Friday, July 31, 2015

What are some elements of Victorian Literature?I am confused about whether alienation/dislocation, struggle/strife, Christianity, and...

Great question! You may get several different answers but I am sure they all will coincide in many points.


alienation/dislocation: Yes. Victorian literature, especially Gaskell, Dickens, and Elliot explore a society which is far from the idealized fantastic and classical world that constitutes early Victorian Literature. They explore the alienation of the poor classes, the East End, the slum districts, and the dislocation of any rights and benefits for least affluent groups.


Later on, the likes of Shaw and Wilde for instance further explore alienation in terms of social classes: the division between aristocracy, the middle class and the upper classes, and the shunning from "polite society" (dislocation) of whoever does not follow the hypocritical and snobby ways of the rich. 


Struggle/strife- Again, Victorian lit does intertwine the two in terms of who you are when standing in society. Dickens sclearly show the struggles of the lower and destitute classes, and Austen shows the strife of lower social classes to obtain recognition, money, class, and to measure their worth under the scope of the upper classes.


Christianity: Definitely an element. Queen Victoria was basically the monarch which gave England the idealistic view of the wholesome, church-going family and Christianity was an aspect that was enforced. It was a particularly poignant theme because of mortality rates of children, and the state of minds of Victorians towards death and mourning. Also, it was a symbol of status, as the church was often the networking gossip center of the town. Again, mid to late Victorian writers criticize this and mock the role of religion and Christianity altogether.


Imperialism/Colonization: I would say on this one that imperialism is what drove Victorian society and basically shaped up the social classes. Colonization was also going on, as Victoria was Empress of India and other colonies of the United Kingdom. Certainly these themes were commonplace in literature, if anything in reform-literature. At this point in Victorian society we must not forget that Darwin had just proposed his theories of evolution and the world became in some form "globalized" into the idea that the expansion of the English empire would give place to further exploration in science and history.


In all, all the topics are represented in different ways and at different stages of Victorian literature. I hope that helps.

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