ST.

XAVIER’S COLLEGE, RANCHI

UNIT 1- HISTORY OF ENGLISH NOVEL

PDF no. 6 (study material prepared by Prof. Udita Mitra)

Victorian Novel
Focus on: Victorian Novel refers to English novels written in the
Victorian Age (1830- 1890) in England. This age gets its name from
• Overview of Victorian Novel
Queen Victoria who ruled England from 1837 to 1901. Victorian
• Realism in Victorian Novel
• Victorian Novel as literature of social
Age is regarded as the Golden Age of English Novel because in
purpose this era, English novel went through rapid unimaginable development
and became a very popular and prominent form of literature.
• Women writers
• Writers to be seen individually- Queen Victoria’s reign was a time of economic prosperity,
Dickens, George Eliot, Hardy political, democratic and social reforms, industrial progress and
• Comparison between Dickens/ scientific and educational expansion. Democratic awareness led
Thackeray, Dickens/ Eliot, Dickens/ to changes like the abolition of slavery in 1833 and the working-
Hardy, Hardy/ Early Victorian writers
class’s movement called Chartism. The demand for universal
suffrage (everyone must have the right to vote) became stronger.
Free trade, increase in the number of English colonies, rise in
literacy, regulations like the Reform Bills and the Education Act (1870), origin of trade unions reflected rapid
social changes. Industrial Revolution brought new inventions, large- scale industrialization,
urbanization, village- to- city migration and prosperity of the resource owners. However there also was increase
in poverty, unemployment, economic inequality, overcrowding and chaos in cities and the breakdown of socio-
economic structure in villages.

There was an open conflict between science and religion. Charles Darwin’s book Origin of
Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859) rejected the Bible’s story of the Creation of Man and it put
forward the theory of Evolution. This led to a clear intellectual divide. Some people supported tradition and
religion; some accepted the new ideas brought by science. Many people were caught in confusion and
spiritual pessimism as the old established values and beliefs began to fall apart . {Many people
looked for a balance between tradition and change; they adapted ‘Victorian Compromise’, an effort to adjust into the uncertainty and hope for
a better future. Yet some people did not believe that things would actually change. They displayed ‘Complacency of Toryism’. (Complacency- to
think that nothing is urgent). (Tory- one who supports the king/ one who always supports the old systems)}.

In this age, education, journalism, communication and discussions on gender roles became quite
widespread. Middle- class became more prominent. Novel was deeply influenced by social, political,
economic, philosophical and several other aspects of social reality; the English novel had a big element
of social criticism. Novelists often focused on effect of social changes on morality, ethics, values and
customs. They often adopted a sentimental approach to discuss morality; Abercrombie once said that Victorian
Age was the age of “deliberate sentimentality”. Common people found the novel to be more realistic and
approachable than poetry or drama. Novels provided wholesome and affordable entertainment at home. Many
novels were published in serialized form in newspapers or periodicals. More and more women read and wrote
novels in this age.

Charles Dickens (1812- 1870) remains very popular for the portrayal of human character in the
context of the Victorian society. His novels like Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist (1837- 39), Nicholas Nickleby
(1838- 39), David Copperfield (1849- 50), Bleak House (1852- 53), Hard Times (1854) and Great Expectations
(1860- 61) present a wide range of characters taken from different parts of the urban English society.
Dickens had experience of the life of the lower- middle class in London and he had sympathy for this class. His
novels are born out of his active social conscience. He exposed the problems created by materialism,
industrialism and economic inequality; for example, Oliver Twist describes the misery of unmarried mothers
and orphans exploited by criminals. He did not offer specific solutions to such problems but focused on the
sympathy and basic human goodness. He used gentle good- natured humor to present social issues. His
characters are sometimes exaggerated to represent specific moral qualities (eg: Uriah Heep in
David Copperfield openly represents hypocrisy). He often had an openly sentimental approach while describing
sorrow, death or sufferings of the poor (eg: Nancy’s murder in Oliver Twist and the rescue and recovery of Dr.
Manning in A Tale of Two Cities). His style is journalistic as the narrative moves fast and there is great variety
in characters and situations. He also wrote two historical novels, Barnaby Rudge (1841) and
A Tale of Two Cities (1859).

Like Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray (1811- 1863) also wrote novels with a
realistic view of the urban Victorian society and he also examined the bad effects of materialism and
industrialism. Unlike Dickens, Thackeray focused more on the upper and the middle classes and he left the
reader to draw conclusions from the moral or social complexities. His first major novel, Vanity Fair (1847- 48),
revealed the cruelty and immorality in the materialistic culture. It had remarkable female characters like the
socially ambitious Becky Sharp and the simpleton Amelia Shedley. He also wrote historical novels like Henry
Esmond (1852) and The Virginians (1857- 59). He used satire to highlight the moral failure of the Victorian
society yet he had a compassionate attitude towards humanity.

George Eliot (1819- 1880) chose to write novels on the English rural life. Her real name was
Mary Ann Evans. Like many other female writers, she chose a male pseudonym to maintain anonymity and to
avoid undue criticism. She focused on how industrialization often led to the breakdown of the rural way of
life. She analyzed psychological, moral and philosophical issues at the level of the individual. Morality and
conscience featured prominently in her novels. She wrote extensively on politics, science, industries and
elections, all of which were considered to be ‘manly’ topics of discussion. Her famous novels include
Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1863), Felix Holt the Radical
(1866), Middlemarch (1871) and Daniel Deronda (1876).

Although the novels written by the Bronte sisters (Charlotte, Emily, Anne) were published in the
Victorian Age, those narratives bear all the hallmarks of the Romantic Novel. Charlotte Bronte
voiced the right of women to be loved and respected without losing out on their independence and identity. Her
novel Jane Eyre (1847) brought deep insight into a woman’s search for love and dignity in the middle of moral
crises and class- conflict. Her other two novels were Shirley (1849) and Villette (1853). Anne Bronte
published two novels, Agnes Grey (1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848). Emily Bronte is
remembered for her only novel Wuthering Heights (1848). Set in the isolated moors of Yorkshire, it brings out
the intense conflict between nature and civilization and between society and the individual. It also examines
class- divisions and the gender roles forced upon women. The intensity of passions and the layered narrative
structure add to the beauty of this novel.

Lewis Carroll whose real name was Charles Dodgson was different from other Victorian writers. He
did not write about social realism or moral concerns. His novels appear to depict children’s fantasy,
with characters like Mad Hatter and the talking rabbit. However one can detect clear logical reasoning behind the
apparently illogical events and dialogue. His famous works are Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (1871).

Towards the later years of the Victorian Age, disillusionment and pessimism grew in England.
Industrialization had pushed up inequality, unemployment, migration and poverty. The division between
science and religion had become deeper. Such uncertainty and melancholy feature heavily in the novels of
Thomas Hardy (1840- 1928). His novels are often set in a fictional place called Wessex; it actually
represents a real place called Dorchester where he grew up. He wrote about the socio- economic differences
between villages and cities. He explored the intellectual void caused by the conflict between science and
religion in Victorian England. He pointed out the demerits and the hollowness in the old social customs; in
Jude the Obscure, he showed the poor stonemason Jude’s struggle to educate himself in face of the rigid class-
system. He showed how women had to suffer because of the traditional sense of morality and the financial
dependence on men. In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Michael Henchard sold his wife because the wife was like
an object for the typical Victorian husband. Hardy portrayed nature as an important component in man’s
existence. Nature is one of the many agents of destiny. Hardy believed that destiny is cruel. The Immanent
Will (Cruel Destiny) always brings misery in man’s life. In the conclusion to The Mayor of Casterbridge,
Hardy wrote that happiness is “the occasional episode in a general drama of pain”. His novels include
Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886),
Tess of the D’ ubervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1895).

Late Victorian novel was gradually influenced by various subjects like psychology and science.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850- 1894) analyzed the moral issue of good versus evil through a detailed
insight into the psychological disorder of split personality in his novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). He also
wrote other novels on mystery and adventure, like Treasure Island (1883) and Kidnapped (1886).

19th century saw the rise in the interaction of Europeans with the European settlers in places outside
Europe. In such interactions, there was often a clash of cultures. Henry James (1843- 1916) wrote on the
contrast between the Americans and the Europeans in his novels like The Portrait of a Lady (1881). He
enriched his novels with a close observation of psychology and human behavior.

Several European countries, including England, had established colonies in Asia, Africa and America.
Many Victorian writers wrote on the experience of white Europeans who were the masters of the colored
(non- white) native population in those colonies. Rudyard Kipling, in his novels like The Jungle Book
(1894) and Kim (1901), explored the adventures of European characters in such Asian colonies of England.
Kipling justified colonialism and he believed that it was the “white man’s burden” to rule over and civilize the
‘uncultured’ colored natives in the colonies.

By 1890, the transition from Victorian Age to the Modern Age had started. English novel became
more diversified as several new genres became popular. Oscar Wilde supported the concept of ‘Art for Art’s
Sake’ (set art free from social and moral concerns). Detective fiction gained eminence in the works of Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle. Social, political and economic complications increased. On one hand, scientific
development, industrialization and urbanization prevailed; on the other hand, inequality, violence, confusion
and disillusionment troubled the 20th century.