The Victorians are often remembered for their prudish and repressed behavior, but few realize their almost fanatical obsession with death. Queen Victoria, who ruled England from 1837 to 1901, was especially fixated on mourning. Following the death of her husband, Prince Albert, she mourned elaborately for 40 years, dressing in black every day and keeping their home unchanged from the day he died.
The Victorian era was not known for its flexibility regarding social conventions, and mourning was governed by strict rules of decorum. Death was a common aspect of daily life for Victorians, leading them to develop elaborate rituals to cope with loss. Those who failed to adhere to these rigid mourning practices were socially shamed. Some customs, such as eating dinner after funerals and placing flowers around the deceased, persist today, while others, some quite peculiar, have faded over time.
In this episode, we delve into the eerie Victorian death traditions, ranging from sin-eating cookies to wearing black for years. Victorians would even pose for photographs alongside their deceased loved ones. Since photography, invented in the mid-1800s, was still quite expensive during the Victorian era, people often couldn't afford joyful family photos. Instead, they saved photo opportunities for significant moments, such as capturing an image with a deceased loved one to remember them eternally. Families would raise money after a loved one's death to have a photo taken, often the only image they had of their now-broken family.
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