From - Mon Jul 8 23:29:11 2002 Received: by gasherbrumII.peakpeak.com (mbox snowbear) (with Cubic Circle's cucipop (v1.31 1998/05/13) Mon Jul 8 22:35:54 2002) X-From_: snowbear@peakpeak.com Mon Jul 8 22:33:29 2002 Return-Path: Received: from peakpeak.com (tz0066.peakpeak.com [207.174.69.66]) by gash2.peakpeak.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id WAA07621; Mon, 8 Jul 2002 22:33:22 -0600 Sender: snowbear@gash2.peakpeak.com Message-ID: <3D2A6A97.74FFB19@peakpeak.com> Date: Mon, 08 Jul 2002 22:46:15 -0600 From: Pam North X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.61 [en] (X11; U; Linux 2.2.12-20 i586) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: "Douglas, Laura" , "Green, Guerin" , "North, Pam" Subject: Article Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 X-UIDL: 2c4a726769110000 A SLICE OF VICTORIAN LIFE - PART IV by Pam North Victorian family members managed to entertain themselves without the electronic games, battery-operated toys, television and stereos that are typical diversions in today's modern world. Adults and children in the late 19th century had to devise their own ways to relax and enjoy themselves, and their activities were of a simpler nature. Sewing was an essential skill for the Victorian woman, and her station in life dictated how her needlework talents would be directed. If the family was poor, she had to know how to make and mend clothes, and her efforts constituted labor rather than a leisure pastime. If her life was on the well-to-do side, however, she sewed for enjoyment, often embroidering as she kept company with her husband and children. Samplers were a favored undertaking, each a showpiece for a variety of stitches, and each having the alphabet, a motto or Bible verse, or perhaps a picture sewn into the fabric. Tatting, the delicate and intricate lace-making process using cotton thread and shuttles, was also a popular craft. Scrapbooks were a common hobby during the Victorian era, with all the family members kept busy pasting photographs and illustrations into albums, using glue made of flour and water. Pressed flowers were often preserved in the pages, and flower arranging was also a typical feminine diversion. Some pastimes were of a cultural bent. Art was enjoyed by many, in the form of sketching, watercolors and oil paints, and colored chalk. The highlight and focus of a home's well-appointed drawing room was a piano, and children, especially girls, were taught to play at an early age. The side benefit of practicing at a keyboard was learning the habits of sitting erect, paying close attention to detail, and becoming disciplined, all qualities considered desirable in a proper young lady. A musical education was considered important to give her polish. If she had a pleasing voice and could carry a tune, so much the better; she could sing as she accompanied herself, and could entertain guests. Reading was another favorite activity. Poetry was appreciated, and it was the fashion to memorize selected passages to recite at appropriate times. Novels of the day often were published in monthly installments, with the authors frequently writing each section of the novel just hours before publication, and sometimes with no certain idea of what future course the story would take. Many female writers, aware of the bias toward women, assumed male pseudonyms, such as Mary Anne Evans, who wrote under the name of George Eliot. Books aimed at Victorian children were often heavy with moral lessons and dire warnings as to the fate of children who were naughty, but there were wonderful books of a lighter nature, too, such as pop-up books, adventure stories and fairy tales to delight the young. Many were illustrated with elaborate pictures and drawings. Rocking horses, dolls made of china and bisque, dollhouses, wooden toys and games, marbles and jacks also entertained yesteryear's children. Leisure time activities broke down many of the barriers between men and women, offering new opportunities for shared experiences between them. Sports like bicycling, tennis and swimming also helped women break free from the confines of corsets, and also from the rigid roles in which they had been cast for so many years. Resource: Daily Life in aVictorian House, by Laura Wilson