1. Victorian
Age
The Importance
of Being Ernest

2. The last quarter of the
19 century
th
England was at its
highest point

3. Queen Victoria Reigned
1837-1901

4. The Era
gave birth
to the rise
of the elite
Creating disparity
between the rich
and the poor

5. Victorian Class
Structure
1. Aristocracy or Upper
Class
2. Middle Class
3. Working Class
4. Under Class

6. IDEAS OF THE AGE
 Connot at ions of “pr udish”, “old-
f ashioned”, and “r epr essed”
 Gr eat age of r eligious doubt
 Mar ked by social r esponsibilit y
 Socialism, f eminism, unionizat ion
of wor ker s, and ot her moder n
movement s began
 A Romant ic emphasis on self ,
emot ion, and imaginat ion

7. What was the average
wage in the US at the end
of the Victorian Age?

8. What age did some
children begin working?

9. What was the average
life expectancy?

10. Medical Care
substandard
90% of US physicians
had no college
education. Instead,
they attended a
medical school.

11. Leading Causes of Death
 Pneumonia
 Influenza
 Tuberculosis
 Diarrhea
 Heart Disease
 Stroke

12. Women had a higher mortality rate
than men…
 Childbirth
 Frequent
exposure to
illness
 Ate less than
men
 Poor hygiene

13. Most women washed their hair only
once a month and used borax or
egg yolks for shampoo

14. Highest mortality rate was
for infants

15. Main causes of death?
1. Scarlet Fever
2. Whooping Cough
3. Measles
4. Diphtheria
5. Small Pox
6. 95% of births took place
at home

16. How many children
did the average
family have?

17. How were children
disciplined?
 Whipped  Caning
 Locked in a room  Scare tactics
for days such as taking
children to a
public hanging
 No food or water
 Ice baths
 Wearing signs on
their backs

18. High School
Graduation

19. What was Victorian Society like?
 Structured
 Dif f icult to move
outside one’s class
 Restrictions on
behavior
 The wealthy enjoyed
leisure

20. What happens at
Four o’clock?

21. Who am I?
Oscar Wilde

22. Born October 16, 1854
Ireland

23. Oscar Wilde was
christened…
Oscar Fingal O’Flaher t ie
Wills Wilde

24. Oscar Wilde used a
different name after he
was released from
prison…
Sebastian Melmoth

25. Family History
 His father was a
prominent
ophthalmologist
 His mother was a
large woman
who was given to
romantic
imaginings

26. BIO
 Poetry prize by the
age of 24
 His own best publicity
agent
 Known for his wit
 Lifestyle questioned—
2 years of prison
 Considered a “dandy”
or flamboyant dresser

27. Examples of Wilde’s
Wit…
Wilde spent an entire year on a
speaking tour of America. On
being asked by a New York
customs official if he had anything
to declare, he replied, “only my
genius.”

28. More examples of Wilde’s
wit…
On his deathbed, he complained
about the unattractive wallpaper in
his hotel room commenting that
either the wallpaper or he would
have to go. He died at the Hotel
d”Alsace and is buried in Paris.

29. The End of the Victorian
Age
in America
 14 % had bathtubs
 8% had phones
 3 minute call from Denver to New York
cost $11.00
 Only 144 miles of paved roads in America

30. The End of the Victorian
Age
in America
 8,000 cars in US
 Average wage is 22 cents
an hour
 Average salary is $200-$400 year
 Accountants, vets, and mechanical engineers
could earn $1,500-$5,000 per year

31. The End of the Victorian Age
in America
 More than 95% of all births
took place in the home
 Eiffel Tower was the
tallest structure in the world
 Most women washed their hair
only once a month
 Shampoo consisted of
borax or egg yolks

32. The End of the Victorian
Age
in America
 Canada passed a law pr ohibit ing
poor people f r om ent er ing t he
count r y f or any r eason
 The Amer ican f lag had 45 st ar s
 Ar izona, Oklahoma, New Mexico,
Hawaii, and Alaska hadn’t been
admit t ed t o t he Union yet

33. The End of the Victorian
Age

in Vegas
The population of Las
America
was only 30
 Canned beer and ice tea hadn’t been
invented yet
 Mother’s Day and Father’s Day did not
exist
 Coca Cola contained cocaine
 Marijuana, heroin, morphine were
available over the counter at corner
drugstores

34. The End of the Victorian Age
in America
 18% of households had at least
one full time servant
 Only 6% of Americans
graduated from high school
 One in ten US adults couldn’t
read or write
 There were only about 230
reported murders in the entire
US

35. Oscar Wilde Quotes

36. An idea that is not
dangerous is unworthy of
being called an idea at all.

37. Only the shallow
know themselves.

38. The clever people never
listen, and the stupid
people never talk.

39. When people agree with me I
always feel that I must be
wrong.

40. T be natural is such a
o
very difficult pose to
keep up.

41. The soul is born old but grows
young. That is the comedy of
life. And the body is born
young and grows old. That is
life's tragedy.

42. Never speak
disrespectfully of
society. Only people who
can't get into it do that.

43. A man can be happy
with any woman, as long
as he does not love her .

44. A little sincerity is a dangerous
thing, and a great deal of it is
absolutely fatal.

45. A pessimist is one who,
when he has a choice of
two evils, chooses both.

46. Always forgive your
enemies; nothing
annoys them so much.

47. Anybody can make history.
Only a great man can write it.

48. Bigamy is having one
wife too many.
Monogamy is the same.

49. Experience is the name
everyone gives to their
mistakes.

50. I am not young enough
to know everything.

51. I can resist
everything except
temptation.

52. Men always want to be a
woman's first love. Women
like to be a man's last
romance.

53. One should always be in love.
That is the reason one should
never marry.

54. One should always
play fairly when one
has the winning cards.

55. One should never trust a woman
who tells one her real age. A
woman who would tell one that,
would tell one anything.

56. Some cause
happiness wherever
they go; others
whenever they go

57. Children begin by loving their
parents. After a time they judge
them. Rarely, if ever, do they
forgive them.

58. The cynic
knows the
price of
everything and
the value of
nothing

59. A thing is not
necessarily true because
a man dies f or it

60. In this world there are only
two tragedies. One is not
getting what one wants, and
the other is getting it.

61. Taking champagne on his
deathbed: "I am dying
beyond my means”

62. In America, the young are
always ready to give to those
who are older than themselves
the full benefits of their
inexperience

63. Duty is what one
expects from
others.

64. T well-bred contradict
he
other people. T wise
he
contradict themselves.

65. There is only one thing in
the world worse than
being talked about, and
that is not being talked
about

66. I must decline your
invitation owing to a
subsequent
engagement

67. The world is a
stage, but the play
is badly cast

68. No man is rich enough to
buy back his past.

69. I like men who
have a future and
women who have a
past

70. T EE
H ND