Realism and Positivism Chapter 22:

The revolutions of 1848 spread throughout Europe, and what began with hope was quickly suppressed by reactionary, conservative governments.

After the failure of the revolutions of 1830 and 1848, the dreams of many Europeans ended.

There had been some positive outcomes of 1848—peasants were freed in Germany and Austria, and many moved to America.

Many were bitter about government reaction after the revolutions Many were bitter about government reaction after the revolutions. This new attitude was called materialism: an idea that all things were a result of physiological or physical forces. In art and music it was called realism.

Realism included painters such as Courbet, Millet, and Daumier…

Courbet’s paintings were of the peasants—in the countryside, but they were displayed in the salons of Paris, for the bourgeoisie to observe.

Perhaps this was a way of saying that “we may have been defeated in the revolutions, but we are still here. Our needs are just.”

Realism found its way into the writings of authors such as Flaubert Realism found its way into the writings of authors such as Flaubert. Flaubert’s Madame Bovary is a landmark novel that mocked romantic illusions about marriage and family life.

Emma Bovary commits suicide after many unhappy love affairs…

Both writers and painters broke away from the traditions of romanticism and said they wanted “real facts.”

Similar to realism was the idea of positivism, which meant that one must insist on verifiable facts and not on wishful thinking.