Victorian Middle-Class Ideology in W. S. Gilbert’s Savoy Operas
Date
2010-05-21T18:06:54Z
Authors
Clemmer, Erin T.
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Abstract
This thesis explores Victorian middle-class ideology through the lens of W. S. Gilbert’s Savoy Operas, focusing on three general categories: intelligence and aptitude, morality and gentlemanliness, and domesticity and steadfast love. Gilbert’s Savoy Operas portray these three areas in such a way as to promote middle-class superiority over the upper and working classes, effectively flattering the middle classes and strengthening their perceptions of being the bulwark of society. Additionally, Gilbert’s middle-class characters display qualities of the emerging professional ideal, which promoted a system of reward based on personal merit, and directly challenged the upper classes and the privilege and power that they possessed solely through birth.
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Keywords
Gilbert, W.S., British, Savoy Operas, Class, Victorian, Drama