorian era is that there were very few families that had relatively nice homes, enough to eat on, and a decently successful career. Social class and values in the Victorian Era Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Another thing that was mainly affected by a person's social class was his or her job, when the lower class or the "working class" did the majority of the physical labor being paid hourly or daily. [5] A surprising aspect of society in the late 1800's is that the wealthy upper class had their own curiosities about how the poor lower class lived. The Victorian upper class consisted of the king and queen, aristocrats, nobles, dukes, and other wealthy families of the Victorian court. [4] These were the first political parties in England who dominated the political field throughout the Victorian reign. [16] [18], Pre 1914 Love Poetry from the Victorian and Elizabethan Era Conventional females were considered to be second class citizens who were expected to refrain in conveying their natural feelings and emotions. During the 1870's, long … Throughout the Victorian Era, there were four main social classes. Boys of a good family without money went into middle class professional jobs. Recreational Activities The people of the working class were usually busy but when they did have time their recreational activities would have included: - bowling - fruit and vegetable shows - flower shows - meeting of trades and friendly societies - drinking in public houses - trading items for income at a pawn shops - and occasionally, attended the theatre but having bought cheap seats. [4] [19] This essay will show why interest in the occult manifested in the Victorian Era and the ways in which it did. [11] The Catholic population in England was increasing at the time, and these immigrants were predominantly lower class. There were many job opportunities for domestic service, because even the lowest families of the middle class had at least one or two domestic servants, so there was a lot of opportunity for a job there. A middle class family could anticipate spending over half their salary on food, while a considerable percentage of the population faced unemployment or a meager income, surviving on bread, drippings, tea, scraps, etc. [4] The Victorian era was during the period of the rule of Queen Victoria. [17] [7] With too few jobs to accompany the rush of factory hands, working conditions plummeted. By today’s standards, the middle class of Victorian England would be equal to the upper class of the 21st century (“Victorian Era Social Classes”). Not everyone shared in Coote's compassion for the impoverished and fallen women of the working class. The lower working class were distinguished from the upper by having less education, no pretensions to gentility, fewer resources or opportunities and, in some cases, simply less luck. Some of the working class lived in massive slums in Glasgow. There was almost a negligible change in the lower class though and this class still remained shut from the royal England’s political processes. Although all of these middle class women had cleaning servants for their homes, they would lecture the lower class women on how to keep their houses clean. Societal Views of Women in the Victorian Era in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, creates a peephole into the lives of a family in the Victorian Era. The poor or lower class of the Victorian era had a very rough life. Other jobs for the lower class women were barmaids, chambermaids, waitresses', and working in factories. - Both men and women would have worked in factories. [5] [17] [4] The people under this class did not work manually. The "The Lady of Shallot" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in the Victorian era is a poem that can portray the society that shaped the era. Another thing that affected the middle class was that women had started to work outside their own homes. [19] [3] Although prostitution was legal, many ladies of the night were arrested for crimes … The streets of London were filled with horse-drawn carriages and tightly spaced flats. Several Victorian painters and artists have their work carefully preserved in museums. [19] Some of the increasingly powerful upper middle class categories secured their places in this upper class. Men of wealthy Victorian society could look through sporting guides, which were very similar to shopping catalogues. Another frightening asset was having a premature baby. [26], A comprehensive Victorian Children history guide with facts and information on how the Victorian times impacted children in work, play, education and home life. [4] When it came to age, most brides and grooms would have been in their mid-20s. [2] [17] This quickly made them into the lower class citizens as there were very few jobs that they were capable of finding at this time. The Victorian era saw the advancements of the industrial revolution, such as new agricultural methods (which improved the quantity and quality of food) and the development of the railway system. Instead, they were landowners and hired lower class workers to work for t… [2], Jop Opportunities - 30-40 per cent of women from working class families contributed significantly to household incomes in the mid-Victorian years. [9] Steam-powered cotton factories enabled Victorian Britain to produce more than half the world's supply of cotton. 33 The Poor had no chance at getting themselves out of the hole that they were in since no one would offer them a job, but the Working Class wasn't much better, The only perks that they got were work, food, and everyday shelter. [5], The Victorian society was divided into nobility Upper Class, Middle Class, and the Working Class. [12] This was the, The Class Structure in the Victorian Era. The lower class included seamstresses, washerwomen, farm, factory, and mine workers, and domestic servants. Oscar Wilde expresses the separation of the aristocrats from the middle class during the Victorian Era through the use of three key elements, settings, structure of the novel and characters. Royal Class - This include people from royal family and the spiritual lords of that time. The Lower Class In The Victorian Era 720 Words | 3 Pages. [15] These people were the total low of all of society. The era can be viewed as one long stream of contradictions—a time of prosperity interrupted by the Long Depression of 1873–1879 and the Panic of 1893. [19] Many coats in the Victorian Era were long and stretched all the way down to your knees. One of the less grim work options for women of this class was to turn to prostitution. [17] [12] [6] About 3% of all white women during the Victorian era and 25% of all black women were part of the working force and worked for wages. [4] The third class that women played a role in was the "upper" working class, or the "upper" lower class. [3], The perfect role model for the domesticity expected of upper, and especially middle class women, was that of Victoria herself, who doted upon her husband and children, and after Albert’s death remained loyal, modest and demure - engrossing herself in her regal affairs. [15] Many of the upper class men and women alike would disguise themselves in lower class clothing and head to the slums for a night or two to indulge in the guilty pleasures that could be found in the streets and boarding houses of the slums. [23] Many working class children did not attend as it was out of their family's budget and parents would rather them start earning money for the family. From levitation demonstrations, vanishing acts and card-playing automatons, to performing elephants, clog dancers and even ‘sapient pigs’ able to perform remarkable tricks – when looking for live entertainment, the Victorians were spoilt for choice. Prostitute Sporting Guides. [15], The best way to not only explain and investigate class differences, but to highlight just how vast the problems of inequality and division were at the time, is to consider rich and poor in turn. [4] [4] By those ages, most working-class couples would have been in employment long enough to have built up some savings. The Prostitutes - These women were at the bottom of the society and an enormous debate took place over them during the Victorian era. As a result of industrialisation, there was a huge boost of the middle and working class. [2] [4] [1] [15] [5] Other people in the middle class owned large businesses and they became very rich. - Country people had the opportunity to come out to the city to earn money. To a normal person, a person might think that a woman in this class would do very little, but they actually did a lot. Note: Footnotes & Links provided to all original resources. A girl in the lower class, from ages 12 to 18, was paid 20 pounds; a girl in the middle class, of the same ages, was paid 100 pounds; and a girl of the upper class, 12 years old, was paid 400 pounds per job. Royal Class – This include people from royal family and the spiritual lords of that time. [14] One of the main reasons that working class women had such trouble getting by in Victorian England was the extreme disparity between theirs and the upper class, both in economic and social terms. Housing According to Source 1, the working class house was usually sandwiched between other houses. [23], During the Victorian Era, those in the middle class pushed back against the idea that the right to vote and to hold government office were reserved for the owners of major acreage. [4] Death and illness played a big role in life as well in the Victorian Era. Different Levels of Society Upper Class Upper Middle Class Middle Working Class Working 3. a s s Cl ighH 4. Many Victorian novelists highlight this mechanization of human beings, as it contributed to the identity crisis epidemic of the Victorian Era in which children were especially affected. Matchsticks are made by cutting wood into thin sticks and then dipping the ends into white phosphorus—a highly toxic chemical. Accounts show that children born into working class families felt that their mother was the best mother of all. - At an early age the children would be out looking for work or roaming the streets looking for odd jobs. [15] [20] [26], While life in Victorian England changed dramatically during the industrial revolution, the biggest social change was felt in the cities. The Lower Middle Class in Britain ed. While the women of the upper class busied themselves with following the proper protocol in selecting a suitor, the working-class mother found herself scrounging to make ends meet. [7] During this time, the middle class was pushing for an increase for recognized holidays by their employers. Poverty and crime were connected during the Victorian era and the justification of crime between the middle class and working class was different. [4] © Copyright 2017, Power Text Solutions, All [3] [26] [4] This was called the Victorian Era because Queen Victoria was in control. by Geoffrey Crossick (Croom Helm, 1977) The Public Culture of the Victorian Middle Class. [19] During the Victorian Era women struggled to fulfill their desires and men encountered women to get only what was necessary for the household, trying to escape from responsibility they go onto the direction that their impulse takes them, however not for long, after a dream of having what they long for they still have to face reality of being a wife and mother. Reformatories. This affected the wages that the lower class people received and the people could barely support themselves. Four main classes existed: the nobility and gentry at the top of the ladder, trailed by the middle class (often these two are combined to cover the “upper class” in general), and then the “upper” working class, swiftly followed by the poorest of the poor, the “lower” working class (again, these latter two are often combined to form the “lower class” as a whole). The poor Victorian Children lived in much smaller accommodations than the rich children did. 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