The French Lieutenant's Woman as Victorian Realistic Novel
Although The French Lieutenant's Woman was written and cinematized in the 20th century and is based on a modern film production of a piece of 19th century fiction, the stories and plots themselves have contextual elements of a Victorian Realistic Novel. Despite the inability to accurately and directly compare it with that of true Victorian literature, many of the same elements can be found and parallel one another. Some of the elements of present day contemporary novels still bear a resemblance to their Victorian predecessors.
The French Lieutenant's Woman can be considered a Realistic novel because its subjects are of people living in society and their relationships; more specifically, love, courtship, money, marriage, infidelity, and social problems of the time (Agatucci, 2001). This can be contrasted to heroic, fantastic idealized or sensationalized plots of a Romance (Agatucci, 2001). In this case, realistic category fits for both past and present versions of the plot . In addition, the plot itself runs a course determined by cause and effect logic and determinism, as opposed being influenced by the divine or supernatural and be predetermined (Agatucci, 2001). The characters and conflicts can be hazy as to who is the "hero" and "villain", their qualities are a mix of both good and bad, strong and weak, and they are not idealized like that of a classical hero (Agatucci, 2001). For example, we wish for the main characters in The French Lieutenant's Woman to find love and happiness with each other, but their affairs are elicit and they are betraying others. Yet the characters do not possess the extreme elements of the Byronic hero, which is mostly a ...
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...irs happening at the same time (Agatucci, 2001). The lack of continuity allows for reflection and comparison not only of life then and now, how we allow ourselves to be wisked off into a world of invention and illusion.
When we are willing participants, the other dramatic devices such as setting, character and plot development, and a realistic theme will then have a stronger influence on our imagination. Despite of our awareness that the stories are fiction, our need to be entertained suspends our disbelief; this one of the few characteristics we have very much in common with those living in the Victorian era.
Works Cited
Longman, (2000). The Longman Anthology of British Literature, vol. B. Damrosch, D. (ed.). NY, LA: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
Agatucci, C. (2001). ENG 103, Survey of British Literature. Central Oregon Community College.
Looking at Henry V and Saint Joan, both of the stories are very similar in many ways. Both plays have a strong main character that is persistent, dedicated, and strong and take place during the same war. Though the plots are not directly connected, the feminist lens can be connected to both plays, and by examining a speech from each, there are many similar qualities. The differences and similarities between Henry V and Saint Joan can easily be compared and contrasted through rhetorical analysis and the feminist critical lens.
This novel was one of the most radical books of the Victorian Era. It portrayed women as equals to men. It showed that it was possible that men could even be worse than women, through John and Jane. It taught the Victorians never to judge a book by its cover. The novel would not be as successful were it not for Charlotte Brontë’s talent in writing, and were it not for the literary devices employed.
just one set of results. This makes it a fair test as well as keeping
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 1c. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print. The.
Abrams, M.H., et al. ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. 2 Vols. New York: Norton, 1993.
Gustave Flaubert presents one extreme side of human life many would very much rather think does not exist. He presents a tale of sensual symbolism within the life of Charles Bovary. Madame Bovary is the story of Emma Bovary, but within the scope of symbolic meaning, the make-up of Charles is addressed. It is representative of deep sadness and a despondent outlook on life whose many symbols are, at times, as deeply embedded in the story line as a thorn in a callous heel. The elements making up the very person of Charles Bovary remain excruciatingly evident, haunting his every move.
Victorian literature is a representation of society at the time. These Victorian authors have expressed their concerns with the dangers of the restrictions of society and the effect it has on women. Both “The Yellow Wallpaper and Wuthering Heights show the repression of women, the dependency on men, but also the resistance to a patriarchal society and its norms.
Jane Campion's most recent film, Portrait of a Lady (1996), offers a distinct departure from her previous work, The Piano (1993), with which some critics have found fault. In her 1998 article, for example, while commending Campion for introducing two characters able to renounce the gender warfare that characterizes Western culture, Diane Long Hoeveler criticizes Campion for celebrating marriage, the idea that women cannot survive without a man at the center of their lives (Hoeveler 110, 114). Second, she asserts that while Campion toys with feminist issues and images, Piano is Aromantic and escapist, with Ada's decision to be reborn with Baines a step hardly worthy of the serious feminist issues that Campion seems to be raising in the film (Hoeveler 114). Finally, she points out that Campion is heavily indebted to a 1920s work, The Story of a New Zealand River by Jane Mander. Partly as a consequence of not acknowledging this debt, the film has conflicting sources, Campion's rather permissive twentieth century script about adultery, superimposed on Mander's original, in which the Victorian heroine is not united sexually with her lover until after her husband's death. Enacting a basically contemporary drama in anachronistic costumes and setting, Hoeveler says the film contains gaps, ...fissures we sense while viewing it (Hoeveler 114). For example, how likely is it, she asks, that an 1850s heroine would conduct an adulterous affair? In (Re)Visioning the Gothic (1998), Cyndy Hendershot echoes this view, calling Baines, the film's nontraditional male (Harvey Keitel), a deus ex machina, a fairy-tale character, an imaginary resolution to two real problems, on the one hand the castratio...
Investigation Of Osmosis In Potatoes Aim: To investigate the affect of different concentrations of sugar solution on potato cells. Variables: The variables are; the concentration of sugar in the solution and the mass of the potato cylinder. We will measure the mass of a potato cylinder after a certain amount of time in a certain solution. Fair test: To keep the test fair we need to keep the controls the same. Like keeping the temperature the same so the kinetic energy doesn't cause a faster reaction.
Abrams, M.H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993.
decrease which will push the pulse rate up. I also think that a lot of
The Victorian Literary Movement that took place in England during the reign of Queen Victoria is what lead to the prominent factors that can be seen across the era of writing. From 1837 to 1901 Victorian Literature evolved from a heavy focus on proper behaviors, to a high level of rebellious acts against the proper Englishman. The code of conducts and push towards social advancements that once moved literature forward soon fell victim to change. This era started out in poetry and moved towards novels as being the dominate form of writing. The Victorian era, being so large in and of itself, has always been thought of as the time when Queen Victoria ruled. Through the years however, there are three major ideas that have been seen in writing that can really help to break this era down. As the audience for writers changed, the stigma of reading only for pleasure began to dissipate. People began to see how social advancement could be a positive thing, and from there aspired to be proper Englishmen. Authors such as Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, Charlotte and Emily B...
Longman. The Longman Anthology of British Literature, vol. B. Damrosch, D. (ed.). NY, LA: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. 2000.
The Effect of Exercise on Pulse Rate What is a Pulse In Physiology, a pulse is where there is a recurring opening out of the biggest blood vessels (Arteries). This is a consequence of a coherent flow of blood being propel around the body. The muscle that is responsible for this surge of blood is the Heart. I know that by taking 220 and subtracting your age you can find your maximum pulse rate, because your muscles rely on oxygen it is important that I understand how oxygen is transported to the bodies cells.
Overall, "French Lieutenants Woman" convinces me that it adequately represents Victorian times. Although the references made regarding Darwin and Freud were ahead of their time, they are still representative of the Victorian age, historically. Anna's research of prostitution in 1860's London helped confirm the historical accuracy as well. The references made to the cultural significance of being a lady or a gentleman are key cultural elements indicative of the time and the plot within a plot structure is a key literary element that correlates with the Victorian