Victorian attitudes towards the poor were rather muddled. Some believed that the poor were facing their situations because they deserved it, either because of laziness or because they were simply not worthy of fortune. However, some believed it was up to personal circumstances.
How were the poor treated in Victorian England?
The new Poor Law ensured that the poor were housed in workhouses, clothed and fed. Children who entered the workhouse would receive some schooling. In return for this care, all workhouse paupers would have to work for several hours each day. However, not all Victorians shared this point of view.
What was life like for poor people in Victorian times?
A poor Victorian family would have lived in a very small house with only a couple of rooms on each floor. The very poorest families had to make do with even less – some houses were home to two, three or even four families. The houses would share toilets and water, which they could get from a pump or a well.
Why was life unfair for poor people in Victorian society?
Large numbers of both skilled and unskilled people were looking for work, so wages were low, barely above subsistence level. If work dried up, or was seasonal, men were laid off, and because they had hardly enough to live on when they were in work, they had no savings to fall back on.
How were poor children treated in the Victorian era?
The children of the poor were not thought to be a blessing, but often a burden on the family. With no laws to protect children, this meant they had few rights and were badly treated. Seen as simply the property of their parents, many children were abandoned, abused and even bought and sold.
What was life like for the poor in England?
| The Poor | The Wealthy |
|---|---|
| had few luxuries. ate food they could afford to buy worked long hours lived in damp, filthy conditions. Many children died of disease. | usually well fed, clean and well clothed. didn’t need to work lived in big houses with servants went on holidays children had expensive toys children went to school |
How did Dickens feel the poor were treated in Victorian society?
Dickens felt strongly that Victorian society ignored the poverty of its underclass. On the one hand were the rich who enjoyed comfort and feasting at Christmas, and on the other were children forced to live in dreadful conditions in workhouses.
What jobs did poor children Victorians have?
Children worked on farms, in homes as servants, and in factories. Children provided a variety of skills and would do jobs that were as varied as needing to be small and work as a scavenger in a cotton mill to having to push heavy coal trucks along tunnels in coal mines. There were so many different jobs!
What were the differences between rich and poor Victorian homes?
The Vast Differences Between Rich and Poor Victorian Homes
While a rich family might live in a large Beautiful house with several bedrooms, a large living room, a parlor and a dining room separate from the kitchen, poor children might have as little as one room for the family to live in.
What did poor people do for fun in the Victorian era?
Outdoor and Indoor Games
Many families played soccer, badminton, battledore and shuttlecock. Poor children kicked around a blown-up pig’s bladder. Families indoor played board games like Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and Draughts, and also card games. A popular card game was Happy Families.
Did poor Victorians have toilets?
In reality, bathrooms were not commonplace in the Victorian Era. The conversion of older houses to include bathrooms did not take place until the late 1800s. It was not until the 1900s that all but the smallest houses were built with an upstairs bathroom and toilet.
How much did poor Victorians get paid?
A labourer’s average wage was between 20 and 30 shillings a week in London, probably less in the provinces. This would just cover his rent, and a very sparse diet for him and his family.
How did Victorian parents punish their kids?
Parents Used Corporal Punishment
Corporal punishment was the norm in Victorian times, and children could expect to get a beating if they did even minimally naughty things.
What were the 2 views of the poor in Elizabethan England?
It showed a change in attitude towards the poor by the Elizabethans as it made sure that financial help was collected. There were two types of poor in Elizabethan England. The idle poor and the deserving poor. The Elizabethan wanted to help the idle poor.
What were poor people called?
1 needy, indigent, impoverished, destitute, penniless, poverty-stricken, necessitous, straitened.
What are the living conditions of the poor?
Overcrowded areas are prone to suffer from infectious diseases, especially if there are unsanitary conditions. Mental health issues decrease an individual’s chance of finding employment, which can hinder a community’s productivity and economic activity.
How were the rich and poor treated differently in Victorian times?
There was a big difference between rich and poor in Victorian times. Rich people could afford lots of treats like holidays, fancy clothes, and even telephones when they were invented. Poor people – even children – had to work hard in factories, mines or workhouses. They didn’t get paid very much money.
How does Dickens present the poor and needy?
He believes that the poor do not need or deserve to be helped by being given comfort and food. He believes that he already pays enough taxes for the “workhouses” where he they should go. Dickens portrays Scrooge as a shallow and uncharitable to represent the business owners of the day who did not engage with charity.
How does Dickens explore attitudes to the poor?
Dickens illustrates how the ignorance of those in society, who like Scrooge, assume that people suffering in poverty are sinners, undeserving of help, creates a cycle of poverty where children Page 2 suffer hardships and then develop into damaged “hideous,” and “miserable,” adults.
What toys did poor Victorians have?
The toys children played with in Victorian times often depended on how wealthy their family was. Children from rich families played with rocking horses, train sets, doll’s houses and toy soldiers, whereas children from poor families tended to play with home-made toys such as peg dolls, spinning tops and skipping ropes.
What was the worst job in Victorian times?
Sewer Hunters
If dealing with dog doo-doo wasn’t bad enough, some folks were forced to get by with what “treasure” they could find while sifting through their fellow humans’ waste in the sewers. Known as “toshers,” Smithsonian Magazine calls this “quite likely the worst job ever.”