THE VICTORIAN AGE NOVEL

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THE VICTORIAN AGE NOVEL

• THEMES
• SETTINGS
• NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES
• ANTIVICTORIAN REACTION
• SOURCES

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THEMES

• CLASS One of the main themes is class, through
  the opposition between different social classes.
  (ex Oliver twist, the difference between the
  children and the masters.)
• MIDDLE CLASS FAMILY an example of this theme is
  in Vanity Fairs chapter II, with Amelia Sedleys
  personality.
• EDUCATION education of children is important in
  many novels, in Dickenss Nicholas Nickleby this
  theme is central.

3
SETTING

• Victorian novels are set in the city. The new
  born industrial towns are often described by
  Victorian novellists. The main novel set in
  factories is of course Hard Times by Dickens.
• Schools and Workhouses another important setting
  deal with the world of children. Oliver Twist and
  Nickolas Nickelby are some examples.

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NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES

• PATHOS Exageration of situation and emotion,
  its conveied through the use of children or
  through extreme poverty.
• GROTESQUE Make a tragic situation funny. It uses
  hyperbolic language to convey this feeling.
• IRONY
• CARICATURE Characters are a parody of true
  people. Novellists used this kind of
  characterization so that their readers could not
  identify with them. The high class readers
  wouldnt feel guilty.

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THE ANTIVICTORIAN NOVEL

• Thomas Hardys Jude the Obscure is an example of
  the antivictorian reaction.
• The difference between this new kind of novel and
  the traditional victorian novel is evident just
  considering the plot.
• Another important difference is based on the
  characterization of the protagonist, wich is not
  an hero anymore, but a more modern and complex
  character.
• Society is still cristicized but in a less hidden
  way.

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SOURCES

• Charles Dickens
• Hard times
• Oliver Twist
• Nickolas Nickelby
• William Makepeace Thackeray
• Vanity Fair
• Thomas Hardy
• - Jude the Obscure