Victorian Living Magazine

The theme of our project is cultural trends and their personification of the past, as a means of commenting on the present.

An online magazine-style blog, our project attempted to answer, through the exploration of modern day literature and art, these two questions:

Does Victorian Cool offer any sort of critique on the present, in regards to its aesthetics, principles, and technologies?

and

Does the nostalgia embodied in Victorian Cool suggest an optimistic view or a pessimistic view of the future of mankind?

At the end of our investigation, we decided that the prevalency of Victorian culture in the 21st century suggests that Victorian Cool is a means of teaching, through example, the folly of innovation without consideration. The Victorians were obsessed with science and materialism. Their lack of concern for the future of the planet has resulted in our current problem of Global Warming. They looked to the future, in regards to scientific discovery and material goods, but failed to acknowledge the consequences of such endeavors. In addition, we concluded that nostalgia, in Victorian Cool, offers an optimistic view of the future because, by reflecting on and learning from the past, we are able to improve on our present-day situation and prevent the re-occurrence of past mistakes.


We hope that you have fun looking at our blog, while learning something new about the 19th century.

Enjoy! :-D

The League of Extraordinary Gentleman

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by Flavia Kajoba



Plot Summary

At the end of the Victorian Era, the British government decides to create the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: a group of solitary individuals with unusual talents, employed to protect and defend the British Empire. The members consist of: Ms. Wilhelmina Murray (a secret service agent with a sordid past), Allan Quatermain (an opium-addicted explorer), Captain Nemo (a rebellious Indian pirate), Dr. Henry Jekyll & Mr. Edward Hyde (one man with two identities), and Hawley Griffin (a sardonic man of invisibility). Their current mission is to stop Professor James Moriarty from taking over the world.


Setting

The events of the novel take place in London, England, the summer of 1898. London is infested with dirt and grime: sewage runs freely in the streets, while heavy pollution clogs the water and air. Poverty and drugs are prevalent, and prostitutes are numerous.

Aesthetics

The women in this novel are drawn as big bosomed and small waisted, thereby accentuating their feminine beauty and sexuality. Round edges are used in their faces, in contrast to the sharp, rectangular lines used in the men’s. Throughout the text, there are religious and patriarchic symbols, such as the decorative crosses drawn on the public monuments. The illustrations are bold and colourful, with great attention paid to details in the landscape.

Literature

The novel refers (by character name) to various 18th century stories in English literature such as: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Adventures of Dick Donovan, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Moby Dick, The Invisible Man, King Solomon’s Mines, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The War of the Worlds, The Palliser Series, The Warden, The Yellow Room, Robur-the-Conqueror, L'Assommoir, and Dracula.

Themes

Gothic Horror – Ms. Wilhelmina Murray’s character is based on that of Mina Harker, the heroine of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. She wears a red scarf because her neck has recently been bitten (Nevins).

Gender - The character of Ms. Murray is representative of the emergence of Feminism. While she is more than capable of demonstrating her strong leadership skills, the male members of the league scrutinize her decisions because she is a female. During violent scenes, the authors also advise the female readers to avert their eyes, implying that women are frail and innocent (Moore et al.). This conflict between men and women in the novel signifies that, in the 18th century, society was struggling to come to terms with the women's suffrage movement.

Science and Discovery – The Cavorite is invented, a gravity-defying levitation device (Moore et al.). This is representative of how the Victorian period was a time of discovery and innovation.

British Empire – An England of an alternate reality, there exists a bridge between England and France called the Channel Causeway (Nevins). This is representative of how Victorian England had a constant eye to the future.

Industrialization – There is a lot of construction and everything seems to be mechanized (Moore et al). This is representative of how, in Victorian times, there were increased innovations in science and technology.

Technology - There are a lot of fantastical technological devices such as: a squid-shaped submarine, a flame-throwing harpoon gun, a gravity-defying levitation device, gas-powered war-kites, and an aerial canon (Moore et al.).

Historical Accuracy

This is a futuristic realization of England, so all the demonstrations of technology, science, and industrialization in the novel, are completely unrealistic. However, the novel falls into the category of Victorian Cool, so the clothing and demeanor of the characters, as well as, all historical references and analogies to literature, happen to be true (Nevins, Moore et al.).

Works Cited

Moore, Alan, Kevil O’Neil, Ben Dimagmaliw, and Bill Oakley.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Vol. 1.
America’s Best Comics: La Jolla, CA., 1999.

Nevins, Jess. “Notes on League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #1.” 10 March
2002. Notes on League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #1. 26 January 2009.
http://www.geocities.com/ratmmjess/league1.html