Victorian Visual Culture

I was really struck by the comment from last class that one of the most common female delusions in institutions was a woman believing she was a queen. It made me think of contemporary queens like drag queen, queen bitch or welfare queen. I wonder if women wanted to be Queen Victoria, or a different queen. Maybe they were attracted to the fact that Queen Victoria was a widow, but what’s more appealing, or romantic about that- that she is still powerful, or that she is as sad as they are? It also reminded me of the show Queen for a day. On the show the host would interview a panel of women who would explain their current hardships and then they would tell him and the audience what they needed and then win or lose a big prize based on the amount of applause that they received. The contest was really Who’s The Saddest!? The women would often break down sobbing telling stories of their chronically ill child, or their imminent bankruptcy. It was like pain pornography for the audience. It was also incredibly popular, men and women ate it up. Was it’s popularity an extension of the Victorian tendency towards queen fantasies?

here’s a taste of what the show is like