The Victorian view of death was quite different than our modern perception and this was reflected in their funeral practices.
The Victorian View of Death
Today, outside of certain professions, it is rare for people to actually encounter death. It normally happens quietly in a hospital, with family and love ones being told after the event. However, only a century or two ago, things were very different. Despite all the technological and medical advances of the Victorian world, the populace was still very much surrounded by death. Infant mortally was incredibly high, while life expectancy, especially in some of the major cities was frightfully low. In fact, in 1842 the life expectancy of a citizen of Manchester was an appalling seventeen years, his counterpart out in the country could expect closer to thirty-seven. On top of this, most people died in their homes, often the home they were born in, often the same home where they watched their parents die. To a Victorian it was natural not only to see death, but also to see the full decline of someone towards death. Thus death was viewed as part of the natural order of things, a part of life that was to be expected and not necessarily feared.
The Victorian Funeral
Although many aspects of the modern funeral are derived from the Victorians, the tone has undergone a very important shift. Most modern funerals are treated as sombre memorials to an individual's life, a chance to reflect and say goodbye to the deceased. To the Victorian's however, the funeral was more of a rite-of-passage, the last big important event in a person's life, on par with marriage and baptism. It also became a chance for the deceased (and their families) to show off status, position, and personal wealth. Although quiet and draped in black, Victorian funeral processions almost had more in common with modern parades than modern funerals. Victorians would often go to great lengths to make a funeral procession the most spectacular they could afford by hiring additional black coaches, black horses to pull the coaches, professional mutes to walk with the procession and so on. It was not uncommon for such funerals to bankrupt families.
The Victorian Undertaker
At the heart of all of this was the rise in prominence of the Victorian Undertaker. At the start of the era, undertaking was a side job for other professions, usually cabinet makers or some other form of carpenter. However, with the rise of the big cities, greater specialization was made possible and undertaking became a distinct profession. Since it was in the best interest of the undertaker to promote the big expensive funeral, these men often became master manipulators, convincing families that they needed to add that extra coach, horse, mute, whatever in order to properly celebrate the death of a loved one. In the long term, this managed to backfire, and attacks from such personages as Charles Dickens, made the undertaker a loathed profession.
Primary Information for this article attained from The Victorian Undertaker by Trevor May, Shire Publications, 1996.
