literature assignments

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE II

MODULE FOUR: LECTURE TWO

THE BRITISH LANDSCAPE

British Realism

In the Victorian Era, poetry had been the dominant form of literature. However, changes in class structure

brought big changes in reading. As the middle class expanded and more people became literate, the

popularity of the novel exploded. Books also became more accessible as result of the Industrial

Revolution and the expansion of newspapers and the periodic press. Most notably, the works of Charles

Dickens were frequently serialized in newspapers or journals.

The subject matter of realistic Victorian novels also helped increase their popularity. Dickens particularly

would portray the lives of working-class people, creating characters that the new rising middle- class

audience could relate to. Characters would speak the way real working -class people would speak and act

the way real working-class people would act. The realistic Victorian novel focused on themes such as the

plight of the poor. The social mobility that was being offered to this new middle-class audience made

them eager to consume these novels, stories about lower-class people fighting their way up, as they could

relate to heroes and heroines who resembled them in so many ways.

Characteristic of Realistic Victorian Literature

• Emphasis on the here and now

• Emphasis on actions and their consequences – both good and bad

• Common actions and catastrophes of the middle class

• Emphasis on issues of conduct: manners and social relations in the different classes

• Simple direct language

• Often an abundance of characters and social types

The Victorian Age in England 1837-1901

The Victorian Era was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901). The Victorian Era, and more

specifically the mid-period (1850-1870) has been described as Britain’s ‘golden years.” There was much

prosperity due to increasing industrialization, especially in textiles and machinery as well as increased

trading across the globe. Technology, science and engineering were becoming increasingly important.

People in general also enjoyed more freedom. The political agenda was increasingly liberal, with a number

of shifts in the direction of gradual political reform and social reform. This era saw the rise of the middle-

class. As this socio-economic group attained political and financial importance, their social influence

became strong in all spheres, especially in matters of manners and morals.

Victorian Class Structure

In Victorian England class did not necessarily equate with wealth, but with your birth and family history.

Traditionally there were four classes in Victorian England: the aristocracy, the upper class, the middle

class, and the working class.

The Aristocracy

The aristocracy was a heredity class whose ancestors had enjoyed titles of nobility in some cases for many

hundreds of years: princes, dukes, lords, etc. Traditionally they did not work – some families had not

worked for multiple generations. They lived off their inheritances and land holdings and rents. During

the 19th century some of these traditional families started disappearing as the Industrial Age was ushered

in and business became more important. Some aristocrats were able to successfully embrace the new

age and started to manage industries such as shipping and mining.

The Upper Class

The upper class originally comprised wealthy merchants who had amassed great fortunes. Often these

would intermarry with impoverished aristocrats and thus give birth to children who had some connection

to both title and money. These families enjoyed a very comfortable lifestyle, surrounded by luxuries of

every kind and servants to cater to their every need. Children typically did not go to school but were

educated at home by private tutors.

The Middle Class

The Victorian period was a very prosperous time for the middle class. There was a vast difference in

income between those in the upper middle class: businessmen, bankers, lawyers, doctors, and those in

the lower middle class: merchants, shopkeepers, and clerks. Nonetheless, everyone in the middle class

enjoyed a certain amount of material comfort. An average middle- class household would have at least a

few servants. Those in the upper middle class, many more.

The Working Class

These were the people on the lowest rung of the class system. They, alone, did not benefit from the

economic progress the upper and middle classes were experiencing and thus they were hostile to the

classes above them. This class included both skilled and unskilled workers. Many were engaged in factory

work – not just men but also women and children. Labor conditions were brutal: long hours, taxing tasks,

dangerous work. Large extended families typically lived in cramped, unsanitary quarters in slum areas.

Money was scarce and living conditions were so miserable that many children could not afford the time

to go to school – they needed to work because the family needed their income in order to survive.

Victorian Ideology: The Doctrine of the Separate Spheres

This doctrine stated that men and women were different and were meant for different things. Men were

physically strong, while women were weak. For men sex was central, for women – it was reproduction.

Men were independent while women were dependent. Men belonged in the public sphere, women in

the private sphere – inside the home. Men were meant to participate in politics and in paid work, women

were meant to run households and families. Women were thought to be naturally more religious and

morally finer than men (who were distracted by sexual passions by which women supposedly were

untroubled)

But it is important to note that most working- class families could not live out the “doctrine of separate

spheres” because they could not survive on the wages of a single make head of household, so that women

had to go out and work. In this sense, lower-class women had a little more freedom than their middle-

class and upper-class sisters.