Context

Question 1

1837-1901, Victorian Britain

Answer 1

The long reign of Queen Victoria placed a huge importance on morality (doing the right thing) and religion (being a good christian).

Question 2

The Industrial Revolution

Answer 2

Factories making things in huge quantities provided jobs and brought millions to big cities.

Question 3

Urban terror in Victorian London

Answer 3

London’s population shot from 1 million to 5 million in the 1800s. Poverty, disease and crime all increased, and people alone in a new city were terrified of these.

Question 4

Celebrity criminals

Answer 4

• Stories of terrifying urban criminals fascinated the Victorians.
• Jack the Ripper ( a doctor who brutally murdered prostitutes in London) is an example.
• Burke and Hare ( who murdered 16 people in Edinburgh and sold the bodies to doctors for experiments) were another example.

Question 5

The Gothic Genre and the Urban Gothic Genre.

Answer 5

• Traditionally Gothic novels had villains like ghosts or vampires and took place in castles.
• The Urban Gothic Genre moved the genre to cities like London and focussed on real fears of isolation, crime or disease.

Question 6

The shilling shocker

Answer 6

Short, cheap Gothic stories called “Shilling shockers” became popular and Jekyll and Hyde was one of these.

Question 7

The alter- ego

Answer 7

Many victorian novels (e.g. Frankenstein) focussed on the alter-ego, a second version of the hero that is criminal and evil.

Question 8

The Fall Of Satan

Answer 8

The angel Satan became so proud of his own beauty and power that he refused to serve God and was cast out of heaven. The Victorians saw science as running this risk.

Question 9

1859- Charles Darwins On The Origin of Species

Answer 9

Darwins book, which introduced the theory of evolution ( that we are not created by God but evolved from apes) terrified and angered many Victorians , as it threatened their entire view of the world.

Question 10

1835-1909, Cesare Lombroso’s Physiognomy

Answer 10

Italian Criminologist Cesare Lombroso proposed that the “born criminal” could be recognised by their physical appearance, like asymmetrical facial features or long arms.

Question 11

Early 1900s- Sigmund Freud’s Theory of the Mind

Answer 11

Freud proposed the mind has three parts:

1. The ID- our hidden unconscious desires.
2. Ego- Our conscious, logical mind.
3. Super-ego - the rules society imposes.

These three are in constant conflict.