Victorian Intro

Victorian Age

The period of British history spanning from 1837 to 1901 during the reign of Queen Victoria, characterized by industrial expansion, imperial growth, and social reform.

Reform Act of 1832

Legislation that extended the right to vote to the lower middle class and abolished "rotten boroughs," marking the beginning of the Victorian era's political shifts.

The People's Charter

A 1838 working-class manifesto demanding six points of reform including universal male suffrage, secret ballots, and annual parliaments.

Chartism

The first large-scale working-class political movement in Britain that sought to achieve the goals laid out in the People's Charter.

The Angel in the House

A term derived from a poem by Coventry Patmore describing the Victorian ideal of a woman as selfless, submissive, and dedicated to the domestic sphere.

Married Women's Property Acts

Series of laws (1870-1908) that gradually allowed women to retain their own earnings and property after marriage.

Great Britain's Imperial Mission

The Victorian belief that Britain had a duty to "civilize" other nations through trade, religion, and the spread of English culture and law.

The White Man's Burden

A phrase coined by Rudyard Kipling representing the perceived moral obligation of Western powers to govern and "uplift" non-white colonial subjects.

Indian Mutiny of 1857

A major uprising in India against British East India Company rule that resulted in the British government taking direct control of India (The Raj).

Realism

The dominant literary mode of the Victorian era that sought to represent everyday life, social problems, and domestic manners with accuracy.

Serial Publication

The practice of publishing novels in monthly or weekly installments in magazines, a format popularized by Charles Dickens to make literature affordable.

Condition of England Novel

A genre of fiction that addressed the social consequences of industrialization, urban poverty, and the divide between the rich and poor.

Sage Writers

A group of non-fiction prose authors like Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin who used their works to critique Victorian society and offer moral guidance.

The Marshalsea

The debtors' prison in London where Charles Dickens's father was incarcerated, a defining trauma that influenced Dickens's depictions of poverty and shame.

Warren's Blacking Factory

The workplace where a 12-year-old Charles Dickens was sent to label boot polish while his father was in prison, causing him lifelong psychological distress.

Mary Hogarth

Dickens's sister-in-law who died at age 17; she became his lifelong ideal of pure womanhood and inspired characters like Little Nell.

Gads Hill Place

The grand house in Rochester that Dickens admired as a child and eventually purchased at the height of his fame, fulfilling a childhood dream.

Boz

The pen name used by Charles Dickens for his early sketches and short stories, such as "Sketches by Boz."

Hablot Knight Browne (Phiz)

The primary illustrator for Dickens's novels whose visual style became synonymous with Dickens's characters.

Catherine Dickens

Charles Dickens's wife and the mother of his ten children, from whom he legally separated in 1858 amid scandal.

Ellen Ternan

A young actress with whom Dickens had a long-term secret affair, leading to the collapse of his marriage.

Affect Theory

A theoretical framework discussed by Joshua Gooch that focuses on the non-conceptual "feelings" or bodily responses a text triggers in a reader.

Sentimentality

A literary mode rooted in 18th-century philosophy where the reader is encouraged to feel a moral judgment by witnessing the suffering of a character.

Sympathy (Adam Smith)

A concept from "Theory of Moral Sentiments" where a person feels for another by visually witnessing their plight and identifying with them.

Dividual

A term used in affect theory to describe a person as a collection of shifting feelings and impulses rather than a single, unified subject.

Open Forms

The idea that literary structures are not "closed" or fixed, but change and rearticulate themselves based on the historical context or "conjuncture" of the reader.

The Chimes

Dickens's second Christmas book, used by Gooch as an example of a text that failed to remain popular because its "affect" did not match later historical periods.

Great Expectations

Dickens's 1860 novel that serves as a cornerstone of English literature, blending gothic elements with a "coming-of-age" social critique.

Staplehurst Train Crash

A 1865 disaster Dickens survived while traveling with Ellen Ternan; he worked to save victims, but the trauma severely impacted his health.

Condition of England Question

The central debate among Victorian intellectuals regarding the welfare of the working class and the moral health of an industrializing nation.

The Woman Question

The collective name for the 19th-century debates regarding women's roles in society, including education, employment, and the right to vote.

Corn Laws

Trade laws that placed high tariffs on imported grain; their repeal in 1846 marked a shift toward free trade and middle-class political dominance.