As we read a variety of Victorian novels, poems, and nonfiction, consider what locations we travel to over the course of her oeuvre? Let's add them to this map to discern how some characters and authors rarely leave their homes while others see far-off parts of the world.
Victorian Literature and Culture, EN 352, Skidmore College Dashboard
Description
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Exhibition#/media/File:Crystal_Palac...
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”—so writes Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities (1859), succinctly capturing the dualities of the Victorian age (1837-1901). In this course, we will explore dualities and contradictions of the Victorian era through fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and the visual arts. We might think of the Victorians as sin-obsessed, dignified, proper, prudish, and tight-laced, but these same Victorians lived in an age of urban squalor, disease, rampant deprivations, prostitution, and child labor. This era of production and consumption witnessed rapid expansion of the British Empire; growth in literacy and industrialization; and the glory of the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first ever World’s Fair. Alongside these achievements came epidemics (typhoid took the life of Prince Albert in 1861); the Crimean War crisis and conflicts in India, Africa, China, and the West Indies; religious doubt; and the greed of imperialism, which underpins Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847). We will encounter the angel in the house and her fallen sister in Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market (1862); Queen Victoria and Prince Albert alongside their poorest subjects in Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor (1851); a clash between agrarian southern England and the industrial north in Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South (1855); the divided human being in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886); and a scrooge transformed into a charitable man in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (1843). Course work includes 4 briefs, an exhibition on the Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education (COVE), and a final 8–10-page paper.
Galleries, Timelines, and Maps
By J. McNeven - collections.vam.ac.uk, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=665739
Our class gallery on COVE will focus on the Great Exhibition of 1851—Prince Albert’s brainchild and, to the Victorians, the greatest sight in the history of the world. The Great Exhibition, which ran from May 1 to October 15, 1851, celebrated the global prominence of British industry and the manifold achievements of the “civilized” world. Approximately 6 million people—a third of the British population of that time—visited the Crystal Palace, a cast-iron and glass building erected in Hyde Park to house the exhibitions on display. Over 40 times, Queen Victoria visited the... more
Individual Entries
In Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South, London is not just a geographical location, but also a powerful symbol of the socio-political and economic structures that govern Victorian Society. While the novel is set primarily in the industrial town of Milton, London plays an essential role in showcasing the broader scope of the changes happening across Britain during the Industrial Revolution. This city embodies wealth, influence, and the power of the British elite, contrasting sharply with the industrial, working-class life in the North. For Margaret Hale, London represents a place of personal history and a force of societal change. It is in London that she first encounters the more cosmopolitan aspects of English society, far removed from the grimy industrial world of Milton. After her father’s move to the North, Margaret's connection to London remains central in her mind, as a reminder of her former privileged life. However, as she visits the city later in the novel,...
moreMargaret's cousin, Edith marries Captain Lennox at the beginning of North and South (1855). Before the events of the book, Margaret lived with her aunt and Edith in London, before returning to her parents. After her wedding, Edith moves to Corfu, Greece where her husband is now stationed. They live here for most of the book, before returning to London. After Mrs. Hale dies, Mr. Hale encourages Margaret to visit Edith in Corfu to get away from Milton for some time, but she declines and stays with her father to care for him. While not a main character, Edith is significant throughout the novel as Margaret frequently reflects on her time living with her in London and the two are in regular communication. Though the two women have completely different lifestyles, Margaret truly loves her cousin.
Margaret Hale in North and South grew up in Helstone, aka New Forest in Southern Hampshire, south of London. New Forest is indeed a magical spot likened to a setting in a Tennyson poem, perhaps English Idylls (1842) with poems including "Audley Court" and "The Gardener's Daughter." Known for its rare birds and ponies, it is now the site of a National Park. (CG)
Reverend Hall resigns his post at Helstone and moves his family to the fictional town of Milton, aka Manchester, a major industrial center. Gaskell herself lived in Manchester and knew intimately the strengths and struggles it faced due to rapid industrialization. It is believed that Gaskell chose the name "Milton" as a fictional stand-in for Manchester, because she wanted to convey the cultural aspect of the city as important to her as its industry. (CG)
Here is where Frederick Hale takes refuge.
To avoid court martial in England in Gaskell's North and South (1855), naval officer Frederick Hale takes refuge in Cadiz. He was part in a mutiny against a cruel British naval officer before the novel opens. After staying briefly in South America, he moves to Cadiz, Spain and takes a job with a Mr. Barbour, a British merchant, and he falls in love with his Anglo-Spanish daughter, Dolores. Margaret writes to Frederick without Rev. Hale's knowledge to tell her brother their mother is dying; Frederick returns with great peril to his life. The family keeps his visit a secret, but complications at the time of his departure cause problems for Margaret. Later we learn that Frederick marries Dolores and converts to Catholocism to do so. Today, tourists flock to Cadiz for the beautiful beaches, history, and fabulous weather. (CG)
Margaret Hale's brother takes refuge here after being caught in a mutiny against a cruel officer in the British navy.
In North and South, Margaret Hale's older brother named Frederick takes refuge in Cadiz after living briefly in South America following a mutiny on a British naval ship. Frederick joins in the mutiny while serving under a very brual officer in the British navy. In Cadiz, Fred finds work for a Mr. Barbour, a British merchant, and becomes engaged to his Anglo-Spanish daughter Dolores. Frederick comes to Milton at Margaret's request to pay his respects to his dying mother. He risks his safety to do so. Today tourists appreciate Cadiz for its beautiful beaches, rich history, and sunny skies.
Freserick Hale takes refuge in Cadiz in North and South, returning to England to see his dying mother and taking a great risk for his life. (CG)