Suicide in Victorian England

Mgr. Stanislava Šeböková

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

This thesis tries to examine the phenomenon of suicide in Victorian England (1837-1901). From the historical point of view, many assumptions had been made about the (lack of) suicide occurrence in 19th century England. It is not in my aim to disprove or confirm these assumptions, but rather to find out how was this topic represented, whether in contemporary fiction or (medical) thought, and how did the community handle and interpret the most famous suicide cases of that time. In conclusion, this thesis tries to examine prevalent stereotypes connected with the Victorian Era from a somewhat morbid, but still fascinating perspective of self-destruction.

Abstract:

This thesis tries to examine the phenomenon of suicide in Victorian England (1837-1901). From the historical point of view, many assumptions had been made about the (lack of) suicide occurrence in 19th century England. It is not in my aim to disprove or confirm these assumptions, but rather to find out how was this topic represented, whether in contemporary fiction or (medical) thought, and how did the community handle and interpret the most famous suicide cases of that time. In conclusion, this thesis tries to examine prevalent stereotypes connected with the Victorian Era from a somewhat morbid, but still fascinating perspective of self-destruction.

Keywords

suicide, Victorian era, attitudes, death, crime, sin, statistics, suicide in fiction, Victorian England

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 27. 8. 2008

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 4. 9. 2008
• Supervisor: Ph.D. Stephen Paul Hardy

Masaryk University

Faculty of Arts

Bachelor programme / field:
Philology / English Language and Literature