Austen, Dickens, Whitman, Stevenson, Wilde

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Novels (Austen, Dickens, Whitman, Stevenson, Wilde)

Walter Scott (1771 – 1832). He wrote historical novels (realistic historical backgrounds), he opened up the movements of History. His works talked about revolutions and social transformations, his characters are forced to accept their time, which changes.
Gothic novel: it’s set in haunted castles, wild landscapes (sublime concept), connected with Medieval time. It deals with macabre and fantastic.

Jane Austen (Steventon 1775 – Winchester 1817). She was educated by her father, who passed her the Augustan taste. In 1805 her father died, her brother had inherited all, so she, her mother and sister were forced to move to Southampton. She published Sense and Sensibility in 1811 and Pride and Prejudice in 1813. In 1817 she became ill and she died.
Even if love is the main theme of her novels, in them there’re no fits, no outbursts (slanci, impeti) of passion, no free expression of feelings, but restrained (contenute), measured emotions, which link her to the age of rationalism, rather than to the age of romanticism. In this sense Marianne is an exception, because she gives vent (sfoga) to her emotions.
Sense and Sensibility: A plot similar to her life. Main characters: Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, when their father died, they, their mother and young sister were forced to live in a cottage. Elinoir has become attracted to Mrs John Dashwood’s brother, Edward Ferras, but they remained distant. Marianne in the country fell in love with John Willoughby, a penniless man, who seems to reciprocate her feelings. But later she discovered that he has become engaged, the same for Edward, but the difference is that Elinor conceals her grief (nasconde il dolore), instead Marianne fell in despair. In the end Edward being free by his engagement and he married Elinor, Marianne accepted the proposal of Colonel Brandon. Themes: 1. social theme, women couldn’t inherit nothing 2. psychological theme, the happiness of these women depends on their ability to choose well their husbands, the problem of knowledge because how can they know people well?
At the beginning of the novel Sense identifies Elinor, the rational girl, instead Sensibility is linked to Marianne, at the end there’s a reversal: Marianne follows a typical fashion of time, to follow her instincts to be never disappointed, but for Austen this is only a convention, so now she is the Sense. Elinor uses her power of intuition, demonstrating a real Sensibility, in order to find happiness, she trust in her feelings despite all evidence were adverse.
Austen is a narrator in 3rd person, omniscient and intrusive because she often comment the plot, saying what characters couldn’t know (as the Willoughby’s bad intentions).

Victorian compromise: it’s the hypocritical social attitudes to think that it’s all right, ignoring the extreme poverty in that period, is reality and appearance because the wellbeing (benessere) for few people cause a terrible life for a lot of people. In 1829 were taken measures to improve pauper’s life because they could extended epidemics to rich people, and they could be a real threat. Poor weren’t a victim of circumstances, but criminals and a nuisance, a bother (scocciatura, disturbo), poverty was a moral problem, not a social problem. This idea is an heritage of the Puritan thought, they believed that they’re beloved by God and the others were neglected. Woman was the angel at home, she had a domestic role, but if some women do something wrong they’re condemned to be prostitutes (fallen women), this is an hypocritical vision because men could have mistresses (amanti), with no damage to their reputation. It’s evident in childhood too because the child of middle classes represent the innocence, but children in the streets (mudlants = allodole del fango) are exploited and used in mines. Victorian compromise is two sides of the same coin: it’s a innovative and a wealth period for few people, but a lot of people were poor and disperate.
Victiorian Novel: the novel during this period became the main source of entertainment for the middle classes and in this century novelists published their works in instalments in magazines, to create a sense of expectation in readers, so linearity became very important: beginning, middle and end. The Bildungsroman (novel of formation) was one of the most famous genre, it describes the protagonist’s life, from infancy to adulthood (as David Copperfield), also these novels stressed the rapport between the characters with society, the relation of the individual to society. The omniscient narrator is typical, even money, often the protagonist from a poor situation, makes money, becoming rich and so happy.

Charles Dickens (Portsmouth 1812 – 1870). When his family moved to London, his father was imprisoned, so he must go to work in a blacking factory (lucido da scarpe), this will influence him. After he returned to school becoming a journalist, starting to publish his novels in instalments. This creates expectation, for this reason his books are full of climaxes and unexpected events when the narrative were interrupted. So even if he wants to be realistic, his books are often improbable and far-fetched (inverosimili).
He’s the most representative literally figure of this age. For him are important both, characters and the city. He’s called the writer of London because most of his novels are set in London, he celebrates the energy of the city, but also he critics the pauper’s appalling life condition. He describes the whole panorama of social classes, he wants to represent the reality so he mixed a lot of different speeches patterns (different uses of languages, as cockney = London’s vernacular).
Two period: 1. optimistic, he had hopes in industrialization, in technological improvement. Titles are most names→life of someone with happy ending. Oliver Twist, David Copperfield (autobiographical) 2. dark and pessimistic, he understands the Victorian compromise, that industrialization couldn’t afford happiness to everybody. Titles are sad, we understand the mood of the work. Great Expectations, Hard Times.
Hard Times (1854): Set in a fictitious city, Coketown (coke is a type of coal), inspired by Preston, industrial town in north England (full of coal mines, Black country). The teacher Thomas Gradgrind, a practical man, who believes only in facts and figures (fatti e cifre), suppresses imagination and creativity to his children Tom and Louisa, even at school. Sissy Jupe is one of his students, a very creative girl, the circus worker’s daughter (circus is in contrast with Gradgrind’s disciplinarian philosophy). Louisa marries a factory owner only for his brother, who works for him, and for her father’s wishes. But she’s unhappy and when Harthouse tries to seduce her, she goes to her father. Gradgrind understands that his rational world is wrong. Louisa divorces and Tom is forced to leave the country because he robbed his employer (datore di lavoro).
He uses the sense of humour. The environment is symbol of the type of life it represents, Coketown is the typical monotonous industrial town (in contrast with Wordsworth’s London), but also the portrait of poverty of working classes. His descriptions trace the connections between the different social sectors and classes, as in the last verses of Coketown (Victorian compromise, Coketown’s inhabitants work as slaves to provide the good life to those who can afford it, but they don’t think about the living conditions of the people who produce their luxury goods. His works are pleasure to read, with characters vivid, but everything is exaggerated and difficult to believe in it.
Gradgrind is based on the Utilitarian’s ideas, it was a doctrine based on utility measured by the extent to which it promoted the material happiness for the greatest number of people. It promoted a passive knowledge and not a creating reasoning.

Dead Poets Society: Keating’s unorthodox teaching methods are seen as a threat by the conservative Welton (pun: Hellton) because he upsets (svonvolge) the rigid discipline, students are encouraged to think, to use imagination, he encourages to the free express of the individual.

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood: formed in 1848, inspired by Keats and Ruskin, a group of poets and painters (Rossetti, Morris, Burne-Jones), who wants to return to the aesthetic values of the Italian painters before Raphael, he lacks of spontaneity. They want to be closer with nature and less artificial. They painted nature in all of its beauty with a strong feeling of sensuality, they recovered medieval legends and religion (mysticism). They anticipated the Aesthetic movement, whose motto was “art for art’s sake”.

In 19th century Americans try to produce an autonomous literally form, free from the English literature influence. So as a reaction, considering that in England the dominant literally form was the novel, in America we have a great poetic production. Dickens vs Whitman: the poet of London, industrialization cities vs poet of vastness and purity of the American landscapes.
Walt Whitman (NY 1819 – New Jersey 1892). He was a writer and editor for magazines. He produced Leaves of Grass, a collection which appearing in nine edition. He saw the wounded and dying soldiers of Civil War, this experience led him to publish Drum Taps (1865) and a Sequel, with the famous elegy to Abraham Lincoln (Oh Captain, my Captain).
Whitman’s poetry was conceived (concepita) as one unending journey down the open read of America, he wanted to encompass the full range of the American experience and to become the spokesman (portavoce) of its multifaced reality, characterised by the travel in this huge territories, road is symbol of freedom, road – travel – conquest. For this Leaves of Grass can be consider as an ever-expanding work in progress, because American people and language change rapidly (full of many influences, immigration and vastness of space) so he must always integrate his collection. He was democratic and progressive, in his poetry there’s the idea of the travel, of living life as a spiritual vagabond. He believed in a morality of actually living, not of salvation, we have a life, we must live it, not save it. The place of the soul is the world, the discovery of the world, so the open road.
Song of Myself: he followed the linguistic changes of Americans, using new words and linguistic combinations, for him American language was a flexible, mobile and perpetually mutating entity. He used free verse, creating the illusion of a colloquial speech, but the poem is very lyrical and solemn. In this poem he tries to include in himself all faces of common humanity.

Robert Louis Stevenson (Edinburgh 1850 – Samoa 1894). For health reason he preferred to study Law than engineering, but in 1875 he wanted to be a professional writer, he had a Bohemian lifestyle (rule-breaking, he refused social rules). He travelled a lot for his bad health, he married Fanny Osbourne, during his journeys he published travel pieces, short stories and essays. In 1883 published Treasure Island and in 1886 The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: set in a London, very similar to Edinburgh, which is divided in two sides: the new town, very regular and the old town, with small streets, mysterious and grim (cupa). Dr Jekyll, a physician, believing in a duality in human nature (good and evil) creates a drug that can divided these parts, liberating his evil side called Mr Hyde. The potion takes over Jekyll’s life and he couldn’t restore his civilised part. Hyde is pure evil, he gratuitously murders a man, so the only solution is to kill Hyde and so himself too.
There are several narrators along the story: the lawyer Utterson, his relative Dr Lanyon and finally Dr Jekyll. The first part is deduction, the second truth. The story goes to a deep level of self-examination, because Jekyll, becoming evil, is happy, satisfied to commit all the crimes he wants→ Stevenson thought human is bad→disquieting (inquietante) aspect, this is an influence by his Calvinist upbringing (education). Dr Jekyll describes the transformation as an innocent freedom of the soul, as his civilised part was a prison. Influenced also by Darwin’s theory of evolution, he tried to compare the problem of man’s primordial animal side, which Victorians feared, may still be present inside the civilised self.
In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde the realisation of Hyde, the savage, primal side of Dr Jekyll’s nature eventually leads to the virtual annulling of his civilize side. The implication is that a controlled, contained outlet (sfogo) is necessary for primal instincts if there are not to overwhelm (sopraffare).
We can link this plot to Faustus, because both knew what were the consequences, Faustus in the name of knowledge and Jekyll in name of science, they’re curious, they wanted to go beyond limits. They’re unrepentant sinner.

Oscar Wilde (Dublin 1854 – Paris 1900). He graduated in classical studies, than he became familiar with Aesthetic works, whom he was influenced. His life and art are very closely linked. After travelling in Italy and Greece, he set in London, where he became a popular dandy (very elegant and refined man), he charmed with his wit conversations. He’s the spokesman of Art for art’s sake (art is self-enclosed). He wrote poems, essays, novels and comedies. In 1891 he published The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde was convicted for homosexual acts and went to prison, after these period he went to France, where he lived with a false name. He was also influenced by Baudelaire.
The Picture of Dorian Gray: Basil Hallward paints a portrait to Dorian, when he sees it he realizes his own beauty, influenced by Lord Henry (amoral aesthete), Dorian expresses a wish: to remain young and beautiful and to pass the signs of age and vice to the portrait. This will be real. When Dorian rejects Sybil Vane, an actress, on the face of the picture appears an expression of cruelty. He tries to resolve with her, but she kills herself. Under the Lord Henry’s bad influence, Dorian lives a corrupted and wicked life, all signed by the portrait. To hide his secret, Dorian is obliged to kill several people, but now he realises what horror he does. He destroys the portrait, killing himself too. The portrait restores to its original image while real Dorian’s features becomes those of a disgusting old man. Also Dorian is an unrepentant sinner.
Dorian realised the extend of his crimes only when he looked the portrait, not through his conscience, so we can consider the portrait as a mute character, the portrait becomes the mirror of Dorian’s soul and the split between appearance and reality is the centre of the novel.
Edward Hyde: he sees himself in the mirror, he feels free and younger, he thinks he’s repugnant. He’s worried about the past because when he’s Jekyll he feels his soul in a prison. Dorian Gray: he sees himself in the portrait, he feels beautiful (Narcissus’s myth). He’s worried about the future because he doesn’t want to be old and loose his beauty. Common: the reaction of the first time they see themselves, they feel amazed and satisfied. The worry.

Genesis and Catastrophe: Klara has just delivered her fourth baby, she’s very anxious about his health. The doctor tries to calm the woman and the reader takes side with her and hopes that the baby will survive. But when the reader knows the woman’s surname, he has a psychological twist, in line 23 and 31/32 we understand that the baby is Adolf Hitler. The reader feels shocked, amazed and bewildered, he doesn’t know if he wants that baby survives or not. The title means, Genesis represents the born of the child, Adolf, and Catastrophe, that in the future this baby will be a monster, so is a symbol of union of opposite. His weakness is stressed to create a contrast with the horrible man, who will be in the future. Last mother’s prayer is in contrast with reader’s feelings, because the reader doesn’t want that baby survives and it’s paradoxical asks to God merciful for this baby. Surely we can think that the father’s behaviour could influence the baby’s growth, he was a drunkard and bullying.