About 19th Century England & Literature

In 19th century England, if we take a look at a historical process, first of all, Queen Victoria, who is on the throne in England, is the ruler who made this period be called with her own name. It can be said that there is a relationship that goes in the opposite direction when a female ruler rules the kingdom for a long period of time, but the social status given to women and the limits that can be considered absurd are set. The Victorian era is well-known for its hierarchical social structure. Class divisions were prevalent in Victorian period. 

“The association of “laborer” or “working class” with the extremes of poverty in many published accounts of the urban scene throughout the second half of the century meant that any social group below the level of lower-middle class raised the specter of the urban “residuum” for those in the mainstream culture. “(Whelan)

In the light of these and similar developments and cultural norms, we can continue to look at the cultural development of England with very catchy works. 

Nineteenth century English literature is full of rich works. In addition to being so, it has developed both culturally and socially around various themes. Of course, it would not go without saying that in this historical period, English literature witnessed various events such as embracing various literary movements and works that led to various discussions, and sometimes punishing works and authors that were seen as 'different' (examples such as censors and writers' personal lives being the subject of lawsuits). In order to understand the period, we must first look at the literary movements, dominant literary line.

“The literature of this era was preceded by romanticism and was followed by modernism or realism. Hence, it can also be called a fusion of romantic and realist style of writing.”("Characteristics Of Victorian Era Literature, Novels And Poetry")

If we talk about the characteristic features of the novel genre (as I will give an example from a novel in the continuation of the essay), it is briefly defined as follows:

“Victorian novels tend to be idealized portraits of difficult lives in which hard work, perseverance, love and luck win out in the end. They were usually inclined towards being of improving nature with a central moral lesson at heart. While this formula was the basis for much of earlier Victorian fiction, the situation became more complex as the century progressed.”("Characteristics Of Victorian Era Literature, Novels And Poetry")

This period is one of the avenues opened for modern literature today, with the thoughts that went in the opposite direction with the realism movement, and the sharp definitions in novels which reflected in the literary works and the genres that can be considered new (for example, we can see the examples of gothic literature).

I would like to continue with one of my favorite novels written during this period. Since Wilde's Portrait of Dorian Gray is one of the leading works in Gothic Literature, I will briefly mention this work in the rest of the essay.

Before moving on to the part about the novel, if we look at what exactly gothic literature aims at, a brief definition might be appropriate:

“Gothic is about generating an exaggerated response in the reader that can be expressed as terror, fear, horror or dread of unexplainable, unknown and supernatural. It focuses both on the darkness outside, as well as, the one inside human soul.”(Irina)

Although Gothic Literature was opposed to the Victorian Era in general, it was subjected to various criticisms as it was seen as 'different' or 'forbidden' in this period, as it actually contained fictional works that questioned the ethical and moral values of individuals. In fact, there are many writers who argue that art should be done only for art and that it does not have any teaching. Wilde, on the other hand, believed that works should not necessarily teach the reader an ethical lesson. I would like to add that his writing style and language is dark, uncanny, surprising in accordance with the aesthetic and gothic themes.

He wrote: “All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.“ ("Wilde's Writings On Trial")

Major themes in Wilde's novel include the meaning and importance of art, the hedonism movement, individuality, and the degradation of morality. The first thing I love about the novel is that the choices of the characters make them different from themselves, and that every event has a consequence. For example, Dorian's wish for youth and beauty is somehow cursed, but eventually this desire is reversed.

As a result, this period not only hosted very important works for literature but also led individuals to express themselves more strongly with literature and to show their lifestyles.

Works Cited:

Whelan, Lara Baker. Class, Culture, And Suburban Anxieties In The Victorian Era. 1st ed., Routledge, 2010, p. 47.

Rata, Irina. (2014). An Overview of Gothic Fiction. VII. 104-114,108. 

"Characteristics Of Victorian Era Literature, Novels And Poetry". Victorian Era, 2022, http://victorian-era.org/victorian-era-literature-characteristics.html. Accessed 7 Jan 2022.

"Wilde's Writings On Trial". Famous-Trials.Com, 2022, https://famous-trials.com/wilde/332-writings. Accessed 8 Jan 2022.