adjective (1) Vic·to·ri·an vik-ˈtȯr-ē-ən. : of, relating to, or characteristic of the reign of Queen Victoria of England or the art, letters, or tastes of her time. : typical of the moral standards, attitudes, or conduct of the age of Victoria especially when considered stuffy, prudish, or hypocritical.
What does it mean to call something Victorian?
Definitions of victorian. adjective. exaggeratedly proper. synonyms: priggish, prim, prissy, prudish, puritanical, square-toed, straight-laced, straightlaced, strait-laced, straitlaced, tight-laced proper.
Where did the word Victorian come from?
From Victoria + -an (suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns), from the name of Queen Victoria (1819–1901), monarch of the United Kingdom.
What does Victorian mean in Victorian literature?
Victorian literature refers to English literature during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). The 19th century is considered by some to be the Golden Age of English Literature, especially for British novels. It was in the Victorian era that the novel became the leading literary genre in English.
Why is the overall style called Victorian?
Design in Victorian Britain
Permit us to state the obvious: Victorian design refers to the design styles developed in Great Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 – 1901).
What does Victorian woman mean?
The ideal Victorian woman was pure, chaste, refined, and modest. This ideal was supported by etiquette and manners. The etiquette extended to the pretension of never acknowledging the use of undergarments (in fact, they were sometimes generically referred to as “unmentionables”).
What is Victorian culture?
The cultural era of this period is known as “Victorianism,” the culture of the dominant bourgeoisie in the second half of the nineteenth century. That culture was named after the British Queen Victoria, who presided over the zenith of British power and the height of British imperialism.
When did people start calling it the Victorian era?
Strictly speaking, the Victorian era began in 1837 and ended with Queen Victoria’s death in 1901, but the period can be stretched to include the years both before and after these dates, roughly from the Napoleonic Wars until the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
What is another name for Victorian?
OTHER WORDS FOR Victorian
2 prudish, conventional, priggish, straightlaced, smug, prim, narrow.
What makes a Victorian A Victorian?
Victorian-style homes became popular during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) and are characterized by Gothic influences and intricately designed woodwork. These homes often have pitched roofs, wraparound front porches, cylindrical turrets, and roof towers.
What moral values are called Victorian?
Victorian morality is associated with family values, charity, and thriftiness along with sexual repression. These values conflict with the social tendencies of the time including rampant prostitution, child labor, and the exploitation of the lower classes.
What is Victorian feminism?
Despite the strict stereotypes set in Victorian society, the first signs of a feminist political movement began in this era. By the 1850s, this first feminist movement focused on equality in education, work and having electoral rights, like the right to vote.
What are two characteristics of Victorian style?
Defining features of a Victorian home
- Steep, gabled roofs.
- Round angles.
- Towers, turrets and dormers.
- Shapeley windows, especially bay windows.
- Stained glass.
- Decorative woodwork.
- Bright colors.
What are 3 characteristics of Victorian design?
Interior design in the Victorian period was layered, cluttered, ornate, and eccentric.
What makes a house look Victorian?
“Large staircases, big mantles, big fireplaces, and closed-off rooms mark a historic Victorian home,” says Small. In addition to these features, they usually have: High ceilings with crown molding or ornate trim. Dark wood trim.
How did Victorians deal with periods?
The Victorian Period (And Beyond)
From the 1890s to the early 1980s, people used sanitary belts, which basically were reusable pads that attached to a belt worn around the waist – and yes, they were as uncomfortable as they sound.
What did the ideal Victorian woman look like?
Clear faces, bright eyes and tinted lips were desirable, but everything had to look natural. It was believed that cheeks painted with blush had to look flushed, and lips had to look bitten rather than painted.
What did Victorians call their lovers?
Therefore, I did a small a pilot study, searching a small corpus of the Browning love letters for words that, according to the OED, were used as terms of endearment in the nineteenth century: angel, baby, beloved, darling, dear, dearest, honey, heart, love, lover, precious, sweetheart, treasure.
What does Victorian attitude mean?
: typical of the moral standards, attitudes, or conduct of the age of Victoria especially when considered stuffy, prudish, or hypocritical.
What is a characteristic of Victorian life?
Historical Context
The Victorian Era, spanning the duration of Queen Victoria’s rule from 1837 – 1901, is characterized by the expanding horizons of education and literacy, as well as by an increased desire of the people to question religion and politics.
What was the Victorian mindset?
If we ask academics to enumerate archetypically Victorian values, they might say: prudishness, thrift, individualism, responsibility, self-reliance, an entrepreneurial spirit, the idea of the self-made man, the civilising mission, evangelism to name a few.