Notes on some of the most important victorian novelists, Appunti di Inglese

Scarica Notes on some of the most important victorian novelists e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! PREPARAZIONE VERIFICA INGLESE 2 The Victorian period is also known as the “golden age of the novel” as this particular type of writing becomes increasingly more popular because of its capability to reflect modern society. It is a source of entertainment for the educated middle classes and was usually published in instalments on literary magazines: this created a sense of suspense and anxiety in readers that made the linear story more compelling. The most popular form was the novel of formation that accompanied the main character from childhood to adulthood while portraying the relationship between the individual and society (how he/she finds his/her space and how) shown in a realistic light : injust, double faced but also expressing faith in it's progress . Another big theme was money, in all of its shades (never to mention where the money is from though). The narrator is omniscient so that it can guide morally and analyse psychologically the characters. The themes in the late Victorian period take a turn: the faith in progress is gone, individuals are alienated and their interior world becomes more important than the exterior. Thackeray Like Dickes he started as a journalist becoming popular for the novel Vanity Fair: Becky Sharp, a poor orphan passes as a “respectable” lady in high society but is contrasted with Amelia, a rich and spoiled, but lacking in Becky’ s signature wit and intelligence, lady. The novel is highly critical on society's standards of respectability based purely on money and looks (pretty modern). Charles Dickens LIFE - borninthe south of england, moved to london, father imprisoned for debt (trauma) and charles was sent to work in a factory (truma) - father improved financially and he was sent back to school and became a journalist/parliamentary reporter > newspaper reporter - married Catherine Hogath and after The Pickwick Papers he became a full-time novelist - They embarked for a 5 month lecture tour in the US and nearly 20 years later they separated (same period he started getting paid for public reading) - His last public reading was in London and he suffered from a stroke in 1870 and died the next day. Buried in Westminster abbey CHARACTERISTICS The father of the Victorian novel, he anticipates 20th century fiction themes and language. Most of his novels are set in London, a city he knows particularly well because of his long walks through it. Because of them he is exposed to the variety of people, classes and jobs. He describes all of them, giving them a voice, and consequently creating a description of the modern city (London as the prime example) from the people living in it. His characters are described nearly photographically thanks to his frequent use of repetitions of words and structures, unique adjectives, juxtapositions of images and ideas, hyperbolic and ironic remarks (complex language because of his influence from different sources that go from children's stories to the Bible). He isn’t afraid to shine on the less refined parts of the capital, in fact he raises awareness and explicitly criticizes all of the injustices (poor life conditions, greed and hypocrisy of the rich).His comedy comes from the mixture of language patterns but he is also suro to celebrate the overall energy of the city. LITERARY PRODUCTIONS The Pickwick Papers + humorous stories of eccentrics meeting to tell eachother their adventure Oliver Twist + adventure story Barnaby Rudge > historical novel David Coperfield / Hard times > autobiographical A Christmas Carol > short story Great Expectation> revisitation of David Coperfield and condemnation of Victorian society Bleak House / Little Dorrit / Our Mutual Friend > nightmarish London, compinating diff. plots, genres and moods Mystery of Edwin Drood + lasy & unfinished is the 1° detective story [ANE EYRE Jane is an orphan who lives with her relatives, but is despised by her aunt who sends her to boarding school to Lowood. Here Jane is really unhappy and the only source of relief, her only friend in the boarding school, dies of consumption. Jane, later in life, becomes a teacher and a governess to a young french girl called Adèle who lives under the protection of Mr Rochester (a mysterious but attractive man to Jane) in Thornfield Hall. In this building Jane feels happy in the company of everyone, the only strange thing is that she keeps hearing laughing from the attic. One night Jane saves Mr Rochester from a fire happening in his bedroom and shortly after he declares his love to her and they set a wedding. Such celebration got interrupted by a man claiming that Mr Rochester is already married to Bertha, this man's sister, and that he's been hiding her in the attic because she was “mad”. After Rochester explains, confirming the accusation Jane leaves in shock and becomes a teacher in a small village. One night Jane imagines Mr Rochester calling to her and she feels the urge to go back to Thornfield Hall but the place is burned to the ground by Bertha, coinciding with her suicide. Rochester is alive but he has lost his vision, despite that the two reunite and get married. Stylistic features - autobiographical (first-person narration) - against the social norm for women (expression of passion and emotions to describe events) - mixture of novel of formation (we follow the character for all of her life) - andof gothic novel (spooky settings, Bertha, childhood trauma that reveals in the older life of the character) Interpretation The interpretation of Bertha as one of the many “mad” women in literature who when they decide to explore passion and anger they are better hidden. Bertha and Jane are 2 of the same: two sides of the female identity (ex. when jane looks in mirror and sees Bertha) ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON Life - borninscotland, in university he adheres to a Bohemian lifestyle and because of the scotish climate, his bad health and his love for travel he passes a period abroad - he meets his future wife Fanny in France, he passes through California and returned to Europe to settle in the south of england - heleaves with his family and settles in Samoa - hedies while working on Weir of Hermiston Literary production Several short stories, essays and travel pieces An Inland Voyage - canoe tour through France and Belgium Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes - tour in France with his donkey Treasure Island - first novel The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde - short novel Kidnapped/Catriona/The Master of Ballantrae - scothish romances THE STRANGE CASE OF DR: JEKYLL AND MR HYDE Plot The novel begins with two characters: Mr. Utterson, a lawyer, and his friend, Mr. Enfield going for a walk. They stroll past a door, which somehow prompts Mr. Enfield to tell a sad and eerie story: a brute of a man knocking down a little girl without hesitation or remorse, being rightfully yelled at by everyone, offered to pay a lot of money as a response. He then disappeared through the door, only to return with a large check drawn from Dr. Jekyll°s bank account. Who is this nasty man you may ask yourself? None other than Mr. Hyde. The book proceeds and we later get to know that Mr. Utterson is Dr. Jekyll°s lawyer, and we also find out that, in the event of Dr. Jekyll's death or disappearance, his entire estate is to be turned over to Mr. Hyde. Mr. Utterson, who thinks highly of Dr. Jekyll, is extremely suspicious of this whole arrangement. He resolves to get to the bottom of this mystery. He hunts down Mr. Hyde and is suitably impressed with the evil oozing out of his pores. He then asks Dr. Jekyll about these odd arrangements who refuses to comment.Fast forward to "nearly a year later" the news is, a prominent politician is brutally beaten to death. Such murder is conveniently witnessed by a maid, who points to evil-oozing Mr. Hyde as the culprit. Everyone tries to hunt down the killer, but with no success. Meanwhile, Dr. Jekyll is in great health and spirits; he entertains his friends (among them one Dr. Lanyon), gives dinner parties, and attends to his religious duties.Two months later, both Dr. Lanyon and Dr. Jeky]l fall terribly ill, and claim to have irrevocably quarreled with each other. Dr. Lanyon dies, leaving mysterious documents in Mr. Utterson’s possession, to be opened only if Dr. Jekyll dies or disappears. Dr. Jekyll remains in seclusion, despite frequent visits from Mr. Utterson. Finally, one evening, Dr. Jekyll's butler visits Mr. Utterson's home as he's getting extremely worried about his master and is convinced of foul play. The butler persuades Mr. Utterson to return to Dr. Jekyll's house, where they break into his laboratory. They find the infamous killer, Mr. Hyde, dead on the floor, with Dr. Jekyll nowhere to be found. Mr. Utterson finds other several documents left to him, and goes back home to read both Mr. Lanyon’s narrative and Dr. Jekyll's narrative, which, turns out, are two parts of the same story. Features and Themes - gothic aspect because it came from a dream - different point of views like a trial with a final confession - oppression of the instincts to socially conform - the double, we all may have a potential evil side to us - during Darwin's theory of evolution so 1. physical aspects like stature have a moral connotation and 2. man has a primordial side