Industrialism and the Victorian Age

I am excited to be moving into the Victorian Age in our readings. From what I have read already, I can see differences between the Victorian and Romantic authors. The focus shifts from nature to a changing society resulting from industrialism. While there are still elements of nature in these writings, I feel that the way the landscape is changing at this time affects how the authors wrote.

In Fanny Kemble's writing on pages 490- 491, we find an account of her first trip on a steam engine. It's easy to take transportation for granted presently as it has changed drastically since the 1800s. However, Kemble is enamored by this ride. She describes it as a fairy tale:

You cannot conceive what that sensation of the cutting air was; the motion is as smooth as possible, too. I could either have read or written.
... I felt as no fairy tale was ever half so wonderful as what I saw.

This part was funny to me at first because I do not necessarily think of a train ride as a fairy tale or "as smooth as possible". However, at this time, this was probably a very big step up from a horse and carriage. Kemble describes these changes in society with great excitement and optimism.

An opposing view of the changing society comes from the testimonies of child laborers found on pages 494-495. I was especially drawn to the mineworkers because it is so hard for me to imagine working conditions such as these:

We go at four in the morning, and sometimes at half-past four...We get out after four, sometimes at five, in the evening... I hurry by myself... the sweat runs off me all over sometimes.

Both girls say that they are too tired on Sundays to attend church and "...never heard of Christ at all". This just caught me because children like this say that they have never heard of Christ or his teachings or they never pray yet they do of these things enough to discuss them. Obviously, they have heard traces of Christianity but aren't curious enough or are too overwhelmed from their work to attend church on Sunday. While this is not the most important part of these memoirs, it was just something that struck me while I was reading.

Similarly, the account of the watercress girl in Henry Mayhew's account also endures hardships at a young age. The eight year old has never heard of parks and asks the narrator: "Would they let such as me go there- just to look?" The narrator points out that all her knowledge consists of water-cresses. Elements such as these point out that the girl has lost her innocence at such an early age. She lives a much more mature life, as she goes into the streets early in the morning to collect water-cresses and sell them to help her family. All she knows of counting comes from the money exchange from her sales. Her family does not even have enough money for her to have adequate meals. It is difficult for me to imagine such a young child with great burdens such as these.


I find this an interesting time period because of the different views of the changing society. Both sides have very valid arguments, but there are negatives to either opinion. I see the Victorian Age as an exciting time because of these changes, however, I do realize that working conditions for certain classes and ages of people were less than ideal, which created great controversy. I am interested to learn more about literature during this time period.