The Victorian era in the UK was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 1837 to 1901. Society was strictly stratified, with an upper class that held political power and wealth, a prosperous middle class that owned businesses, and a working class that faced poor conditions and low wages. Women had less rights than men and were expected to obey male authority. Child labor was widespread due to families' financial needs. Victorian values promoted morality, duty, charity and respectability.

1. Victorian Era Society and Social
Class Structure
Presented by Avni Dave

2. • Name : Dave Avni J
• Roll no : 03
• Enrollment no : 2069108420190011
• Class : M.A. Sem 2
• Year : 2018-19
• Submitted to : Smt. S. B. Gardi Department of
English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University.

3. What is Victorian Era ?
• In the history of the United Kingdom, the
Victorian era was the period of Queen
Victoria’s reign from 20 June 1837 until her
death on 22 January 1901.
• The era followed by Georgian period and
preceded Edwardian period.

4. Structure of Society
Working
Class
Middle
Class
Upper
Class

5. Upper Class
• The Upper Class was in a powerful position giving
them authority, better living conditions, and
other facilities.
• The peerage is a legal system of British nobility
ranks, titles, and honours where the holder of the
title has the right to sit in the House of Lords.
• The hereditary aristocratic families by the early
19th century had taken a keen interest in the
industrial sector.

6. Life of Upper Class
• Royal Class
• There were a number of aristocrats who
managed large industries like mining or
shipping, etc.
• In term of education also those belonging to
the rich families got the best tutors to provide
education.
• The fact that they represented the royal class
gave these people an advantage at everything.

7. Middle Class
• The middle class was the next in social ranking.
• The Victorian period was very prosperous for the
middle class and they also owned and managed
vast business empires.
• The Industrial Revolution opened the doors for
more job opportunities and earn a decent living.
• This, is turn, had a positive impact on the
education of children.

8. Working Class
• The lowest among the social hierarchy were
the working class.
• This class remained aloof to the political
progress of the country and was affected to
the other two classes.
• The working class was the worst affected class
in the victoeian time.
• Lack of money resulted in a negligible food
supply.

9. Victorian Women Condition
• Industrial Revolution attributed to the chage in
the status of women.
• According to the traditional family pattern,
there was a strong presence of male dominance
in the society. Women were to obey what men
told them to do.
• The revolution gave women an opportunity to
work and earn money, thus changing the old
beliefs
• Working women not only shared the burden of
earning money but it also gave them a sense of
security.

10. • The family was a patriarchal unit;
• The man represented the authority;
• The women had the key role regarded the education of
children and the managing of the house.
• The category of “fallen women”, adulteresses or
unmarried mothers or prostitutes, was condemned and
emarginated. Sexuality was generally repressed
and prudery in its most extreme manifestations led to
the denunciation of nudity in art and the rejection of
words with sexual connotation from everyday
vocabulary.

11. Child labor
• Child labor was rampant throughout the
Victorian period.
• A major reason attributing to it was the fact
that the families did not earn much and the
food prices had increased for certain duration.
• The number of family members living together
was burdensome. Thus, parents were forced
to send their children to work and bring some
more money.

12. Victorian values
• The Victorians were great moralizers. They promoted a
code of values based on personal duty, hard
work, respectability and charity.
• Respectability was a mixture of morality, hypocrisy and
conformity to social standards. It meant,
• The possession of good manners
• The ownership of a comfortable house with servants
and a carriage
• Regular attendance at church
• Charitable activity

13. Conclusion

14. Worksites
• http://www.parafrasando.it/TESINE/The-
victorian-age.html
• http://www.josbd.com/the-social-condition-
of-the-victorian-period/
• http://victorian-era.org/victorian-era-
society.html
• https://valmcbeath.com/victorian-era-
womens-rights/#.XJoHWZgzbIU