An Introduction.

            Beginning this course, it is already becoming clear that I have many misconceptions about the Victorian Era.  I always thought the Victoria Era’s timeline was 19^th-century-ish. However, the Victoria Era has very specific dates as they correspond to the birth and death of Queen Victoria: 1837-1901. This means that the beloved childhood story I always somewhat associated with Victorian Era life, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (and published in 1908), while perhaps influenced by the Victorian Era can in no way be named a quintessential Victorian work.

I do not claim to know much about Britain in the Victorian Era, but there are a few other cultural signposts of personal significance that do in some way connect to this time period. My alma mater, Mount Holyoke College, was founded in 1837, the same year as Queen Victoria’s birth.  Mount Holyoke is the first all-women’s college founded in the United States, and inspired other Ivy League counterparts such as Vassar and Wellesley Colleges, founded in the late 19^th century. People often ask me why I chose to attend an all-women’s college, why it is even necessary for all-women’s institutions to exist in today’s “equal” world. I respond that in actuality, the world is not so different as it was at Mount Holyoke’s inception, and that going to Mount Holyoke gave me the chance for four years to live outside the real world, in a place where only women hold leadership positions and only women ask the questions.  It seems that I have the Victorian Era to thank for one of the best decisions I ever made.

My childhood religion, Christian Science, also has its roots tied to the Victorian Era. It is my understanding that during this time many people were questioning traditional Christianity and seeking alternative ways of thinking. Christian Science, although an American brainchild, was in answer to this Victorian Era sentiment. Perhaps a deeper look at Victorian culture will help me to understand the world in which Mary Baker Eddy lived, and her reason for founding a faith that to this day is viewed skeptically and with much controversy.

If there is anything I have learned however from my first class and from the first readings, it is that the Victoria Era is not incredibly different from today’s world. We view the Era as this idyllic past that knew not our conflicts or our amusements, when in fact many of the issues we still face and the fun that we have had its beginnings in Victorian culture. I look forward to learning more, and reporting here about my discoveries.