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Victorian Novels: Pre- and Post-Darwin

The Victorian period saw the rise of the novel as a popular genre that represented the values of the time. Novels were often published serially in magazines, building anticipation in readers. A common genre was the Bildungsroman, tracing a protagonist's life from childhood to adulthood, like Jane Eyre and David Copperfield. Victorian novels are typically divided into two groups - those before and after Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution. Before Darwin, novels criticized society but maintained optimism, like Dickens' works. After Darwin, novels reflected a crisis of religious and moral values as his ideas challenged Victorian beliefs, leading writers to question societal norms and express disillusionment.

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219 views2 pages

Victorian Novels: Pre- and Post-Darwin

The Victorian period saw the rise of the novel as a popular genre that represented the values of the time. Novels were often published serially in magazines, building anticipation in readers. A common genre was the Bildungsroman, tracing a protagonist's life from childhood to adulthood, like Jane Eyre and David Copperfield. Victorian novels are typically divided into two groups - those before and after Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution. Before Darwin, novels criticized society but maintained optimism, like Dickens' works. After Darwin, novels reflected a crisis of religious and moral values as his ideas challenged Victorian beliefs, leading writers to question societal norms and express disillusionment.

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giulia
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The Victorian Literature.

In some senses the Victorian period can be considered the golden age of the novel. Novel is
the best genre that represents the characteristic and the values of the time, in fact it reflects
the increasing complexity of the modern world.
19-th century novelists frequently published their work in instalments, magazine or
periodicals. This form of publication created a certain type of expectation in readers, who
awaited the following instalment, anxious to find out what is happened next in the story.
One of the most popular genres was the Bildungsroman (the novel of formation) which
traced the life of the protagonist from infancy to the early adulthood. Jane Eyre, and Dickens’
David Copperfield and Great Expectations are the most famous example. This authors felt a
social and moral responsibility to portray society in a realistic way, denouncing its injustices
and iniquities, but also expressing their faith in progress. There are lots of novels dealing on
colonialism (Jungle Books), and they justified the position of Britain.
The narrator of the Victorian novel is typically omniscient, serving both as a moral guide and
as instrument for analysing the psychology of the characters.
Victorian novels can more or less be divided into 2 groups – before and after Darwin:

1) In the first half of the age writers criticised society, the evils of the time, but they share
with their readers optimism and faith in progress: so at the beginning there was a positive
attitude to life. Dickens is probably the most representative literary figure of the whole
Victorian age. The course of his development as an artist closely mirrors the history of the
period. His characters give voice to the whole panorama of social classes and professions,
which were emerging in the modern city. But as well as celebrating the energy of the city,
Dickens is also critical of certain aspects of the “Victorian compromise” such as the greed
and hypocrisy of the rich, absurd bureaucracy, and indifference to the problems of the
poor.
2) The novels after Darwin and the scientific discovers are representative of a growing
crisis in the moral and religious values, which formed the base of Victorian ideas about
society. Writers started questioning the values of the time, the moral and religious code.
This important scientific progress/discovery that shoot their beliefs led also to
pessimism, disillusionment and rebellion : now writers wants to change the world.

“We usually divided Victorian novels into two groups-before and after Darwin”
We divided Victorian novels into two groups, before and after Darwin, because the English
naturalist with his revolutionary theory shocked people and changed their ideas and beliefs.
Before Darwin, writers criticised society, the evils of the time, but they share with their
readers optimism and faith in progress: so at the beginning there was a positive attitude to
life. Dickens is probably the most representative literary figure of this period in fact he is
critical of certain aspects of the “Victorian compromise” such as the greed and hypocrisy of
the rich, crime and corruption. The novels after Darwin and the scientific discovers are
representative of a growing crisis in the moral and religious values, which formed the base of
Victorian ideas about society. Writers started questioning the values of the time, the moral
and religious code. This important scientific progress/discovery that shook their beliefs led
also to pessimism, disillusionment and rebellion : now writers wants to change the world

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