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Unit 14: The Eighteenth Century-Approach/Transition Towards Romanticism (Decline of Novel, Agricultural ...........

Exploitation of the Workers Notes
All these events and circumstances naturally affected Victorian literature. Dickens, Thackeray, George
Eliot, Carlyle, Ruskin, Matthew Arnold were affected by the condition of man in contemporary
society. George Eliot was deeply affected by the plight of the humble folk whom she had known all
her life and it is this sympathy for the common-people that plays an important part in her novels.
The exploitation of women and children in factories was the order of the day. They were made to
work for long hours and given very low wages. A number of Reform Acts were passed, a number
of writers focused attention on the evils of industrialisation, and the plight of slum dwellers, but all
this was of no avail. The Reform Act of 1832 and the events which followed from the historical
background to Middlemarch. As we must know the eighteenth century in its social spirit, literary
tendencies, revolutionary aims, romantic aspirations, philosophy and science, to know Goethe, so
must we know the nineteenth century in its scientific attainments, agnostic philosophy, realism and
humanitarian aims, in order to know George Eliot.

Innovations and Inventors of the Industrial Revolution

Technology, arguably the greatest aspect of the Industrial Revolution, can be simplified into a few
different innovations and inventors, most inspired by one product. The first product to undergo
the “revolution” from the cottage industry to the mechanized age was cotton. Britain, at the time,
had a large wool trade. In 1760, the amount of wool exported was almost thirty times that of
cotton. Demand for cotton grew with a change in the upper class fashion, and Britain started to
allow more cotton production. Soon, enough cotton could not be made to satisfy the demand
(Haberman 48). This demand was the inspiration for the following four inventions.

John Kay’s “flying shuttle”
John Kay, a mechanic from Lancashire, patented the flying shuttle. Using cords attached to a picking
peg, a single weaver, using one hand, could operate the shuttle on the loom (Simkin). With this
invention it took four spinners to keep up with one cotton loom, and ten people to prepare yarn for
one weaver. So while spinners were often busy, weavers often waited for yarn (Gernhard). As such,
the flying shuttle effectively doubled a weaver’s production of cloth (Haberman 48).

James Hargreaves’ “spinning jenny”
In 1764, James Hargreaves invented the “spinning jenny,” a device which allowed one person to
spin many threads at once, further increasing the amount of finished cotton that a worker could
produce. By turning a single wheel, one could now spin eight threads at once, a number that was
later increased to eighty. The thread, unfortunately, was usually coarse and lacked strength. Despite
this shortcoming, over 20,000 of the machines were in use in Britain by 1778 (Simkin).

Richard Arkwright’s “water frame”

Also in 1764, Richard Arkwright created the “water frame” to produce yarn faster (Haberman 48).
The “Spinning-Frame,” its earlier name, was too large to be operated by hand. After experimenting
with other sources of power, he decided to employ the power of a water wheel, and his machine
became known as the water frame (Industrial Revolution: The Industrial Revolution in Great
Britain). Rollers produced yarn of the correct thickness, while a set of spindles twisted fibers
together. The machine was able to produce a thread far stronger than any other available at the
time (Simkin).

Samuel Crompton’s “Crompton’s mule”

In 1779, Samuel Crompton combined both the spinning jenny and the water frame to create a
machine known as “Crompton’s mule,” which produced large amounts of fine, strong yarn (Simkin).

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