19th century: Romantic poetry, Gothic & Realist fiction Flashcards
(41 cards)
What are the basics to Pamela/Virtue Rewarded?
- written by Samuel Richardson
- 1740
- best-seller of its time
- started as conduct book (virtue, virginity)
- epistolary novel (writing to the moment, deep perspectivity of Pamela)
How is Pamela’s character described?
- 15 years old
- from lower-middle class
- she’s a servant maid
- of exceptional beauty
- educated in writing, math, needlework
- letters are her property + express her individuality, selfhood, her-story, avenue for contesting Mr. B’s lies
Which traits of the ‘new novel’ are found in both Restoration Comedy and Pamela?
- individuality
- psychological motivations
- ‘realism’ - more realistic plot
- illusion of authenticity - feigning facts
- didacticism
What is new in Pamela?
- female protagonist -> gender politics
- battles in social environment
- introspection probes feelings
- philosophical context: sensibility - focus on emotional stance towards the world
- different mode of presentation
Crusoe - spiritual self
Why are the letters in Pamela an epistolary form?
- weren’t invented by Richardson
- popular mode at the time
- implication of transparent language: we get a look into her heart and soul
- implication of emotional immediacy: reduced distance between events and mediation
- ‘writing to the moment’: reduces temporal distance between experiences & narration
What is the philosophical context of sensibility in the novel of sentiment Pamela?
- 18th century optimism that universe is benevolent and virtue is rewarded
- Pamela’s has innate sense of what is good and true, benevolent connection to universe
- Definition: ability to respond to emotional experiences; sensitivity
Showing feelings means good person
What are Richardson’s lessons on class?
- moral life of the individual possesses an absolute value that transcends social distinctions
- nobility of the heart is equal to nobility of birth
- if.. aristocracy concurs with Protestant bourgeois moral system than they may remain at the top of the hierarchical ladder
What happened in the 19th century?
- Century that reaches our modern mentality
- Industrialism
- Great Britain as colonial power
- Bourgeois century
- Gender politics
What is the 19th century also called?
Period of Modernization
What were the socio-economic factors in the 19th century?
- Industrialization (railway, mechanical age, pauperization)
- Utilitarianism (race for efficiency + profit)
- Urbanization (factories, Chartism)
- British as Empire (Colonies, Exportation of EngLit)
pauperization = impoverishment
chartism = early form of labor unions
What is Chartism?
early form of labor unions
What is the purpose of Chapter 17 in Adam Bede?
-> Meta-fictional chapter about writing realist texts
Narrator outlines the goals of Realism:
- “faithful account of men and things”
- Breaks down the binary of black and white characterisation or purely good vs evil characters
- Like in real life, characters have good and bad traits
- Focuses on details
- Renders a factual account of the world regardless of beauty
- middle-class is tellworthy
The 19th century as the bourgeois century gave rise to what class?
Middle class (honor and respectability now also used for working classes)
What are new bourgeois components in opposition to aristocratic values?
- ethical values (benevolence, integrity)
- emotional family ties
- social usefulness
- education
- conformity to bourgeois work and sex ethics
Every family wanted to be respectable (yk Bridgerton), so certain professions are more respectable than others and long generation of families are also more respectable
Honor used to be only for the bourgeois families but in 19th century it was also used for working families that were respectable
What are components in imitation of aristocratic honour?
- old family
- (modest) wealth
- good opinion of the public
- place connection
Every family wanted to be respectable (yk Bridgerton), so certain professions are more respectable than others and long generation of families are also more respectable
Honor used to be only for the bourgeois families but in 19th century it was also used for working families that were respectable
Where does the term “Victorian angels” come from?
19th century, in Adam Bede respectability is Female Purity/Chastity
-> society idealized these values and women became even more dependent on men
-> women should be timid, meek, mild, passive
-> “women need to please men”
if she’s not respectable, she’s a whore
What were the roles for women under bourgeois norms?
- mothers
- asexual
- property of husband
- confined to home
How was family under bourgeois norms?
- strong emotional ties
- division of public and private sphere
private: feminine, family, emotional, harmonious safe haven
public: masculine, business, politics, cold, ruthless workplace
What is the 19th century Modern Epistemé?
- new interest in history
- answers to universe lie in origins
- biology (Darwin)
- Human nature can be influenced, shaped, ..
- bible stories lose value -> world view is shaken
What is the new view of History in the 19th century?
- revival of medieval and gothic culture
- re-evaluation of dark ages: interest in folk tales as national histories
- romantic myths: belief that beneath surface is historical psyche
- recreate spirit of Nation in history of past
- Bible is considered a piece of literature (not divine) -> meaning lies in its historical, literary context; meaning is not just moral teachings)
first theories about a hidden psyche in humans that influences us
What is Rousseau’s Theory of natural human?
- believed that society is in decline from utopia to dystopia
- original state of man, as savage, was actually optimal (myth of the noble savage)
- the further man deviates from nature the worse his development
- urged a return to nature, rural life -> country life idealized
- re-evaluation of childhood as state of innocence
Who were the romantic revolutionaries?
- William Balke
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- George Gordon Lord Byron
- John Keats
- Percy Bysshe Shelley
- William Wordsworth
What did the romantic revolutionaries stand for?
- opposed to oppression
- radical liberals/anarchists
- notoriously unconventional lifestyles
- enthusiastic and extremely supportive of French Revolution
