We visited the Brompton Road Cemetery on the 18th of March as our site visit for the week. During class, we discussed death culture in the Victorian era and saw how some artists perceived the idea of death through their works. We discovered that the Victorian view on death was much darker than it is today. In the past, people saw death as a time to be sad and to mourn those that they have lost, but now we often see it as a time to reflect on good memories and to celebrate life. These views have shifted since the beginning and can be seen through burials in the Brompton Cemetery.
In the Victorian period, many people kept relics of the ones they loved. This included things like death masks and jewelry made from the person’s hair. When visiting the cemetery, we also saw many different symbolized themes simply through headstones and caskets used. Some Victorians, like Christina and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, saw death as a tragic loss, and they used broken columns as a symbol of a life cut short, or angels as perpetual mourners. They believed that it would be better to either always be saddened by someone’s memories or to forget about them after death and move on.
However, today we can see death both as a loss and as a celebration of life. When walking through the cemetery, it was noticeable that people mourned death much more then than we do now. Today this cemetery offers an almost peaceful environment. Instead of relics, we use photographs to remember our loved ones and flowers to brighten their spirits. We now wear colors to a funeral to show that we are celebrating a life lived rather than a life lost. The Victorians saw darkness and tragedy in relation to death, and it was clearly represented in the Brompton Road Cemetery.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/england/london/attractions/brompton-cemetery/a/poi-sig/371003/358914
I thought it was interesting how you looked at the different themes of death and how they have changed over time. There are so many different perspectives on death so it's interesting to compare how Victorians saw it compared to how we do today. I agree that people can see death as a time to celebrate someone's life today, while before it was much darker and sadder, with mourning going on much longer. This could have to do with people living longer today than in Victorian times, so it's easier to have a celebration of life. It is also interesting to see how people have chosen to remember people who have passed away over time. I liked how you mentioned photos and flowers, as these show how we are remembering people with bright colors and more happiness than the Victorians did. There are also similarities we have to how the Victorians remembered people who died--while they saved locks of hair, we save ashes. People still wear jewelry today to carry people with them who have passed away. Today people also keep photos with them or get tattoos to carry around the memory of a loved one.
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