Victorian Notes

 The Victorian Age in English Literature: Characteristics and Notable Authors

Introduction:

- Timeframe: 1837-1901 (Queen Victoria's reign)

- Significance: Period of significant social, historical, and technological changes in Britain.

  

Characteristics of the Victorian Period:

1. Socio-Economic Changes

   - Population nearly doubled; British Empire expanded.

   - Technological and industrial progress made Britain a global power.

   - Growing gap between rich and poor; moral decay evident due to materialism.

   - Landscape shifted from romantic countryside to industrialized cities.

2. Societal Morality

   - Strict moral codes enforced.

   - Harsh restrictions placed on women's conduct and roles.

   - Commercialization of marriage; women financially dependent on men.

3. Literary Transition

   - Transition from Romanticism to realism.

   - Rise of the novel as a dominant literary form.

   - Novels mirrored societal changes and moral dilemmas.

   - Novels addressed larger societal debates: women's roles, marriage, education, industrialization.

Notable Victorian Novelists and their Works:

1. Charles Dickens

   - Notable Works: Oliver Twist

Pickwick Papers

Bleak House

A Christmas Carol

David Copperfield

Great Expectations

   - Style: Social commentary, wit, satire; characters drawn from his own experiences and observations.

2. William Makepeace Thackeray 

   - Notable Works: 

Vanity Fair

 Pendennis

The History of Henry Esmond

Phillip

The New Comes

   - Style: Satirical; critical of Victorian middle-class values; characters often lacked typical hero qualities.

Conclusion:

- The Victorian Age was a period of contrasts, marked by prosperity and poverty, moral strictness, and societal change.

- Literature of this era reflected the complexities of Victorian society, blending realism with moral commentary.

- Dickens and Thackeray were two prominent novelists who captured the essence of the Victorian Age through th eir distinct styles and perspectives.

Women Novelists of the Victorian Era: Class Notes

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1. Mrs. Gaskell (Elizabeth Gaskell)

   - Wrote novels and short stories reflecting social aspects of the 1850s.

   - Notable Works:

     - Mary Barton(1848): Highlighted daily life of the middle class in Manchester.

     - Cranford: Serialized novel edited by Dickens; focused on female characters.

     - North and South: Explored social reconciliation amidst societal divisions.

     - Other Works: Ruth, Sylvia’s Lovers, Wives and Daughters.

   - Known for her gothic style in some works.

2. George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans/Marian Evans)

   - Adopted pseudonym "George Eliot" to bypass female writer stereotypes.

   - Notable Works:

     - Adam Bede(1859): Psychological insights and realistic rural life depiction.

     - Mill on the Floss (1860): Life of Tom and Maggie Tulliver; historical and political references.

     - Middlemarch (1871): Complex characters; societal commentary; set in Midlands.

     - Other Works: Silas Marner, Romola, Felix Holt the Radical.

3. Bronte Sisters

   - Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte, daughters of Patrick Bronte and Maria Bronte.

   - Family faced numerous tragedies; none lived past 40.

   - All educated at home; storytelling enthusiasts from childhood.

   - Charlotte Bronte

     - Notable Work: Jane Eyre(1847).

     - Feminist undertones; protagonist's life struggles and growth.

     - Highlighted themes of gender and societal norms through characters like Bertha Mason.

   - Emily Bronte

     - Sole Novel: Wuthering Heights(1847).

     - Used pseudonym "Ellis Bell"; real name revealed posthumously by Charlotte.

     - Love story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw.

   - Anne Bronte

     - Works: Agnes Grey(1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall(1848).

     - Latter seen as feminist writing; protagonist, Helen Graham, challenges marital and societal norms.

General Insights:

   - Victorian Era witnessed a surge in women novelists due to rising literacy rates among women.

   - Women writers of the era addressed societal issues, often through the lens of female characters.

   - Bronte sisters' works, in particular, tackled larger societal questions, themes of love, passion, and are considered classics of literature.

   - The era's literature often mirrored the societal changes and challenges faced by women, making it both reflective and progressive.

Late Victorian Novelists: 

1. Thomas Hardy

   - Influences: Romanticism and Dickens' social commentary.

   - Notable Works:

     - Far from the Madding Crowd (1874)

     - The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886)

     - Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891)

     - Jude the Obscure(1895)

   - Also recognized for his poetry.

   - Introduced fictional town of Wessex.

2. Wilkie Collins

   - Known for 'sensational' novels

   - Notable Works:

     - The Woman in White (1860)

     - The Moonstone (1868)

   - Focused on middle-class life.

- Anthony Trollope

   - Middle-class background.

   - Notable Works:

     - Phineas Finn (1869)

     - The Way we Live (1874)

4. Lewis Carroll

   - Published 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland'in 1865.

   - Distinguished by its child fiction genre.

   - Offered a dreamy world contrasting the realistic novels of the era.

5. Other Notable Novelists

   - George Gissing, George Moore, Samuel Butler, Henry James, Robert Louis Stevenson.

   - Rudyard Kipling: Focused on colonialism in India.

   - George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde: Prominent writers of the time.

Overview of Victorian Period

- Novel's Rise 

  - Witnessed a transformation from romanticism to realism.

  - Captured the changing societal moods: politics, passion, optimism, and pessimism.

  - Explored themes of class, gender, individualism, and society.

- Societal Context:

  - Transition of Britain from agrarian to industrial landscape.

  - Novel became the dominant genre, addressing contemporary concerns and becoming influential for subsequent eras.