An effective way to understand something as complex as the Victorian Era is to determine what it is not. Rupert Christiansen’s chapter on Wagner in his book The Victorian Visitors: Culture Shock in Nineteenth-Century Britain does just this. The readings from last week, particularly Matthew Sweet’s Inventing the Victorians gave me the sense that the Victorians were much more progressive than I originally thought. Christiansen touches on this sentiment as well when he asks, “Does the appearance of the latest microchip gizmos make more difference than that of photography, antiseptics, refrigeration, and bicycles?”[1] and then goes on to list a number of Victorian Era innovations that I cannot imagine living without.
Despite technological growth, in the realm of music and lifestyle the Victorian English were certainly not progressive. Christiansen writes, “By the middle of the century it had developed another sort of confidence, a sense of inner moral righteousness which stiffened the nation’s backbone to the point of inflexibility.” [2] It was fascinating to read about how this moral standpoint influenced England’s receptivity to new music, specifically the music of Wagner. England throughout the ages has always had a preference for consonance (i.e. John Dunstable and William Byrd), and it seems that the people did not want to be challenged, especially for an activity that was meant for their leisure. I was struck by the nasty reviews Wagner received during his three visits to London. There is new music I hear that I certainly do not like, but I don’t go so far as to say it is dangerous, and should not exist. Davison, the harshest of the critics, exclaimed, “ ‘Composition indeed! – decomposition is the proper word for such hateful fungi, which choke up and poison the fertile plains of harmony, threatening the world with drowth…”[3] What is it about Wagner’s music that made people feel so threatened? Society is always resistant to change, especially the change that does not make one comfortable, but rather challenges one to know and accept even what is ugly at times, but ultimately honest. I do not like Wagner as a person, but I find his music so unabashedly honest. Perhaps in Wagner the Victorian English saw the ugliness they wished to hide behind their “moral inflexibility.” This is a theme so rampant throughout history: repression always bites you in the ass. When will people learn this lesson?
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