When a person died during the
Victorian there was many traditions to their mourning process. A lot of this
was to do with Queen Victoria who had great influence in the Victorian era, she
was the first to introduced the concept of Christmas and also introduced the
idea of children actually have a childhood and playing with toys. When she lost
her husband Prince Albert to the typhoid fever in 1861, she stayed very
secluded during the early years and mourned him for her remaining forty years.
This was very influential to the Victorian people. Every day she would have the
servants bring boiling water into his dressing room and she would put out his
clothes and medicine every morning even after his death. His death mask stood
in his room and in every portrait that was made after his death would feature
something to do with him. Black became the fashion of the time as Queen
Victoria wore it every day after his passing. She would usually wear a bracelet
that had charms linked with bits of Prince Albert’s hair as memorabilia.
Due to the Queens influence there was
the introduction to Momento Mori, which is an object that reminds a person of
their lost ones after they have passed. There were different ways of remembering
the dead, including wearing bits of their hair, getting death masks made of
their faces and finally the most popular of the time photography. Within the
photography they would put the dead into life like poses so they could always
be remembered as this way.
In 1839 photography was invented
therefore making it a new and exciting, although it wasn’t cheap. Therefore
when a person died the family would save for a photograph as a keep sake of the
deceased. This would usually be taken 2-3 weeks after the dead, as they wanted
to make sure that the corpse was actually gone. It was a common fear that they
would be burying their loved ones alive so even after this time period they
would bury the dead with a bell. A famous case of this is Edgar Allen Po who’s
sister was buried under the impression she was dead, but he had some doubts so dug
her back up to discover her alive, with scratches on the coffin lid. Once they
were certain the family member was dead they would get these photos taken,
putting them in realistic poses. When double exposure was discovered a new form
of memento mori photography was formed called spirit photography. This would
feature the living family members and then a double exposure of the deceased,
so they look like they are watching over the family.
Frater, J. (October 24, 2012). Momento Mori: Victorian Death Photos.Available: http://listverse.com/2012/10/24/memento-mori-victorian-death-photos/. Last accessed 18th February 2015.
Another way the middle class
Victorians would remember the deceased was entertaining at the cemetery. They
did this here to reflect on the life of the dead. Cemeteries were a lot more
elaborate in these times such as Highgate. Jewellery was a way to keep memory
of the deceased close to the family at all times. They would usually intertwine
parts of the dead family members hair into charms etc. The black market took
advantage of this, pretending to be friendly with the deceased and selling the
family fakes.
Other ways the families would pay
their respects to the deceased included:
-having the curtains drawn
-stopping the clock on the time of
death- much like Miss Havisham does but for her wedding day.
-Covering the mirrors
a wreath made of laurel, yew or
boxwood would be tied with crape or black ribbon and hung on the door
-When they were in deep mourning they
would not attend social events for up to a year- Queen Victoria was known for
this.
-Wrapping the door handles with black
crepe tied with a white ribbon to let the neighbours know not to ring the bell
and disturb their morning process.
Reference:
Spark Note Editors . (No Date ). Queen Victoria The Years of Mourning
. Available: http://www.sparknotes.com/biography/victoria/section5.rhtml.
Last accessed 18th February 2015.
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