Another example is the love story in 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte. Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff have a complex and passionate love. Their love is thwarted by class differences and social norms of the Victorian era, leading to a tragic series of events.
These love stories also showed the role of women in society. Women in Victorian love stories were usually expected to be demure and proper. Their love was often influenced by the need to find a suitable husband for financial and social stability. For instance, in many novels, a woman's marriage was seen as a way to secure her family's future or her own social standing. This was clearly seen in the way female characters made decisions regarding love.
Victorian era short stories typically had complex characters. These characters were often from different social classes, and their interactions showed the class divide of the time. The language used was quite formal and elaborate. Writers would use long, descriptive sentences. Moreover, the themes were diverse, including love, death, social change, and the struggle between good and evil. For example, in stories about love, it was often complicated by social expectations and family honor. The stories also sometimes had a sense of melancholy or a bittersweet tone, as the era had its own set of social and cultural pressures.
Local libraries also have a great collection of Victorian - era family - related books. You can borrow books like 'The Mill on the Floss' by George Eliot. This book shows the relationship between family members, their dreams, and the challenges they face in a Victorian context. It's a great way to learn about Victorian family values and lifestyles.
Well, one characteristic is the use of gloomy settings like old mansions and fog - covered graveyards. The stories often had a moral undertone too. For example, a ghost might haunt someone who had done wrong in the past. Also, the ghosts were usually described in a very spooky way, with pale faces and tattered clothes.
Victorian era stories in audio books often have elaborate descriptions of settings. Take 'Dracula' for instance, the spooky castles and foggy landscapes are vividly described. Also, the language used is often very formal and proper, which gives a sense of the era's propriety. In 'Oliver Twist', the way the characters speak reflects the social norms of the time.
As there were not many openly 'erotic' stories in the Victorian era, if we consider works that pushed the boundaries a bit, they were often very subtle. They might use euphemisms for sexual acts or feelings. For example, a description of a 'forbidden glance' or a 'flush of the cheek' could be used to imply sexual attraction in a way that was acceptable within the Victorian moral framework.
The Victorian era influenced Victorian ghost stories in terms of their themes. The strict social norms led to themes like guilt and punishment in these stories. In other English ghost stories, the themes can be more diverse. For example, modern English ghost stories might be about urban legends. Victorian ghost stories also had a certain aesthetic due to the era's architecture and fashion. This is different from other English ghost stories which can be set in different time - period aesthetics.