Victorian

1837 (1832) 1901 (1910)

- Victorian realism in the novel:
unique art of observation of society and the individual (ho she!he is affected by the
society" ho he!she tries to fit into it)"
re#resentin$ the orld as it is"
authentic details"
docu%entary observation"
a &slice of life'
the narrator absent fro% the novel"
characters fro% all strata of life"
realis% is lin(ed to debates over social )ustice"
an i%#ulse for social refor%* e+#osin$ the conditions of industrial society"
develo#ed out of an interest in accuracy reflected in the rise of science and the
social sciences as sources of e%#irical truth
Charles Dickens
,harles- childhood as roc(y: ,harles as livin$ ith si+ siblin$s and his #arents in a four-
roo% house" bill collectors co%in$" .ic(ens sent to or( in a rat-infested shoe #olish
factory" his fa%ily as thron in a debtor's prison
%ost of his boo(s ere #ublished serially* in %a$a/ines* durin$ his lifeti%e: Oliver Twist
(1838)* A Tale of Two Cities (1809)* David Copperfield (1819)* Hard Times (1801)* and
the ever-#o#ular story of 2benee/er 3croo$e* 45 ,hrist%as ,arol4 (1913)
Great Expectations (1860-1861):
- confessional in nature
- a Bildungsroman: denotes a novel of all-around self-develo#%ent" a fe si%ilar $enres: the
Entwicklungsroman* a story of $eneral $roth rather than self-culture" the
Erziehungsroman, hich focuses on trainin$ and for%al education" and the
unstlerroman* about the develo#%ent of an artist
o Bildunsroman is the story of a sin$le individual-s $roth and develo#%ent ithin the
conte+t of a defined social order
o clashes beteen the #rota$onist-s needs and desires and the vies and )ud$%ents
enforced by social order
o a desire to search for his or her on identity
o #re#aration for adolescence and adulthood
o often his destination is 6ondon (see%s li(e so%e #erfect destination* full of o##ortunity
but also disenchant%ent)
o e+#erience of love
- to 7i#s in 8reat 2+#ectations: 7i# the narrator ith #ers#ective and %aturity vs the youn$
7i#: i%%ature* ro%antic idealis% ith a dee# desire to i%#rove hi%self and attain any
advance%ent* hether educational* %oral* or social"
- older!narratin$ 7i#! self-consciousness of the novel: )ud$es his on #ast actions e+tre%ely
harshly
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- 9ictorian childhood
- the cit!:
anony%ity
#lace of #ossibilities
#lace of i%#rison%ent
city of dar(ness and %ist
- :ritain as an e%#ire and colonial econom!
- othic elements: settin$ (the %arshes" 3atis ;ouse)* characters (<iss ;avisha%)*
- doubles:
sy%%etry=to convicts on the %arsh (<a$itch and ,o%#eyson)*
to invalids (<rs> ?oe and <iss ;avisha%)*
to youn$ o%en ho interest 7i# (:iddy and 2stella)*
to secret benefactors: <a$itch* ho $ives 7i# his fortune* and 7i#* ho %irrors <a$itch@s
action by secretly buyin$ ;erbert@s ay into the %ercantile business"
to adults ho see( to %old children after their on #ur#oses: <a$itch* and <iss ;avisha%
- cri%e and cri%inals
- .ic(ens chan$ed the ori$inal endin$ here 7i# %eets the re%arried 2stella in 6ondon and
they #art forever* to the one here 7i# and 2stella stay to$ether
- class issues:
the class syste% of 9ictorian 2n$land: fro% the %ost retched
cri%inals to the #oor #easants of the %arsh country to the %iddle
class to the very rich
ealth and class are less i%#ortant than affection* loyalty* and inner
orth" a person's class as a product o" their morals and beha#ior$
not o" ho% much mone! the! possess
one@s social status is in no ay connected to one@s real character
- e&pectations
educational$ moral$ or social (5%bition and 3elf-A%#rove%ent)"
he lon$s to be a ealthy $entle%an" he lon$s to be $ood" desires educational i%#rove%ent" a
full education is a require%ent of bein$ a $entle%an
rise in status* ith the catalyst of so%eone else-s %oney!status
4e+#ectations4 (his %oney) have finally done hi% so%e $ood* hen he-s able to arran$e a
business o##ortunity for ;erbert
not )ust %oney but also the source of %oney is i%#ortant
develo#s so%e si%#le and realistic e+#ectations
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life as a $entle%an is no %ore satisfyin$ and no %ore %oral
learns that social and educational i%#rove%ent are irrelevant to one@s real orth
:uc(ley* ?ero%e ;a%ilton> 1971> !eason of "outh: The #ildungsroman from Dickens to $olding% ,a%brid$e: ;arvard B7
.ic(ens* ,harles> 1991> $reat E&pectations> 6ondon: 7en$uin :oo(s 6td>
mr 'atar(!na Bronk
"or )nlish *iterature class
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