“His loss of faith, his agnosticism and later pessimism about human freedom and human destiny, harmonize naturally with the movements of thought, belief predominant in his time….” (Douglas, 20)
Scientific materialism showed the insignificance of the human individual in the scheme of the universe. Contrary to this doctrine is the Christian belief that every human soul is so precious in the eyes of God that he took the shape of man in the form of Christ to redeem mankind from its sins and sufferings. Hardy being an artist and not a scientist was placed in a very difficult position by the mechanistic conception of the universe. This dilemma gave Hardy the greatest cause of unhappiness and the same conflict is the central theme of all novels of Hardy. He became interested in two of the major problems of the time, one being the conflict between science and religion and the other the social and political rights of women and the injustice done to women under man-made laws. The development of science led England to the Industrial Revolution which started no doubt around 1760 but found its real climax only during the Victorian age. The greatest single fact of the age was that of change and adjustment. There was unprecedented rapid development in every walk of life.
Her sexual morality and personal actions are secondary to Kettle’s interest in the larger historical and economic processes at work in late nineteenth century. For Kettle Hardy novel has:
“The quality of a social document… It is a novel with a thesis. The thesis is that in the course of the nineteenth century the disintegration of the peasantry- a process which had its roots deep in the past
The era of Romanticism during the 18th century was enriched with flourishing qualities of art, historiography, education and natural sciences that are exalted in history to this day. The Romantic era was more than what meets the surface, the literary creations of this time was not superficial love stories as the name may inaccurately suggest. This was a period of love for creation and nature, the exaltation of the common people, the desire for perfection in their community and an overall quest for something greater. The writers’ of this era emphasize on imagination and emotion and was influenced from the changes that were occurring in front of their very own eyes. A prime example of this is the literary works of Nathaniel Hawthorne and the common theme of science and the author’s fear and distaste it has on humanity that has been introduced.
In the beginning of the nineteenth century, several aspects of life were coming together for those that lived in Europe, and especially for those that lived in England. The Scientific Revolution had ended in the late seventeenth century; consequently, leaving the lingering aspects of science as a proven way to show that some ideologies of the Catholic Church were incorrect. The Enlightenment of the late eighteenth century had caused all of England and Europe to decide where to let their lives lead them in terms of faith; either towards Christianity, or towards Protestantism. The final time period that had a major impact on the English and European society was the Industrial Revolution, which introduced new ways to make life easier in terms of the production of goods, and make life as simple as possible. These three main time periods gave Karl Marx the reason and drive to reform the way that society was run, as shown in the words that he wrote in the Communist Manifesto pertaining to the life of the individual in terms of faith.
of the loss of the old way of life. Hardy went to work in London in
Hardy redefines the role of women in his novels, focusing on sexuality. By emphasizing the physical aspect of femininity in his unorthodox representation of the sexual female, Hardy threatens the Victorian model of women. Sexuality is evident in Far From The Madding Crowd when Bathsheba unknowingly admits her passion to Sergeant Troy. "If you can only fight half as winningly as you can talk, you are able to make a pleasure of a bayonet wound!" Baths...
As you can see, the life of man before and after the Industrial Revolution was quite different such as, their view on children and the care they received, their views on premarital sex and their marriage patterns, and their how and where they worked. This could be seen with their differences in emotional attachments to their children, their views on having sex before marriage, and their work ethic. This was a brutal world, but the Industrial Revolution brought on extreme change to people’s lives.
There have always been class divisions in England’s social groups, but it was not until the nineteenth century that they were labeled. The lower class was often uneducated and overlooked and mostly servants and prostitutes, the middle class generally had steady jobs and members of the higher classes were born to old money and did not have to work. The French Lieutenant’s Woman written by John Fowles is a complex “Victorian novel filled with enchanting mysteries and magically erotic possibilities” (Canby) in which, Fowles describes a Victorian society in 1867 that is still largely separated by class, which creates strong restrictions with respect to sex and marriage. Notably, conflict in the novel involves scandals where these restrictions are disregarded. Fowles shows that sex and marriage were still largely dictated by whether a person belonged to the lower, middle or upper class in order to highlight that there were more restrictions for higher-class men and women.
In Hardy's novels, masculine identity is explored, evolving from the solid, monolithic, patriarchal role of the mid-1800s, to less typical, nearly feminine styles of manhood. With the increasing power of women during the Victorian Era, Hardy creates men who are in a state of ambivalence about their sexuality; they either reach for the well-worn stereotype of the "manly" man, or they attempt to explore their own complicated emotions, sensitive to the needs of the emerging New Woman. Though action in Hardy's novels centers predominately around the female, life is often seen through the eyes of the males in his works. The "typical" male is often associated with money, power, and prestige, while the realists and chaste men are almost "unmasculine" in thoughts and action, and frequently fall victim to the New Woman. By depicting a man like Henchard, who goes from being an obsessive power seeker to one who is, in a sense, "unmanned," Hardy shows readers the male identity which he tends to favor.
At the start of the nineteenth century, religion and science coexisted as one. The idea behind the creation of man and nature was seen as the work of God, thus the issue of religion and science were one in the same. As the Victorian era progressed, there was an emergence of scientific thinkers that began to question the creation and miracles of God, which in turn led to turmoil within the Victorian society. What Victorian society had was a constant clashing of ideals between the emerging science group and the religious believers. People did not care to listen to each other’s beliefs, which led to an overall lack of mutual respect among the groups. It is through Emily Bronte’s The Prisoner. A Fragment that the tensions based on religion can be seen through the male and female characters who represent the clashing groups in Victorian society.
Change is scary, leading many people to meet it with a slow and cautious approach. This fear for change often leads others to push against the incoming innovation and instead fight for the way things have always been. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, hated the switch of her society that she saw during the second half of 19th century when the Industrial Revolution hit the United States. The Industrial Revolution replaced the ideals Shelley believed in, and instead pushed scientific knowledge upon people. Shelley felt the strong fear of change. To express her feelings towards this horrible new scientific society, Shelley wrote her argument about the danger of scientific knowledge throughout Frankenstein. By having scientific voyages
In the early 19th century there were two different period’s Age of Reason (ending) and the Romantic period (beginning). The Age of Reason was the highest ideals about life, art and literature were the only things they mainly focused on. The industrial revolution was the biggest turning point of England creating factories jobs, bring wealth and prosperity to the country. On the website scholieren.com, stated that “young people over Europe thought freedom and equality was very important.”
One of the most interesting aspects of Victorian era literature reflects the conflict between religion and the fast gathering movement aptly dubbed the enlightenment. Primarily known for its prude, repressed, social and family structure beneath the surface of the Victorian illusion many conflicting, perhaps even radical, ideas were simmering and fast reaching a boiling point within in the public circle. In fact writers such as Thomas Hardy and Gerald Manly Hopkins reflect this very struggle between the cold front of former human understanding and the rising warm front know only as the enlightenment. As a result we as readers are treated to a spectacular display of fireworks within both authors poetry as the two ideas: poetics of soul and savior, and the poetics of naturalism struggle and brutality, meet and mix in the authors minds creating a lightning storm for us to enjoy.
Thomas Hardy wrote about society in the mid 1800's and his tales have rural settings in the fictional name he gave to the South-West of England, Wessex. The short stories reflect this time and the author also demonstrates the class division in rural society - rich and poor - and the closeness of the communities. Almost everyone belonged to the 'labouring classes' and worked on the land.
Hardy originated from a working class family. The son of a master mason, Hardy was slightly above that of his agricultural peers. Hardy’s examination of transition between classes is usually similar to that of D.H. Lawrence, that if you step outside your circle you will die. The ambitious lives of the characters within Hardy’s novels like Jude and Tess usually end fatally; as they attempt to break away from the constraints of their class, thus, depicting Hardy’s view upon the transition between classes. Hardy valued lower class morals and traditions, it is apparent through reading Tess that her struggles are evidently permeated through the social sufferings of the working class. A central theme running throughout Hardy’s novels is the decline of old families. It is said Hardy himself traced the Dorset Hardy’s lineage and found once they were of great i...
It is the aim of this piece to consider how two elements are developed in the opening chapters of three classic novels written by 19th century English women: Emma, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre, respectively. The elements to be considered are a) character; and b) character relationships. Consideration will be given to see how each opening chapter develops these two aspects, and the various approaches will be compared and contrasted as well.
The Industrial Revolution was a period of time in which Great Britain saw advancements in technology, agriculture, and transportation. These changes heavily influenced the country economically and socially. The creation of the unskilled factory labor worker emerged and a movement began from rural to urban areas. With an increase in wages from factory work, the population of the country increased as well. Overall Britain was becoming smaller during this time period. The Industrial Revolution did not solely bring positive outcomes. The interactions humans once held despite social status were gradually deteriorating as values began to shift. The industrialization taking place in Britain had a great presence in current and up and coming literature. Through the years authors such as Mary Shelley, Oscar Wilde, and D.H. Lawrence created characters whose morals were altered due to the evils of industrialization despite their social classes. During the course of the eras in literature, characters began to have a shift in morals which caused the relationships held with other characters to fall apart. The presence of industrialization and its troubles amongst the range of classes is present in Frankenstein, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Lady Chatterley’s Lover.