Marxist criticism is a type of literary criticism centered around the influence of class, power, and economics on a piece of literature. Marxist critics usually examine conflict between characters due to differences in social classes. By analyzing society and history instead of other literary elements like form and craft, Marxist criticism has changed literary theory and practical criticism.
Karl Marx created both Marxism and Marxist criticism. Marx believed that the inequality in society would eventually lead to a social revolution in which the upper and middle classes would be overthrown in a social revolution led by the working class. The product Marx envisioned of the revolution would be a society where all were equal. This theory was termed Marxism. Since Karl Marx believed that literature was one way that ideas about society was conveyed to and influenced the masses, he began to review literature in search of social injustices and inequalities which was the beginning of Marxist criticism.
"The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write for the purpose of making money."
What Marxist Critics Look For:
Critics attempt to identify conflicts of power, class and wealth in works. This critical viewpoint allows them to examine characters based on their socioeconomic status and their desire for economic improvement and how this influences the piece as a whole.
They also look into how class differences are represented and reinforced to audiences through literature.
Instead of searching for authors' meanings, Marxist critics also read texts based on historic influences in an attempt to point out social inequalities to the reader.
One of the main goals of a Marxist crit...
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... but average gastronomical powers sitting down to feast alone at a table spread with provisions for a hundred" (433)
A major shift in terms of social and economic position occurs when Jane receives a sizable fortune from her uncle. Although she is overwhelmed by the sum, she is able to make decisions that benefit herself because of her newfound wealth.
Overall, the characters within _Jane Eyre_ are categorized into separate classes based on their social statuses and wealth. The class distinctions in the novel affect how the characters relate to each other and what conflicts arise between them. The conflicts between Jane and Mr. Rochester that come from class differences are especially pivotal to the plot of the story. The conflicts between Jane and Edward are eventually resolved with Jane's rise in economic class, showing the important role of class in society.
Marxism is an economic and social system developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels during the mid-1800s (What is Marxism). A Marxist literary criticism deals with class consciousness and ideology.
Marxist Literary Theory Question #1: Does the work reinforce capitalist, imperialist, or other classist values?
As we get deeper into the context of these literary pieces, I have just discovered that if we look at them in a specific theory lens, each author leaves us with one big message, but in a different way. Another lens to use is Marxism lens. Marxism theory lens allows us to see the unequal treatment and opportunity between the rich and the poor in
Jane Eyre has a rough start to her foundation, to begin she is orphaned at a young age. This sets up many problems for the young girl and her fragile identity. The people around worsen the situation as Jane grows. They challenge her patience, integrity, and intelligence. As a female Jane must deal with the caste system of her time as a threat, and as an orphaned child she must deal with the cast system as an obstacle. The family of Reeds that she lives with reminds her everyday of her low position. “She suffers precisely because she knows the value of caste; She may be poor, but she does not want to belong to the poor” (Bell 2). This makes Jane want to thrive more because she realizes the odds against her. Originally, Jane comes from a middle-class family but when her father dies she is left to the pity of the Reeds. The Reeds mistreat Jane and she grows to long the outside world. Jane clearly shows her position when she says, “ It is as natural as that I should love those who show me affection, as submit to punishment when I feel it is deserved”.
He walks into the corporation building, and is greeted by a few of his colleagues, also heading to their cubicle. The man groans at his workload then glances around, seeing his supervisor frowning at him. “Oh boy, this isn’t good.” He thinks to himself as the supervisor walks into his boss’ office for the third time this week. His boss walks out a couple minutes later, and heads straight to the man’s cubicle. “Kevin, this is the third time in just this week that you haven’t been following the company’s procedures. Why won’t you just accept your job and do it like everyone else? I once had your job, and look at me! I’m now one of the head honchos of this place. So please stop disobeying, and you might get somewhere, and not fired.” Social class is a problem today, and it was just as big a problem as in the time of Jane Eyre. In Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, the protagonist deals with the issues of social class during her childhood, her first employment, her time at Moor house and Morton, and when she is reunited with Rochester.
Marxism is a method of analysis based around the concepts developed by the two German philosophers Karl Marx and Fredrich Engel, centered around the complexities of social-relations and a class-based society. Together, they collaborated their theories to produce such works as The German Ideology (1846) and The Communist Manifesto (1848), and developed the terms ‘’proletariat’ and ’bourgeois’ to describe the working-class and the wealthy, segmenting the difference between their respective social classes. As a result of the apparent differences, Marxism states that proletariats and bourgeoisie are in constant class struggle, working against each other to amount in a gain for themselves.
While literary critics do attempt to elaborate or develop ideas articulated by Karl Marx, it is important and necessary to make a distinction between Marx's specific socio-economic and political agenda and the body of literary theory which emerged years later. Marxist literary criticism proceeds from the fundamental philosophical assumption that "consciousness can never be anything else than conscious existence...Life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life" (Marx 568-9). Marxist critics use this challenge to the notion of an innate, prefigured, individual human nature to reexamine the nature of creative or literary authority.
For instance, the way the social classes in the novel are being represented is an example of the presence of the Marxist theory in the novel.
Marxism was created by Karl Marx and Federick Engels; they both sought out a better future for the working class. Marx, who was born in Germany in 1818 and died in London in 1883, lived in a world where he disagreed with capitalism whole heartedly. Frederick Engels was also born in Germany in 1820 and died in London in 1895. With this, they created their own philosophical and economic thought which was called Marxism. The problem with Marx was that he was always ready to change his mind about certain theories or ideas which he created. This is why it is very difficult to understand how Marxism works. Also Marxism is usually stereotyped with mainstream communism, which is why people seem to brush it off and just see it as some radical oppression machine. In Lenin’s words “the three main sources of Marxism are: British political economy, French Socialism, and German Idealist Philosophy”.
When one moves outward from a text while analysing it is called the extrinsic attitude of analysing a text. There are various forms of extrinsic analysis such as Marxist analysis. Marxist analysis is a form of extrinsic analysis where the ideology of the text and the social classes are examined closely. It is a way of analysing text in relation to the economic standing of people and treating everything as a commodity which can be bought or sold. Its major focus is on the interaction between the rich and the poor.
The concept of Marxism is a popular one which is still being implemented in modern times, a prime example being within literature. When observing and analysing a text from a Marxist literary viewpoint, one must interpret the text as the author commenting on their society, culture and the political issues that were prevalent at the time; thus the background of the author must be researched. Marxism focuses more on the ideological and sociological aspects of the text as opposed to a psychological viewpoint of each character within the text. Marxist critics also reflect on texts in different ways, believing that literature is created as a product of ideology and not the desires of the authors/playwrights themselves. In the three texts King Lear, The Bloody Chamber and 1984, the concept of socio-economic struggles is more prevalent than ever with many analysing the texts from a Marxist literary viewpoint.
In his novella 'The Great Gatsby', F. Scott Fitzgerald presents class as a personal and definite thing, illustrating how attempts to change your class will lead to tragedy. Jane Austen, in her novel 'Pride and Prejudice', uses class as a criticism of society. Her portrayal of class differs from Fitzgerald's as she presents the idea that class restrictions, while rigid, do not determine one's character and can therefore be overcome. Both novels explore their views on the segregation of classes through the circumstances in the time periods they are writing about.
Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, is set in a Victorian England, where social class is a huge factor in life. Brontë is very critical of Victorian England’s strict hierarchy. the main character, Jane, is a governess. Her social position is very complicated in which she has to be sophisticated, educated, intelligent, and soft spoken but she is then talked down to as she is of a lower class. The job of a governess is to teach children, whether it be art, writing or reading english literature. Victorian society is very corrupt and in the novel Brontë truly captures and illustrates the challenges that Jane has to face as a governess. The novel also emphasizes the social gap between individuals and how big it really is. In Victorian society, the rich get the most out of life and life for the poor gets harder. No individual should judge or belittle another due to the very minor factor of social status, but it seems to be very important in Jane’s society. The message that Brontë expresses in the novel is that social class is a meaningless catalyst in the progression of relationships, creating giant gaps between individuals.
He developed the socio-political theory of Marxism. One of his most famous works is The Communist Manifesto, which he co-wrote with Friedrich Engels. In The Communist Manifesto, Marx discusses his theories on society, economics and politics. He believed that “all societies progress through the dialectic of class struggle”. He criticized capitalism, and referred to it as the "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie".
Class distinction is one of Jane Austen’s themes in the novel, and the differentiation related to it is evidently depicted. Reading the novel from the first chapter, I realize that the author clearly illustrates that class is what matters most in many of the incidences displayed by the characters. Unless an individual is of a given class, the idea that he or she has money is not valued, since only birth in a certain background is what is of value. When a person openly values money over class, such a person is frowned upon. In general terms, the Novel shows a social world extremely stratified and full of pretension and class struggle.