Quratulain Khalid. Faiza Aslam. Fatima. Victorian novel and its features.

It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence for Britain. The era was preceded by the Georgian period and followed by the Edwardian period.

Culturally there was a transition away from the rationalism of the Georgian period and toward romanticism and mysticism with regard to religion, social values, and the arts.

First of all in the Victorian Age the dominating literary form was the novel. The Victorian writers exhibited some well-established habits from previous eras. while at the same time pushing arts and letters in new and interesting directions. Indeed, some of the later Victorian novelists and poets are nearly indistinguishable from the Modernists who followed shortly thereafter.

Characteristics of Victorian age literature: Literature tends to closer to daily life. Moral purpose. Idealism.(age of doubt and pessimism) Great ideals like truth, justice, love, brotherhood are emphasized by poets, essayists and novelists of the age.

Characteristics of Victorian novel: Omniscient narrator provided a comment on plot and create a rigid barrier between right and wrong(moral aim). The setting s the city (symbol of industrial civilization, anonymous lives and lost identity)

Cont….. Long and complicated plot. Creation of character and deep analysis of their lives. Revenge or punishment in the final chapter

Famous novelists: Charles Dickens & Thomas Hardy.

Dickens novels: Novels. Number 1: Bleak House Number 2: Great Expectations Hardy’s novels: Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Mayor of Caster bridge (1886), Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895).

Charles Dickens: Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and social critic. Generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. Dickens showed compassion and empathy towards the vulnerable and disadvantaged segments of English society, and contributed to several important social reforms. The Pickwick Papers (1837) Oliver Twist, through Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, Dombey and Son, Bleak House, Hard Times, and ending with Little Dorrit, The Pickwick Papers Oliver TwistNicholas NicklebyThe ChimesDombey and SonBleak HouseHard Times, and ending with Little Dorrit,

Characteristics of Charles Dickens' novels: The title of a novel was extremely important to Dickens. Dickens used suspense and mystery. Novels rely heavily upon his use of symbolism (, for example, how he uses fire, hands, the mist, the river, the signpost in Great Expectations). Dickens uses comedy as relief from the serious and unhappy sections of his novel. Writes from the point of view of the lowest classes living in a large city.

Thomas Hardy: The presence of Fatalism on Hardy’s prose (what happens (or has happened) in some sense has to (or had to) happen). Novelist Thomas Hardy used his novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles to espouse his ideals on the morals of Victorian society. Hardy used several literary devices and themes to express his ideas stylistically, by foreshadow, symbolism, marriage, and different philosophies. Of these philosophies, fatalism is the overall leading philosophical movement demonstrated in Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

Thomas Hardy’s Tragic Vision Manifested in Major Novels. Tragic novels crucially shape his masterpieces. The Mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. Hardy’s conviction that there is a fundamental conflict between humanity and the ruthless fate.

Conclusion: Victorian era can be considered as the golden age of novel. After the initial experimentation novel had become the most capable artform for reflecting complexities of modern world. And the main source of entertainment for educated middle class.

Tess of D'Urberville: