Victorian Deep Time and the Monstrous

During our visit to the Natural History Museum in January, I came across this realistic statue of two prehistoric dinosaurs. During this week in class, we discussed the Victorian views of Deep Time and dinosaurs, as they were fascinated by newly discovered fossils. Looking at the image, I can draw conclusions about Victorians’ fantasies and beliefs through the lens of Deep Time and the monstrous, two topics that we talked about in lecture. From the image, I believe that Victorians are simultaneously fascinated and scared by their own mortality, as well as the dark side of human nature.

            In Victorian times, people were fascinated by new fossils and geographical discoveries, and therefore began to conjure up their own imagery for what prehistoric creatures might have looked like. Because we have no concrete evidence of what exactly dinosaurs looked like, we can find our perceptions of human nature in different elements of prehistoric sculptures. Looking at the two dinosaurs in the image, they are small in size but the blood in the teeth not only make the animals look predatory and frightening, but it also contributes to the notion that Victorians were obsessed with mortality and death.

            The monstrous is another common theme seen in Victorian imagery due to their fascination with the dark side of human nature, particularly in Victorian London. The duality of mankind being both good and bad can be seen in the dinosaurs being predators and soon-to-be prey. Dinosaurs either ate or were eaten, likely by their own kind, which can create the narrative that mankind is both predator and prey to themselves. The dark portrayal of Victorian London can be seen in the image because of the dinosaurs’ monstrous nature, as well as their small size, which suggests that larger dinosaurs will eventually prey on the predators in the image.