Any historian will tell you not to judge the people of the past too harshly. It takes some effort not to judge the culture of the Victorian era though. (At least how it was in Europe and the U.S.) Yes, the Victorian era saw incredible leaps forward in city life, science and culture, but a culture can't progress without making some pretty strange wrong turns. It's all so adorable, and WEIRD, that it's difficult not to laugh at them a bit.