Reference:
Mikhailova E..
The English House of the mid XIX – early XX century as the reflection of the Victorian era values
// Genesis: Historical research. – 2017. – ¹ 10.
– P. 161-170.
DOI: 10.25136/2409-868X.2017.10.24222.
DOI: 10.25136/2409-868X.2017.10.24222
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Abstract:
Dwelling interior is a vivid reflection of the social and cultural realities typical for each historic period and region. The house arrangement can describe the social hierarchy, family values, role of each family member, comfort, coziness, feeling of homeliness, and private life in general. The subject of this research is the image of house presented in the English popular magazines of the mid XIX – early XX centuries that provide a description of a household in its regional and historical forms. The methodological framework of the research consists in the complex analysis of Victorian and Edwardian eras that demonstrate on the one hand, the deep transformations in the English everyday life associated with the intense development of mass culture, while on the other hand – the preservation of national values and views of the Englishmen. Since the mid XIX century, the magazines have dedicated articles and columns to house interior, progressively changing the space and forming new norms, tastes, views and values. Globalization and mass culture in multiple aspects blur the differences, unifying the space of everyday life with the material world. However, through the general trends, brands, materials, technologies, and interior features, there is a clear evidence of the national specificities and the established perceptions of the Englishmen about the coziness, comfort, and family as the key values of British society. Over the recent decades, the Russian and foreign science experiences a significant growth of interest towards the problems of everyday life, particularly the living space. This work is first to attract popular magazines as a source for studying the image of the English House, analyze the transformations that take place within the living space, human representations and values on the background of the developing mass culture.
Keywords: Great Britain, feeling of homeliness, values, family, Victorian era, everyday life, dwelling interior, English house, mass culture, magazines
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