Western Europe in the late nineteenth century had its own particular system of moral and social values and created an ideological framework that reflected the desires, fears and aspirations of those who were politically dominant.
This was probably a more systematic approach than in earlier times, with exact rules defined for what was acceptable social behaviour for anyone who did not intend to defy the social and moral order of the day. According to this view of society, stability was valued above all; respect for law and order was an essential virtue and, moreover, an essential pratice for the common good.
This ideal model of society and this system of values, which we call Victorian, were common to all western liberal societies of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They attempted to establish the place and function of every social group and labelled as transgressors or deviants all individuals or groups whose behaviour did not fit within the boundaries of that model.
However, this moralistic representation of society was in sharp contrast to the reality of the daily lives of most of the population of Western Europe.
Such rules of behaviour were severe and suitable only to small groups of people. They underlined the values of family, work, rationality, sobriety and order and strongly rejected all that seemed disorder, excess or protest. Behaviour adverse to this ideal model was perceived as a menace to stability.
