The Victorian Period

Before analyzing To The Lighthouse further, it might be interesting to look more closely at the Victorian period. Queen Victoria reigned for sixty-four years, from 1837 to 1901. The period is usually divided into three parts: Early 1837-1851; Mid 1851-1875; and Late 1875-1901. In 1837, England’s economy was based mainly on agriculture and most of the population lived in the countryside. By the end of the period, 80% of the population lived in cities, Great Britain was an Empire upon which “the sun never set,” and it was the most powerful nation in the world.

There were many legislative reforms during the period. Several Reform Acts extended the right to vote. The one of 1884 gave the vote to most men and the requirement of land ownership for qualification to serve in the House of Commons was discontinued. It wasn’t until the Representation of the People Act of 1928 that women 21 years of age and over had the right to vote.

The Married Woman’s Property Act of 1870 gave wives control over their earnings. Before that married woman had no independent existence legally because, as Eighteenth Century jurist William Blackstone wrote, a husband and wife are “one person, and that person is the husband.” A wife could not sign a contract or make a will. (Think of the central dilemma in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.) If she earned, owned or inherited anything, it legally belonged to her husband.

Several Factory Acts were passed controlling working conditions and limiting working hours. The Factory Act of 1874 established a maximum work week of fifty-six hours. (We have to keep in mind that women and children also worked in these factories. The machines invented during the Industrial Revolution made physical strength unnecessary to operate them. Women and children represented cheaper labor. Thus, Britain could make cloth, for example, cheaper and faster than other countries, making it the world’s leading exporter.) The Factory Act of 1844 required that children nine to thirteen years of age work no more than nine hours per day and that women and young people work no more than twelve hours per week day and nine hours on Sundays. (During the years of Black Plague in England in the Fourteenth Century, the Ordinance of Laborers was issued by Edward III. It made collective bargaining illegal. About one-third of the population in Europe, mainly peasants, had died during the Plague and the Ordinance was a way for the wealthy to control the cost of wages. The Ordinance was not repealed until the Statute Law Revision Act of 1863. Perhaps these are things that should be considered in today’s anti-union climate.)

Rail transportation made travel faster and more convenient. It also made the shipping of perishable goods possible thereby enriching the diets of many people. The telegraph made communication faster. Mass printing expanded literacy and made the Victorian one of the most literary periods to that point in history.