Sunday, February 17, 2019
Orphans in 19th Century Victorian England :: Victorian Era
Orphans in 19th Century blue(a) EnglandThe Victorian Era was a time of social evolution as well as technical and economic advance. A distinct, unique middle class was formed aboard the traditional working class and wealthy aristocracy. However, on that point were certain individuals that disappear outside this model of Victorian society. The abandoned child was societys scapegoat- a person without a past, without connections, without status. They could appear in any class, at any time. The upper and middle classes often had a somewhat romanticist perception of them, due to their prevalence in Victorian literature. Novels like Jane Eyre and Wuthering high school made heroines/heroes out of orphans, portraying them as respectable yet impress (Cunningham,Orphan Texts). However, orphans were also often treated with disdain and distrust, due to their written report as criminally prone individuals. They were a victim of classic Victorian contradictions that characterized most aspect s of Victorian society.Victorian Definition of OrphanWhen we hear the reciprocation orphan we imagine a child whose parents have both died tragic deaths. Indeed, there were plenty of these pitiable creatures in Victorian society the animateness and working conditions of the poor were so unsanitary and crowded that diseases such as typhus and tuberculosis often spread unchecked, sending many of their victims to the laborious (Czarnik, Living Conditions). However, children were often considered orphans if they had one surviving parent, had been abandoned by their family, or were forced out into the world because of overcrowding at home (Cunningham, Orphan Texts). In 1861, it is estimated that 11% of children had lost a father by the age of 10, 11% a mother, and 1% had lost both parents (Czarnik).AdoptionA very common great deal of orphans was adoption. They were often taken in by relatives or neighbors, and even, on occasion, strangers wishing to raise them as their own children . In England, there were no laws concerning adoption until the 1920s, so most adoption was informal. Children who were adopted by their own social class were usually treated fairly and as however, if they were adopted by a family whose status was above and beyond their legitimate class, they were frequently mistreated and neglected. Children of different social classes were not encouraged to fraternize, so if an orphan was taken into a household where higher class children lived, they could be forbidden to even speak to them (Czarnik).EducationOrphans sometimes met another fate being placed in an educational institution. Many philanthropists donated money to these schools for the establish purpose of boarding and educating orphans.
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