How to be Victorian

1. How to be Victorian The Victorian era was known to be the height of polite society. Some believe we have regressed ever since. So, let’s travel back in time to Kinder, gentler days.

2. Queen Victoria Victoria, queen of Great Britain and Ireland (r. 1837–1901), the longest-reigning monarch in English history Victoria was the only child of Edward and Princess Victoria Victoria displayed a personality marked by strong prejudices and a willful stubbornness. Victoria and her court were greatly transformed by her marriage to her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, on Feb. 10, 1840. Although her name now designates a supposedly prudish age, it was Albert who made a point of straitlaced behavior and introduced a strict decorum in court. He also gave a more conservative tinge to Victoria's politics. Victoria and Albert had nine children. In Victoria's later career, her attempts to influence government decisions ceased to carry significant weight. The Reform Act of 1867, by doubling the electorate, strengthened party organization and eliminated the need for a mediator—the monarch—among factions in Commons. Victoria died on Jan. 22, 1901. She was succeeded by her son, Edward VII. Her letters have been published in three series (1907; 1926–28; 1930–32).

3. There are rules for everything!(That way no one has to think!) Qualities of a Gentlemen He opposes without bitterness and yields without admitting defeat. He is never arrogant, never weak. He carries himself with grace in all places, is easy but never familiar, genteel without affection. He commands with mild authority, and asks favors with grace and assurance. He acts kindly from the impulse of his kind heart. He is brave, because, with a conscience void of offence, he has nothing to fear. He is never embarrassed, for he respects himself and is profoundly conscious of right intentions. He respects even the prejudices of men whom he believes are honest.

4. There are rules for everything!(That way no one has to think!) Qualities of a Lady A lady should be quiet in her manners, natural and unassuming in her language, careful to wound no one’s feelings, but giving generously and freely from the treasures of her pure mind to her friends. Scorning no one openly, she should feel gentle pity for the unfortunate, the inferior and the ignorant, at the same time carrying herself with an innocence and single heartedness which disarms ill nature, and wins respect and love from all. Costly cashmeres, very rich furs, and diamonds, as well as many other brilliant ornaments, are to be forbidden a young unattached lady. Nothing is more proper for the morning than a loosely made dress, high in the neck, with sleeves fastened as the wrist with a band, and belt. For walking dress, the skirt should be allowed only just to touch the ground.

5. Married couples are never seated together. • Ladies remove their gloves once they are seated; gentlemen however must remove their gloves just prior to being seated. • The senior lady, either by age or social standing, is always led in first by the host of the party. The hostess arrives last on the arm of the senior male. • It is ridiculous to make a display of your napkin. • Never ask for "meat" instead of beef. • Never turn up your cuffs in carving. • Never take bread, even when it is within your reach, instead of calling upon the servant. • Never cut your bread with a knife, it should be broken by hand. • Always use your napkin before and after drinking. Dining Rules Nothing indicates the good breeding of a gentleman so much as his manners at table….a man may pass muster by dressing well, and may sustain himself tolerable in conversation; but if he be not perfectly au fait, dinner will betray him. The gentlemen seats his escort to his left and remains standing until all the ladies present are seated. If the dinner is a buffet he must bring his escort her plate.

6. You know you’re a gentleman if… You never swear or talk uproariously. You never fail to raise your hat politely to an acquaintance of either sex. If you should bump into someone or step upon a lady’s dress you "beg their pardon", and at no time do you lose your temper nor attract attention by excited conversation. You offer a lady an arm, particularly in the evening, and it should always be the right arm. When walking alone you give the lady or a gentleman with a lady, the inside of the walk.

7. You know you’re a lady if… You walk the street, wrapped in a mantle of proper reserve, so impenetrable that insult and coarse familiarity shrink from you, while you, at all times, carry with you a congenial atmosphere which attracts all, and puts all at their ease. You walk quietly through the streets, seeing and hearing nothing that you ought not to, recognizing acquaintances with a courteous bow, and friends with words of greeting. You are always unobtrusive, never talk loudly, or laugh boisterously, or does anything to attract the attention of the passers-by. You first recognize the gentleman. A gentleman will never fail to bow in return to a lady; but a lady may not feel at liberty to return a gentleman’s bow, which places him in a rather unpleasant position. Therefore, a lady should give the first smile or bow. She must refrain, at all times, from using the gentleman’s Christian name.

8. Victorian Literature The first decades (1830s to 1860s) of Queen Victoria's reign produced a vigorous and varied body of literature that attempted to come to terms with the current transformations of English society. Many writers in the latter decades (1870s to 1900) withdrew into aestheticism, a preoccupation with sensation as an end in itself.

9. Work Cited Southgate, Donald. "Victoria, Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2010. Grolier Online. 3 Mar. 2010 <http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=0303280-0>. Sussman, Herbert. "Victorian literature." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2010. Grolier Online. 3 Mar. 2010 <http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=0303350-0>.

10. The Turn of the Screw The governess and mrs.Grose seem to understand without much clarification, the difference between a gentleman and a lady. They place a great value on this title. Apparently this was an effective and important way to distinguish what type of person one was in Victorian England.

11. The assignment… • You will place 4 of the characters names on a piece of paper in different squares: the governess, Mrs. Grose, Flora, Miles, Peter Quint, Ms. Jessel, or the uncle. • In each square you will choose a quality of a lady or gentleman and explain how the character either exemplifies or defies this rule. • Also write a quote from the text that proves your theory with the page number. • Finally, on the back of the paper, discuss what you think James felt about Victorian society and the strict moral code. Support your ideas with your examples from the front.

12. Mrs. Grose Rule and how I know: Quote: Peter Quint Rule and how I know: Quote: The Governess Rule and how I know: Quote: Flora Rule and How I know: Quote: