Alcoholism among Victorians Essay -- Victorian Era

Alcoholism among VictoriansWrayburn It will be necessary, I think, to wind up Mr. Dolls, before anything to any mortal purpose can be got out of him. Brandy, Mr. Dolls, or - ?Mr. Dolls Threepennorth Rum.--Our Mutual Friend by Charles DickensThroughout Victorian society gin was the preferred spirit of the lower class, while wine-coloured and brandy were imbibed by the more comfortable citizenry (Alcoholic Beverages 12).During the nineteenth century, the Victorians had high expectations of their class system to make sure the classes were distinct and properly represented. They hold deard controlled, propitious mien and would tolerate nothing slight (Harding Victorians and Alcohol). There was a cultural value placed on teetotaling, total abstinence from alcoholic drinks, but despite this value alcohol consumption became a popular pastime (Harding Victorians and Alcohol). Behavior such as drunkenness was strongly disapproved of because of its association with the lower class.Alcoholi sm Representation of the on the job(p) ClassIt was widely known that drunkenness, and the related loss of self-control, was associated with the lower classes and therefore had negative connotations (Harding Victorians and Alcohol). Spirits, a popular hard liquor, had become the everyday drink for less wealthy people and laborers commonly used spirits to flee from their desolate everyday lives (Harding Victorians and Alcohol). The awful working and living conditions of the working class contributed to their hard, controlled, and monotonous life, leading to luxuriant drinking of hard liquor (Harding Victorians and Alcohol). This excessive drinking would sometimes result in public intoxication which was regarded as anti-s... ...ss, Inc. 1996. 12.Distad, Merrill N. Food and Diet. Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia. New York decorate Publishing, Inc. 1988. 304-307.Garwood, John. Religious and moral Character of the Pensioners, and Provisions made for their Instruction. Social Investig ation/Journalism The Million-Peopled City. (1853) 94-96. 11 Mar. 2005 Harding, Stephen. Alcohol. Victorians Secrets.Absinthe and Victorians. Victorians Secrets. 2000. University of Texas at Arlington. 24 Feb. 2005. Kent, Christopher A. fuddle. Twentieth-Century Britain An Encyclopedia. New York Garland Publishing, Inc., 1995. 239-240.Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Domesticating Drink Women, Men, and Alcohol in America, 1870-1940 . Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.