| The social gentry of the Victorian era were | | | | clothes as much as six times per day depending |
| ostentatious and displayed their wealth for all to | | | | upon the social calendar. Every woman had |
| see. Even though sickness and disease ran | | | | specialized clothing including dresses for morning |
| rampant, and lives were lost daily to the ravishes | | | | leisure, walking, going to town, visiting, welcoming |
| of chickenpox, smallpox, diphtheria, scarlet fever, | | | | guests, travelling in the carriage, eating dinner, |
| meningitis, tuberculosis and cholera, the Victorians | | | | going to the theatre and dresses for a wide |
| surrounded themselves with the ornaments and | | | | variety of other social activities including bathing at |
| clutter of the rich. | | | | the seashore. |
| The insides of their homes were often dark as | | | | Domestic help handled the daily chores and the |
| sunlight was purposely kept at bay. Heavy | | | | wealthy woman rarely broke a nail or dirtied her |
| furniture filled the rooms and family oil portraits | | | | hands. Even babies nappies were changed by a |
| hung on the walls. Signs of Victorian status | | | | nursemaid. Despite the opulence, homes ran on |
| included large mirrors strategically placed to reflect | | | | strict timetables where meals were social events |
| the abundance of possessions back into the room. | | | | worthy of a change of clothes. |
| The Victorian home was overflowing with vases, | | | | While on the other side of town, the poor |
| figurines, needlework and lace. | | | | Victorian families also struggled with losses from |
| The Victorian woman's place was in the home | | | | the same diseases that struck down their rich |
| while the man grappled with worldly matters and | | | | employers. If not working as a domestic, a |
| perhaps kept an outside mistresses or two. The | | | | Victorian man or woman most likely worked in a |
| more wealth a family had the more servants | | | | lace factory or slaughter house or performed a |
| they could afford. The very well off Victorian | | | | trade such as blacksmithing. Poor Victorian children |
| woman often found herself with little to do but | | | | aged 10 and up, often worked 16 hours a day or |
| socialize, take tea and bear children to replace the | | | | longer in factories alongside adults. Child labour |
| ones who died from disease. Woman could own | | | | laws were non-existent and children were |
| no property until the Woman's Property Act of | | | | generally thought of as disposable. The gap |
| 1887 was passed. | | | | between the rich and the poor was visible and, |
| The properly raised Victorian woman changed her | | | | for the poor, often fatal. |