`The Europeans' by Henry James and `Tess of the D'Urbervilles' by Thomas Hardy, although written at different stages of the Victorian era (James's work was written earlier), both reflect some of the same attitudes and mentalities of their time. In the first phase of `Tess' and the first two chapters of `The Europeans' the ideas of marriage and attitudes to women, class boundaries and family connections in Victorian life and society are portrayed. As the similarities between the novels show, the values continue to be held in society from the beginning of the era to the end, demonstrating how entrenched they were. They even cross the Atlantic to America as illustrated in Henry James' novel. Although there are similarities between the novels, there are likewise contrasts, mostly anchored in the very different styles of the two authors. The immediate parallel that must be made between the two works is the shared image of the poor relation who goes to `seek her fortune' and the theme of genealogical connections, Tess' with the D'Urbervilles and Eugenia with the Wentworths. Both plots are based on the pivotal meetings with `the rich people' of the family and the outcome of these reunions. The reasons for the missions being undertaken are also common to both books, introducing the general concern of Victorian society; marriage and `Victorian lucre' as Hardy describes it, his wryly sarcastic tone communicating to the reader the author's critical view on Victorian preoccupation with money. Indeed, the only motive of the Durbeyfields in claiming kin with the d'Urbervilles is mercenary; Joan believes that the reestablishment of connections would `lead to some noble gentleman marrying' Tess and making her `a lady'. It is a marriage of th... ... middle of paper ... ...rs that allows us, as Ian Gregor says, to `walk through' one of his novels. Where Hardy explores a story and we change and develop in our stance towards the characters and the plot as it unfolds before us, James is very much a story teller; we listen and are interested, but the fact that James was very concerned with the form and structure of his novels is significant. It seems to make his works more static and instead of `walking through' we `walk around' his work, rather as one might walk about a room admiring details of decoration. There is little movement or feeling of progress in James' novel and the work seems, to me as to Gregor, already complete. He encapsulates my reaction exactly; `we feel the work has already found its finest reader in the author, in Hardy the reading is still in process'; there is more to read into and more to appreciate with each perusal.
Tess is no stranger to casual wrong. Throughout her life indifferent nature has occurred. Her parents were not the greatest of parents. She had a tough life, she was poor. When she met Alec d'Urberville, she was considerate and kind, but later on Alec took advantage of her and seduced her in a forest called the Chase, "He knelt and bent lower, till her breath warmed his face, and in a moment his cheek was in contact with hers.
While both novels show women embodying traditional male roles and characteristics, the chivalric trait of honour in a woman is most prominent in Tess of the D’Urbervilles. While males are dominantly seen as the providers in Western society, Marlow’s aunt secures his position with The Company. Comparably, Tess takes on her inebriated father’s responsibility as a caretaker and provider when she attempts to deliver the wagonload of beehives for
Representative of the Victorian society by abiding intensely with the ideals of its age, the ladies in Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford deem “appearance” and “propriety” in every conceivable way of utmost importance. In Cranford, we are presented with a population formed of elderly ladies who either got divorced, got widowed, or had never been married. Their only income – bearing in mind that they are not involved in trade or labour-work as they consider such occupations as “vulgar” – is most probably family fortune. However, the rise of a laborious, industrial middle-class that forms the nouveau-riche capsizes the previously established class system, leaving aristocracy, hence the ladies of Cranford, without the economic power they hitherto had. The ladies of Cranford thus exert their “aristocratic power” by holding on to their noble titles and elegant past through their behaviour and outwear – elements that form their idea of “appearance”.
An influential 12 year old girl during World War II and a manipulative coquette in Victorian England create two unsurprisingly juxtaposed images in a reader’s head. However, no matter how juxtaposing their personalities or lives may be, any two characters can share experiences and learn lessons in similar ways. In The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers and Lady Susan by Jane Austen, The characters Frankie and Lady Susan share a common desire to feel secure in their dominantly male influenced cultures.
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.
"The Condition of England" in Victorian Literature: 1830-1900. Ed. Dorothy Mermin, and Herbert Tucker. Accessed on 3 Nov. 2003.
The novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles written by Thomas Hardy was an interesting novel with lots of suspense. The main protagonist is Tess D’Urbervilles, a young, attractive, intelligent, and sensitive girl. In the first chapter, Tess’s father finds out he’s the last descent of one of the oldest families in England, the D’Urbervilles. Tess’s family lives in poverty and faces difficult to get through life. In the process of all this happening Tess experiences many bad things. The book introduces many symbols; one of the many was Red and White. These colors foreshadow future events in the novel such as pureness, beauty, carelessness, innocence, sin, evil and more.
In 'Blood Brothers' Mrs. Johnstone lives in a bad stop of Liverpool, suffering to deliver up 8 youngsters on her personal and is pressured to give one away to hold the others clothed and fed nicely enough, while Mrs. Lyons, whom she works for, lives in a massive house, very readily in a pleasant a part of Liverpool, she wants children however is unable to have any, despite the fact that she is wealthy, not like Mrs.
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.
In order to discern between the Victorian and Romantic themes, Bronte selects certain characters to portray the perfect stereotype of each theme. Mademoiselle Celine Varens is the model of the Romantic attitude. Varens a “French opera-dancer” found herself as the “grande passion” of Mr. Rochester. The amour between Rochester and Varens started in a “complete establishment of servants, a carriage, cashmere, diamonds, dentells, etc.” and ended with Rochester “finding her out” with another man. Varens’ irrationality did not only affect Rochester, but also her child: “she abandoned her child and ran away with a musician or singer.” Celine Varens, a woman in a daring profession, led a life of passion, freedom and irresponsibility. Her life was ballad of adventure idolized by Romantics but frowned upon by society. Mrs. Reed is the perfect representative of Victorian realism. She had all the visual attributes found in a Victorian styled lady. She possessed gentry as the mistress of Gateshead Hall and her material wealth was made obvious by the luxuries found in her home –“a bed supported on massive pillows of mahogany, hung with curtains of damask”—and in her children “in their Muslim frocks and scarlet sashes.” Besides wealth and gentility, Mrs. Reed also maintained Victorian characteristics of insularity and censoriousness.
...mes, 39). James, rather than resorting to the later bitter, gritty realist tactics of Drieser, stays enmeshed in the conventions of society while experimenting with realist conceptions of character. Though the novel caters to the "good taste of the gentlefolk" (Trachtenberg, 182) through its nod to societal norms and customs, James' characters, most especially Catherine Sloper, indicate the emergence of a new reality of "an authentic and original being" (Bell, 38) - a being of lost hopes with the ragged edges of "truth uncompromisingly told."
In the novel Howards End by E.M. Forster, the notion of connection is one that is evident throughout the novel. Forster captures this notion through the contrast of the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes who represent very different approaches to life. The Schlegel family represent the liberal intelligentsia and social attitudes of a rapidly expanding and changing London in the era in which this novel was written. With German ancestry their continental manners, philosophy and culture convey a cosmopolitanism that finds understanding and nourishment in their social circle. On the other hand, the Wilcoxes encompass a more traditional British outlook on life and socially morality, and unlike the Schlegels, they are portrayed as moralistic, chauvinistic and pragmatic. This essay will therefore analyse Howards End in order to illustrate the differences between the Schlegels and Wilcoxes, more specifically Margaret and Henry, and how their opposing views of “only connect” and concentrate”, the “seen” and “unseen” and their “inner” verses “outer” lives, clash but manage to integrate to find a common ground.
Tess, the protagonist and heroine of Hardy's novel, becomes a victim of rape and in turn, her life grows to become degraded, humiliating and depressing; of which none of these things she deserves. Although initially striving to be heroic and providing for her family, (after she was responsible for the death of Prince) the position she takes on at the d'Urbervilles' ultimately leads to her death as she is raped and then pursued by her seducer Alec d'Urberville until she must murder him. This courageous yet dangerous decision to murder Alec epitomises her character as a heroine as she is brave enough to perform such a malicious act in order to kill her suffering at the root rather than being passive and perhaps choosing to take her own life instead.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Victorian Age: Introduction." The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Victorian Age: Introduction. 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2014
Hardy’s novels are ultimately permeated upon his own examination of the contemporary world surrounding him, Tess’s life battles are ultimately foreshadowed by the condemnation of her working class background, which is uniquely explored throughout the text. The class struggles of her time are explored throughout her life in Marlott and the preconception of middle class ideals are challenged throughout Hardy’s exploration of the rural class. Tess of the D’Urbervilles revolves around Hardy’s views of Victorian social taboos and continues to be a greatly influential piece from a novelist who did not conform to the Victorian bourgeois standards of literature.