Download Realism in the Victorian Novel

Realism in the Victorian
Novel
&
The Novel of Manners
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Different Kinds of Novels
The Novel of Manners
Bildungsroman
Gothic novel
Künstlerroman
The Governess novel
The Popular Novel
The Sensational Novel
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Features of Realism
• Realist writers sought to narrate their novels from an
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objective, unbiased perspective that simply and clearly
represented the factual elements of the story.
They became masters at psychological
characterization, detailed descriptions of everyday life
in realistic settings, and dialogue that captures the
idioms of natural human speech.
The realists endeavored to accurately represent
contemporary culture and people from all walks of life.
Thus, realist writers often addressed themes of
socioeconomic conflict by contrasting the living
conditions of the poor with those of the upper classes
in urban as well as rural societies.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
• Realist writers are widely celebrated for their
mastery of objective, third-person narration.
• Many realist novels are considered to be reliable
sociocultural documents of nineteenth-century
society.
• Critics consistently praise the realists for their
success in accurately representing all aspects of
society, culture, and politics contemporary to
their own.
• Realism has exerted a profound and widespread
impact on many aspects of twentieth-century
thought, including religion, philosophy, and
psychology.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Characteristics of the Realist Novel
• The linear flow of narrative
• The unity and coherence of plot and character and the
cause and effect development thereof
• The moral and philosophical meaning of literary action
• The advocation of bourgeois rationality
• Rational, public, objective discourse
• The Realist novel of the nineteenth century was written in
opposition to the Romance of mediaeval times
• Representation of “real life” experiences and characters
versus ideal love, ideal moral codes ideal characters
(nobility), and fixed social values
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Jane Austen’s Novels
• In Austen’s works, the characters presented are drawn
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almost exclusively from the landed gentry.
In her novels she presents minute descriptions of the
members of that class, their characters, beliefs, aspirations,
and hopes in a period marked by a strong desire for
stability on the part of the gentry despite the fact that
they were surrounded by the armies of change.
A supremely accomplished novelist, Jane Austen set the
pattern for all subsequent novels of manners and family.
Her characters interest themselves in issues of importance
only to themselves— social position, socially and
financially advantageous marriages, and the orderly
passage of property from one generation to the next.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
The Novel of Manners
• The novel of manners is dominated by women—as
authors, as subjects, and often as intended audience—
and for this reason has occasionally been dismissed as
trivial.
• But although the focus of the novel of manners—
domestic life, matrimony, and social behavior—tends to
be narrow, the "manners" being studied very often have
far wider implications beyond the pouring of tea and
the search for the proper mate.
• Adherence to good manners in these texts is not only a
reliable indicator of one's social standing, but is
intended to serve as an indicator of good morals as well.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
• The novel of manners often deals with gender issues
as well, as the accepted standards for both manners
and morals differ markedly between men and women.
• Regardless of the social class under study, there are
frequently two distinct sets of codes in operation,
and as many feminist critics point out, the ideals
prescribed for women were often a source of anxiety
for nineteenth-century women writers—an anxiety
that plays itself out in the novels. In many womanauthored texts, the interaction of individual
characters with the social conventions of their
cultures is not a happy one, and the conventions
themselves are as likely to be satirized as celebrated.
Sunday, February 12, 2012