For much of this century the term Victorian， which literally describes things and events in the reign of Queen Victoria （1837-1901）， conveyed connotations of “prudish，” “repressed，” and “old fashioned.” Although such associations have some basis in fact， they do not adequately indicate the nature of this complex， paradoxical age that was a second English Renaissance. Like Elizabethan England， Victorian England saw great expansion of wealth， power， and culture. （What Victorian literary form do you think parallels Elizabethan drama in terms of both popularity and literary achievement？）

　　In science and technology， the Victorians invented the modern idea of invention —— the notion that one can create solutions to problems， that man can create new means of bettering himself and his environment.

　　In religion， the Victorians experienced a great age of doubt， the first that called into question institutional Christianity on such a large scale. In literature and the other arts， the Victorians attempted to combine Romantic emphases upon self， emotion， and imagination with Neoclassical ones upon the public role of art and a corollary responsibility of the artist.

　　In ideology， politics， and society， the Victorians created astonishing innovation and change： democracy， feminism， unionization of workers， socialism， Marxism， and other modern movements took form. In fact， this age of Darwin， Marx， and Freud appears to be not only the first that experienced modern problems but also the first that attempted modern solutions. Victorian， in other words， can be taken to mean parent of the modern —— and like most powerful parents， it provoked a powerful reaction against itself.