Unseen Prose Context Flashcards
1880s society?
- Industrial society continued to evolve as Britain became home to many industrial cities.
- Better job prospects for working-classes.
- 1870 Education Act: education becoming more accessible.
- Public Health Act of 1872
- Education for both sexes became compulsory.
- Potential for a change in the social hierarchy as self-made middle-class men challenged the power of the landed aristocracy.
- Industrialisation contributed to social and class tensions.
1880s empire?
- The British Empire covered 1/5 of the earth’s surface and 1/4 of the population.
- Colonial administrators took on their duties with a fierce determination to do good.
1880s economy?
- Commerce and overseas trade were key to making Britain the world’s greatest power.
- Britain’s status as the financial capital of the world also secured investment which preserved its immense prosperity.
1880s the industrial revolution?
- Brought wealth and major social changes: miserable housing conditions, long working hours, infectious disease, premature death.
- Decent sewers were finally being put in place in the larger cities, especially London, where the disease and living conditions for the poor had reached a crisis point.
1880 - 90s culture?
- Darwin prompted debates about natural selection, religion and science.
- The development of new technology and science brought about religious scepticism.
- Interests included the spirit world and ghosts.
1880s women?
- The Question of Women: A phenomenon referring to the various debates about women’s place in society during the Victorian era.
- The first wave of feminism was largely led by white, middle-class women and mostly didn’t include women of colour.
1882 women?
The Married Women’s Property Act was implemented, allowing women to own, buy and sell property in their own right and have a separate legal identity to that of their husband amongst other things.
- Society began moving away from the Victorian notion that a woman’s role was being the “angel of the house”, the home being her only domain.
1884 acts?
- The Third Reform Act built upon the First and Second Reform Acts by extending the vote to agricultural workers.
- This meant that voters in counties had the same political rights as voters in the boroughs of industrial cities.
- Although this gave more people the vote, 40% of men still didn’t receive that right and neither did any women.
1888 murders?
- The Whitechapel murders intensified as Jack the Ripper killed 5 women, resulting in people focusing on “the fallen woman” convention that described a woman who had “lost her innocence” and fallen from the grace of God - this was used to refer to the sex workers Jack the Ripper murdered.
- Consequently, this made people start considering the duality of gender identity and women’s place outside of the home.
1900s society?
- The class system continued but there was an air of change.
- Greater social mobility.
- Growing socialist ideas led to the elevation of workers’ social status: they were treated as humans rather than machines.
- Establishment of trade unions
- The lower classes started to receive benefits from the Government.
- Introduction of a small pension for 70+ year-olds.
- Balfour Education Act 1903: improved access to education
1903 women?
- The Suffrage movement intensified as Emmeline Pankhurst formed the “Women’s Social and Political Union”, which sought women’s right to vote.
- Women began to move away from the domestic field and became more politically active, resulting in the birth of the ‘New Woman’ - a figure that has departed from the Victorian gender norms and is educated and independent.
- ‘New Women’ also included working-class women.
1910?
- Edward VII died of several heart attacks
- Suffragette prisoners went on hunger strikes
- The first feature length films began to be developed and released.
- George V ascended to the English throne.
What did Marx say about religion?
‘religion is the opiate of the masses’
What did Marx say about poverty?
Das Kapital 1867 - ‘if you have massive wealth you will have massive poverty’
What did Darwin say?
‘we stop looking for the monsters under our bed when we realise they are inside us’
Who said ‘god is dead’?
Friedrich Nietzsche in the gay science in 1882
What is the quote from the feminist?
Millicent Fawcett in 1872 - ‘courage calls to courage everywhere, and its voice cannot be denied’
What is a quote from Freud?
‘unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways’
What is imperial gothic?
British fiction using elements of gothic genre
What is Fin de Siecle?
End of the century
What is aestheticism?
Movement which valued beauty above all
What is the duality of man?
Gothic fiction examining sinister alter egos
Who was Jack the Ripper?
Anonymous serial killer in London 1888
What is biological criminology?
The belief that delinquency is the result of genetics
Who were Blue Stocking Women?
Women with too much desire to reach intellectual goals
What was the Scramble for Africa?
European colonisation of Africa
What was the Aliens Act?
1905
First law to define some migrants as undesirable
What was literary naturalism?
Realism influenced by science
What was the eugenics movement?
Campaign to improve the human race through selective breeding
What is nymphomania?
Uncontrollable or excessive sexual desire in a woman
What was the Indian rebellion?
1857 rebellion against English colonisation
What was British Raj?
British government’s military rule of England
What was the White Man’s Burden?
Belief of Europeans that they have a duty to spread the western culture
