Victorian Era The Start of Corruption in Moral Values

Lasting from 1837 to 1901, the Victorian Era followed the Romantic Era. Starting and ending with the reign of Queen Elizabeth, this time period is now viewed as strict, prudish, and â€Å"old fashioned,† especially in comparison to today. During those times, the people had to follow a certain standard of living; they were upright people that were modest and controlled. Society at the time adhered to rules such as wearing clothes that covered the women head to toe and abiding by the proper etiquette of following the lead of a host; these laws made the Victorian people’s lives proper. Although the Victorian people seemed to be perfect, this time was also filled with many questions and experiments, making this time period a very progressive one as†¦show more content†¦A woman and man can claim to be â€Å"in love,† and the marriage ends a year later. Not all marriages end in divorce, but it occurs more frequently than it did. Everyone today is â€Å"free t o marry who [they] want for the most part† (Moore). Likewise, those same people don’t have to worry about being shunned if they chose to divorce. The Victorian women and men, although they might not have had much choice in who they married, stuck with it and worked it out for the better. Now, marriage is based off of â€Å"physical attraction and desire† (The Courtship Ritual). These reasons do not support a good and proper marriage, causing failure. If the Victorian women had not wanted change, caused the laws to come into play, and gained more control of marriage, then marriage and society itself would not be the way it is today. The word prostitution has always been accompanied by a negative connotation. In the past, the Victorian women being in their â€Å"late teens and early twenties,† were forced into prostitution because they were usually â€Å"poor, illiterate, and from broken families† (Hickenbottom). These girls felt that they had nothing else to live for and had to support themselves so they did anything they could to survive. According to Iris Hickenbottom on her website â€Å"Prostitution: Then and Now,† â€Å"the conditions for women in the Victorian period caused many young teenagers and women to turn towards prostitution as a means of survival,† but they only stayed in the profession â€Å"untilShow MoreRelatedThe Term Illness By Elizabeth Gaskell1655 Words   |  7 Pages‘bad moral quality, condition, or character.’ Illness was often used as a measure of morality, with the perception that bad morals predisposed to illness and could be contagious like a disease. Elizabeth Gaskell explored these issues of morality – the loss and redemption of – in her English social novel, Ruth. 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