The Victorian Era And The Victorian Novel

607 Words3 Pages
The Victorian Era and the Victorian Novel From best-sellers (Dickens) to small-sellers (Hardy) Contradictions in the Evaluation of the Age: “The best of times”: The 19th as the period of vast development, as an enjoyable and admirable panorama. G.M. Young, Portrait of an Age Macanley about Victorian progress: increase of comfort, improvement of health, extension of education. Whig interpretation: Trollope’s Autobiography. Speaking and splendid age. “The worst of times”: It can be understood as a two-faced period as well. Thomas Carly was a representative of this idea. The era is saturated in profoundness. They based their ideas on....? Source of poverty was the badly paid handwork. First period of capitalism. Decisive notions: The mechanical age. Hobbes has already used the word ‘machine’ as a metaphor of human mind. Industrialisation loses its human face, dehumanisation. Utilitarianism and political economy: Utilitarianism: closely related to political economy. These two are closely connected to industrialisation. Can be found in every level of society. Chief concern: how to utilize to make any sort of improvement. condition of England; examination of prevailing economic doctrines, scope of public responsibility---result: full of paradoxes; liberty (leisses-faire) Utilitarianism also appointed human happiness as one of its target. Profit oriented attitude. Dickens’ Hard Times satirize. Materialism: Empirical, unideological, tradesman like qualities of the ascendant middle-class. The animating power of the business spirit animates or kills life. Defoe call it “the great chain of business”. Carly “ cash nexus” rigid, spiritless. This aspect turns blind eye to the negative aspects. Blindness to squalor and self-interest. RESULT: inevitable interaction b/w literature and society. Intensely moralizing temper. Gross generalisation, mingling of moralism
Open Document