VICTORIAN PERIOD AND THE 19TH CENTURY

(1832-1901)

During the nineteenth century, English literature was at its highest because of the
growth of literacy in the Victorian era. The novel genre witnessed rapid development in
authorship and readership because of its potential to treat a wide range of issues. So, in
this topic, we will review the major features of at the Victorian literature focusing on its
themes and styles. We shall also discuss women's writing in the 19th century England.

The Victorian era is often regarded as a high point in English literature and it is the
literature that coincides in extent with the reign of Queen Victoria, and covers the whole
of the nineteenth century. It forms a link and between the writing of the romantic period
and the very different modern literature in the 20th century.

It is a literature that speaks of an age which witnessed great change. It reflects the
intellectual patterns of the Victorian age, dealing with the status question through on the
examinations of society, the law, industrialism and historical ideals. It has one main
mission: point the finger at social problems to raise people consciousness.
(Fletcher.2002)

Themes and Styles

Victorian literature has become a very important source for historical facts and the
lifestyle of the 19th century England mainly because it relies on a realist mode of
representation. Thus, as known of Victorian era that was a time of development of
science, Victorians explored issues related to their historical and social context such as
industrialization, rural urban life and the condition of children and women. The later are
present in many literary works in which their role and position were of interest of both
female and male writers.
In this sense, Victorian literature was characterized by a powerful, political stance
because it offers a critique of social circumstances related to power, the conflict
between classes as well as the women's rights. It tends to be close to the daily life of
people by reflecting their feelings and external conditions in the most realistic way. The
nineteenth century associates Victorian period with a realist works attempt to represent
the world and the mind, it strives to reflect the Victorian world with its social concerns
and should aim to express the personal private emotions of the writer and define what
would be real in literary fiction (Mulder, 2012). So, realism is a narrative technique in
Victorian literature attempts to describe life without idealization of romantic subjects.
Thus, some of the themes that treated in the literary achievement are the industrial
revolution and its effect on the Victorian society that was the inspiration of many writers.
It marked a turning point in the history and their works were closely bound up with this
time. In addition to that, the social changes that resulted from the industrial development
are as the essential for the development of literary realism (ibid). For example, its effect
on children who were forced to work in bad conditions for much lower pay. Also, women
who mostly found jobs in domestic service, textile factories, and piece workshops long
hours for a low salaries. Also, it affects the setting of many great works and strongly
influences the plot Although, the Industrial revolution primarily affected the economy
and other areas as class, family life and so on. These reflected in works such as
―Hard times‖ by Charles Dickens that depicted life in Iron Mills, concerns the poor
people working in mills to produce iron product. It goes into the poverty and bad
conditions of the immigrants ‘works. He presents the setting of his story as an industrial
city. Thus, this example is also corresponding with writers who stepped to express their
concerns and ideas about the working class. This intellectual debate took place in the
19th century novels which addressed the problems and the conditions of the English
working class and the poverty. In addition to that, the conditions of women that were
one of the major concerns of Charles Dickens .He presents women influenced by the
Victorian ideology. surrounding the role of women in society. He depicts the fallen
women, the women who forced to endure exploitation and oppression and their quest
for survival in an industrialized society. All of these themes presents in a huge number
of novels with different styles .Thus, Victorian novels tend to be idealized portraits of
different norms such as the novels that shape character in their plot of fiction in which
the title reflects the protagonist as Jane Eyre which Charlotte Bronte has portrayed
as a depiction of a realist figure of Victorian society reflecting the position of women
in society and reflecting the writer‘s inner self. Also, the novel that shape a setting as
the work of Charles Dickens A Tale of two Cities mirrors and describe the industrial
city in which places took huge part in the narrative.

The novel in the 19th century

In the romantic period, poetry was the most important literary form that had produced. In
Victorian period, the novel become the most popular in England and the world (Carter,
McRae, 2001). That means, the nineteenth century was the great age of the English
novel (Ghazali,2009), which is described by Henry James as ―an intricately in wrought
aesthetic and psychological design, and a subtle balancing of formal and moral
tensions‖(Makati,2008). The term novel arise in the end of the eighteenth century, it was
the ideal form to describe contemporary life and the basis for much of earlier Victorian
fiction and the form of literature which mostly reflects the individualist with its society.
This type of literary work flourished since there was an increase literacy as the increase
in the position of the middle class. Industrial Revolution that Britain had seen and its
effect mirrored in the novel that become the means of portraying life ,its social and
moral values.
Thus, the Victorian novel is greatly known for its concern for the problems of the day,
and the principal form in Victorian age. (Carter, McRae.2001) Victorian writers tried to
achieve their commitment though expressing the spirit of the age with all
resources, imagination, feeling and thought, and spotting the light on the condition of
England question (Pollard, 1993). They attempt to show the Victorian reader about
the trouble behind the beautiful scene of their society (Carter, McRae.2001). In
addition to that, the nineteenth century regarded as a great age of literature and novel in
particular by novelists as Bronte sisters
The Bronte sisters (Charlotte Emily and Anne), who introduce the female character.
They depicted a picture about women and their struggles in Victorian England.
Charlotte ‘s Jane Eyre (1847) that depicts women‘s position in Victorian England
struggling to achieve self-fulfillment in a society known by its oppression and imbalance
between social classes. Also, Anne wrote Agnes Grey (1847) the story of a rector‘s
daughter who takes service as a governess, a position that unmarried women take as a
teacher in Victorian society.
Charles Dickens is one of the greatest novelist, and one of the few authors whose
works still the most popular and read of the time (Thornley, Robert.1984). .Most of
his novels describe the hardships of life, also, his work Hard Times(1954) which
described as a novel of his time .It shows the worst side of the new industrial society of
England.It is clearly reflects how the poor lived. Thus, in Oliver Twist (1837) Dickens
writes of the social problems of young boys of the poor and working class, also, the
problems of children in cities where poor people had no chance to share in the success
of the nation. His novels depicting the problems of the Victorian society.
In addition to that, Thomas Hardy who is one of the eyes witnessed in the history of
England. He depicts the conflicts between the individuals and society, and concerns
about the problems of the Victorians. Also, the representation of women who took a
huge part in Victorian works as oppressed member in society. (Carter, McRae.2001).
Elizabeth Gaskell is one of the main literary figures of the nineteenth century, who
encouraged by Dickens. Her novels were the mirror image of reality of the time . She
wrote North and South (1855) which is known by their social concerns.
Jane Austen is one of the literary giants of the history of literature. Most of her writing,
shared the same plot .It centers on women at that time. Her novel pride and
prejudice 1813 illustrated this point this means that the novels are romantic. Her
main interest was the moral, social and psychological behavior of her heroines. She
wrote mainly about young heroines as they grew up and search for personal
happiness.(Carter, McRae.1997) Like other women novelists, Charlotte Bronte depicts
women in Victorian England, also, criticizes the nineteenth century social structure in
her finest novel Jane Eyre. It made a considerable critical acclaim (Carter,
McRae.1997). It had taken the literary world by storm when it published in (1847). Thus,
a part of it is autobiography by Currer Bell. It revealed Victorian attitude toward women’s
progress in the patriarchal society, also, tracing the historical, social, literary
background of Victorian times through exploring Victorian women‘s status and the
Victorian women writers who reflects the ideal Victorian women.
George Henry Lewes claimed that the function of women in literature are to
reflect ―women‘s view of life and experience‖, which was different from that of man
.They should fulfill that function to be the ideal of women though their writing especially
novels and this seen in Charlotte Bronte‘s novels especially Jane Eyre.
Thus, the novel in the nineteenth century was a tool which the writers used to deliver
social criticism. It was the source that gave the reader a clear picture of what was
happening during that period .Moreover, it was a realistic portrait of Britain during the
industrialization. It was the new form that was developed from drama (Flecher.2002).In
addition to that, Charlotte Bronte‘s novels which denounced the pitiful conditions by
depicting the different issues of society and expresses her own view with regard to
women conditions .They enable the reader to know the personalities of the
characters in the texts and to understand the symbols in each character that
reflect the nineteenth century English society.

1.3. English Women Novelists

The 19th century has known the emergence of many female writing in England.
Female writing contributed to the growth of the novel and the promotion of the position
of women, as in the case of Charlotte Bronte and her sisters, who did much to
change the way in which women were viewed and represented. While some
Victorian women writers published their works using their real names as a mark of
authorship, other preferred to use male pseudonyms to sign their work because it was
very difficult for women from lower and middle class to enter the male dominant literary
world (Carter McRae.1997).

1.4. The Themes of Women's Literary Works

Throughout the history women‘s literary work, are very popular. They cover the bulk of
the social issues and problems of a particular time .Thus, one of the most important
subjects treated in women‘s works from centuries ago were women‘s situation,
which were the first concern of women writers especially from the Victorian period.
Moreover, it changed through the years and literature, as a look of life, reflects it.
(ibid)So, women issues are important for women authors as a reflection of inner self,
expressing views and evaluation toward certain objects related to women, as a
result of their suffering through years and live incident, in which they have been
neglected from social life, as well as, a matter of pride and victory (ibid). One of the best
example in Jane Eyre, the protagonist of Charlotte Bronte‘s novel Jane Eyre, and in
Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of Jane Austen‘s pride and prejudice, who is
presented as a real characters and ideal qualities (Thornley, Robert.2003).Thus
the major themes that treated in women‘s works are closest to reality of the time
related to women as women‘s oppression, existentialism that means the individual
existence in society which is known by the diversity of classes, also, women‘s
hardships such as having a drunk husband and living in bad conditions , as well
as, the theme of women‘s success , freedom in oppressed society and gender
identity.
Those images depicted by female writers in their work. Their stories present a
narrative that seemed to conform traditional role stereotype in relation to women.
They are able to depict the impact of patriarchy on the lives of individual women,
also they able to gain prominence in an age known for its patriarchal and dismissive
attitude toward the abilities of women. (Muda,2011), concerning women‘s quest for
recognition, power and authority beyond the confines of their patriarchal
society .They struggled for equality and against the patriarchal ideology that women
were to be subservient to men.

Cd His contribution to literature is considerable. He popularized the social novel and

paved the way for many other writers who tackled similar themes. He also contributed to
the growth of children's literature. He is considered one of the most influential authors in
the English language today, and his works are still widely read and studied around the
world.

Austen's major contribution to literature is the representation of independent, witty

female characters using free indirect discourse, a technique in which a third-person
narrator mimics a first-person voice to express the inner thoughts of a character. The
narrator thus takes on a distinct voice and personality while also creating
characterization. Austen used this technique in the four novels she published during her
lifetime, demonstrating that a woman could innovate new literary methods, and could do
so by using female characters. For example, the protagonist Elizabeth Bennett of '
'Pride and Prejudice' ' (1813) has a sharp, biting wit that Austen expresses through a
third-person narrator using free indirect discourse. She considers the merits of Mr.
Bingley's sisters privately, and though she does speak bitingly of them out loud to her
sister Jane, Austen also represents Elizabeth's thoughts through free indirect discourse,
showing that the sisters should not think so highly of themselves.

Hardy's contribution to the English novel is unique. He presents in his novel a new
aspect of contemporary life. He stood in revolt against the conventional life of the age.
He denounces the whole of modern civilization which has created so many problems in
the lives of the dwellers of the towns.

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