Name/NIM: Evita/183211034

Realism & Naturalism

In the literary sense, realism and naturalism are terms used to describe the styles and themes of
particular time periods in both the U.S. and Europe. While these terms are sometimes used
interchangeably, they describe slightly different kinds of fiction. We'll look at some general
definitions of these terms, the time periods they represent, and some examples from both
European and American fiction.

 Realism

Realism, as the name suggests, was an attempt to describe situations as they might actually
occur, as opposed to romanticism which told stories that conformed to particular narrative
conventions, appealed to emotions, and sometimes invoked the supernatural. Realism can be
seen as a response to romanticism, which had previously been the dominant literary aesthetic.
Literary realism coincided with major cultural changes in Europe and America, such as
industrialization and the emergence of the middle-class. Indeed, most realist literature considered
the changing society from a white middle-class perspective, as this was the demographic that had
the time and leisure of reading novels.

 Naturalism

While realism offered supposedly objective descriptions of real conditions with the hope of
improving society, naturalism often focused on determinism, or the inability of human beings to
resist the biological, social, and economic forces that dictated their behavior and their fate.
Naturalism is usually considered to be an outgrowth of realism in its pursuit of realistic
depictions, but naturalist fiction was more likely to depict base human impulses and violence and
veered away from middle-class concerns. Instead, it often depicted more marginal members of
society, particularly those of low-wage factory labor that was creating a more urban, regimented,
unhealthy, and bleak existence for great masses of people.

 Periods

Realism and naturalism were literary responses to similar cultural developments in Europe and
the U.S., but these developments did not occur simultaneously. Realism emerged earlier in
Europe than it did in the U.S. Authors in Europe and Russia were writing in a realist style in the
mid-1800s, while those in the U.S. adopted the style after the Civil War.

Ibsen and 'The Doll's House'

One of Ibsen’s most significant naturalistic plays dealing with nineteenth century attitudes to
marriage and the role of women in a male dominated society. The play was very controversial
because at its end, Nora, the wife, leaves her husband and children in order to discover herself.

 The turn of the century saw a move towards selectivity rather than generalisations in the
work of modern dramatists

 The emphasis was on human psychology and the relationships between men and women

 Realists such as Henrik Ibsen favoured work which reflected social problems whilst
Emile Zola, a naturalist writer, advocated scientific observation (hence the rise of
naturalism in theatre) where life was revealed indiscriminately in a non-selective,
photographic way

 In short, drama was no longer represented in artificial and contrived ways - melodramatic
and romanticised approaches to dramatic form was rejected.

 Realism fuelled by advances in modern science and rational thinking (deduction and
explanation). The work of Charles Darwin (1859) gave impetus to the dramatists with its
focus on environment and heredity.
Strindberg’s Miss Julie
Miss Julie (1888) was another of Strindberg’s examinations of sexuality and class. The
play dealt with lust and power in its various forms. Miss Julie has power over her father’s
manservant Jean, because she is upper-class. Jean has power over her because he is a man
and does not care about aristocratic values. The count, Miss Julie's father (an unseen
character), has power over both of them since he is a nobleman, an employer and a father.
Over the course of the play, the struggle for control swings back and forth between the
lovers until Jean convinces Miss Julie that the only way to escape is by committing
suicide. The ‘fittest’ of the species, the male, survives and the weaker female is
destroyed.