DICKENS and The Victorian Novel

Victorian novel
Novels were published in instalments in the periodicals. The effects were: The novelist had the possibility of verifying the reaction of the readers almost immediately In order to please the requirements of the public writers often changed the original plan The structure was episodic and each instalment had to stimulate the curiosity creating suspense and encouraging them to buy the next issue. Furthermore, the plot was long and interwoven with sub-plots They deal with themes who were a reaction against the idealized vision of life typical of Romanticism. Victorians prortray life in a truthful way: realistic approach
Realistic approach Through the realistic novel middle classe could enjoy the faithful representation of the world they knew, their social problems and the struggle between honest people and villains The novelists aimed at describing the social changes such as the Industrial Revolution, the struggle for democracy and the social effects. The setting was the city as a symbol of industrial civilisation. Writers praise the modernity and the great technological innovations of the time but they also describe the preoccupations and fears arisen as a result of the progress The events were presented in chronological order by a third person omniscent narrator. Characters are deeply analysed both physically and psychologically.
CHARLES DICKENS AND THE VICTORIAN SOCIETY

He criticises Victorian policy towards the poor and especially the charity organisation run by parishes. The policy established with the POOR LAWS stipulated that the poor could receive assistance only if they moved into the WORKHOUSES. These places were meant to help the poor ( children separeted from their families) to improve their life through forced labour. They operated on the principle that poverty was an effect of laziness and that the poor had to struggle to survive . POVERTY was only considered a moral problem ( like crime) and had to be solved trough repressive measures rather than through a redistribution of resources
This ideas were the consequences of the SOCIAL DARWINISM based on Darwins theory of evolution and natural selection outlined in On the origin of species .It supported both the Victorian ideas of social progress and social -economic improvements and the disparity between rich and poor. Infact according to Darwin evolution was a matter of the survival of the fittest therefore in society the best adapted and the strongest ( in the existing economic situation) would necessarily triumph.Social Darwinism supported the theory that lower classes were less evolved and had a natural vocation to vice and crime.
Charles Dickens ( 1812-1870)

Born in Portsmouth , on the south coast of England, he was very young when started working in a factory because his father was imprisoned for debts. When his father was released Charles went to school in London. He worked as a shorthand reporter in the House of Commons , and started working as a reporter for a newspaper. In1836 The Pickwick Papers appeared in instalments. This episodic novel tells the humorous story of Mr Pickwick, the chairman od a sport club,who travels arpund England with his friends around places still untouched by the industrial revolution Several novels followed( from 1837 to 1865) Oliver Twist ,David Copperfield, Bleak House, a Christman Carlo, Hard Times are only some of the most popular.
THEMES
THE CITY ( LONDON) AS A THE PLACE WHERE SOCIAL UNJUSTICE TAKES THE UPPER HAND ON JUSTICE AND MORALITY COUNTRYSIDE AS THE PLACE WHERE THE POOR PURIFY THEIR THOUGHTS AND CURE THE VICES OF THE CITY ORPHANS AND CHILDREN : innocent and pure against the grown-ups, they are the examples instead of the taught. They are often pure and symbol of virtue; even though they experience hardships, crime and aloofness they are often rewarded at the end.( Oliver Twist) CRIMINAL WORLD described with pickpockets and murderers; they are driven by poverty and live a squalid life. Children were the victims of that. MIDDLE CLASSES AND THE DIDACTIC AIM : he knows that most of the readers belong to the middle class and usually identify with those protagonists. The middle class, emotionally involved within the story,( shopkeepers, tradesman) become acquainted with the appaling conditions of life of the poor for the first time CHARACTERS:considered flat built around a single idea or quality. Hes not interested in give them a psychological dimension. Sometimes their names mirrors their personality: Oliver TWIST=(To make in a tortuous manner) GRADGRIND= (grade= a particular level of quality of a product +grind=to cruch into powder) SCROOGE= a person mean with money. HE HAD A CRITICAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE SOCIETY AND THE EXPLOITATION OF THE POOR BUT NEVER ENCOURAGES THEM TO REBEL.HE ONLY PORTRAYS ABUSES, MISERY AND THE SOCIETY AS IT IS.

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Victorian novel

CHARLES DICKENS AND THE VICTORIAN SOCIETY

Charles Dickens ( 1812-1870)

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