People affiliate home to a place where they were born and raised, adopting social mores and propriety. Individuals have distinct beliefs which they embrace within their different cultural backgrounds, which sometimes contradict other communities’ cultures. Historically, the middle-class Victorians thought of home in the nineteenth century as the place where they can freely embrace their societal practices both in Britain and in its colonies. In other words, the Victorians regarded countries such as India and the current United States boundaries as their other homes, considering that their government had conquered these and other nations globally. The middle-class Victorians, in a fixed way, saw home as both an ancestral and conquered land. Therefore, home is any place serene for living where one integrates with other races, feels loved, non-confined to physical houses but emotions aid in people’s socioeconomic growth, and safeguard them.
A home is a place safe for living where people are free to integrate and interact freely without focusing on the other party’s race or ethnicity. In the short story “The Beach of Falesáe,” Stevenson (2008, p. 4) creates a scenario, whereby, despite Wiltshire being happily married to Uma, he is worried about his mixed-race kids. The author develops an understanding that he is not happy living in his current location because he fears for the well-being of his children presently and even in the future. Watson and Towheed (2012, p. 3) assert that the middle-class Victorians could love and subsequently engage their fellow whites only. Regardless of Wiltshire being white, he breaks the chains and loves Uma, an Indian girl, an indication that he is free to interact freely with people from other races, hence, defeating the middle-level Victorians’ perceptions of racism. Connectedly opposed to the 19th-century view of a home among the white, it is a safe place where people can live embracing integration and interaction irrespective of their race and ethnicity.
A home is an actual location where people feel loved by the community. In the island of Falesá, where Wiltshire lives and competes with Case in business, conflicts arise. According to the “The Beach of Falesá” short story, Wiltshire feels hated by the whole community, considering that he has an affair with Uma (Stevenson, 2008, p. 5). The case develops different methods to trap him so that people in the surrounding society do not buy products from him (Stevenson, 2008, p. 6). These characters fight, and it is after eleven years that the audience comprehends that Wiltshire moved to another island and stays there happily with his family. People cannot call a place where they have not accepted a home. They have to decide and move from the areas and subsequently search for other safe locations. Living in a place where one is assured of peace of mind is an excellent criterion used to define a home. Case intends to embrace a monopolist business style, making Wiltshire decide to move to another island. Thus, a home is typically a geographic location where an individual feels loved and appreciated by the surrounding population.
The places which people call homes are non-confined to physical houses and settlements where individuals live with their families. In The Sign of the Four novel by Doyle Conan Arthur, love is evident, when Watson develops interest towards Mary, hence proposing (Doyle, 2010, p. 47). Symbolically, Watson’s proposal approval is a clear indication that these two individuals are ready to form a home. Emotional and abstract bonding between two lovers is a critical exemplification of a home in modern society. Historically, Brantlinger (1990, p. 32) develops a comprehension that people in the Victorian era were using the physical buildings to refer to the homestead. Notably, these middle-level civilians compared a home to a place and immovable asset which one owns. On the same note, lovers belong to one another, considering that they are expected to engage in diverse family activities and practices together, including planning for their and their children’s future. The couples spiritually possess one another, and they are a single entity, hence, qualifying them to build a homestead. Therefore, in a national and domestic sense, a home is not represented fixedly.
People have the authenticity of referring to a place as a home provided that it contributes to their socioeconomic and personal development. In the short story, “The Beach of Falesá,” Wiltshire is presented as living happily on a new island after missing for eleven years (Stevenson, 2008, p. 67). On the previous island, he faces massive conflicts from his business competitor, Case, who lures him to court Uma to control the market, since he comprehends that the potential customers will cease going to his shop. Hall (2002, p. 19) opines that in the 1830s, civilization had started in the Western countries due to the idea of industrialization. Companies were forming and hiring potential employees in the different spheres of work. The Indians and African Americans who were slaves commenced developing interest in these industries, a critical indication of being affiliated to different countries and referring to them as their homes. As a result, the perception of a home has tremendously changed. It is not represented fixedly but is rather defined as any place which boosts people to develop socioeconomically.
A home is a geographical place that people can trust to safeguard their lives in case of danger. In the novel The Sign of the Four, the author depicts that when the rebellion occurred in 1857, Small ran to the Agra fortress in order not to be killed (Doyle, 2010, p. 88). Symbolically, the Agra acts as a dwelling place despite being in foreign lands. He reflects that a home is not necessarily where one is born and raised, but rather a region that can assure people of their full security during a disaster. Understandably, the audience can interpret the Agra fortress as a dwelling place because it played all the home functions. Herbert (2008, p. 13) reiterates that people should embrace patriotism and protect their belongings from exploitation. The author approves the Indian rebellion, where natives were shielding their country and from the British invasion. Therefore, a place that safeguards people during hazards, assuring them of their full security is worthy to be called a home.
In conclusion, it is paramount to note that the present understanding of home differs heavily from that of the 19th century. The word home has gained tremendous meanings, adding to the previous knowledge and understanding among the middle-class Victorians. Nowadays, a home encompasses physical settlements and, equally, emotional attachment. Presently, people have absconded the middle-class Victorians’ understanding of home and subsequently presume anywhere to be their homestead, including working in other countries, provided that they are comfortable.
Reference List
Brantlinger, P. (1990) Rule of darkness: British literature and imperialism, 1830–1914. New York: Cornell University Press.
Doyle, A. C. (2010) The sign of four. Ontario: Broadview Press.
Hall, C. (2002) Civilizing subjects: Metropole and colony in the English imagination 1830-1867. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Herbert, C. (2008) War of no pity: the Indian mutiny and Victorian trauma. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Stevenson, R.L. (2008) ‘The Beach of Falesa’ in South Sea Tales (ed. R. Jolly), Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Watson, N. J. and Towheed, S. (2011) Romantics and Victorians (Vol. 2). Romantics and Victorians. Bloomsbury Academic: The Open University.