Interview about the VICORIAN TIME

One day Amy and best friend Lilith had the idea to make necromancy, because they were totally bored. Suddenly something strange happened. They called up a ghost, who was a poor Girl in the year 1869 [the Victorian Time] The two friends were very interested about this Girl- or better about her spirit and Amy began to ask her some questions about her life...

Amy: Please, tell me something about your childhood! What kind of games have you played?

Ghost: Victorian children were able to play out in the street, because there were no cars! We also made up games like tag or catch or we made footballs from old rags, and bats from pieces of wood.

Amy: Great ideas! How was it in school? There were dire teachers weren't there?

Ghost: I'm sorry but I can't tell you much of school. Only a few children attended school at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign. Most poor children like me worked.

Amy: I'm so sorry for you...What do you had to do in your job? Was it really allowed that so young children had a job?

Ghost: Oh yes. It was a point of the agenda. Most factories and mine owners did not think anything was wrong with giving nasty jobs to children. I have worked hard since I was 7 years old. We had to work long hours for little pay and the most jobs were really dangerous. My termination was repairing broken threads in cotton mills in a factory.

Amy: wow. Excuse me my stupid question, but what was dangerous?

Ghost: Some fell ill or had bad accidents. It wasn't unusual that someone lost a finger in one of the big machines. One good friend of me was a chimney sweep and when he climbed up a narrow chimney in a big house, he fell down one day and died.

Amy: What? Unbelievable! It's really irresponsible to employ little boys on a high chimney were he could fall down anytime.

Ghost: Sure, but he needed the money for food or other important stuff. After some years Queen Victoria made some new laws, which made it illegal to employ young children. 1875 it wasn't allowed to send boys up chimneys.

Amy: And what was with the children who worked for example in a mine?

Ghost: One day Inspectors (called commissioners) were sent round Britain to collect evidence from working children themselves. Reports were debated in Parliament. Throughout Queen Victorian's reign and the new laws were passed.

Amy: I think you must have a really strong psyche. Maybe I would have committed suicide when I was in your situation. What did keep you alive?

Ghost: I always had a firm reliance on god and I carried me with credit and respectability. My example was Mrs. Goodbye, who was pious, respectable and busy. Her diligence and evident constant devotion to her husband as well as to her god fascinated me.

Amy: I am sure that Mrs. Goodbye was a amazing person. This time was horrible! We learnt only positive things like Elizabethan England and Victorian England, which saw great expansions of wealth, powder and culture.

Ghost: There also were positive things too. In science and technology, the Victorians invited the modern idea of invention. In religion they experienced a great age of doubt that first called into question intuitional Christianity on such a large scale. But I will never forget the bad things. For example the wicked work and the racial divide between the poor and the rich ones.

Amy: How lived the rich children in this time?

Ghost: Rich children lived in special rooms in their houses called nurseries. These were often found at the top of large houses. In the nursery younger children ate, played and slept. They also could go to school.

Amy: Aww that's unfair! But was the Victorians time really so bad? We heard about some great things on school about feminism, unionization of workers and other great modernisations.

Ghost: Sure! There were some awesome Ideologies too. For example the politics, society changed and the Victorians created amazing innovation. There for example was Democracy. Finally everybody was able to elect and the basic idea of Marxism was not bad too. It was a age of paradox and power and my family and me were expecting about the situation first. Everybody was different, but all the religions and movements were all in their own ways characteristically Victorian.

Amy: That's interesting! Please tell us more about that!

Ghost: hmm..There were the prophetic writings of Carlyle and Ruskin, the critics of Arnold, and the empirical prose of Darwin and Huxley. Maybe you know some of these names. There also were the fantasy of George MacDonald and the realism of George Eliot and George Bernard Shaw.
You see- it was a very hard, but also creative time.

Amy: Thanks a lot! It was a arrestingly story. I think we have learnt much about the Victorian Time and I hope you are not angry with me, but we have to go to bed now. Thanks for everything! Have a good time and Rest in Peace!
bye bye..