on to February

I really enjoyed this week's reading especially the Sweet article because it really brought new life to my own questions about who are the Victorians. As the article also brought to light, and made me feel better about, was all of the misrepresentation that we see of these people in our history. It appears that (like usual) only selective aspects of society seem to be remembered of this time. The aspects of culture that we do remember reflect sometimes the "uptight" and "conservative" nature of this culture. I loved how Sweet sought to refute this common misconception and refuted it with revealing the thrill seeking nature of the Victorians. I thought it was so interesting the fascination with horror that this society had. Between the mystery novels, horror stories, and the "freak" side shows this society truly knew how to push the envelope. The daredevils who risked their lives for these crazy stunts put all of this horror and adrenaline front and center for the entertainment of these people. I also was very intrigued when we were discussing sexuality as it pertains to homosexuality and the acceptable nature of this in the society. It had me wondering if the "prudeness" of America had something to do with making this curious society change. Maybe it is the spreading influence that America has over the world especially after WWI that causes the world to be held to American social standards? Maybe I'm just ranting about nothing but I at least think it would be interesting to see where these shifts in taboos come from. I also wonder whether it is also our modern day again "prude" view of society that leads to the selective history that we see coming from this period. It seems that the Victorians have been glorified for their highly respectable society and intolerance for "unbecoming" behavior. It would seem like a convenient concept to only remember the structured aspects of society and class and thus making it a standard to which all others seem to fall short. But one would think that maybe a Victorian too would fall short of these idealized views of society.