The Indian Mutiny of 1857, which shocked many Victorians due to their beliefs that imperialism improved the native’s life, helped to fracture this belief that the Victorian era as peaceful and harmonious. The colonials, who experienced it like Elisa Greathed, described the day as to have “dawned so tranquilly”, yet ended with some who had been at church “never to meet on earth again” (Greathed). The effect of the Mutiny left a lasting impression on the Victorian psyche, so much so, that popular culture years later were still very fascinated with what it represented. The Mutiny challenged the Victorian agreement that was seen in popular culture campaigns like “Pears’ Soap” ads that natives were welcoming colonization and imperialism (Taddeo).
The Pears’ soap ads poignantly showcased not only the Victorian belief of imperialism, but also the consensus…show more content… The ads promoted a product whose manufacturing largely depended on ingredients from the empire (palm oil), and also with ads like “The White Man’s Burden,” propagated the unanimous belief that imperialism was necessary even to the health and hygiene of those at home (Taddeo).
While the Victorian Era was not solely an age of consensus, writers like Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling represented the imperial mission to embody this belief. Doyle’s writing in The Sign of Four showcased this trust that the Victorians placed upon the imperial mission. Doyle’s writing suggested that without strong-will and masculine influences, the exoticism of the natives and their customs threatened to corrupt anything it came in contact with. The corruption is explicitly displayed when the description of Thaddeus Sholto was brought forth. Sholto was described upon first meeting the gentlemen as to have “shivered from head to foot” while Watson
