Character Commentary:
The summer has started and the weather is getting warmer as we approach June. As families start to go on holidays, the shop has never been this busy. Everyone seems like they want a picture and lately, I seem like I have been running! Darrell tells me not to overwork myself as I appear to have gotten slimmer but, I know he secretly fancies it. I always rambled about wanting to take a break just for an evening to go to the music hall, see a play, or see something with all of my sisters.
For all my life I have been used to getting what I want. Maybe because I am the youngest of all of my sisters, but I was always showered with presents from Gerty, Fan, Lucy, Auntie, and Father. Recently, whenever I decide to slip on a new morning gown or I just come back from cutting my fringes, men from the street always hand me fresh pastries. Ladies that I meet at balls or galleries, however, tell me I'm spoiled. Sidney tells me that they all just envy my beauty.
Earlier this evening, I went to Darrell's to pose for his painting. It was just a quarter before dark when he placed his bristles down and looked at me with his deep, prominent eyes that made my heart sink. He came nearer to me and handed me a small piece of paper. They were tickets to a reading by Charles Dickens. He always likes to surprise me with flowers, concert tickets, and whatnot.
Darrell has always been fond of the arts whether it was art galleries, theatres, or literature. Father used to be a man of art as well. I guess the people of this class all fancy art.
Editorial Commentary:
The Victorian Era was a time where the arts thrived. From melodramas, music halls, and novels, artistic activities became the favorite pastime. Since it was an expensive hobby to maintain, it was more popular amongst the upper elite of British society and a small portion of the working class (Steinbach 215). Art became a great source of entertainment for the upper class as they were usually well educated and were able to join time-consuming and costly "private subscriptions" or participate in "subscription theater" (Franks 4). In this personal journal from 19th century Britain by a young woman named Phyllis Lorimer, it provides an example of first hand experience with the arts in England's high society. From her entry, it seems as if Lorimer is in a relationship with a successful man named Sidney Darrell who admires the arts as he is an artist himself. From the mentioning of her father also being fond of art, we are able to see how Phyllis had grown up around the upper class and is now attending a reading herself. Along with the growth of theatre and paintings, there were huge technological increases in print culture. Due to this, "Victorian Britain had a high rate of literacy" (Steinbach 215). This allowed for a large potential audience of consumers for printing businesses. Consequently, this led to mass distributions of poems and eventually whole novels. Victorian plays and novels are still well known today like many works from Charles Dickens. Literature in the Victorian period was shaped by theatre especially with Dickens as he grew up enamored with theatre. One of his works called "Wilkie Collins (1824–1889), was more successful at crossing over to theatre" (Steinbach 214). With a rise in print culture, many modes of media came together and made art more accessible.
Works Cited:
Franks, Matthew. “Introduction. Stages of Subscription.” Subscription Theater: Democracy and Drama in Britain and Ireland, 1880-1939, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2020.
“Original Ticket for a Reading by Charles Dickens.” British Library, www.bl.uk/collection-items/original-ticket-for-a-reading-by-charles-dic…. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.
Steinbach, Susie L. “11 ‘Good, Murderous Melodramas’ Arts, Entertainment, and Print Culture .” Understanding the Victorians Politics, Culture and Society in Nineteenth-Century Britain, Taylor & Francis Ltd, London, 2023.