All of the commonplace book entries read this week reflected in some way or another upon the interest in Egyptian culture that was present in Victorian England.  One writer remarked upon the fact that the English sought riches and geographical knowledge in the exploration of Egypt.  Another brought up the fact that Egypt, along with the rest of the East, was viewed as barbaric and that it was believed to require civilization through means of governance by the British, though other writers noted the English were at the same time interested in the culture and magical arts of that society.   

Additionally, two of the entries spoke of gender concerns at the time, and one even stated a connection with Egypt to this subject.  As society advanced, women began to campaign more for their rights and men grew fearful of the boundary between the two genders being crossed socially.  This is depicted in The Beetle as “the being” having an appearance indistinguishable between man or woman, as well as having apparently great and evil power over good Englishmen despite being a mere woman, as well as a foreigner, hence the reason for the talk of gender being included here.  The entries remarked that men and women disagreed on how women should be treated in Victorian England, but one writer did add that the treatment of them in the East was worse, adding another reason for “the Orient” to be seen as backwards.

The hypnotic arts were briefly mentioned in two of the entries.  This was one of the many curiosities that intrigued the Victorian era and is now considered a “pseudoscience,” similar to phrenology, which was discussed in reading Jane Eyre.  Perhaps an interest in trying to explain such subjects in a scientific manner, along with a general fascination with the unexplained that continues now somewhat, is why people took an interest in Egyptian magic; they desired to do the same with these.