Mourning during the nineteenth-century Victorian era in America wasn't just a way of feeling -- it was an art. Customs ranged from the touching to the somewhat macabre, but first and foremost, there were strict rules of etiquette to be followed by the surviving family of the deceased. Would you have made a good Victorian mourner? Take the following quiz to test not only your knowledge, but also your tolerance for this time in America's past
Do you think the following statements are True or False? Go to page 2 for the answers.
- The casket or coffin in which the deceased was laid to rest was kept in the home of the deceased’s family until the funeral.
- Due to decomposition, the presence of the casket could create quite a stench, so flowers were often displayed around it to offset the smell.
- During the time leading up to the funeral, no one was allowed to enter the room that housed the casket because the presence of loved ones was believed to hold back the spirit of the deceased, making it more difficult for him or her to transition to the next life.
- It wasn’t uncommon to take photographs of the deceased and display them in a frame or scrapbook.
- Rules regarding the type of clothing that was considered appropriate to wear during the mourning period applied to both men and women.
- The hair of the deceased was often cut off and crafted into a wreath to be displayed in the home.
- The dyes that were often used to turn clothing black for use during the mourning period often rubbed off on the skin, so not only were the mourner’s clothes black, but his or her skin was, too.
- Women were expected to mourn the loss of a husband by wearing mourning clothes and leading a quiet, solitary life for a full year after his death.
- If a widower took a new wife within two years of his former wife’s death, the new wife was expected to follow the same mourning customs for her husband’s former wife as she would if she were mourning her husband.
- If a woman’s husband passed away, she was allowed to remain in possession of the home and property he owned.
The Indianapolis Morris-Butler House exhibit "Dearly Departed: The Art of Victorian Mourning," through May 23, 2009, explores the mourning customs and rules of propriety that governed the lives of middle- to upper-class Americans who lost a loved one during the Victorian era. Visit the museum to find out more.
