Charles Darwin is one of the most recognizable names from the Victorian period. His works caused a major flux in culture including religion, science and human nature. Darwin showed that scientific observations collect facts and through these facts we can learn things about how the past was, and therefore learn more about what is to come. Darwin was originally sent to study medicine, which he did not like, and was then a clergyman, which had the same fate. Darwin was much more interested in collecting animals and recording their habits than academics. Darwin got to work on a ship that "surveyed" South America (Damrosch 1244), and this is when he did most of his studies. Within Galapagos he reached his theory of evolution. Darwin's grandfather also had an interest in evolution. Charles Darwin was very set in his creationist ideas however and only became convinced of the opposite by his own notes. He did not publish however until other ideas were published about natural selection. His most important work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was published in 1859. In this work he explains that there is a great quantity of every species so that the strongest and healthiest survive, leaving a better species behind that slowly adapts into whole separate species. All of this directly contrasting the Bible, but Darwin did not want to cause disagreement. He did anyway, and the world is forever changed. Below it will be shown how several authors around the time of Darwin's writings were affected by his scientific proofs. (Damrosch 1243-5).
In the Victorian Age there were many doubts about several different issues. Most of them were from the growing industries that made life more scientific instead of artistic. The earth was seen as a treacherous place, where even the animals competed to breathe. The humans, especially in Britain were crammed full into housing and also competing like the animals for fresh air.