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Sex In The Victorian Era

811 Words4 Pages

The destruction of the mystery of sex has caused that this activity provides less pleasure for modern people. The Victorians did not boast about the sexual experience. Mary is not entirely innocent, she is a peasant. The Victorians are seen as prudish, because of the middle class. A true view of their behaviour, culture can be found in the reports of people who studied it. In this time, premarital sex was something usual, women were getting married when they were pregnant, in order to have somebody who would help to earn money. Families were living in bad conditions, they were often crammed together while sleeping. For this reason, the incest was normal. The first author who tried to write about the sex in the Victorian era was Thomas Hardy. …show more content…

The novel was written in the 20th century, so it is not a Victorian novel. However, the main plot and the style of writing remind those of Victorian era. What is more, none of the authors from the 19th century would venture to produce the story of this type. Above all, the Victorians seem to be very religious people – they are building a lot of churches, nevertheless, one in six houses is a brothel in London. Moreover, the public figures claim that women have to remain chaste until marriage, but they take part in the scandals that contradict what they are telling. The author highlights the hypocrisy of people living in Victorian times by usage of the irony. Fowles emphasises that the ideology of their era had an influence on the Victorians' decisions and knowledge about themselves. Furthermore, the narrator uses the Victorians' history to make a distinction between present and past. The readers have a possibility to consider how contemporary ideas and beliefs shape their own presumptions about the past. The author comments on how the interpretation of different conventions can change depending on the point of view. Fowles claims that the sense of duty was one of the most important part of Victorians' life. In this era, people were morally obliged to act in a specific way. Nevertheless, the society determines these obligations. The author suggests that the Victorian sexuality did not differ from contemporary sexuality. What is more, he acknowledges the difference in sexual norms, however, frequently it had an irresistible impact on

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