Notes

The Victorian view of children and childhood was quite different from today’s perspective. Children in Victorian times, whether wealthy or poor, were held in fairly low regard by the culture1. They were expected to behave like little adults, and to be self-contained and self-reliant at a very early age1. Childish exuberance and playfulness were repressed; obedience and conformity were imperative1.

In the mid-18th century, childhood began to be viewed in a positive light, as a state of freedom and innocence2. This new approach influenced 18th and 19th-century writers, some of whom wished they could preserve childhood indefinitely2. The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s work was central to this change in understanding childhood. He rejected the doctrine of Original Sin and maintained that children are innately innocent, only becoming corrupted through experience of the world2.

However, the reality of life for many children during this period was harsh. Victorian children would be made to go to work at a very young age, sometimes even 4 or 5 years old3. They worked very hard and for long hours every day3. Wealthy children were mostly raised by a nanny who would teach the child what was proper and what was not3. Day to day living was nothing more than a lonely monotonous routine and very formal3.

Despite these hardships, the Victorians passed a variety of laws aimed at protecting the wellbeing of children at work, at school, or in the home4. This activism was motivated in part by a growing acceptance of the Romantic idea that children are innocent creatures who should be shielded from the adult world and allowed to enjoy their childhood4.