Science as savior and destroyer in the Victorian era “The Victorian era was above all a time of transition. England, which was once a feudal and agricultural society, was transformed into an industrial democracy” (Mitchell, xiv). Almost every aspect of daily Victorian life, from education to cuisine to religion to politics, was changing. “The Victorian era in English literature is known for its sincere obedience to a moralistic and highly structured social code of conduct; however, in the last decade of the 19th century, this order began to be questioned” (It is my Duty). To celebrate industrial achievements, the Great Exhibition of 1851 became a place where the world could witness England's superiority in modern technology. The exhibition was “viewed by some six million visitors; at certain periods, daily attendance was well over 100,000” (Mitchell, 8 years old). The new rail system attracted curious visitors from all over the country. The following years saw the construction of the metro, electric lighting, telegraph and telephone, steamboats and electric trams. Along with the growing dependence on technology, the medical field would also share its discoveries with the world. Fear of disease would give rise to hygiene standards and germ theories. The wealthy's obsession with health beliefs and practices manifests itself in their fear of illness. This obsession with health is taken to the extreme in the form of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his belief in "an organic life, which included a meatless diet, a... middle of paper ... is my pleasure." .” 19th century Victorian monstrosities. Try two. http:www.itech.fgcu.edu/faculty.rtotaro/Mitchell, Sally. Daily life in Victorian England. Westport, CT: The Greenwood Press. 1996.Reed, John R. The Natural History of HG Wells. Athens, Ohio: Athens University Press. 1982Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 1886. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1991. Wells, H. G. Experiment in Autobiography: Discoveries and Conclusions of a Very Ordinary Brain (since 1866). 1934. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1962.Wells, HG The Island of Dr. Moreau. 1897. New York: Bantam Books, 1994. Wells, H. G. The Time Machine. 1895. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1995. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. 1890. New York: Dover Publications, Inc... 1993.