Victorian Church and Society

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century men earned most of the household income in work outside of the household.   Thus the general assumption was that men were entitled to food, service (all household chores being done) and sex.   Yet the study outline in “Breadwinner” indicates that out of 662 autobiographies, in 491 cases the father died or deserted the family before the children became adults.   The evidence from the autobiographies suggest that 43% of the rest were reliable wage earners who shared their earnings with their families.   The amount of “pocket money” the man would take from the household income was determined entirely by the man.   Griffin’s study suggest that the autobiographies were not “misery memoirs” and so most of the stories whether good or bad reflections on the male are likely to have some basis in truth. The male as the breadwinner for the family style approach to the household worked particularly well in the country...

This blog post is based on the book “Breadwinner” by Emma Griffin (Yale University Press 2020).   Autobiographies are used as the tool for her research and her study of them is extensive.   This raises the question about the motivation of the person composing the autobiography.   Does the existence of the text indicate a level of confidence in writing or educational achievement on the part of the writer?   The author acknowledges this as a potential difficulty but her analysis of the autobiographies to which she refers is detailed and she has an enormous data set (over six hundred) in her study. Over two hundred of the autobiographies used in the study were written by women.   Women found work outside the home much more desirable than work within it.   Work outside the home was more likely to bring some degree of financial autonomy, manifest in the ability to buy clothes and not to accept the clothing and styles of garments made by their mothers. ...

Keble’s sermon (preached to the Assizes in Oxford Church of St. Mary the Virgin) was based on the Old Testament Bible text: 1 Samuel 12:23 which reads: “Moreover for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you and I will instruct you in the good and right way.” The Prophet Samuel is commenting (again) on the manner in which the Israelites have turned away from the Lord God.   In his own time Keble feels that his nation has turned away from God hence he sets out “the symptoms by which one may judge most fairly whether or not a nation as such is becoming alienated from God”. Keble believes that during its history prior to 1833 the country has acknowledged itself to be a Christian nation but in 1833 he suggests it is “throwing off restraint”.   His examples of this include the example of people holding public office who are not acknowledging Christ and His Church.   Furthermore he believes that people explain away voluntary oa...