CLASSICAL NOVEL

BS ENGLISH
(4-Year Program)

Course Code: 9058 Units: 1–9

Department of English
Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY
ISLAMABAD
 All rights reserved with the publisher

First Edition...................................... 2021

Quantity............................................ 1000

Price ................................................. Rs.

Typeset by ........................................ M. Hameed Zahid

Printing Incharge .............................. Dr. Sarmad Iqbal

Printer .............................................. AIOU-Printing Press, Sector H-8, Islamabad

Publisher .......................................... Allama Iqbal Open University, H-8, Islamabad

ii
 COURSE TEAM

Chairman of the Course Team: Dr Malik Ajmal Gulzar

Course Development Coordinator: Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

Writers: 1. Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

2. Prof. Ambreena Qayyum
3. Dr Zia Ullah
4. Dr Wajid Hussain

Reviewers: 1. Prof. Dr Nadeem Haider Bukhari

2. Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

Formatted / Layout by: Mr Muhammad Hameed

Editor: Mr Fazal Karim

iii
 FOREWORD

The BS English study guides aim to include all possible queries that students may
have and gently stimulate their intellect to probe into further questions. The courses
intend at professional development of the students in various disciplines of
linguistics and literature using versatile methods adopted by course writers, while
writing the units. The topics and ideas presented in each unit are clear and relevant.
Owing, to the same reason, the text is comprehensive and accessible to students
having no prior knowledge of linguistics and literature.

The BS English study guides are a powerful tool even for BS English tutors
teaching in various regions, focusing upon a uniform scheme of studies for all the
courses. Also, these courses will help tutors by providing adequate teaching
material for independent teaching. All study guides strictly follow the standardized
nine-unit sub-division of the course content for optimum understanding. The short
introduction at the beginning provides an overview of the units followed by
achievable learning objectives. The study guides also define difficult terms in the
text and guide the students for accessible learning. The units are finally summed up
in summary points and the assessment questions not only guide students, but also
help to revise the content developed upon previously formed concepts. Moreover,
they provide links and a list of the suggested readings for further inquiry.

In the end, I am happy to extend my gratitude to the course team chairman, course
development coordinator, unit-writers, reviewers, editors and typesetter for the
development of the course. Any suggestions for the improvement in the
programme/courses will be fondly welcomed by the Department of English.

Prof Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum

Vice Chancellor

iv
 INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

‘Classical novel’ (Course Code: 9058) is one of the core topics in the field of
literature at BS English level. It is not only an introduction to the genre of the novel
but is a kind of a survey course to the emergence, rise and growth of the Englis h
novel during the 17th and 18th centuries. Staring with the very concept of story-
telling in ancient times, the module comes up with a number of related topics such
as the antecedents of the novel, the features of early English novel, and the works
and contributions of pioneer English novelists. The course-book further introduces
a total of six novels written by classical English novelists.

With this kind of rich contents, it is hoped, the module will provide a solid
foundation to the students of BS English program for enhancing their insight of the
field of English novel. The following is the distribution of the units in the present
module:

Unit-1: Introduces the novel as an important genre in English literature. It further

provides points for highlighting the immediate antecedents of the novel
and highlights the features of fictional prose which started emerging
during the 16th century.

Unit-2: Provides an in-depth introduction to the novel as literary genre and defines
various aspects of the novel including the fundamental elements of the
novel such as plot ingredients, possible narrative techniques (point of
view), the art of characterization, setting and scene, themes, scope and
dimension, and myth and symbolism.

Unit-3: Summarizes the history of the development of the English novel by

surveying the story of the rise and emergence of the novel in Englis h
during 18th and 19th centuries, and by pinpointing the works and
contribution of pioneer English novelists.

Unit-4: Presents ‘Joseph Andrew’ by Henry Fielding as the one of the first novels
of English by discussing the theory of novel by Fielding and his critic is m
on the contemporary English society.

Unit-5: Highlights ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen as one of the mostly read
novels of English by discussing her theory of novel and by summarizing
the main events of the story as her master piece.

v
Unit-6: Discusses various features of Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ as her
masterpiece by highlighting the traits of her literary works and by looking
at the biographical elements in the story.

Unit-7: Defines ‘The Mill on the Floss’ by George Eliot as a novel of

extraordinary repute by visiting the major themes of the novel and by
discussing the plot of the story.

Unit-8: Deals mainly with various aspects of ‘David Copperfield’ by Charles

Dickens by relating the main events of the novel and by looking at the
autobiographical elements in the story.

Unit-9: Highlights ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’ by Thomas Hardy as a

comprehensive novel by discussing the impact of industrial revolution on
English society as depicted in the novel and by analyzing the techniques
of Hardy as a novelist.

This is a book mainly written for the students of BS English at Allama Iqbal Open
University. The book, however, also caters for the needs of any university in
Pakistan offering the topic (Classical Novel) at undergraduate level. It is also
relevant for a course on introduction to the novel and is equally effective for
teachers teaching English literature at school and college levels.

The step-by-step approach used in the book is designed to introduce the

fundamental aspects of the novel as a literary genre to the students with no or little
background of the subject area. Accordingly, it is hoped that the students would
find some interest in the topic towards the end of the course and would explore it
for their major research in future.

Happy reading!

Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

Assistant Professor of English
Course Coordinator

vi
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

All praise to ALLAH (SWT), we finally made our way to formulate a long thought
concept into the shape of a book. A number of people were instrumental in making
it a reality. The undersigned would like to express his gratitude to:
• Prof Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum, Vice Chancellor, Allama Iqbal Open Univers ity,
Islamabad for showing his trust and confidence in the faculty of Englis h
Department by allowing us the launch of four-year BS English degree
programme of which the present course is a part.

• Prof Dr Hassan Raza, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
at AIOU Islamabad, for his very kind support and guidelines during the
launch of the programme and the process of developing materials includ ing
this course book.

• The members of the Committee-of-Courses (CoC) of English Department

including Prof Dr Nadeem Haider Bukhari (UoAJK), Prof Dr Rafique Ahmed
Memon (UoSindh), Prof Dr Saiqa Imtiaz (BZU), and Prof Dr Munazza Yaqub
(IIUI) for their suggestions and recommendations.

• Dr Malik Ajmal Gulzar, Chairman Department of English for his support and
suggestions during the write-up of this course.

Special thanks to my wonderful co-authors and reviewers who have been very
patient with my queries and, at times, enquiries during the development of the
course - for their great work and valuable suggestions. They include:
• Prof Dr Nadeem Haider Bukhari, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,
Muzaffarabad, AJK.

• Prof Ambreena Qayyum, National University of Modern Languages,

Islamabad.

• Dr Zia Ullah, Shaheed BB University, Sheringal, Dir Upper.

• Dr Wajid Ali, SZABIST, Islamabad.

vii
My thanks are also due to Dr Zahid Majeed (Director APCP) and Mr. Fazal Karim
(Editor at APCP) and the very cooperative staff at PPU AIOU Islamabad.

The remaining shortcomings in the course are my own and any suggestions for the
improvement of the course would be wholeheartedly welcome and the same will
be incorporated in its subsequent revision.

Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

Assistant Professor of English
Course Coordinator

viii
 CONTENTS

Page #

Foreword ........................................................................................................... iv

Introduction to the Course................................................................................. v

Acknowledgement ............................................................................................ vii

Unit–1: Introduction to the Novel ................................................................... 1

Unit–2: The Novel as a Literary Genre ........................................................... 19

Unit–3: The rise of the English Novel ............................................................ 37

Unit–4: Joseph Andrews ................................................................................. 61

Unit–5: Pride and Prejudice ............................................................................ 87

Unit–6: Wuthering Heights ............................................................................. 113

Unit–7: The Mill on the Floss ......................................................................... 131

Unit–8: David Copperfield.............................................................................. 157

Unit–9: Test of the D’Urbervilles ................................................................... 175

ix
Unit–1

INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL

Written by: Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

Reviewed by: Prof. Dr Nadeem Haider Bukhari
 CONTENTS

Page #

Introduction ................................................................................. 3

Objectives ................................................................................... 3

1.1 What is a ‘Novel’? .................................................................. 4

1.2 The Origin of the ‘Novel’ .......................................................... 5

1.3 Storytelling and Cultural Traditions ............................................. 6

1.4 The Novel and Other Literary Genres ........................................... 9

1.5 The Origin of the Novel as a Literary Genre .................................. 10

1.6 Early Prose Fiction and the Novel ............................................... 12

1.7 The Antecedents of the Novel .................................................... 14

Summary Points ............................................................................. 18

Self- Assessment Questions ............................................................... 18

Suggested Readings .......................................................................................... 18

2
 INTRODUCTION

The present course is aimed at introducing the ‘novel’ as a literary genre to the
students of BS English focusing on the historical development of English novel as
well as highlighting the rise of the English novel during 17th and 18th centuries. The
module goes on to identify various elements of the novel such as plot,
characterization, setting and scene, narrative method and scope, and introduces
uses, types and styles of the novel. In addition, it familiarizes the students with the
pioneer English novelists and their works and shows the important timeline of the
English novel. While doing so, six classical English novels are specially introduced
in separate units and are thus made part of the reading of the course. These novels
include:
• Joseph Andrews
• David Copperfield
• Pride and Prejudice
• The Mill on the Floss
• Tess of the d’Urbervilles
• Wuthering Heights

As the first unit of this course, the present section is going to introduce the ‘novel’
as an important literary genre and highlight ‘story-telling’ as the background of the
‘novel’ giving examples of story-telling from various traditions and cultures of the
world. The following are the learning objectives of the unit.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• define the ‘novel’ as an important genre in English literature;
• know about storytelling as the background of the ‘novel’;
• understand and distinguish among ‘epic’, ‘prose’ and ‘novel’;
• have an idea about the antecedents of the ‘novel’;
• comment on various aspects of fictional prose in 16th century.

3
1.1 WHAT IS A ‘NOVEL’?

The novel is an important part of literature today. In order to fully understand it as

a genre, the starting point is to define the term ‘novel’ and explore the very nature
of the novel further. The following loose definitions of the term are given at the
outset:
• The Google Online Dictionary describes the novel as a fiction prose narrative
which is of a book length typically depicting characters and actions with
certain level of realism (similar to a kind of real life situation).
• The Shorter Oxford Dictionary considers ‘the novel’ as a fictional prose
narrative of an appropriate length and in which actions and characters are
representative of real life portraying a plot of some complexity.
• The Cambridge English Dictionary describes the novel as a long printed story
about imaginary events and characters.
• The Online Encyclopedia Britannica has defined the novel as fiction prose
narrative of a considerable length and with certain complexity that deals with
human experience imaginatively, normally through a series of connected
events thus involving a group of people in a certain setting.
• Wikipedia says that the novel is a relatively long fiction narrative work written
normally in its prose form and which is published typically in the form of a book.
• Margaret Anne Doody in her book on the history of novel titled as “The True
Story of the Novel” (1996) gives a very broad definition of the novel.
According to her, a novel would be considered a novel if:
o It is a fictional work,
o It is written in a prose form, and,
o It is of an appropriate length.

All of the above definitions focus more or less on the same broader characteristics
of the genre showing that it is a work of fiction written in prose and it is of a
considerable length. In other words, one loose definition of the term “novel”
identifies the “literary genre” as represented or exemplified by works such as the
novels of Jane Austen. However, it should be highlighted that none of the above
definitions is complete for truly defining the ‘novel’ as a literary genre. All of them
might be identifying some aspects of the novel but none of them is comprehens ive.
Defining the novel in its complete sense is a difficult thing as no exact definition is
possible. The problem is that the novel is similar to other related genres in many
ways. For example, the novel is quite similar to ‘short story’, ‘romance’ and even
‘epic’. There are elements of poetry, dramatic monologue, pastoral, satire, history,
elegy and tragedy etc. Moreover, the most commonly used phrase about the ‘novel’
i.e., ‘considerable length’ is even misleading. How much is a ‘considerable’ length

4
is another question. In this sense, it is another difficult task to differentiate between
a full length short story and a small novel or a novelt.

The explanations, given in the above definitions, are still important as these give us
some impression of the term ‘novel’ and we start making sense of the literary genre
called the ‘novel’ from these incomplete definitions. Further, on exploring the term
‘novel’, the origin of the term ‘novel’ is discussed in the next section.

1.2 THE ORIGIN OF THE ‘NOVEL’

The literal meaning of the word ‘novel’ is something ‘new’ and not resembling
something which is already known or used. The term “novel” has been derived from
the Italian word “novella” which means “something new”. The following graph-
line taken from Google.com - online dictionary shows how the word ‘novel’ (the
then ‘novus’), like so many other words, started from Latin and travelled through
Italian and Old French before entering into English:

The origin of the word ‘novel’

This origin- line shows that during the mid-16th century, the word emerged from
Italian novella (or storia) meaning something ‘new’ (or a new story) which was
previously taken from Latin term novellus, in turn taken from novus ‘new’. This
word has also been traced in late Middle English used during the 18th century in
the meaning of “a novelty, or, a piece of news”, taken from Old French novella.

Considering our discussion in Section 1.1 and 1.2 above, we can now confidently
say that the term ‘novel’ literally means something ‘new’ and, by origin, it entered
to English from Latin and Italian via Old French. Moreover, ‘the novel’ as a genre
is a long story which is new with the features similar to that of a short story

5
including a representation of characters, plot, setting, dialogues, and other
ingredients such as climax, conflict and resolution. We will further discuss them
and other features and aspects of the novel in detail in Units 2 and 3.

The novel as a fiction genre is very closely built on the art and skills of storytelling.
If we consider the features of storytelling as a permanent part of the ‘novel’ then it
is something which existed for many centuries in various cultures and civilizatio ns
of the world. In her book, ‘The True Story of the Novel (1996)’, Margaret Anne
Doody explains in the opening lines that ‘the novel’ as a form of literature in the
west with a continuous history of about two thousand years. The next section
explores the aspects of storytelling as an integral part of the novel genre and locate
that into various cultural traditions of the world.

1.3 STORYTELLING AND CULTURAL TRADITIONS

The tradition of oral story-telling is as old as the history of man and his culture.
Experts have traced it back in ancient civilizations and, of course, with differe nt
forms and presentations. This long established tradition of storytelling was used to
entertain, to inform, to promulgate cultural traditions and norms, and to educate
people about religion and morality. Thus storytelling in its basic oral format being
universal was found everywhere and this practice of storytelling has been reported
in ancient times. Even before there was writing there was storytelling in human
history. The forms and presentations of storytelling were, of course, different and
included voice (oral), gestures, songs and many other forms such as dance and
symbols. Major examples of these stories were myths, legends, religious stories,
fables, folktales, ballads, prayers, proverbs, fairytales, instructions and many more.

The emergence of the novel as a literary genre is, one way or the other, connected
to the tradition of storytelling found in ancient cultures and religions. There are
critics who have related this trend of storytelling to the stories of prophets and saints
as given in holy books and scriptures. While exploring the history of prose
narrative, Margret Anne Doody (1996) has highlighted the features of Greek fictio n
and has located story-telling popularly existing at the time of Christ.

In our part of the region, we can locate the common history of storytelling in all
geographical parts of the modern day Pakistan and India. Just keep in mind the
history of Qisa-Khwani Bazar, Peshawar. What do you think was the etymology of
the name of this bazar (market) where the caravans set for their trading trips to and
from Central Asian states? Yes, that was the storytelling trends which were at the
back of the popularity of this place. The travelers would sit in groups and listen to
the stories shared by amateur storytellers while sipping the traditional Qahwa of
6
Peshawar. The hundreds years old stories which existed in our regions such as
Arabian Nights, Leila Majnoon, Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnu and others are the tokens
of this very deep storytelling trends in our regions and the rest of the world. If we
explore these trends in the histories of the regions like Egypt, Turkey, Greece,
Rome, Iran as well as Central Asia, Southern Europe, and Northern Africa, we will
find many stories and overall folktales in their local histories and, of course, there
is no exception to it. Storytelling was popular everywhere.

While discussing storytelling at the background of the novel, one should keep in
mind that oral storytelling dated back to ancient communities when writing was not
yet invented. And, even between the oral storytelling and the invention of writing,
humans had forms of storytelling like carving on stones and trees, tattooing on tree-
trunks and creating various forms of symbols on pots and animal skins.

Later on, with the advent of writing system, people started recording stories with
the help of the use of stable and portable media. They started transcribing and
sharing their stories over wide geographical regions. Thus stories were painted,
printed, carved, inked or scratched onto animal skins, wood or bamboo, and even
ivory and other animal bones. These writing materials also included clay tablets,
pottery, stone, skins (parchment), bark cloth, palm-leaf books, silk, canvas, paper,
and other textile materials. More recently, stories have been recorded on digita l
films and are stored electronically in other digital forms such as discs and USBs. In
other words, oral stories continue to be created and improvised by habitual and
amateur storytellers who would not miss any possible occasion to repeat and create
stories for the interest of others and their own. Naturally, popular stories grew into
more popularity and were also committed to human memory and were passed on
from one generation to another. Of course, the human psyche to tell and listen to a
story was a major factor behind the maintenance of the trend of story-telling and
the transmission of the popular stories to the next generations.

Stories existed in all cultures and civilizations of the world. These stories were
related to every important phenomenon and major themes found in their
communities. From religious tales to romances, from tribal wars to sacred battles,
and, from the stories of kings and queens to that of prophets and saints, stories were
found in all respect. The stories of supernatural creatures such as witches,
apparitions, ghosts, phantoms and spirits etc. were very much part of the trend
depending upon their community specific values, thinking patterns and norms.
These stories were not only entertaining but these were also teaching important
aspects of tribal life. These were full of worldly wisdom and were based on all
aspects of meeting everyday needs and necessities. Thus, storytelling was not only

7
an art but was also considered as a symbol of wisdom, a token of elderly traits and
community specific knowledge, and, a character of bravery and honor.

Stories were not only told by males but also by the females of a community. Every
night families would sit down around their hearth and they would listen to their
tribal stories and folklore told by their elderly family members. Such gatherings
were not limited to their family members but were open to extended family and
community members. In various communities, different forms of storytelling
existed. Even the gatherings were community specific. In some communities, male
and female members would sit together but in others their sitting formations were
gender-specifically allowed.

Most of the time, stories were told in a free time such as at evening or at night time.
Storytelling was also liked at day time among other leisure activities. For specific
religious and tribal occasions, such gatherings were planned where stories were told
with special intentions such as for teaching of religion and creating loyalties for
communities and their rulers. This trend was also found in the old history of drama
where such as miracle and mystique plays were arranged ad used for achieving
specific effects among the viewers and listeners of the stories. Dramatizing was
certainly another form of storytelling found in various civilizations such as among
Iranians and Greeks.

There were stories related to health and diseases. In some societies such as India
and China, magical stories based on treatment were supposed to carry
psychological effects curing the listeners from certain diseases and weaknesses. A
very good example in this regard is the ‘story of half-head aching’ where listening
to a certain long story would cure the migraine of a listener. Such stories are and
such trends exist even today and the integral feature of storytelling continues with
the human race despite a lot of progress in medical sciences and psychologica l
investigations.

This storytelling was and is probably one of the richest parts of human society as a
whole. Even today we can find many communities in Africa, Northern America
and other parts of the world where people might not know ‘writing and reading’
but they definitely have an abundance of their stories and other folklores which they
enjoy and carry on with their norms and values. With the advent of ‘writing and
reading’, the nature of storytelling developed to another extent of documenting,
creating, writing and securing their stories for the people of their age to enjoy and
for the future generations to cherish and relish. The next section covers storytelling
in prose form and thus highlights the foundations of the ‘novel’ and compares it
with other forms a literary genre.

8
1.4 THE NOVEL AND OTHER LITERARY GENRES
Among literary genres, experts consider the epic and the novel as very closely
related ones in terms of their human themes and storytelling scope. Many experts
consider the novel and the epic resembling each other in many ways. For example,
Claude Levi-Strauss, Northrop Frye, Ian Watt, Georg Lukacs, and Michael
McKeon have defined ‘the novel’ as a developed form of the epic. Others have
highlighted various differences between these two genres. According to such views,
the epic is the recounting of the larger-than-life events and actions of heroes and
heroic characters whereas the novel is like a kind of newspaper showing everyday
stories of common people from the common society. Thus the idea is that the
characters and actions of the novel are particular individuals and their everyday
actions rather than mythic supernatural elements. In other words, the epic focuses
universal human issues and their eternal conflicts. On the other hand, the novel
describes kind of specific causes and their effects. In other words, the novel may
very much be an epic in its scope, for example, War and Peace by Tolstoy or Les
Miserables by Hugo which deal with grand conflicts such as war and revolution but
it is certainly concerned with smaller and more particular issues and triumphs of
particular and flawed individuals. Another major difference between the epic and
the novel is the form of writing. The epic might be written in poetic form whereas
the novel is supposed to be written in the form of prose fiction. Moreover, the epic,
in its classical form, has gods and goddesses as part of the supernatural machiner y
to assist the heroes in their grand battles but the novel mostly has plain realistic
setting carrying human realism in its specific contexts. It is important to mention
that the form of early ancient Roman novels such as The Golden Ass (by Lucius
Apuleius) and Satyricon (by Petronius) written in the 1st and the 2nd century AD
were different in nature from epic particularly in terms of their heroes and actions.

When the novel was initially introduced in English circles during the 16th and 17th
centuries, it was considered as a kind of modern day short story (or short tale). Later
on, it underwent through a lot of changes and was transformed into a prose narrative
from a short tale having a ‘considerable’ length. This length is now the main
difference between the two. Now, the novel is known as a work of prose fiction
representing some aspects of human life and it is of a book length in size. Remember
that the question of length is an important dimension in the discussion of the novel
thus requiring a ‘considerable’ length. So, a long novel might be comprised of more
than one volume whereas a short novel might be called a ‘novella’.

The old medieval chivalric romances (the word ‘romance’ was taken from
Romanice which means ‘written in vernaculars rather than in classical Latin’) were
more of an epic look. However, the novel written as a prose fiction were differe nt

9
from the medieval chivalric romances. The novel in early Medieval Age were more
like an antiepic genre in nature and included anti-chivalric masterpieces. The heroes
of the novel different from classical or medieval heroes. For example, they were
men unheroic, imperfect, unredeemed and even, at times, absurd. In the novel, there
are heroes who are practitioners, writers, detectives, agents, travelers and they are
of an individual look unlike the nobles of the epic (such as that of Milton’s Paradise
Lost). In other words, the novel is different from medieval chivalric romances in
various ways and at times the novel is very much anti-chivalric.

The novel as a genre attempts to accept those specific burdens and issues of human
life which have no acceptance or place in other genres such as the epic poems or
the chivalric romances. That is why the novel is different from these genres in from
and characters and even in terms of their deeds. However, the element of telling a
story is common to the novel and genres like the short story, the epic and the
chivalric romance. The novel, therefore, is considered closed to them but, of course,
there are certain differences such as the nature of heroes and their deeds and the
classical phrase of ‘considerable length’. Highlighting these differences, we
conclude that the novel is a separate genre and the modern day novel is a prose
fiction which is of a considerable length carrying a realistic picture of human life.
According to Doody (1996), it is the “novel if it is fictional, if it is in prose, and if
it is of a certain length”.

As a last point, we should know that whatever may be the case of the origin of the
novel as a literary genre, it is certainly different from other literary forms such as the
drama, the epic, the romance and the short story. This difference is very much
reflected in the very nature of ‘individualism’ attached to the writing and reading of
the novel. That is another idea attached to the emergence of the novel as a genre in
literature which says that the novel emerged with modern ‘individualism’. This idea
is based on making the sense from how we actually read the novel. One should
remember that the reception of all earlier existing literary genres reinforced
communality; plays (dramas) are watched among others, and poetry (including the
epic) was often sung and read aloud whereas the novel is read and consumed in
privacy and individual solitude. Finally, the novel as form of literature is very much
concerned with the interior lives of common people and individuals and these interior
lives are, at times, at odds with all kinds of their social contexts and circumstances.

1.5 THE ORIGIN OF THE NOVEL AS A LITERARY GENRE

Exploring the geographical origin and chronological history of the novel is another
interesting aspect of our introduction to the genre. Remember that our history of
the novel actually depends on the very definition of the novel genre. Of course, our

10
definition of the novel also depends on our dating of the novel. If we define the
novel in terms of ‘prose fiction’ and in loose terms of storytelling in written form,
we will have to explore it through various forms and versions dating back to the
known history of written literature. Similarly, if we revise our definition of the
novel to the modern day form of the genre, we may be required to revise our dating
of the novel. For our discussion in this section we use ‘prose fiction’ - storytelling
in written form, as our main definition for the genre.

According to Margret Anne Doody (1996), the novel as a kind of literature has a
uninterrupted history of more than 2000 years as early ancient Roman novels such
as The Golden Ass by Apuleius and Satyricon by Petronius were written in the 1st
and 2nd century AD. We have examples of even earlier written novels such as the
Japanese classic ‘The Tale of Genji’ written by Murasaki and before that the Epic
of Gilgamesh (written in 612 BC) which is considered as part of world’s oldest
literature. These classics reflect the earlier versions of the novel as a form of
storytelling existed and experts use them while locating the history of this form of
literature in earlier times.

Doody (1996) has given a detailed history of the novel covering a range of related
topics particularly exploring the early novels which survived through many
centuries and even millennia. According to her, the ‘novel’ predates even the time
of nation-state by many centuries. Further, on the history of the novel, she mainta ins
that the ‘Greek’ and ‘Latin’ tags attached to some of the early novels is mainly
because works in these languages survived whereas in others the case was differe nt.
Thus certain geographical area attached to the origin of the novel is not easily
predictable. For her arguments, she picks up the modern-day geographical positions
of the origin of the early novels and maintains that most of the early novelists hauled
from places other than Greece and Rome. For example, she shows that Apuleius
(the author of The Golden Ass) was born in Algeria, and, Achilles Tatius (who
wrote Leucippe and Clitophon) hailed from the modern day Egypt. Simila r ly,
Chariton (the writer of Callirhoe) was Turkish by origin and Heliodorus (who wrote
Aethiopica) was Syrian. On the basis of her examples, she claims that ‘The Novel
was produced in antiquity by people from non-Greek and non-Roman areas, by
writers who came from the Near East and from Africa’.

According to Doody, the novel, as a genre is the result of many combinations and
contacts together, between ‘Western Asia’, ‘Southern Europe’, and ‘Northern
Africa’ and further regions, such as ‘Syria’, ‘Greece’, ‘Ethiopia’ and ‘Egypt’. These
regions had their influence on the origin of the novel and on the basis of this
possibility we can just assume this combination of both story and style filter ing
through and in from the regions of the Celtic Islands and Balkans in the West, from

11
India and Persia in the East, and, thus from the regions of Kush and Katanga, and
Sudan in the South. She considers the homeland (or the origin) of the
Mediterranean, the Western Novel which she calls a multicultural, multirac ia l,
mixed and multilingual Mediterranean. She considers the kind of this
multiculturalism as the springboard of the novel as a genre. This discussion opens
up a very capacious view of the world at the background of the novel includ ing
many countries and continents contributing towards the origin of the novel.

While it is true that the English novel was introduced in the 16th century which
expanded its popularity in the 17th and the 18th centuries, the novel as a kind of
literature existed much earlier in different countries and continents and, of course,
in different forms. The examples showed above were not in the exact form of the
novel that we have today but these were certainly in the line of early storytelling
which ultimately gave birth to the modern form of the novel. The next section
explores the early forms of the novel in the 16th century.

1.6 EARLY PROSE FICTION AND THE NOVEL

An introduction to the works of early prose fiction is essential part of understanding
the development of the genre of the novel as a literary form. This section is going to
recognize the dominant characteristics of prose fiction as a rich genre in fiction’s early
times. This is going to clarify many aspects of the evolution of prose fiction turning
into the novel from a predominantly oral culture in which prose fiction was understood
as a written ‘speech’ to a literary form in terms of strict literary conventions.

Early classical Greek romances as short novels and somewhat the tales of
adventures mainly recorded as extended anecdotes are considered the examples of
early prose fiction. The Satyricon by Petronius (1st century AD) though survived in
fragments only, is considered as one of the earliest picaresque novels. Another
prose fiction of the time is the classical Roman novel known as the Metamorphoses
(also known as The Golden Ass) by Apuleius (written in 2nd century AD). The
Golden Ass is the mythical story of the Cupid and Psyche with a lot of
psychological subtlety and as an allegory of the soul and a criticism on the Roan
society. These two works are considered as the earlier prose fiction of extraordinar y
beauty. Lady Murasaki’s Japanese classic (known as The Tale of Genji) was
produced around the 10th century AD. Later on, the prose of chivalric romances of
the Middle Ages is also considered as examples of modern novels of tragic love
stories and medieval barbarism and as heroic literature. Le Morte Darthur by Sir
Thomas Malory (written around 1470) is an example in this regard. These novels
obviously included the examples of ancient or renaissance novels.

12
If we turn to the what is known as the western novel, it is undoubtedly a product of
modern civilization but in East Asia, the novel as a genre began as early as the 10th
century AD as part of the history of early prose fiction. In France, the extended
prose fiction of complex interpersonal relations began in the 17th century with The
Princess of Cleves (1678) written by Madame de La Fayette. Subsequently, the 18th
century France and other countries produced a wide range of prose fiction (novels)
leading towards the 19th century which was considered as the golden age of the
novel. Finally, it was recognized towards the end of the 19th century as the more
popular, sentimental, eventful, profound and complex form of literature and the
most common form of literary reading and medium for the interpretation of human
life. The next section explores the antecedents and the background factors of the
novel.

Apart from Malory’s Morte d’Arthur (written in 15th century), Geoffrey Chaucer’s
The Canterbury Tales was written both in verse as well as in prose. From his 24
stories, two stories (the Parson’s Tale and Tale of the Melibeus) were certainly
written in prose from. These were the examples of initial prose fiction. And, even
before Chaucer and Malory, an Italian author, Boccaccio had already initiated
writing in prose in 1350. He wrote his ‘The Decameron’ as a collection of prose
tales and thus provides another example of prose fiction. Maybe for this reason that
Italy is considered as the birth-place of the novel. Geoffrey Chaucer was greatly
influenced from Boccaccio’s storytelling techniques.

Among the 16th century novel trends, we also need to discuss the characteristics of
Spanish literature particularly the features of picaresque novel initially introduced
in the anonymous work of Lazarillo de Tolmes (1554). The Spanish term
‘picaresque’ was derived from ‘picaro’ meaning a ‘rogue’. In such a tale, the hero
is a rascal or rogue who goes on his adventures and leads his life mainly by his
humor and wits. This elements of adventure in the picaresque novel later influe nced
many novelists such as Saul Bellow and Mark Twain.

Aphra Behn (1640-89) was also among the early prose writers who wrote a short
prose in 1688 with the title of ‘Oroonoko’ (also known the History of the Royal
Slave). Behn was influenced by the adventures of knights in classical chivalr ic
romances mainly showing a knight going in pursuit of his ladylove and overcoming
many dangers and difficulties involved. Oroonoko is certainly one of the initia l
examples of English prose fiction. John Bunyan (1628-1688) who was Behn’s
contemporary wrote ‘The Life and Death of Mr. Badman’ (1680) and ‘Pilgr im’s
Progress’ (1678) are also good examples of early narrative writings. Coincidenta lly
all the major elements of the modern day novel including settings, conflicts, and
characters were used by Bunyan to present the journey of his heroes. In these works

13
by Malory, Chaucer, Boccaccio, Behn and Bunyan, one can explore the forerunners
of the novel in terms of genres such as epics, poetry and romances and in terms of
early fiction writers to gather an overview of how the novel got developed and
progressed towards the 17th and the 18th centuries and to appreciate the
foundations of the word ‘novel’ itself.

During the period of 1500-1700, prose fiction in English offered a rich array of
some 200 works which ultimately served as a reason for the appearance of the
realist novel as its leading form. These early works of English prose fiction included
the novels by key writers such as John Bunyan, Thomas Nashe, Aphra Behn and
Sir Philip Sidney. Among early novelists, Defoe, Richardson, Fielding and
Cervantes are also the key names who worked in the novel genre and took it to the
new heights. These writers really defined the ‘English’ novel of the 18th century
(compare with ancient and renaissance novels) and gave new horizons to the genre.
This is discussed with further details in Chapter 3 of the book.

1.7 THE ANTECEDENTS OF THE NOVEL

Exploring the antecedents and the background of the novel, and if storytelling is
considered as one of the factor, we need to trace back it to the world’s oldest epic
i.e., the Epic of Gilgamesh (written in 612 BC). Even before that, the notable Greek
epics ‘The Iliad’ and ‘The Odyssey’ which were produced earlier than that
(in 800-900 BC) were there to be followed as heroic stories and adventures. Greek
epic writers Homer and Virgil had already set the trends, structure and subject
matter which were followed by writers such as John Milton (1608-74) who wrote
the Paradise Lost in the same manner. All these epics were written in verse forms
telling the stories of human adventures and encounters with monsters in battles and
other heroic deeds. Taken their storytelling features into account, these epics are
certainly one of the great antecedents of the novel.

Followed by epics, the chivalric romances which originated initially in France

during the 12th century were introduced. Most of the features of such medieval or
chivalric romances were maintained by the novel. The features of romances which
resembled in the novel were the subject matter of bravery, adventure, courtly love,
honour and the use of magic, enchantment and spells. And, these romances were
not only written in verse but also in prose. Romances in English were initia lly
written in verse form but later on these were also written in prose.

Among the antecedents of the novel, the well-known English romances included
the work of Malory including Morte d’Arthur which he wrote in prose in the 15th

14
century. The work was mainly based on the legend of King Arthur and related
stories such as that of his Knights of the Round Table. Another big name among
the forefathers of English novel is Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) who wrote in
both prose and poetry. His Canterbury Tales was mainly written in verse but two
out of his 24 stories (the Parson’s Tale and the Tale of the Melibeus’) were written
initially in prose form. Chaucer wrote The Knight’s Tale as a romance in the
beginning, however, it was his Troilus and Criseyde (1380) which is known to have
introduced the features of plot and conversation in the poem getting more close to
what were considered subsequently as the characteristics of ‘fiction’. Even before
Malory and Chaucer, a well-known Italian writer, Boccaccio (1313- 1375) had
already started writing in prose around 1350. He produced ‘prose fiction’ of
adventurous in nature among which ‘The Decameron’ is his masterpiece. As
discussed earlier, may be for such reasons, Italy is considered as home to the novel.

Boccaccio’s style of ‘prose fiction’ – storytelling influenced many great Englis h

writers such as Chaucer. Thus romance as a popular genre, and later on, replaced
by burlesque, a chivalric-comic romance, the popular literary forms kept on
changing until the novel took its shape on the literary scene. Cervantes wrote his
famous ‘Don Quixote’ by making fun of the medieval chivalric-comic romances
and by showing knights fighting with dragons and giants to secure ‘damsels in
distress’. Don Quixote, the hero knight, was actually fighting against the windmills
and thus bringing laughter for the readers. This was exactly the time when the
Spanish form of prose fiction namely the picaresque as introduced on the scene.
This form was already in practice in Spain literature which was introduced in
English and among other elements served as the antecedents of the novel. The
anonymous publication of Lazarillo de Tolmes (written in 1554) is a good example
of the picaresque tale. In such a tale, the hero is a rogue going on his adventure and
leading his life by his wits. This form remained very popular even in the 19th and
the 20th centuries.

Among English writers, Aphra Behn who wrote Oroonoko (also known as the
History of the Royal Slave) as a short prose work and John Bunyan (1628-1688)
who published his masterpieces, The Life and Death of Mr. Badman, in 1680 and
The Pilgrim’s Progress in 1678 are worth mentioning. They wrote religio us
allegories and involved the elements of the modern day English novel in terms of
settings, characters, conflicts and themes. The Pilgrim’s Progress is an appropriate
example of a religious work which includes the ideas of repentance, faith, and other
religious themes such as resisting temptation, and, perseverance. Moreover,
Pilgrim’s Progress particularly used the new techniques for storytelling in terms of
the novel with a vivid characterization and recording of dialogue which inspired
many novelists subsequently. All these wonderful works provided foundation to the

15
novel, as a new genre, at the dawn of the 18th century and established a paving way
for its rise and flourishing.

Some authors including Ian Watt usually credit “Daniel Defoe as the author of the
first English novel (Robinson Crusoe which was first published in 1719)”. The
book is the story of a man named Crusoe who spent some 28 years on a deserted
island. However, it is important to note here that the ‘true’ first novel of Englis h
has not yet really been absolutely unanimously determined. Others have talked
about Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels being a series of stories and about one character
and his different experiences. The proponents of the idea that Defoe is the author
of the first English novel maintain that since he explains the stories of the entire life
of his protagonist, Crusoe his is much more likely among the ‘true’ candidates of
the first English novel. There were many other novels written in the succession of
Defoe’s first novel. Samuel Richardson’s Pamela was written in 1740 and it was
followed by a multitude of other books that were obviously termed as novels
subsequently. These included Joseph Andrews written by Henry Fielding and many
others. After these first English novelists became successful, there was a long list
of other authors who would quickly write in the years to come. Most of them were
the world’s most famous and successful novelists who contributed to the art of the
novel as a form of literature. We are going to study a lot of such details in Unit- 3
where the focus of the text is the rise of English novel in 18th century.

SUMMARY POINTS

• The novel is mainly defined as a work of prose fiction in form, of a

considerable length in size, and, realistic in its approach towards human life.

• The novel as a fiction genre is very closely built on the art and skills of
storytelling. If we consider the features of storytelling as a permanent part of
the ‘novel’ then it is something which existed for many centuries in various
cultures and civilizations of the world.

• The emergence of the novel as a literary genre is, one way or the other,
connected to the tradition of storytelling found in ancient cultures and
religions.

• This storytelling was and is probably one of the richest parts of human society
as a whole. Even today we can find many communities around the world
where people might not know ‘reading and writing’ but they definitely know

16
 a lot of their stories and other folklores which they enjoy and carry on with
their norms and values.

• Among literary genres, experts consider the epic and the novel as very closely
related ones in terms of their human themes and storytelling scope.

• The novel as a genre attempts to accept those specific burdens and issues of
human life which have no acceptance or place in other genres such as the epic
poems or the chivalric romances.

• The novel as form of literature is very much concerned with the interior lives
of common people and individuals and these interior lives are, at times, at
odds with all kinds of their social contexts and circumstances.

• The novel has a continuous history of 2000 years as a form of literature as

early ancient Roman novels such as The Golden Ass by Apuleius and
Satyricon by Petronius were written in the 1st and 2nd century AD.

• While it is true that the English novel was introduced in the 16th century
which gained popularity in the 17th and the 18th centuries, the novel as a form
of literature existed much earlier in different countries and continents and in
different forms.

• Early classical Greek romances as short novels and somewhat the tales of
adventures mainly recorded as extended anecdotes are also considered the
examples of early prose fiction.

• These early works of English prose fiction included the novels by key writers
such as John Bunyan, Thomas Nashe, Aphra Behn and Sir Philip Sidney.
Among early novelists, Defoe, Richardson, Fielding and Cervantes are also
the key names who worked in the novel genre and took it to the new heights.

• The antecedents of the novel include the ancient classical Greek and Roman
epics, the chivalric romances, the anti-chivalric comic romances, and various
forms of prose fiction such as burlesque and picaresque stories which
originated from time to time and from place to place and finally reached the
English literature until 15th and 16th centuries which marked the emergence
of the novel and took the genre to its heights during the 18th and the 19th
centuries.

17
 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. Define the novel and compare it with other literary genres.

2. How is the novel different from other genres such as the epic and the romance?

3. How would you differentiate between the novel and the short story?

4. Comment on the art of storytelling in the ancient traditions and civilizations.

5. What are the characteristics of the novel as a prose fiction? How is it differe nt
from other forms of prose fiction such as chivalric romance?

6. Comment on the early forms of the novel as a literary genre. Discuss it in

connection with the ancient classical prose fiction.

7. What do you know about the antecedents of the novel as a form of literature?
Provide a detailed evaluation of the works you read in this unit.

8. Provide a detailed account of the history of the novel by specifically focusing

on the prose fiction of old literature.

9. What do you about the origin of the Picaresque novel? How is it differe nt
from other novels?

10. What features of the novel do you like as a student of English literature?

SUGGESTED READINGS

Burgess, A. (2020, November 5). Novel. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/art/novel

Doody, M. A. (1996). The True Story of the Novel. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers
University Press

Eagleton, T. (2017). The English Novel: An Introduction. Wiley Blackwell

Publishing.

Forster, E.M. (1971). Aspects of the Novel. Middlesex: Penguin Books.

MacKay, M. (2010). The Cambridge Introduction to the Novel. Cambridge: CUP.

Swingwood, A. (1975). The Novel and Revolution. London: Macmillan.

18
Unit–2

THE NOVEL AS A LITERARY GENRE

Written by: Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

Reviewed by: Prof. Dr Nadeem Haider Bukhari

19
 CONTENTS

Page #
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 201

Objectives.......................................................................................................... 21

2.1 Definition and Origin of the Novel as a Literary Genre .......................... 22

2.2 Elements of the Novel.............................................................................. 23

2.2.1 Plot ............................................................................................... 23
2.2.2 Character and Characterization .................................................... 26
2.2.3 Scene and Setting ......................................................................... 27
2.2.4 Point of View and Narrative Method ........................................... 28
2.2.5 Scope, or Dimension .................................................................... 29
2.2.6 Myth, Symbolism, and Significance ............................................ 31
2.2.7 Theme........................................................................................... 32

Summary Points ................................................................................................ 33

Self- Assessment Questions ............................................................................... 35

Suggested Readings .......................................................................................... 36

20
 INTRODUCTION

This unit is dedicated to explore the ‘novel’ as a literary genre in further detail and
introduce the fundamental elements of the novel which are important for the
students to know and comment on while reading a novel. These elements mainly
include; plot, characters, setting, point of view (or narrative method) and scope and
dimension along with myth, symbolism and significance. In addition, the unit also
addresses some of the major styles and spirits used in novels. The major topics
given in the unit include:
• Definition and origin of the novel as a literary genre
• Elements of the novel
• Fundamental aspects of the novel

It is hoped that the unit shapes the understanding of the students regarding the
elements and styles used in novels. The unit is going to expand the concepts of
students regarding their study and evaluation of novel. The following are the
specific learning objectives of the unit.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• know about elements of the ‘novel’ as a literary genre;
• define various types of the ‘novel’;
• understand and distinguish among different styles used in novels;
• have an idea about the fundamental aspects of the ‘novel’;
• comment on various elements, types and styles of novels.

21
2.1 DEFINITION AND ORIGIN OF THE NOVEL AS A
LITERARY GENRE
In Unit-1, we explored few possible definitions of the term ‘novel’ both in its word
sense and also in terms of literary genre. Here in this unit, we are going to explore
it further specifically from literary genre point of view so that we may know it in
detail before jumping into the discussion on the fundamental elements and types of
the novel.

In English circles, the word ‘novel’ underwent a lot of changes including from a
‘tale’ or a ‘short tale’ to a ‘prose narrative of considerable length’ and so on. The
English novel was also somewhat in the form of short story written and shared by
the writers of 16th and 17th centuries and it underwent a lot of changes until 18th
century when it rose to a full fledge literary genre. Now, we know that it is the genre
of ‘prose fiction’ of an approximately book length representing some aspects of the
realities of human life.

Professor J. Paul Hunter, an expert of early English fiction at the University of

Chicago, has contributed to the discussion on the 18th century context from which
the English novel emerged and on the definition of the novel as genre of literature.
He offers a very insightful and useful but very conventional definition of the novel.

According to Hunter, the distinctive characteristics of the novel are:

o Contemporaneity: novels are supposed to have the features of contemporaneity
and these tend not be set in remote times and places.
o Credibility: novels have ingredients such as plots, settings and characters
which operate in believable ways.
o Familiarity: the setting, the context and the overall world presented in a
novel is that of a recognizable everyday world.
o Rejection of traditional plots: unlike some great writers such as Chaucer,
Milton or Shakespeare, novel writers tend not to reuse already existing
stories. They create the ‘novel’ stories of their own.
o Tradition-free language: novelists are supposed to avoid elevated ‘literar y’
diction in favour of everyday common language. Verbosity and heavy diction
is avoided in the novel.
o Individualism: novels focus more on individual or specific subjectivities and
innumerable forms of viewing the world around.

22
o Empathy and vicariousness: novels also invite reader to poster sympathetically
and empathetically the interior and subjective lives of characters.
o Coherence: in novels the narrative element is very important which unites
the whole of the story.
o Inclusiveness, digressiveness, and fragmentation: novels close by tying up
their various loose ends and in between they may also roam around in many
unpredictable ways.
o Self-conscious innovation: in 18th century this was probably one of the main
traits of novelists that they had a very strong sense that they were really doing
something new.

The above definition given by Hunter is very useful for exploration of the novels
included in this course which we will study in larger detail in further units (Units
3–9). Studied this very insightful definition together with our loose definitio ns
given in Unit-1, you will be able to comment on the novels you study and make
sense of the fundamental elements and aspects for them.

We are ending this section with a somewhat deeper understanding of the novel. We
should know it now that the novel is one of the modern genres of literature which
was born along with the modern scientific knowledge and investigative nature of
modern writers as well as readers. The word novel means something ‘new’, ‘modern’
and ‘original’. If applied this sense of the term, it can be easily applied to modern
science fiction such as ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelly written at the start of the
nineteenth century. Another way to understand the true meaning of the term is the
fiction of modern age written with unlimited freedom of creativity. How this
creativity is applied to the stories in novels could be understood when we know the
features and elements of the novel. The elements of novel are the topic of the next
section.

2.2 ELEMENTS OF THE NOVEL

In this unit, we are going to the fundamental elements of the novel as a literary
genre.

2.2.1 Plot
Plot is an important element as it is the series of happenings (related events) that
make up a story in a novel or any other work of literature. With many other possible
patterns, plots are mostly chronological in order which means that they proceed in

23
the order in which events actually happen. In a carefully constructed plot, events in
a story form a pattern, with each incident linked in a cause-and-effect relations hip
with other incidents.

In technical terms, we need to know about various ingredients of plot. They include;
‘exposition’, ‘conflict’, ‘complication (or rising action)’, followed by ‘falling
action’, and, finally, ‘resolution’ (or denouement).

The first part of a plot is called the ‘exposition’ (or background). In this part, the
author introduces the main character or characters, establishes the setting and gives
the background information required for the readers to link them together in the
story. Sometimes, the exposition is achieved through ‘flashbacks’, scenes or
narratives out of the chronological order, and thus, presenting events that happened
before the start of the story.

The ‘conflict’ is the struggle between two (or more) opposing forces in a plot.
Conflict is mainly of the following four types:
• A person against another person (think about a hero and a villain in a story)
• A person against nature
• A person against his society around
• Two opposing elements within an individual (struggling for mastery)

The ‘rising action’ (or complication) is basically the building of tension (or
struggle) between opposing characters or forces. The plot might include many ups
and downs for the hero as part of the conflict and there might be many directions
of the struggle before it is finally resolved.

The ‘climax’ is the part of plot where the story is taking a final, decisive or turning
point and when the action changes its course and begins to resolve itself. The
‘climax’ also means the point of greatest interest and excitement in a story and
where the reader has the most powerful and emotional response.

‘Falling action’ is the step after the ‘climax’ when the problem is being taken to the
‘resolution’ and the ‘conflict’ is being finally decided one way or the another.
‘Falling action’ are the events that lead the ‘climax’ to the end, the ‘resolution’.

Towards the end, in a story, when all questions are usually answered and the clues
are explained, the final stage tells the reader that what happens to the major
characters in the story. This is the stage which is called the ‘resolution’ and the
‘denouement’ – after this French word meaning literally ‘untying’. The ‘clima x’
and the ‘resolution’ may appear very close together and, sometimes, may be

24
separated several chapters apart. Figure 2.1 is going to clarify the idea of a plot and
its various ingredients in the novel or a story.

Figure 2.1: Plot and its ingredients

In other words, the novel is connected through its hundred or thousand pages by
this important device which is known as the plot (or story). The ability to create an
interesting plot is a prerequisite of a novelist to imaginative craft. At the lowest
possible level of a work of fiction, the plot needs to be like a string of stock devices
responsible mainly for arousing emotional and powerful responses in the reader.

It is an important characteristic of a writer to capture the reader’s interest at the very

outset by the promise of dynamic conflicts or frustrations or mysteries that will
eventually be resolved at the time of the resolution in novel. For example, in the
least sophisticated fiction, the knots (of conflict) to be untied are strictly physical,
and the resolution or the denouement often comes in a form of triumphant violence.
Serious fiction, on the other hand, prefers its plots developed on strong
psychological situations. Thus, its climax comes in various states of awareness, i.e.,
chiefly self-knowledge, on part of the major characters in the story.

Melodramatic plots depend on coincidence or improbability, are sometimes found

in even the most elevated fiction. In such stories, the novelist is faced with the issues
such as whether to represent the shapelessness of real human life (with no
beginnings and no ends with very few motives for action) or to create an artifact as
a well-balanced and economical (such as a table or chair). Since the novelist is an
artist, such claims of literature as a form of art frequently prevail.

There are many possibilities for constructing plots which may play some kind of a
desultory part or may be no part at all. For example, the traditional (Spanish by
origin) picaresque novel, i.e., this is a novel in which a rogue is as its major or
central character (Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones published in 1749 is an excelle nt

25
example in this regard), depends for movement mainly on a series of chance stories
and incidents. You will study six novels in this course and in their stories, you will
have a chance to think about various types and possibilities for their plots.

2.2.2 Character and Characterization

There are different methods an author can use to create the personal traits of a
character or characters in a literary work such as the novel. These methods to describe
and introduce a character are called characterization. An author, for example, can
develop and describe a character’s appearance and personality, behavior and speech,
feelings and thoughts, and a specific character’s interaction with other characters.
Similarly, the thoughts, speech and behavior and the interactions with or by other
characters tell us a great deal about a particular character in a story. An author may
use any or all of these methods in the same work.

In addition, there are various types of characters – they may be ‘round’ or ‘flat’ –
as is a stereotype character – and they may be dynamic or static. These terms are
briefly explained here for your understanding and appreciating of the art of
characterization while going through novels:
• A ‘stereotype’ character is the one which is conventional in its look and nature
and is based on the fixed generalized ideas about people or particular groups
of people. For example, the character Murdstone in David Copperfield (which
you will study in Unit-8) is a stereotype of a villain in many ways.

• A ‘flat’ character is the one which is centered around one main idea and is
usually a minor character in the story and reveals only few traits of
personality. A flat character is also called two-dimensional and mostly a
cartoon-like in its look.

• A ‘round’ character is more fully developed (than a flat) which is more

believable in its action and motivation. Such a character has various
characteristics or traits and can change or grow in the story. A reader can see
more than one side of a round character and is, therefore, called three-
dimensional. Round characters are specifically written for particular stories.

• A ‘dynamic’ character is the one which can grow and develop in response to
events and, therefore, undergoes significant internal change throughout a
story. Dynamic characters usually have major roles in a story.

• A ‘static’ character is the one with no change at all and it stays the same and
does not develop in the story. Such a character is at the end what it was in the
beginning and readers learn very little about such a character. Secondary
characters in a story are usually ‘static’ by nature.

26
Characterization is an important process for a novelist; the inferior novelists tend to be
preoccupied with plot and the superior and true novelists remain creators of characters
– with the complications of the human personalities and other characters; prehumen,
animal, caricatures and, sometimes, even very complex and unpredictable.

It is also an important part of literary criticism to evaluate and analyze the nature
of characters and the art of characterization in a story. Similarly, it is the job of
literary critics to analyze fictional character or characters, thus placing the value of
the view of man (character) and other aspects of the personality as developed by
the author in a story.

As students of English literature, you should be able to think about and comment on
various types of characters as shown in the novels you will study later in this course.

2.2.3 Scene and Setting

‘Setting’ (sometimes also called ‘backdrop’) of a novel is the ‘time’ and ‘place
(geographical location)’ in which the actions of a story occur. It is a literary element
and it initiates the main backdrop and mood for a narrative. The setting can be
general (e.g., 19th century England) or specific (e.g., a football stadium in
Newcastle, UK, Jan 2021). There are certain ways to describe the setting of a
narrative; it may be described by the narrator or one of the characters, or it may be
suggested through other devices such as dialogue, action or imagery.

The setting (or scene) of a novel is not always based on a real-life locale or situatio n.
The novelist as a literary artist may also take pride in the ability to create an overall
different world - the totality of his fiction - the whole setting as well as/includ ing
the characters and their specific actions in the story. In the novel as literary form,
this potential has been very creatively used by authors.

Setting is quite instrumental in establishing the ‘mood’ or ‘atmosphere’ of work as

it strongly contributes to these features in a novel and also determines the
plausibility of the action. Moreover, the entire action of a novel is frequently
determined by the locale or situation in which the scene is set. However, it
sometimes happens when the main situation or locale of a story undertakes
importance in the imagination of readers as compared to the characters and yet the
locale is separable from them.

Setting of a novel may be the top consideration of specific readers. For example,
the readers of Conrad’s novels may like his stories mainly because he portrays life
at sea or in the East Indies. Such readers might not be really interested in the
complexity of human relationships in the story that he presents. Similarly, Willia m

27
Faulkner’s the great Yoknapatawpha scene, a classic of 20th-century American
literature is set in the imaginary county of Mississippi. Many novelists, however,
would like to go for new setting and scenes in new books and avoid repeating the
old similar settings. Graham Greene, an English novelist, would always need to
visit a fresh scene in order to create a new unique setting in his fresh novel. His
book The Heart of the Matter (1948), is a nice example of an exotic setting in a
single book. Through such common power of creating specific settings, certain
places are romanticized by certain novelists in their stories and their settings have
become symbolic of their romance with those given places. Emily Bronte which
you will study in Unit-6 of this book, has romanticized the Yorkshire moors in her
‘Wuthering Heights’. Similarly, Arnold Bennett takes the literary tourists to the
‘northern England’ in his books; John Steinbeck, to Monterey, California through
his creative imagination; and James Joyce, to Dublin - the city of his inexhaustib le
simulation - all of them by creating the powerful ‘settings’ in their novels.

Whatever the setting or the locale of his work, a true novelist would always be
concerned with making a very credible environment for his story and for his
characters. This includes a close attention to everything in the setting – from food
and drink to dress and colors – and far more than the abstractions like the ‘nature’
and ‘architecture’ of a city or country. All these elements together are called setting
or locale in the story.

2.2.4 Point of View and Narrative Method

Where there is a narrative, there is always a narrator. The question for ‘narrative
method’ or ‘point of view’ is that “who is telling the story”.

In a novel, point of view mainly has to do with the perspective from which an author
presents the events, characters or actions of a story is called ‘point of view’. Most
events can be presented from than a single point of view. The following are the
major point of view used by novelists:
• First-person point of view:
The story, in this case, is told by one of the characters. The character uses
pronouns such as ‘I’ or ‘we’ and may also participate in the actions going on.
In the first-person point of view, the information presented must be according
to the level of knowledge or experiences as shown in the story.

• Third-person point of view:

When a story is related by a narrator who is not part of the story is supposed
to have the third-person point of view. The narrator will use pronouns such
as ‘he’, ’she’, or ‘they’. Like a newspaper, the narrator is just like a news-
reporter. Moreover, the third-person narrator may be ‘omniscient’ or

28
 ‘limited’. An ‘omniscient’ storyteller is the narrator who can relate the
thoughts, feelings and perceptions of any or all characters in the story. A
‘limited’ point of view narrator is the one who can relate the feelings, thoughts
and perceptions of only one character in the story. Finally, there is a third
possibility for an ‘objective’ point of view describes what can only be seen.

Stories are mostly written in the first or third person points of view. Second person
point of view is only occasionally employed. Point of view is one of the major
elements which are used for stylistic analysis of a novel. The major methods applied
by authors are, therefore, important for you as students of literature to understand
and comment on. In addition to the brief description of narrative methods, some
examples are highlighted here for your comprehension of major methods and
techniques used by novelists.

The epistolary (telling the story through documents such as letters) method which was
introduced and most notably used by Samuel Richardson in his novel Pamela (1740),
and subsequently by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in La nouvelle Héloïse (1761) has the
major advantage of allowing the characters to tell their stories in their own words.

There are certain techniques which are employed while seeking the most ‘objective
narrative’ method of all. Ford Madox Ford (in his The Good Soldier published
1915), used the device of the storyteller who does not understand the story he is
telling. This technique is called the ‘unreliable observer’. Novelist James Joyce, in
his major novels, used different narrators for different chapters. Most of them are
‘unreliable narrators’ and he very cleverly deploys the narrative techniques to create
the disembodied parody using his unique point of view. In Ulysses, for example,
an episode set in a maternity hospital is told through the medium of a parodic
history of English prose style. Interestingly, the sheer ingenuity of James Joyce’s
specific techniques draws our attention to the manipulator in the shadows. The
reader, therefore, gets to know about the clever approach used by the author in
addition to the story, the characters and their actions.

While closing this subsection, we should note that achieving a satisfactory narrative
method or point of view is a big challenge and is nearly insoluble. The careful
inclusion or exclusion of a narrator’s comment while telling a story, or maintaining
an idiosyncratic style for a novelist in a work of fiction is not a less challenging
task which only an experienced and confident artist can handle.

2.2.5 Scope, or Dimension

We also need to comment on the ‘scope’ or ‘dimension’ of the novel. Length is
certainly one of the dimensions of the novel as a literary genre. Theoretica lly
speaking, no novel can be too long but it ceases to be a novel if it is too short. The

29
most highly regarded novels of the world are of considerable length -
Dostoyevsky’s Brothers Karamazov, Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Tolstoy’s War and
Peace, Dickens’ David Copperfield (or Great Expectations), Proust’s À la
Recherche du Temps Perdu, and so on. Although since World War II, there
emerged a kind of preference for brevity (e.g., Samuel Beckett’s later novels or that
by Argentine Jorge Luis Borges) yet length is still considered very essential when
a novelist attempts to portray a specific milieu which is certainly something bigger
than the characters thus depicting a full view of society or historic period.

The ‘scope’ or ‘dimension’ of a fictional concept sometimes demand a technica l

approach to create a work written in different books into one whole (like
movements of the symphony in music) – the works are intelligible individually but
they have greater intelligibility depending on the themes and characters across
volumes which unify them beautifully. For example, Alexandria Quartet (1957–60)
by Lawrence Durrell insists in its very title showing that it is a tetralogy (rather than
a single work) divided into four separate volumes. Similarly, Dance to the Music
of Time by Anthony Powell is a work based on multivolume series of novels. Based
on the chronological approach, the work is a study of a segment of British society
and the events are brought together in one volume or another using a kind of
parachronic homogeneity.

The novel has a great potential to create resources where a whole society is
represented with its all panoramic view. This artistic task of the novel is to bring to
passionate, sensuous and immediate life the somewhat, very impersonal materials of
the historian (imagine about historical novels) – neither the epic nor the drama or the
film could do it. It is the scope of the novel to do it. War and Peace (1869) by Leo
Tolstoy is a great example of representing the panoramic study of a whole society –
the early 19th-century Russia. Boris Pasternak, another 20th century Russian writer,
in his Doctor Zhivago (1957), expressed the personal hardships of life during the
Russian Revolution. On similar lines, ‘Gone with the Wind’ (1936) by Margaret
Mitchell shows how the American Civil War could assume the distanced horror,
pathos, and grandeur of any of the classic struggles of the Old World.

The point we are making is that the length and even the weighty subject matter are
no guarantee of fictional greatness in themselves. The scope of the novel as a genre
is extremely important. We have novels with average length (e.g., Norman Mailer’s
military novel Naked and the Dead published in 1948) or even Miss MacIntosh,
My Darling (1965) by Marguerite Young considered as the longest single-vo lume
novel of the 20th century is enjoying equally great value because of their scope and
dimensions. Remember that if Tolstoy’s War and Peace is a greater novel than
Dickens’ David Copperfield or, Fielding’s Tom Jones, it is certainly not because

30
its subject matter is nobler, or more significant historically, or more pathetic; it is
just because Tolstoy brings to his classical panoramic drama the urgency and
compression usually regarded as the characteristics of briefer fiction.

2.2.6 Myth, Symbolism and Significance

Among the resources of the novel, like many other forms of literature, is that the
aesthetic value of the work is frequently determined by the subliminal forces such
as ‘myth and symbolism’ which operate independently of the author investing the
properties of the surface story with a deeper significance of the work created. The
novel, in this sense, is very close to myth, its characters turning into symbols of
permanent states or impulses and with particular incarnations of general truth of
human life.

The word ‘symbol’ originally meant ‘throwing together’ or ‘fusion’. A symbol,

unlike a sign, has more than one meaning. Some symbols are universal and they
may be based on traditional associations. Others are less universal in their
interpretation and approach.

A ‘symbol’ is something relatively concrete in nature (such as an object, character,

action or scene) that signifies something relatively abstract (such as a concept or
idea). The symbolic intention or myth of a novel may manifest itself less in structure
than in details, making them appear naturalistic, and even really something more.
Even the choice of giving a specific name to a character may be symbolic. Take
‘Sammy Mountjoy’, in William Golding’s Free Fall (1959), - meaning ‘the mount
of joy’. Doctor Zhivago, as an eponym, meaning ‘The Living’ is so symbolic. The
symbol, with the special significance at a sub-narrative level, works the best when
it can fit without any obtrusion into a context of naturalism. There are many
symbolic novels in English whose infra-narrative meaning cannot be easily stated.
Moby Dick (1851) by Herman Melville, St. Mawr (1925), a novella by D.H.
Lawrence are such works in which the significance of the horse a symbol is very
powerful and mysterious.

A novelist’s desire to give his work of fiction a significance beyond a mere story is
natural and frequently deliberate and conscious. This is, at times, the primary aim
indeed. When a novel (e.g., John Updike’s ‘Centaur’, or James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’,
or even Anthony Burgess’ ‘Vision of Battlements’) may be based on an existing
classical myth, there might also be an intention of either ennobling a common
subject matter, satirizing a set of social values, or merely by providing a basic, fine
structure to hold down a complex picture of everyday life.

31
For appreciating these features in a novel, one has to ask questions like:
• Is a particular idea stressed or repeated in a work?
• How does a writer emphasize certain symbolic interpretation?
• Do characterization or imagery used suggest a symbolic interpretation?

2.2.7 Theme
Theme is another important characteristic of fiction that an author can really think
about while writing a full-length novel. Theme is generally considered as the main
idea or underlying meaning of a literary work which may or may not be directly
stated by an author. It is more often implied than directly stated. A theme is usually
implied through characterization, image, action, and tone. Theme is basically a
larger message or concept that an author explores to convey a larger point about
everyday life, or the world around us. All other elements (such as characters, locale,
situation, scene or setting etc.) can work collectively to express theme or themes in
a work of fiction.

Theme is related to ‘motif’ but it is not the same. A motif is a character, idea,
incident, or object that occurs in various works or even in various parts of the same
work. Moreover, theme differs from subject as ‘subject’ is a topic about which an
author is writing.

Not all works of fiction have clear cut themes. Some mystery novels or science
fiction simply present narratives. Other works may have more than one theme.

David Copperfield which you are going to study in Unit-8, for example, has the
following themes:
a. Social class: Social status, struggle and values are in abundance througho ut
the novel.
b. Good vs evil.
c. True happiness: True happiness and its search takes prominence througho ut
the work.
d. The undisciplined heart
e. Children and their treatment.
f. Female empowerment.
g. The role of the father

For analyzing theme in a work of fiction, do the following:

• Look for recurring images. You can easily analyze themes through the
repeated images and other motifs throughout the novel.
• Identify various tools the author applies to express the theme or themes in the
novel.

32
• Make notes while reading, and compare them when you have finished reading
of the novel.
• Ask questions such as:
a. How is a particular theme treated by the author in the story?
b. What is/are the major theme(s) highlighted by the author in the story?

SUMMARY POINTS

• In English circles, the word ‘novel’ underwent a lot of changes including from
a ‘tale’ or a ‘short tale’ to a ‘prose narrative of considerable length’ and so
on.

• The English novel was initially somewhat in the form of short story written
and shared by the writers of 16th and 17th centuries and it underwent a lot of
changes until 18th century when it rose to a full fledge literary genre.

• Now, we know that the novel is ‘prose fiction’ of an approximately book

length representing some aspects of human life.

• The main elements of the novel include; plot, characters or characterizatio n,

scene and setting, point of view and narrative method, scope and dimens io n,
myth, symbolism and significance, and theme.

• Plot is an important element of the novel. It is the series of happenings (related

events) that make up a story in a novel or any other work of literature.

• With many other possible patterns, plots are mostly chronological in order
which means that they proceed in the order in which events actually happen.

• In technical terms, we need to know about various ingredients of plot. They

include; ‘exposition’, ‘conflict’, ‘complication (or rising action)’, ‘falling
action’, and ‘resolution’ (or denouement).

• There are different methods an author can use to create the personal traits of
a character or characters in a literary work such as the novel. These methods
to describe and introduce a character are called characterization.

• An author can develop and describe a character’s appearance and personality,

behavior and speech, feelings and thoughts, and a specific character’s
interaction with other characters. Similarly, the thoughts, speech and behavior
and the interactions with or by other characters tell us a great deal about a
particular character in a story.

33
• ‘Setting’ (sometimes also called ‘backdrop’) of a novel is the ‘time’ and
‘place (geographical location)’ in which the actions of a story occur. It is a
literary element and it initiates the main backdrop and mood for a narrative.

• The setting can be general (e.g., 19th century England) or specific (e.g., a
football stadium in Newcastle, UK, Jan 2021).

• In a novel, point of view or narrative technique has to do with the perspective

from which an author presents the events, characters or actions of a story.

• Most events can be presented from a single point of view. Most stories are
written in the third or first person point of view. Second person point of view
or narrative technique is only occasionally employed.

• Point of view is one of the major elements which are used for stylistic analysis
of a novel.

• The ‘scope’ or ‘dimension’ are important elements of the novel. Length is

certainly one of the dimensions of the novel as a literary genre.

• As per scope, the novel has a great potential to create resources where a whole
society is represented with its all panoramic view.

• The artistic task of the novel is to bring to passionate, sensuous and immed iate
life the somewhat common, impersonal subject materials of historia ns
(imagine about historical novels) – neither the drama, nor the epic, and even
nor the film could do it.

• It is the scope of the novel to represent the panoramic view of the whole
society in one story.

• Among the resources of the novel, like many other forms of literature, is the
aesthetic value of the work which is frequently determined by the sublimina l
forces such as ‘myth and symbolism’ which operate independently of the
author employing the characteristics of the surface story for creating greater
significance in the work created.

• The novel is very close to myth, its characters turning into symbols of permanent
states or impulses and with particular incarnations of general truth of human life.
The word ‘symbol’ originally meant ‘throwing together’ or ‘fusion’.

34
• A symbol, unlike a sign, has more than one meaning. Some symbols are
universal and they may be based on traditional associations. Others are less
universal in their interpretation and approach.

• Theme is generally the main idea, concept or underlying meaning of a literary

work which may or may not be directly stated by an author. It is more often
implied than directly stated.

• A theme is usually implied through characterization, image, action, and tone.

Theme is actually a larger message or idea that a writer explores to make a
larger opinion about daily life, or the world around us.

• All other elements including characters, setting or scene, locale or situatio n,

can work collectively to convey particular themes or themes in a work of
fiction.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. How would you define the novel as a literary genre?

2. Write down a detailed note on the ‘elements’ of the novel.

3. What are the basic ingredients of the plot?

4. What plot pattern is mostly followed by novelists?

5. What is characterization? What methods are sued to describe a character by
an author?

6. Describe ‘setting’ and ‘scene’ as important elements of the novel.

7. What do you know about ‘narrative method’ or ‘point of view’ in a novel?

8. Comment on ‘scope’ and ‘dimension’ of the novel as a literary genre.

9. Write a detailed note on ‘myth’, ‘symbolism’ and ‘significance’ as aspects of
the novel.
10. Define ‘theme’ and discuss what method can be applied to analyze ‘themes’
in a novel.

11. Read a novel of your choice and discuss various elements as used in the novel.

35
12. Pick up any novel from your course and answer the following questions for
that novel:
a. How is the plot structured in that novel? Can you comment where was
the ‘climax’ in the story?
b. What are the major themes given in that novel? How are those themes
treated by the author?
c. What ‘narrative method’ has been used by the author in that novel?
d. Do you find any symbolism used in the story?
e. What are the important characters in the story? What types of characters
they are? Give a detailed character sketch of the two major characters
from the story.

SUGGESTED READINGS

Burgess, Anthony. (2020). Novel – Literature. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/art/novel (Accessed: March 20, 2021)

Doody, M. A. (1996). The True Story of the Novel. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers
University Press

Eagleton, T. (2017). The English Novel: An Introduction. Wiley Blackwell

Publishing.

Forster, E. M. (1971). Aspects of the Novel. Middlesex: Penguin Books.

MacKay, M. (2010). The Cambridge Introduction to the Novel. Cambridge: CUP.

Swingwood, A. (1975). The Novel and Revolution. London: Macmillan.

36
Unit–3

THE RISE OF THE ENGLISH NOVEL

Written by: Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

Reviewed by: Prof. Dr Nadeem Haider Bukhari

37
 CONTENTS
Page #
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 39
Objectives.......................................................................................................... 40
3.1 The Origin and Development of the English Novel ................................ 41
3.2 The Rise of the Novel in the 17th Century .............................................. 42
3.3 The Rise of the Novel in the 18th Century .............................................. 44
3.4 Factors that Influenced the Rise of the Novel.......................................... 46
3.4.1 Industrial Revolution ..................................................................... 46
3.4.2 Decline of Romance and Drama.................................................... 47
3.4.3 Rise of the Middle Class................................................................ 47
3.4.4 Mobile Libraries ............................................................................ 48
3.4.5 Effects of the Enlightenment ......................................................... 48
3.4.6 Rise of the Novel as a Commercial Fiction ................................... 49
3.5 Key Features of 18th Century Novels...................................................... 49
3.6 Pioneer English Novelists ........................................................................ 50
3.6.1 Daniel Defoe (1659–1731) ............................................................ 50
3.6.2 Samuel Richardson (1689–1761) .................................................. 51
3.6.3 Henry Fielding (1707–1754) ......................................................... 51
3.6.4 Laurence Sterne (1713–1768) ....................................................... 52
3.6.5. Other Important Novelists ............................................................. 52
3.7 Post 18th Century Novels ........................................................................ 53
3.7.1 The Novel of Manners ................................................................... 53
3.7.2 Historical Novels ........................................................................... 54
3.7.3 Chronicle Novels ........................................................................... 54
3.7.4 Gothic Novel ................................................................................. 54
3.7.5 Regional Novels ............................................................................ 54
3.7.6 Stream of Consciousness Novels................................................... 55
3.8 Timeline of the English Novel ................................................................. 55
Summary Points ................................................................................................ 58
Self- Assessment Questions ............................................................................... 59
Suggested Readings .......................................................................................... 60

38
 INTRODUCTION

The novel is comparatively a ‘newly born’ and mostly ‘localized’ genre in Englis h
literature. The topic deserves an English introduction in detail. The present unit is,
therefore, dedicated to provide a detailed background of the rise of the Englis h
novel through 17th and the 18th centuries. While doing this, the major objective of
the unit is to familiarize the students with the origin of the ‘English’ novel while
taking its shape as newly born literary genre. For the purpose, the circumsta nces
though which the novel rose are briefly given and the factors that were responsible
for influencing the rise of the novel are highlighted. Similarly, the features of the
18th and post 18th century novel are enlisted better understanding of the topic.

The major items covered in this unit include:

• The origin and development of the English novel
• The rise of the novel in the 17th century
• The rise of the novel in the 18th century
• Factors that influenced the rise of the novel
• Key features of the 18th century novels
• Post 18th century novels
• The English novel in the 19th century
• Pioneer English novelists
• Timeline of the English novel

As the third unit of this course, the present section is going to highlight the above
topics so that the students get ready to study six English classical novels (these
include: Joseph Andrews, David Copperfield, The Mill on the Floss, Wuthering
Heights, Pride and Prejudice, and Tess of d’Urbervilles) as part of course readings
from Units 4 to 9.

The following are the objectives of the unit.

39
 OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

• know about the background and development of the ‘English’ novel;
• ascertain the rise of the novel during the 17th and 18th centuries;
• recognize the pioneer English novelists;
• identify the factors that influenced the rise of the novel;
• define the key features of the 18th century novel;
• have an idea about the timeline of the English novel;
• comment on various aspects of early English novels;
• understand various aspects of the post 18th century novels.

40
3.1 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH
NOVEL
We have discussed the origin of the novel in general in the first two units. Here in
this section, the focus is on introducing the English novel with a brief background.

In her book titled as ‘The True Story of the Novel’, Margaret Anne Doody (1996)
has pointed to the narrative desires of people at the background of the novel and
from where the novel came into a form of literary genre. Based on her title, the
novel does have a story, and that is a ‘true’ story. The discovery of the modern
novel is indeed a fascinating story of 18th century as a typical contribution of
England to the literature of the world. But we need to dig deep in order to know the
origin of the novel, as does Margaret Doody. She shows that the early forms of the
novel, while in shape of poetic verses narrating the heroic deeds of encounters and
battles, existed when Greek and Roman classical writers created the greatest of their
epics (for example, The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad and The Odyssey were
produced by Greek epic writers).

Similarly, long before it formed a literary genre in the 18th century (with
Richardson’s Pamela written in 1740), the novel existed in various initial forms. It
plunged deep through the centuries. 14th and 15th were the centuries of the
formative days of the novel. After epic, chivalric and medieval romances were
popular. These romances were first written in verse and subsequently in prose. In
other words, in those early times, the novel was in the shape of romantic tales and
heroic stories based upon adventures, romantic and chivalric episodes. A certain
amount of prose fiction did exist in the 15th and 16th centuries as well.

In the beginning, Sir Thomas Malory (1395-1471)'s Morte D'Arthur was the most
complete single version of the tales related to King Arthur and his court which was
considered as the first English romance. With this book the English novel took a
distinctive forward step and romances became popular which remained so until the
end of 1600 or so. On the other hand, Chaucer (1340-1400)’s The Canterbury Tales
have all the characteristics of the modern day fiction. The Canterbury Tales included
two tales written in prose and thus Chaucer is supposed to have produced the first
English novel. His tales written in prose gave new turn to fiction which was indeed a
deep plunge taken. Another great work of value before the Elizabethan fiction was
Thomas More's Utopia. Accordingly, in early days Chaucer and More both gave
together a new turn to prose fiction. They not only changed the course of chivalr ic
and medieval romances to religious and social portraiture of life but also paved the
way for the novel to take shape as a new genre in the next two hundred years.

41
Subsequently, during the 16th century, a real process of evolution commenced in
the history of the novel. Though the Elizabethan writer did not succeed themselves
in evolving the novel, their efforts definitely made the making of novel as a new
literary genre possible. In Elizabethan age, the idea of the novel grew more and
more until it became definite. Most of the fiction of this age was either romantic or
didactic in nature. For example, Sidney's ‘Arcadia’ is a heroic romance of chivalr y.
Greene's ‘Pandosto’ and Lodge's ‘Rosalynde’ are considered purely romantic
fiction. Similarly, a didactic stain also ran through the writings of Francis Bacon,
John Lyly, Thomas More. A realistic note was struck by Nashe, Delony and
Dekker. Nashe's work is considered among the early sources of the very realistic
modern day fiction works.

If we consider the Renaissance prose fiction as the plausible antecedents of the

novel, we have some other good examples as well. Thomas Nash’s ‘The
Unfortunate Traveller’ (written in 1594) and ‘Jack of Newbury’ by Thomas
Deloney (written in 1597) are, among other things, pseudo- biographies and jest-
books, with a touch of the cautionary or exemplary fable stories. These also have
the qualities of confession, chivalric fantasies, and travelogues on top of that. These
are the examples of the steps of the development of the novel which kept on
developing until 18th century when it was recognized as something specific.

In his book, “From Fiction to the Novel”, writer Geoffrey Day goes so far as to suggest
that what we unhesitatingly think of as eighteenth-century novels “were not perceived
as such by the readers or indeed by the major writers of the period. And that, so far
from being ready to accept the various works as ‘novels’, they do not appear to have
arrived at a consensus that works such as Robinson Crusoe, Pamela, Joseph Andrews,
Clarissa, Tom Jones, Peregrine Pickle and Tristram Shandy were even all of the same
species”. So, even the idea of the novel was not the same in those days but it kept on
emerging and developing until it got its recognition and acceptance as the novel.
Moreover, a number of experts have pointed out that it is only when you get towards
the very end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th, and also thanks to
writers like Sir Walter Scott and Jane Austen, that the novel really took its shape as a
single form or literary genre. This is why, these critics maintain, the stories we tell
about ‘the rise of the novel’ need to be explained in detail. The next section, tells us the
story of the rise of the novel in the 17th century briefly.

3.2 THE RISE OF THE NOVEL IN THE 17TH CENTURY

The 17th century was, for many reasons, the mid way between its immediate
antecedents (such as epics and romances) and the novel itself. The popularity of the
heroic romances was in vogue until 1600. Towards the end of the 16th century and

42
in the beginning of the 17th, burlesque and picaresque tales started emerging on the
scene of the English literature. These were the new kinds of romances already
accepted by the English literary circles. It was the time when Cervantes (1547-1616)
wrote his very famous Don Quixote (1605) and tried making fun of the existing
romances of that time in which the chivalric heroes were fighting against giants and
dragons. Written in the burlesque literary trend, the hero of Don Quixote was fighting
against windmills in a funny style creating laughter for the readers. Initially written
in Spanish, it is widely considered as the first modern European novel.

Aphra Behn (1640-1689) wrote a novel with the title ‘Oroonoko’ or The History of
the Royal Slave (1688) which is sometime regarded as the first English novel.
Aphra Behn, also considered as the first known professional female writer, showed
through her writings the human slavery, degradation and suffering in the hands of
fellow humans. As the foremother of English female writers, Behn’s text is
considered crucial in the history of the novel.

Another big name from the 17th century scene of the novel is John Bunyan (1628-
1688) who was a contemporary of Aphra Behn and who also contributed towards
the rise of the English novel at that time. He wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678)
which was the best seller of its time. It was a religious story of the pilgrims’ lives.
He also wrote The Life and Death of Mr Badman (1680). In total, he wrote some
sixty titles and most of them in the form of expanded sermons.

These works by Cervantes, Aphra Behn, John Bunyan and others were very much
resembling the new emerging genre which was ultimately called the novel. These
were very much similar to the novel in terms of their structures, forms, plots,
characterizations, settings and conflicts. These very meeting the dimensions of the
modern novels and had ‘beginning, conflict, rise in action, fall in action and
resolution. That’s why these names are considered as the forerunners of the novel
including the writers of these early novels and that of the writers of the epic poetry
and romances during the 17th century.

Thus, we can safely say that during the 17th century, the English novel took a very
new shape under the influence of the French and Spanish novelists. The French
romances greatly influenced early English fiction. In England, romances are now
known as the heroic (chivalric) romances of the 17th century. These heroic
romances were completely removed from everyday real life. Later on Aphra Behn
and several other male and female writers cultivated a new form of prose fictio n.
Being very realistic in nature, it preserved the true sides of human life. Among the
most important writers of the 17th century, were these big names Cervantes, Aphra
Behn and John Bunyan. Novels such as ‘Don Quixote’, ‘Oroonoko’, ‘The Life and

43
Death of Mr. Badman’ and 'The Pilgrim's Progress' come nearer to the modern
novel. Their works, undoubtedly, paved the way for the rise of the novel in the 18th
century. That is the topic of the next section.

3.3 THE RISE OF THE NOVEL IN THE 18TH CENTURY

The 18th century is the major milestone in the history of the novel as literary genre.
It is regarded as the real beginning of the English novel for many genuine reasons
to be highlighted in this section. The book that contributed most to establish the
conventional story of the novel’s emergence in the 18th century Britain is Ian
Watt’s ‘The Rise of the Novel’ (1957) – a book of rare appreciation and critical
importance that it continues to elicit elaborations and corrections even over half a
century after its publication. Focusing his study on early novelists includ ing
Richardson, Defoe, and Fielding, Watt argues that “the lowest common
denominator of the novel genre is its formal realism” exhibited by the 18th century.

Most of the experts regards the Eighteenth century as the period of the birth of the
novel and its subsequent progress and development as a genre. Having adequate
literary predecessors including John Bunyan, Aphra Behn, Geoffrey Chaucer,
Thomas Malory, Cervantes, Boccaccio and many other writers of the 17th century,
the 18th century writers availed this great opportunity to advance their experime nt
further and take the novel to the level as a literary genre. Moreover, the increase in
literacy ratio, rise in the middle class, industrial revolution, and coming up of
mobile libraries created such a favourable situation for the rise of the novel. This
new form of literature namely the novel which developed from the heroic romance
and started depicting the pragmatism and morality of the middle class people and
representing the realistic view of human life. Alexander Pope’s dictum on ‘realis m’
– ‘men is the appropriate study of mankind’ itself highly influenced readers and
they found their major interest in studying human character. The 18th century
novels, thus, explored human nature by creating, among other things, the true
human characters in novels unlike the previous super humans like giants, dragons
as were depicted by heroic romances just before the emergence of the novel.

The novel undoubtedly enjoyed its highest level of fame and popularity during the
Eighteenth century. The major authors of the century namely Defoe, Fielding, Sterne
and Richardson contributed significantly to the development of the English novel.
They greatly influenced their successor writers who started writing novels after them.
Books such as 'Don Quixote', 'Decameron', 'Morte d' Arthur', ‘Oroonoko’, and
'Pilgrim's Progress' had already laid the foundations for the development of the novel.
During this time, great novels including 'Pamela', 'Joseph Andrews, 'Tristram Shandy',

44
and 'Robinson Crusoe' were written which immediately became famous among the
readers. However, the novel as a genre continued to evolve during the 19th and 20th
centuries giving rise to many subgenres or types of it.

Daniel Defoe was certainly among the great English novelists who wrote 'Robinson
Crusoe'. Defoe is considered as the first great English novelist who not only
introduced new techniques in realism but used them creatively in his novels. His
novel 'Robinson Crusoe' is thus considered as the first great English novel showing
the realistic picture of life. Some critics consider it as the first ‘modern’ novel
considering its modern features. In short, Defoe created his novels with features of
genuine modern novel. Some critics, on the basis of the elements of adventures and
crime so prominent in his works, are of the view that these works should be classed
as romances and not as novels. These views apart, the works of Defoe are great
early fiction. Steele and Addison also contributed to the evolution of the ‘realistic
novel’. Thus the novel finds its early shapes in their ‘The Spectator’, ‘The Tattler’,
and ‘The Gaurdian’.

Samuel Richardson was another great name among the first novelists of the 18th
century. He gave the novel many new things which were greatly appreciated. It is
said that the novel as a popular genre began with 'Pamela' by Richardson (written
in 1740). Written in ‘letters style’, it was the first true novel that appeared in any
literature. The novel is basically the story of a virtuous maid-servant who
successfully resisted the advances of her master and is subsequently rewarded by
the proposal of marriage by him. His another work, 'Clarissa' also caught up
suddenly the attention of his readers. Thus Samuel Richardson successfully
introduced sentimentality into English novel and popularized it as a literary genre.

As discussed above, the 18th century is regarded as the golden age of the novel. In
this age, there were four novelists of great genius. They include Henry Fielding,
Samuel Richardson, Laurence Sterne and Tobias Smollett. With them the novel
reached its highest point of glory. For their great work, they are better known as
“The Four Wheels of Novel”. Among them, Fielding is called the ‘father’ of the
English novel. His 'Joseph Andrews', 'Tom Jones', 'Jonathan Wild', and 'Amelia' are
considered great novels. He is well known for his theory of novel, characterizatio n,
realism and craftsmanship. Richardson was well known for his sentimentality and
realism. Smollett certainly widened the scope of the novel and by introducing some
new elements to it. His 'Humphry Clinker' is taken among very popular Englis h
novels. Sterne also contributed to the genre of novel. For his creative work on
modern impressionism in his novel, 'Tristram Shandy' - a very popular novel, he is
considered among the pioneers of English novel.

45
Critics believe that the rise of the novel during the 18th century was a result of
major steps seen by the century including the democratic movement, the spread of
education thus increasing the number of readers, the appearance of newspapers and
magazines developing the people’s habit of reading, and the emergence of the new
prose style and the decline of the English drama. These things made way forward
for the 18th century novel to flourish and develop. Thus in the 18th century, the
novel reached at its climax. Summing up the contribution of these great novelists,
Rickett said that ‘Richardson has given the novel sentimentality, Fielding humour,
and Smollett liveliness’.

3.4 FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED THE RISE OF THE NOVEL

The English novel rose to the new heights during the 18th and the 19th centuries.
There were certain factors which influenced this unprecedented growth for the
novel as a genre. This section briefly highlights those factors for the broader
understanding of the situation for the students to comprehend and comment on this
side of the history of the novel.

3.4.1 Industrial Revolution

Industrial revolution was certainly one of the major reasons which contributed to
the rise of the novel during the 18th century. With the development in industr ies,
when people could do more work and on faster speed with the help of machiner y,
they were able to get more time for rest and leisure time during which people
resorted to reading novels. Similarly, the printing press were available for bulk
production of multiple copies at quite cheaper rates. By the virtue of economica l
books available, even low-income people were able to buy and read novels unlike
in their past when only aristocrats had this reading facility. Moreover, printing press
created varieties of reading materials such as magazines, newspapers, novels and
books for the people to enjoy. Thus, the newspapers and magazines helped people
develop their habit of reading which ultimately led to their reading of novels.

There was a trend of publishing novels in magazine forms which also contributed
to increase the access to stories and novels besides their book forms. In other words,
the industrial revolution mainly paved the ways for the middle class people to get
books and other reading materials and spare time for reading during their leisure
activities. Due to these favorable circumstances, they certainly had a very strong
desire to read about their ‘everyday experiences’ which also prompted writers such
as Daniel Dafoe, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, and others
to write prose fiction and portray real life experiences for the people to enjoy and
cherish.

46
3.4.2 Decline of Romance and Drama
As we discussed in the above sections, romances were very popular until the end
of 1600. These were the stories mainly of the aristocratic knights and their heroic
deeds. Then the drama of the Elizabethan age achieved new heights during the early
Renaissance period. The drama and romances were mainly suitable to be read and
watched by elite, aristocratic or noble families. Thus, the common people got bored
with those chivalric romances for they had no direct relevance of any sort to their
common life. Moreover, the major stories themselves were centuries old and had
no interest for the common people. In addition, the settings and scenes in which the
stories in romances took place were unrealistic. As a result, English romances as a
literary genre started to decline and people started to take interest in the
contemporary issues and stories. On the other hand, unlike romances, the novels
were written in first person making it appear ‘more personal and recent’. Simila r ly,
with ordinary characters were welcomed as the readers could relate with them. In
the case of drama, the theater which was once very popular during the Elizabetha n
age was banned in the 17th century during the rule of Cromwell. This also led
directly to the decline in drama and people started looking for the novel as an
alternative for their reading and entertainment. Another reason was that the novel
could reach vast audience while the drama could reach only to a limited audience
present in the theater. By the time, the drama came back to people during the
restoration age, it could no longer establish its essence since the novel had already
got well established among the literary circles.

3.4.3 Rise of the Middle Class

One major result of industrial revolution during the 18th century was the rise of
middle class society. This growth in industries brought about unprecedented
corresponding progress in trade and commerce. The common people were
gradually becoming wealthy with more purchase power and even poor people were
being able to raise their financial status. This emerging new class with additiona l
middle class status, like traditional landlord class, were in demand of new books to
read and enjoy. There was a high demand for acquiring education and be able to
read. Women readers were rapidly increasing with greater leisure time to read and
write. This was a direct result of the increasing middle class ladies to remain
engaged in reading literature. As discussed above, the newly formed middle class
people were not really interested in reading traditional medieval romances of the
knights and their bravery. They certainly had no interest in the exaggerated
romances. The 18th century novelists wrote about their common people and thus
revealing the psyche of the middle class in their stories. Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’,
Richardson’s ‘Pamela’, and Fielding’s ‘Tom Jones’ were, therefore, appealing to
the masses.

47
In other words, with the world’s first capitalist economy, the Britain society had an
expanding middle class obsessed with ways of increasing their income and social
standards. Acquiring education and reading books was certainly an important
aspect of this growing middle class society. Authors catered to this potential public
reading by writing on everyday topics such as love and marriage. Samuel
Richardson’s Pamela is a good example of this convention, in which a servant girl
marries a master who had pressured her to become his mistress. Rise of the middle
class was certainly one of the reasons the novel got popular as a literary genre in
English society.

3.4.4 Mobile Libraries

During the 18th century, the emergence of mobile lending libraries not only
facilitated novel readers but also increased reading as a habit and thus towards the
popularity of the novel. The memberships of the mobile libraries increased a lot as
reading was promoted by giving easy access to books and novels. Women readers
benefited the most from this facility since they used to stay at home and were being
able to exchange books from the mobile library when they would finish. Although
industrial revolution declined the demand for drama and romance, yet the
emergence of the middle social class and mobile lending libraries played a very
instrumental role in developing the novel. Authors such as Defoe, Fielding, Sterne,
Richardson took the genre of prose fiction to its highest popularity.

The lending library program was part of the philanthropist groups established for
literacy program for the poor class who were still unable to purchase new books
every time. One of the features of these lending libraries was that they preferred
fiction published in three separate volumes so that the titles were spread out
between borrowers. As a consequence of this preference, the novelists of that time
wrote their novels following a formula by putting a cliffhanger in each of their
volume. The role of the lending mobile libraries was certainly one of the most
instrumental steps in the rise of the English novel.

3.4.5 Effects of the Enlightenment

Realism as part of the enlightenment philosophy played its role in the promotion of
the novel. Next to the start of the Scientific Revolution, people started applying
their up-to-date scientific knowledge (deductive methods) to all sorts of their social
concerns. Enlightenment philosophers such as Rene Descartes and John Locke
specifically proposed that the individuals themselves could discern important
scientific truths about daily life through their careful observation of everyday
details. They proposed that individuals, in search of truth, no longer had to rely
upon the formation for their intellectual enrichment. The novelists of that time
picked up on this philosophy and started writing on a new literary genre that

48
focused on realism - books and stories that had believable plots and believab le
characterizations. The common public which were already primed on realistic fare
such as biographies, memoirs, travelogues and personal journals, therefore, eagerly
embraced the English novel written with realism from the society.

3.4.6 Rise of the Novel as a Commercial Fiction

Commercial printing houses also had an important role in promoting the novel as a
new genre. Moreover, as another advantage of Industrial Revolution was giving
members from the lower classes new reasons and riches to drop their old friends,
was bringing them affordable books to enjoy. This was certainly the result of the
production of commercial novels through printing houses. As it went by, and after
the book industry noticed the greatly increasing public demand for English novel,
it certainly upgraded the printing infrastructure and increased the output in cities
like Edinburgh, London and Dublin. This was a direct impact of the account of 18th
century technological advances in printing. The printing houses soon realized this
new demand and publishers started looking for profitable publication by persuading
novelists to put out their salable works. The writers were also aware of this new
trend and many of them wrote the novel as a commercial fiction. The novel,
therefore, changed its form from rare manuscripts circulated in exclusive circles, to
the popular modern day published form as it is sold today.

3.5 KEY FEATURES OF 18TH CENTURY NOVELS

As we have discussed the 18th century novel in some detail in the above sections,
the key features of the novel from this century are summarized in the present
section. The novelists of the 18th century mainly bought out realism. The novels
were instrumental to explore and represent the realities of the society. The authors
used authentic and reliable stories in their books imitating the real life of the people.

The use of the first person narrative technique by the then novelists created the
element of realism making their stories sound more reliable and authentic. In
addition, unlike the heroic romances, characters in the novels were ordinary
common men and women with settings familiar to their readers. Further, the focus
of the protagonist or hero was given on middle class people with everyday
characteristics. In certain cases, the purpose of the novel was mainly to promote
virtuous characters among people just as Richardson did (in his novel, Pamela). In
other cases, authors such as Swift and Smollett used satire and allegory to point out
the vices in their society.

49
The pioneer English novelists contributed to some unique aspects of novel. Fr
example, Henry Fielding popularized epic novels. Samuel Richardson the novel
written with an epistolary style and based on sentimental feelings. Daniel Defoe
worked on making the novel a realistic picture of human life. Jonathan Swift
contributed to satirical and philosophical novel in his stories. Laurence Sterne was
very successful with experimental novel. Thus, 18th century novelists gave the
novel a brand new look of the time and found fresh avenues. They showed
flexibility in writing novels without having to follow the long established traditions
set by classical writers. It certainly was an age of revolution and experimenta tio n
of writing novels.

The experimentations and the unique achievements of the 18th century novelists
promoted the novel and made further experimentation possible. Their creativity
gave rise to subgenres or different genres of the novel in the post 18th century
literature. You will study more about the modern English novel in modules such as
‘Modern Novel’ during your advanced semesters.

3.6 PIONEER ENGLISH NOVELISTS

The English novel as a literary genre saw new heights during the 18th century. This
rise and development was the result of many factors we discussed in the above
sections. The present section is dedicated to highlight the pioneer English novelists
from the century for your understanding of their contribution and works.

3.6.1 Daniel Defoe (1659-1731)

Daniel Defoe was born in London in 1659. The son of a butcher, he later established
as a merchant, a public official, a manufacturer, and an editor before he became a
successful writer at later age when he was 58. He introduced, among other things,
the ‘journalistic first-person narrative method’ transforming fiction to be a realistic
writing to the readers. Defoe was the first English writer who introduced the
techniques of realism in the novel. He contributed a total of 250 works but is best
known for his Moll Flanders (1722), Robinson Crusoe (1719), and A Journal of the
Plague Year (1722). For his verisimilitude, he is considered as one of the fathers of
the modern novel.

Defoe’s Robison Crusoe is sometimes considered as the first modern novel. It was
the story of Robinson Crusoe, an imaginary character, with the style of first-person
narration method which introduced the element of realism in English novel.
Interestingly, the novel did not have any real plot but it was just an account of
chronological series of events. However, as discussed earlier, some critics
categorized this work as a heroic romance for the elements of crime and adventure

50
in the story. Even if this opinion is true, many later novelists were greatly inspired
by Defoe’s style, his realism and the autobiographical elements in fiction.

3.6.2 Samuel Richardson (1689–1761)

Another pioneer English novelist, Samuel Richardson was born in 1689 in London
(Derbyshire). He initially operated as an expert printer and published the ‘Journals
of the House of Commons’ and also worked as ‘the Law Printer’ to the King. In his
early age, he had an ample experience of writing love letters for at least three girls.
Through these letters, he greatly understood various ways of femininity and
subsequently utilized them while writing in his epistolary style novels (such as in
Pamela or Virtue Rewarded). As an author, Richardson was of the view that the
writer always had two purposes of writing; first, to inform his readers and, second,
to promote morality. The whole story of the novel Pamela (also known as Virtue
Rewarded) is based on morality and is the in the form of the exchange of personal
letters written by the girl, Pamela to her parents.

Richardson is well known for two things in the history of the novel. He initiated
and popularized the epistolary style of story writing and he introduced and
popularized the features of realism and sentimentality in English novel. Pamela
(who is also the narrator of the story) is a servant girl employed by a rich land-
owner who informs her parents about maintaining of her virtue against the
inappropriate advances of her employer until he, finally, sends her a marriage
proposal. The whole story is told in the form of letters. Samuel Richardson is
credited to have initiated ‘the novel of character’ by discovering and exploring the
emotional and psychological growth in Pamela. The History Sir Charles Grandison
and Clarissa or the History of Young Lady were additional novels written in same
epistolary style by Richardson.

3.6.3 Henry Fielding (1707–1754)

Henry Fielding, also known as the father of English novel, was born in 1707 at
Sharpham Park near Galstonsbury. He was well educated and also studied law.
Initially, he was influenced by the Spanish picaresque tradition of fiction writing.
He is well-known for his great novels such as Tom Jones (1742), Shamela and
Joseph Andrews (1749). He popularized the aspects of ‘characterization, realism
and craftsmanship’ in the novel.

Through his novels, Fielding presented ‘a realistic and true picture of human
nature’. His first novel was Shamela which he wrote as a parody to Pamela (by
Richardson) for he considered it to be hypocritical in morality. While writing it he
popularized comic novels. He continued to mock at Richardson’s Pamela by giving
a contrast of situations with Joseph as young man being constantly followed by a

51
wealthy woman in his popular novel Joseph Andrews. Henry Fielding, therefore, is
supposed to have laid the foundation for comic novels. You will study his novel
‘Joseph Andrews’ in detail in your Unit-3.

3.6.4 Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)

Born in 1713 in Ireland, Laurence Sterne was well known for his unique style of
writing as a pioneer novelist. He was well educated who completed his education
from Cambridge and got appointed as a priest. Very different and unique in his
approach, Sterne wrote very differently as compared to other novelists of the time.
He successfully experimented with novel for writing in a different ways avoiding the
conventional methods of writing with opening, middle and ending of the story. His
was certainly a different and unique styles among the major novelists of his time.

Sterne’s novel Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentlemen (1759-1767) was
first published in nine volumes. Sterne employed his new autobiographical and
non-linear techniques in this novel. The unique style of Sterne included frequently
skipping parts and jumping ahead of time, shifting back in time, and, creating
fragmented narration. The main character of the story, Tristram Shandy is
introduced only in volume IV of the novel. Unlike his contemporaries who had
definite plot structure with proper beginning, middle and ending, Sterne’s novel
had no such things, thus no definite plot. Instead, the story begins in the middle,
then get constantly intercepted with devices such as humorous reflectio ns,
digressions, and deliberate blank pages purposefully kept in the middle of the story
for the readers to fill in and respond. Thus, Sterne introduced a new method of
progression by sensory suggestion and momentary reactions to immed iate
experiences. His style greatly influenced modern writers such as Virginia Woolf
and James Joyce who used the “stream of consciousness” as narrative technique in
their novels.

3.6.5 Other Important Novelists

Another unique novelist, Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was known for his allegory
and satire. Gulliver’s Travels (1726) and A Tale of a Tub (1704) were his popular
allegorical novels. He introduced writing the story of fantasy as a satirical work to
reveal shortcomings and weaknesses found in the English society through his
novels.

Among other English novelists from the 18th century, Tobias Smollett (1721-1771)
was an influential writer. He was well known for his satirical work and for
describing ‘familiar scenes, foibles and follies from everyday life’. He mainly used
picaresque style in his novels such as Gilbas (1715-1735) and The Adventures of
Roderick Random (1748).

52
3.7 POST 18TH CENTURY NOVELS

We have discussed various aspects of the novel during the 17th and the 18th
centuries in the above sections. Now we are going to survey the aspects of the novel
in the post 18th century situation. The 19th century is also recognized as the period
of Romantic writers or and their going back to the nature. Those poets from
Romantic age particularly regenerated the theme of nature as a major means of
creative inspiration and also by calling it a guide, teacher, and mother unlike their
forerunners, the Eighteenth century writers who treated the mother nature as an
ordinary reality. Thus the novel of the Romantic Age was also marked by ‘love of
medieval age’, ‘love of nature’, as well as by ‘love of supernatural’.

When the 18th century authors prioritized values on rationality and realism, the
Romantic writers specifically focused on their creative imagination, feelings and
emotions. Thus the setting, scenes and subjects or themes of the old medieval
romances were revived by the Nineteenth century authors when they were creating
their fictional work like novels and stories. ‘Castle of Otranto’ (1764) is considered
as the first novel to have used the elements of spirits and ghosts which was a specific
feature of medieval romance. The medieval spirits were revisited in the novels.
Thus because of this change in concepts, various genres or types of novels were
developed during the Nineteenth century. We are going to briefly discuss the
aspects of the novel in the post 18th century situation.

3.7.1 The Novel of Manners

Certain ideas and concepts of the Romantic Age influenced the novelists who
published during the time, particularly the unusual cult of emotions and feelings
identified as sensibility. Among the novelists, Jane Austen (1775-1817) was first to
consider this kind of sensibility in female chaacters to be revealing their weakness
of womenfolk and condemned it. She as a novelist presented the detailed portrayal
of womanhood and that their behaviours and attitudes were being unwavering and
predisposed by their internal sensibility. Austin’s works were all focused on women
unfolding their social values, customs, mores and folkways of the English society
of her time. Her novels Sense and Sensibility (1797), Pride and Prejudice (1796),
and Mansfield Park (1814) are masterpieces of her creative imagination and strong
realistic woman sensibility. The novel based on social order and the interaction of
human behaviours is called the novel of manners.

53
3.7.2 Historical Novels
Historical themes remain very popular in prose fiction during the post 18th century
era. Sir Walter Scott initially wrote and familiarized the type of historical novel in
English literature. He added a vitalizing energy, a life-giving spirit, a genial
dexterity and a great insight to the genre of the novel that ultimately gave the
historical novel an entirely new format. Sir Walter Scott wrote Ivanhoe (1820) and
Rob Roy (1817) which are considered two very popular and successful historica l
novels.

3.7.3 Chronicle Novels

Chronicle novel is a long novel or, sometimes, a connected series of novels
particularly in which the story narrates the fortunes of a group of people or family
of characters over many years. Such novels were also written in the post 18th
century. Emma (1815) written by Jane Austen (1775-1817) and Jane Eyre (1847)
written by Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) were considered two popular examples of
popular novels telling their stories with beginning from early childhood through
adulthood. The events that happen in a specific order in the novel are connected
with the actual dates from the life of the authors.

3.7.4 Gothic Novel

The early Gothic fiction appeared somewhere in 18th century with the works of
writers like Horace Walpole [‘Castle of Otranto’ written in 1765] and Matthew
Gregory Lewis [‘Monk’ written in 1796]. Gothic (Gothick in the sense of ‘the
contemporary flavour’) as a term was derived from architecture design and it
carried the connotations of rough and primitive grandeur. Such fiction was based
on ‘rationalism’ and full with the scenes of mystery, horror and wonder. In other
words, the atmosphere of a Gothic novel was expected to be dark, ghostly,
tempestuous, outrage, full of madness, superstition, and the spirit of revenge. A
good deal of early science fiction sprung out of the Gothic movement.

3.7.5 Regional Novels

This is a kind of novel or work of prose that is set in a recognizable region. A
regional novel describes features distinguishing the life, customs, values, social
relations, language, dialect or other aspects of everyday life or the culture of that
area and its people. The genre of regional novel was initially connected with the
Thomas Hardy (1840-1920), a Victorian writer. He created in his novels an
imaginary region called Wessex as his favourite setting. His novels are that’s why
sometimes known as Wessex novels. The Return of the Native (1878), Mayor of
Casterbridge (1886) and Tess of the d’Urberville (1891) are his popular novels. His
novel, Tess of the d’Urberville is part of this course and you are going to study it in
Unit-9.

54
3.7.6 Stream of Consciousness Novels
Stream of consciousness narrative techniques was another important feature among
the post 18th century novel. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) and James Joyce (1882-
1941) were two well-known novelists who used this narrative technique of ‘stream
of consciousness’ in English novels. They depicted the reality of situation by
presenting it through displaying than telling. In other words, they believed that the
feelings experienced subjectively by characters was more essential than simply
trusting on somebody (a character) to make commentary from the outside and tell
us the story. This technique of story-telling depended largely on the interna l
monologues. This narration technique was based on the ‘interior flow of thoughts’
that are mostly unlike traditional linear narration of events in stories. Thus, the
internal functioning of human mind and the emotional attachment of the characters
are given importance which are based on the actual reality of the situation. Virginia
Woolf’s ‘To The Lighthouse’ (1927) and James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ (1922) are the
best examples of such ‘stream of consciousness’ novels.

3.8 TIMELINE OF THE ENGLISH NOVEL

As the final topic of the unit, we are going to highlight the timeline of the Englis h
novel here to show its evolution from the 17th through the 19th centuries. The
timeline given here is based mainly on the works discussed directly or indirectly in
this unit and it is not exhaustive in any case.

17th Century
1605 Don Quixote by Cervantes.
1628 Birth of John Bunyan (1628–1688).
1640 Birth of Aphra Behn (1640–1689).
1659 Birth of Daniel Defoe (1659–1731).
1660-1669 Diary (The Great Fire of London) of Samuel Pepys (1633–1703).
1665 Great plague in London destroying much of its population.
1667 John Milton’s Paradise Lost
Birth of Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
1678 Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
1680 The Life and Death of Mr Badman by John Bunyan
1688 Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko
1689 John Locke argument to divide parliament into executive and
legislature.
Bill of Rights and Toleration Act.
Birth of Samuel Richardson (1689–1761)
1695 Press allowed to become free.

55
18th Century
1702 Daily newspaper appeared for first time.
1704 Tale of Tub by Jonathan Swift.
1707 The Act of Union unites Scotland and England.
Birth of Henry Fielding (1707-1754).
1713 Birth of Laurence Sterne (1713-1768).
1719 Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe
1721 Birth of Tobias Smollett (1721-1771)
1722 Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders.
Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Years.
1726 Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.
1728 Birth of Oliver Goldsmith.
1740 Samuel Richardson’s Pamela or Virtue Rewarded.
1742 Henry Fielding ‘s Joseph Andrews.
1747 Clarissa by Samuel Richardson.
1748 The Adventures of Roderick Random by Tobias Smollett.
1749 Henry Fielding ‘s Tom Jones.
1751 The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett.
1755 First English Dictionary by Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784).
1759 Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne.
1764 Birth of Ann Radcliffe.
1765 The Castle of Otronto by Horace Walpole.
1766 The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith.
1771 Birth of Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832).
The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett.
1774 Reforms of prisons.

56
Sorrows of Young Werther by Goethe.
1775 Birth of Jane Austen (1775-1817).
American War of Independence.
American Declaration of Independence.

1789-1832 Romantic period in English literature when the arts emphasized

individuality, subjectivity, and irrationality thus rejecting the
rationalism of the earlier Enlightenment movement.

1797 Birth of Mary Shelley (1791-1851).

19th Century
1810 Birth of Elizabeth Gaskell.
1811 Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.
1812 Birth of Charles Dickens (1812-1870).
1813 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
1814 Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park.
1815 Jane Austin’s Emma.
1816 Birth of Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855).
1817 Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott.
1818 Birth of Emily Bronte (1818-.
1819 Birth of George Elliot (1819-1880).
1820 Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.
1840 Birth of Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
1847 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
1878 Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy.
1882 Birth of Virginia Woolf (1882-1941).
Birth of James Joyce (1882-1941).
1886 The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.
1891 Tess of D’Urberville by Thomas Hardy.

57
 SUMMARY POINTS

• The emergence of the English novel is a fascinating story of the 18th century
England as a typical contribution of English to the literature of the world.

• Margaret Doody shows that the early forms of the novel, while in shape of
narrative verses based on the tales of human encounters and heroic deeds of
battles, existed when Greek and Roman classical writers created the greatest
of their epics (e.g., The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad and The Odyssey were
produced by Greek epic writers).

• Sir Thomas Malory (1395-1471)'s Morte D'Arthur was probably the most
complete version of the tales related to King Arthur and his court which was
considered as the first English romance.

• In his book, ‘From Fiction to the Novel’, writer Geoffrey Day goes so far as to
suggest that what we unhesitatingly think of as 18th-century novels were not
taken up as novels by the readers or even by the major authors of that period.

• Even the idea of the novel was not the same in those days but it kept on emerging
and developing until it got its recognition and acceptance as the novel.

• The 17th century was, for many reasons, the mid way between its immed iate
antecedents (such as epics and romances) and the novel itself. The popularity
of the heroic romances was in vogue until 1600. Towards the close of the 16th
century and in the start of the 17th, burlesque and picaresque tales started
emerging on the scene of the English literature.

• These works by Cervantes, Aphra Behn, John Bunyan and others were very
much resembling the new emerging genre which was ultimately called the novel.

• We can safely say that during the 17th century, the English novel took a very
new shape under the inspiration of the Spanish and French novelists.

• Novels such as ‘Don Quixote’, ‘Oroonoko’, ‘The Life and Death of Mr.
Badman’ and 'The Pilgrim's Progress' come nearer to the modern novel. These
works, undoubtedly, cemented the way forward for the progress of the novel
during the century.

• Most of the literary critics and experts attributes Eighteenth century as the
golden period for the novel in which it took its birth, saw a rapid growth and
subsequent progress as a genre.

58
• The novel enjoyed as a genre its glory and progress in the Eighteenth century.
The major writers of the times namely Fielding, Defoe, Richardson and Sterne
contributed meaningfully towards the growth of the novel.

• Critics believe that the progress of the novel during the eighteenth century
was a result of major steps seen by the century including the spread of
education, the democratic movement, the starting of magazines and
newspapers, and developing the people’s habit of reading, and the emergence
of the new genre of prose fiction and the decay of the English drama.

• The major social factors which contributed to the emergence of the novel
were:
− Industrial revolution in Europe
− Decline in the popularity of drama, romance and epic
− Emergence of middle class
− Mobile lending libraries
− Enlightenment movement
− Rise of the commercial fiction

• The major pioneer English novelists include:

− Samuel Richardson
− Daniel Defoe
− Jonathan Swift
− Laurence Sterne
− Tobias Smollett
− Henry Fielding

• The major types of novels produced in the post 18th century include:
− The novel of manners
− Historical novels
− Chronicle novels
− Gothic novel
− Regional novels
− Stream of consciousness novels

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. Discuss about the origin of novel as a literary genre.

2. Write a detailed note on the rise, emergence and development of the novel as
a genre.

59
3. Comment on the progress of the English novel during 18th century.
4. Enlist the social and economic factors that ultimately influenced the
development of the novel. Explain what immediate factors were responsible
for making the novel a popular genre.
5. What were the key features of the 18th century novels? How were they
different from other genres in depicting human life?
6. What do you know about the post 18th century novels? Comment on the
characteristics of those novels with examples.
7. What were the characteristics of the English novel in the 19th century? What
was special about the novel as a genre during the 19th century?

8. Write a detailed note on the pioneer English novelists.

9. Comment briefly on the timeline of the English novel through the 17th and
the 19th centuries.

10. Which is your favourite novel from the 18th century and why?
11. What do you know about the early novels of English? How were they
different from the English romance and drama?

SUGGESTED READINGS

Burgess, A. (2020, November 5). Novel. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/art/novel

Doody, M. A. (1996). The True Story of the Novel. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers
University Press

Eagleton, T. (2017). The English Novel: An Introduction. Wiley Blackwell

Publishing.

Forster, E.M. (1971). Aspects of the Novel. Middlesex: Penguin Books.

MacKay, M. (2010). The Cambridge Introduction to the Novel. Cambridge: CUP.

Swingwood, A. (1975). The Novel and Revolution. London: Macmillan.

60
Unit–4

JOSEPH ANDREWS
[A History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews
and his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams]
by Henry Fielding

Written by: Prof. Ambreena Qayyum

Reviewed by: Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

61
 CONTENTS

Page #
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 63

Objectives.......................................................................................................... 63

4.1 Life and Works of Henry Fielding ........................................................... 64

4.2 Henry Fielding’s Theory of Novel........................................................... 66

4.3 Summary of Joseph Andrews .................................................................. 68

4.3.1 Book-I ............................................................................................ 68
4.3.2 Book-II .......................................................................................... 69
4.3.3 Book-III ......................................................................................... 71
4.3.4 Book-IV ......................................................................................... 72

4.4 Fielding’s Characterization in Joseph Andrews ...................................... 73

4.5 Fielding’s Criticism of Contemporary Society ........................................ 80

Summary Points ................................................................................................ 85

Self- Assessment Questions ............................................................................... 85

Suggested Readings .......................................................................................... 86

62
 INTRODUCTION

English prose evolved quickly after the invention of printing press in fiftee nth
century. The Renaissance also contributed to the development of prose written in
English as literary artists experimented with new forms of expression. The Englis h
prose writers produced different fictional works during sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. However, in eighteenth century Henry Fielding established a new genre
of prose in English called the novel. His first original novel was A History of
Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his Friend Abraham Adams and he claimed that
it contained a realistic picture of life he had observed. He also insisted that his novel
had elements of ancient forms of narration such as epic and romance but he used
the medium of prose to tell his stories. Impressed by the Spanish novelist Miguel
de Cervantes Fielding presented the adventures experienced by his central character
while he was made to travel. He thus produced picaresque novels. Besides
entertaining his readers in his novels Fielding presented and strongly condemned
the social evils of contemporary society.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit, you will be able to:

• enlist the names of novels written by Henry Fielding;
• discuss the principles of Fielding’s theory of novel;
• summarize the main events of the novel Joseph Andrews;
• identify the qualities of main characters of the novel Joseph Andrews;
• categorize the instances of Fielding’s criticism of his contemporary society.

63
4.1 LIFE AND WORKS OF HENRY FIELDING

Son of a British general Edmund Fielding, Henry Fielding was born in the county
of Somerset on April 22, 1707. He attended the famous private school called Eton.
In 1728 he went to study law in Holland but due to insufficient financial resources
returned back without getting a degree and began living in London. He resumed his
education of law in 1737 and became a barrister in 1740. Before beginning his
career as a lawyer Fielding worked as a playwright and produces several plays
which were also staged. In his plays Fielding strongly criticized the policies of the
government. His career as a dramatist came to an end in 1737 when the governme nt
imposed the Theatrical Licensing Law. According to this law the stage plays were
censored and since Fielding’s plays contained content against the policies of the
government they were banned. He however, continued to write against the
government in different newspapers and journals.

Once unable to write plays for the theatre Fielding turned his attention to the genre
of prose and began writing fiction. His first fictional prose work was Shamela and
it was a parody of his contemporary literary artist Samuel Richardson’s popular
work Pamela. Richardson’s character of Pamela a virtuous maid servant inspired
Fielding to the extent that he used this character in his first original prose work
titled A History of Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his Friend Abraham Adams.
This novel was published in 1742 and it related the story of Joseph Andrews who
was the brother of Richardson’s righteous character Pamela. Fielding, in this novel
intended to show the endeavors of Pamela’s brother who followed the path chosen
by his pious sister and saved himself from getting seduced by his mistress Lady
Booby as well other women. Following the technique used by the Spanish novelist
Miguel de Cervantes who wrote the famous picaresque novel called Don Quixote
Fielding made his hero Joseph Andrews encounter various adventures while
travelling on the road. He also created the character of a simple and honest country
parson Abraham Adams in order to accompany his hero in his journey from London
to the country-side.

Joseph Andrews was followed by Fielding’s second novel The Life and Death of
Jonathan Wild in 1743 and depicted the activities of criminals operating in the city
of London. Jonathan Wild the central character of this novel was supposed to help
the police to catch criminals but he protected them in return for a huge amount of
money. This novel was a reflection of Fielding’s observations as a law-enforc ing
officer in London. He satirized the social evils as well as identified the flaws of
legal and political system of contemporary England in this novel.

64
In 1749 his most well-known and popular novel A History of Tom Jones, a
Foundling was published. Like Joseph Andrews it was also a picaresque novel
depicting Tom Jones’s adventures across Britain. Fielding showed his characters
moving in the country-side as well as in the city of London. Tom Jones is a
foundling adopted by a Squire Allworthy a landowner of Somersetshire who after
returning from London discovers ‘an infant, …, in a sweet and profound sleep,
between his sheets’. However, at the end of the novel a maid servant Jenny
confesses the truth that Squire Allworthy’s sister Miss Bridget ‘was the mother of
that child’. Thus Tom Jones is his foster father’s nephew. The plot of the novel is
well-knitted and contains many twists and turns but the writer never loses his grip
on the story throughout the eighteen books which together form the novel. Besides
each book of the novel Tom Jones contains chapters explaining Fielding’s theory
of novel.

His last prose work Amelia published in 1751. Unlike his previous novels the
central character of Amelia was a female who suffers various hardships but fina lly
settles down after receiving an inheritance. After marrying Captain William Booth
against the consent of her family Amelia with her husband moves to London where
her husband is unjustly imprisoned, her face becomes disfigured due to an accident
and she copes with poverty as well as abandonment from her husband who is
seduced by other women. Unlike her husband Amelia always remains faithful to
him although she is approached by different men when she is alone and her husband
is imprisoned. Amelia is therefore a domestic novel and depicts the problems of
women in Fielding’s contemporary society.

Thus despite his generous contribution to English plays Fielding is better known
for his novels. He is in fact a pioneer of a new genre of literature in English called
the novel. Another English novelist Sir Walter Scott calls Fielding the ‘father of
English novel’. Initially he intended to write a parody of the popular novel Pamela
but soon realized his own capabilities and produced masterpieces like Joseph
Andrews and Tom Jones. Besides being a dramatist and then a novelist Henry
Fielding also worked as a law-enforcing officer. In 1748 he was appointed as a
Magistrate of London. While dealing with criminals he earned fame for being
honest and just. He also formed the first police force of London in 1749. He
believed that the root-cause of increase in crime rate was the ignorance of virtues
taught by Christianity. He presented and criticized various social evils in his literary
works as well as discussed them in different treatise he wrote. He died of liver
cirrhosis in 1754.

65
4.2 HENRY FIELDING’S THEORY OF NOVEL

A History of Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his Friend Abraham Adams and
A History of Tom Jones a Foundling are the titles Henry Fielding gives to his
works. The use of the word ‘history’ indicates the fact that he is writing fictio na l
history and his prose works relate the adventures of central characters of his novels.
In the Preface of Joseph Andrews as well as in different chapters of Joseph Andrews
and Tom Jones he explains the nature of his fictional works. In Tom Jones Fielding
declares that he is ‘the founder of a new province of work’ and is therefore ‘at
liberty to make what new laws (he) please(s) therein.’ He is thus well aware of the
fact that he is inventing a new genre of literature and identifies the principles he
follows while writing his histories.

In the Preface of the novel Joseph Andrews Fielding claims that his work is an
‘epic’ or ‘a comic-epic poem in prose’ since it lacks ‘meter’. He relates stories of
adventures of his central characters. His characters travel to different places and go
through various experiences. Since his works are comic in vein they are mock epics.
He thus uses sublime language to depict minor qualities of his characters. Simila r ly,
he depicts petty events as if they are grand occasions and minor squabbles as
clashes of great armies. Like epic poets fielding also invokes deities but they are
usually social evils and human follies such as vanity, jealousy etc.

Henry Fielding also considers his novels as variations of the popular genre of
romance. In the novel Tom Jones, he explains that unlike the ‘idle romances which
are filled with monsters’ his novels present only the actions of human beings. He
strongly believes that man is ‘the highest subject for poets and historians’. Since
his objective is to produce humorous literary works he therefore selects and
presents ‘persons of inferior rank and consequently inferior manners’ and depicts
their activities. His characters often include footmen, postillions, maid-serva nts,
coachmen, country parsons, peddlers and inn-keepers. Besides presenting human
beings and their ‘ridiculous’ actions Fielding strongly insists that the writer should
‘keep within the limits of possibility, but probability too.’ He wants his readers to
believe in what tells them and also relate with the characters he presents before
them. In the novel Tom Jones, he explains, ‘what is not possible for man to perform
it is scarce for man to believe.’ So his narrative stays within the limits of possibility
and he makes his characters perform actions done by ordinary human beings.

Besides he gives reasons for creating such characters in the initial chapters of the
novel Joseph Andrews where he explains that he wants to teach moral values by
means of examples of virtuous men. His characters are both good and evil and he
admits that he ‘draw(s) forth examples of virtue and vice from holes and corners of

66
the world’. He believes that when ‘a series of human actions’ is presented it
contains performances of high as well as low quality. It is therefore not possible to
restrict the narrative to the presentation of virtuous deeds and ignore the wicked
actions of characters. Fielding, however, clearly states that the evil actions of his
characters are only ‘accidental consequences of some human frailty’. His wicked
characters are not embodiments of evil but ordinary human beings who occasionally
commit errors.

Fielding also claims that his characters are not individuals but types: ‘I describe not
men, but manners, not individuals but species’. His characters represent groups of
people he has observed closely and he depicts their common characteristics. He
often uses generic names for his characters which refer to their professions such as
squire, doctor, poet, justice, lawyer etc. He makes these characters perform actions
which he has seen most of the men of their group performing. In this way he gets
an opportunity to criticize different social evils and particularly ‘affectatio n’.
Fielding’s main objective of writing the novel Joseph Andrews is attacking the folly
of affectation which makes people adopt false behavior in order to impress others.
In the Preface Fielding explains that affectation is caused due to two evils namely
‘vanity’ and ‘hypocrisy’. While vanity makes people pretend to be what they are
not only to receive appreciation from others hypocrisy compels them to hide their
wickedness under a false cover of virtuous behavior. He condemns this behavior
and by means of his writings endeavors to correct it.

The title of the novel Joseph Andrews mentions that it is a work ‘Written in
Imitation of the Manner of Cervantes, Author of Don Quixote’. Fielding admired
the sixteenth century Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) who wrote
a comic novel called Don Quixote. The central character of the novel Don Quixote
is a simple knight who lives in the imaginary world of adventures. He is a comic
character who moves around in the countryside and believes he is participating in
great battles. Cervantes thus left the legacy of picaresque novel which is about the
enterprises of a hero who is usually a poor young man and moves in a corrupt
society. Fielding was so impressed by Cervantes that he wrote a play titled Don
Quixote in England. This play was performed on stage and was published in 1734.
Fielding again adopted the literary technique of Cervantes when he took up writing
novels and produced a picaresque novel.

Joseph Andrews is therefore a picaresque novel in which the hero travels and meets
different adventures on the road. Right in the beginning of Book I Fielding makes
his hero begin his journey and then go through several experiences whether in an
inn or in a stagecoach or on the road. On his way back to the countryside Joseph
meets the two people he loves and respects namely his beloved Fanny and Parson
Adams and they move together. In the opening chapter of Book IV they reach their

67
destination and by the end of this book all matters are resolved and Joseph and
Fanny finally marry and settle down. Besides Joseph a substantial part of the
adventures on the road deal with Adams experiences which are often comic and
entertain the readers.

Thus Fielding clearly mentions that his prose works are lengthy narratives carrying
the characteristics of epic and romance. He, however, chooses the comic strain of
writing and entertains his readers by means of humor. He follows the techniques
used by poets composing epics and romances but applies them to depict
insignificant and funny incidents involving characters he has selected from lower
strata of life. The major characters in his novels are people coming from lower class
of society. Moreover, his characters despite being realistic do not represent
individuals but groups of people. The wickedness visible in the actions of his
characters is often a consequence of their human weaknesses and he depicts them
in order to reform these people. He particularly targets the evil of pretentious
behavior of people and highlights it in his novels to rectify its effects on society.

4.3 SUMMARY OF JOSEPH ANDREWS

The novel Joseph Andrews is divided into four books and a summary of the plot of
each book is given below.

4.3.1 Book-I
Joseph Andrews is introduced as a twenty-one years old young man and brother of
Pamela the protagonist of Samuel Richardson’s novel Pamela. At the age of ten
after he had received his early and basic education to read and write Joseph was
sent to serve at the estate of Squire Booby. He served at the estate in differe nt
positions and by the time he was seventeen Lady Booby made him her footman.
She took him to London where he was exposed to latest fashions of haircut and
dress. Despite his interaction with multiple people involved in wicked activities he
did not ‘game, swear and drink’. The action of the novel begins with Joseph’s
writing letters to his sister Pamela. He informs her about his mistress Lady Booby
who tries to seduce him while he attempts to save his virtue following the example
of his namesake Prophet Joseph.

Joseph makes his mistress extremely angry since he refuses to indulge in amorous
relationship with her. Besides he earns the wrath of her maid servant a middle- aged
woman Mrs. Slipslop who also strives to seduce him. Joseph’s refusal to reciprocate
to the sexual advances of Lady Booby and Mrs. Slipslop ultimately causes him the
loss of his job. So Joseph decides to return back to the countryside and meet his

68
beloved Fanny whom he wants to marry. Fanny also serves the Booby family and
is extremely desirous of marrying her beloved Joseph. Fanny and Joseph are
however advised by their most sincere friend and mentor Parson Abraham Adams
to postpone their marriage till they become financially secure by saving some part
of their earnings.

Joseph sets off to the countryside and on his way gets robbed and injured by the
highway men who leave him naked and bleeding in a ditch. He is however rescued
by the passengers of a stagecoach and transported to an inn run by Mr. Tow-wouse
and his wife. At the inn Joseph is attended by a caring and considerate maid servant
Betty. Betty fetches the doctor to attend the injured man and he declares that there
is little hope of his recovering. Since Joseph’s end seems to be near therefore a
clergymen Mr. Barnabas is called to ‘pray by him, and to prepare him for another
world.’ In the meanwhile, the thieves who stripped Joseph of his clothes and other
belongings are caught and he retrieves his possessions.

While Joseph is staying in the inn his friend Parson Adams also arrives. Adams is
in fact going to ‘London, namely to publish three volumes of sermons’ and
consequently ‘get a considerable sum of money on this occasion, which his family
were in urgent need of’. Thus Adams and Joseph are joined and spend three days
together. During his stay in the inn Adams meets another guest, a bookseller and
offers to sell him his sermons. The bookseller does not show any interest in sermons
since he finds them least profitable commodity and prefers to buy the script of ‘a
play that had been acted twenty nights together’. Adams also intervenes in a quarrel
between ‘Mrs. Tow-wouse, Mr. Tow-wouse and Betty’ which ends up in Betty’s
losing her job.

4.3.2 Book-II
Book II opens with the revelation that Adams left his sermons which he plans to
get published in London at home. Adams consequently plans ‘to return back’
instead of going to London. So Adams and Joseph set off on the road to the estate
of late Squire Booby. They have one horse and they decide to travel using the
technique of ‘tie and ride’ walking and riding the horse turn by turn. Adams begins
walking and thinks so profoundly about the plays written by ancient Greek
dramatist Aeschylus that he does not realize that Joseph is left behind. He covers
three miles and then stops at an inn for a drink and there he meets Mrs. Slipslop.
Adams and Mrs. Slipslop travel together in the stagecoach while Joseph
accompanies them on the horseback. During their journey they see ‘a great house’
and ‘a lady in the coach’ identifies it as the residence of ‘the unfortunate Leonora’.
Then order to entertain her fellow travelers she relates the story of Leonora, Horatio
and Bellermine.

69
In the next inn where the travelers stop Adams finds out Joseph being treated by
the inn keeper’s wife after falling from his horse and getting injured. The inn keeper
however, disapproves his wife’s compassionate treatment of the handsome young
traveler and consequently gets into a quarrel with Adams. While Adams beats the
aggressive host Mrs. Slipslop attacks his wife and pulls off her cap along with her
hair. After this aggressive episode they again begin their journey and this time
Adams has to ride the horse while Joseph travels in the stagecoach with Mrs.
Slipslop. Adams however, forgets his horse and begins walking. He covers a quarter
of a mile when the passengers in the coach find him walking and try to reach him
in order to inform him about his forgetting his horse. Adams thinks that the fast
driven coach is likely to overtake him so he begins to run. The faster the coachman
drives to approach him the swifter he runs “often crying out, ‘Aye, aye, catch me if
you can”. He thus leaves ‘the coach full three miles in his rear’ and soon reaches
the ‘summit of a hill’ where he sits and reads his copy of Aeschylus while waiting
for the stagecoach to arrive.

Soon a hunter with a gun loaded approaches him and the two men begin to talk.
Engrossed in talking to the hunter Adams does not realize that the coach has gone
past him. He then wants ‘to make haste and follow them’ but he is distracted by
‘violent shrieks imaginable in a female voice’. The hunter runs away to save his life
while Adams saves the young woman from the ravisher by hitting his head with his
crabstick. The young woman turns out to be Fanny who travels towards London to
meet her beloved Joseph. Adams and Fanny again get into trouble when a party of
bird-baiters arrives in search of their prey. On hearing their voices the ravisher who
has regained his consciousness calls them and accuses the parson and the young
woman of robbing him. The bird-baiters believe the wicked man and after tying
Adams hands behind him lead him and Fanny as prisoners to the court of the Justice.

The villagers gather at the Justice’s place to see the proceedings of Fanny and
Adams’ trial when someone observes and then points out at ‘the cassock, peeping
forth from under the great coat of Adams’. The Justice and the villagers believe that
Adams uses the costume of a clergyman when he goes robbing. The copy of
Aeschylus belonging to Adams is examined by a parson who recognizes it being a
manuscript written in Greek but he also declares that Adams has stolen it from the
same clergyman whose cassock he has taken. The tables are however are turned
when ‘one of the company having looked steadfastly at Adams’ recognizes him as
the parson at Lady Booby’s estate and thus Adams and Fanny are released and they
continue to travel.

At the next inn where they stop Fanny and Adams surprisingly meet Joseph.
However, Adams gets so excited that he flings ‘his Aeschylus into the fire’ and

70
loses it. Adams, Fanny and Joseph plan to travel together but unfortunately they do
not have enough money to pay the expenses of the inn. Adams therefore goes to
meet Parson Trulliber a local clergyman in order to borrow some money from him.
Trulliber besides being a clergyman is a farmer and raises pigs for selling. At
Trulliber’s house Adams is mistaken for a buyer of pigs and is pushed into the
pigsty where he is kicked by a hog and ends up falling into ‘mire’ thus soiling ‘his
great coat, wig and hat’. He then introduces himself as a fellow clergyman and asks
for loan but Trulliber refuses to lend any money and gets so furious that he is ready
to beat Adams. Thus Adams returns back to the inn where a poor pedlar pays their
dues and consequently the three travelers begin their journey.

On the way they meet a squire who befools them by offering accommodation and
horses but actually provides none. They again stay in an inn where the kind-hearted
host does not charge them any rent but argues with Adams about travelling and
learning as well as the role of clergymen in the lives of common people.

4.3.3 Book-III
The three travelers spend the next night outdoors and overhear some men talking
about killing people. Afraid of the murders they hurriedly leave that place and then
stop at a house where their host clarifies ‘that the murderers were sheep-stealers,
and the twelve persons murdered were no other than twelve sheep’. The host is a
gentleman called Mr. Wilson who narrates the story of ups and downs of his life in
London where he lost his fortune and ended up living a quite life in the countryside.
The guests find Mr. Wilson a loving husband and a caring father and grieve on
hearing that his first son was kidnapped by gypsies.

They bade farewell to their host Mr. Wilson and continue their journey while
Adams and Joseph argue about advantages and disadvantages of private and public
education. Adams strongly favors private education because ‘he thought a
schoolmaster the greatest character in the world, and himself the greatest of all
schoolmasters.’ Joseph on the contrary asserts that ‘if a boy be of a mischie vo us
wicked inclination, no school, tho’ ever so private, will ever make him good; on
the contrary, if he be of a righteous temper, you may trust him to London, or
wherever else you please, he will be in no danger of being corrupted.’ Joseph then
delivers a lengthy speech on the notion of charity and also refers to the hypocrisy
of rich people whom he has served. He is surprised ‘at the long silence of Parson
Adams’ only to find him ‘fast asleep’. Adams however is soon disturbed by a pack
of hunting dogs chasing a hare but they get attracted towards him and attack him.
Joseph saves Adams and they soon meet the owner of this pack of hounds who is a
squire. This squire is a wicked man who loves to ridicule people and does so with

71
the help of a group of companions including ‘an old half-pay officer, a player, a
dull poet, a quack doctor, a scraping fiddler, and a lame German dance-master’.

The squire wants to avail the opportunity of ‘parson-hunting’ and for this purpose
invites Adams to his house. The three travelers arrive at the house of the squire
where during the dinner the host and his companions play practical jokes to insult
Adams. The final prank is meant to throw Adams in a tub full of water and he does
fall into it but also drags his host along with him. After this bitter experience
Adams, Joseph and Fanny leave hurriedly and cover seven miles in the dark till
they reach The New Inn.

At the inn Adams meets a Roman priest and lends him money. At night they are
attacked by the companions of the squire led by the captain and despite their strong
retaliation Fanny is abducted while the attackers leave Adams and Joseph tied to the
bed-posts. Fanny is however saved by Peter Pounce manager of Lady Booby’s estate.
Pounce not only brings Fanny but also her abductors back to the inn where Joseph
beats the captain. Next Joseph and Fanny sit on the same horse while Adams
accompanies Peter Pounce in his chariot and they set off for the Booby Hall. But on
the way Pounce insults Adams calling him a shabby fellow ‘who do not know the
world’. This infuriates Adams and he leaps out of the chariot and again joins Joseph
and Fanny to cover less than a mile and reach their destination the Booby Hall.

4.3.4 Book-IV
Joseph Andrews accompanied by Adams and Fanny arrive at Booby Hall
simultaneously with Lady Booby and her companions including Mrs. Slipslop and
Peter Pounce. Both Lady Booby and Adams receive a warm welcome from the
villagers who genuinely love their parson but are also pleased to see their mistress
back at the estate and hope that some part of the rents she receives from them will
be spent on their welfare. To everyone’s surprise Lady Booby goes to the church in
order to see Joseph but gets furious when Adams announces the upcoming marriage
of Joseph and Fanny. She then calls Adams but fails to convince him to stop this
wedding despite her threats of making him unemployed. Next she calls Lawyer
Scout and orders him to handle the matter. Lawyer Scout manages to send away
both Fanny and Joseph after charging them for theft of a twig of grass from his
field. Lady Booby is unhappy to hear that Joseph is also sent away but her
unhappiness soon dissipates when he returns after the arrival of her sister Pamela
and her husband Squire Booby.

The arrival of Squire Booby and Pamela brings a twist in the story since it saves
lovers from banishment planned by Lawyer Scout and the Justice and at the same
time it brings Joseph to the table of Lady Booby while Fanny has to stay at Adams’

72
place. Joseph now dressed up as a gentleman stays at Booby Hall where his sister
Pamela strives to convince him to give up Fanny because she thinks this match
degrades him. Joseph however, does not agree with Pamela and regularly goes to
visit Fanny and on one occasion saves her from the sexual advances of Beau
Didapper. He then requests Adams to get them married as soon as possible. Adams’
wife and his elder daughter strongly argue against his supporting Joseph and
Fanny’s marriage and consequently facing the effects of Lady Booby’s wrath.
Adams however, remains adamant and refuses to change his stance on Joseph and
Fanny’s likely marriage.

Adams suddenly receives the news of his son’s drowning and laments over his loss
but he is soon relieved to hear that his son is saved. He soon receives differe nt
guests besides Joseph and Fanny. The first guest is the pedlar who appeared in Book
Two and financially helped Adams, Joseph and Fanny. Then Lady Booby arrives
along with Beau Didapper. In order to entertain his guests Adams asks his son Dick
to relate the story of two friends called Leonardo and Paul. In the meanwhile, Beau
Didapper molests Fanny and gets beaten by Joseph and Adams. But Adams’ wife
and daughter condemn him for supporting Fanny. Similarly, Lady Booby and
Pamela disapprove Joseph’s taking a stand for Fanny while Mr. Booby wonders
why Joseph ‘takes upon him to be this girl’s champion.’

The pedlar reveals the secret of Fanny’s parents to the company and informs them
that she is the daughter of the Andrews and thus a sister of Joseph and Pamela.
However, Pamela refuses to accept that her parents had another daughter and to
resolve the matter the Andrews were called. Mrs. Andrews reveals the secret that
Fanny is her healthy and chubby daughter who was abducted and replaced by a
weak and thin boy whom she brought up as Joseph. The mystery of Joseph’s
parenthood is soon solved when Mr. Wilson who appeared in Book Three arrives
to meet Adams. Mr. Wilson recognizes Joseph as his lost son with a strawberry
mark on his breast. Thus there is no impediment in the way of Joseph and Fanny’s
marriage and this displeases Lady Booby to the extent that she leaves her estate
without farewell and soon finds another lover in London. Joseph and Fanny get
married and live happily at the estate of Mr. Wilson.

4.4 FIELDING’S CHARACTERIZATION IN JOSEPH

ANDREWS
Fielding paints a realistic picture of contemporary life by means of his depiction of
several characters in the course of the novel. The actions his characters perform and
the words they speak reveal their intentions. Fielding also comments on the

73
reactions of his characters and exposes them further. Despite his claim that he
intends to present ‘species’ and not ‘individuals’ his characters maintain their
individuality and the reader is likely to remember them not only for their
representation of a group of people or a profession but as individuals who possess
specific traits and qualities. Characters like Mrs. Slipslop ‘the waiting gentle-
woman’ stands for a class of servants but is also an individual person with specific
virtues and vices that separate her from others. Similarly, parson Trulliber
represents the group of village priests but he becomes an individual since he is also
a farmer and a businessman.

The central characters of the novel are Joseph and Fanny but they are shadowed by
other more vital and powerful characters. Joseph is introduced as in the second
chapter of Book One as ‘the only son of Gaffar and Gammer Andrews, and brother
to the illustrious Pamela, whose virtue is at present so famous’. It is in fact, the
character of Pamela which provoked Fielding to create a brother for her and present
to the world his attempts to save his virtue. The handsome young man is twenty-
one years old and a victim of amorous advances of his newly widowed mistress
Lady Booby. He writes a letter to his sister Pamela and depicts the actions of his
mistress: ‘she ordered me to sit down by her bedside, when she was in naked bed;
and she held my hand, and talked exactly as a lady does to her sweetheart’. Joseph
however, desires to ‘preserve’ and ‘maintain’ his ‘virtue … against all temptatio ns’
copying the examples of Pamela as well as of Prophet Joseph his name-sake. His
steadfast attitude and refusal to reciprocate positively to Lady Booby’s sexual
advances infuriates her and she turns him out of his job as her footman. So jobless
in London Joseph decides to travels to the countryside to meet his beloved Fanny.
On his way he gets robbed but then recovers his possessions and most fortunate ly
meets his mentor ‘Parson Adams, who is the best man in the world’.

Joseph despite his young age is a wise man and has clear ideas about certain issues.
For instance, he defines ‘charity’ as a man’s attempt ‘to relieve the distress of his
fellow-creatures’. Similarly, he believes that education cannot change human
nature. The time he has spent in London gives him exposure to life in big cities and
he refers to moral corruption prevailing there in his letter to Pamela: ‘London is a
bad place’. He patiently waits for his marriage with Fanny and saves her virtue
many times from lust-driven men. He does not hide the intensity of his affectio n
for her and on one occasion asserts ‘for I shall love without any moderation’. He
proves his love for her by taking a stand against his sister Pamela and her husband
Squire Booby’s pressure to give her up.

Joseph is a practical man and has better understanding of people as compared to

Adams. He avoids taking loans and prefers not to trust strangers. On one occasion

74
while travelling with Adams and Fanny they meet a ‘gentleman’ at an inn and
receive several offers of provision of food, accommodation and transport from him.
But none of the promises is fulfilled and Joseph reacts to this situation by referring
to his experiences of working for the gentry. He tells Adams ‘that those masters
who promise the most perform the least’. At times he refers to the hypocrisy of
people of upper class: ‘I ever was with my lady at any house where she commended
the house or furniture, but I have heard her at her return home make sport and jeer
at whatever she had before commended.’ He shows great respect for Adams but
does not hesitate to disagree with him and also points out the fact that his learning
is purely bookish and does not help him in practical matters of everyday life.

The most striking of Fielding’s characters is that of Parson Adams who is created
under the influence of Cervantes’ character of Don Quixote. Like Don Quixote
Adams also lives in an unreal world and consequently meets several strange
incidents and thus entertains the readers. He is quite different from the other four
clergymen who appear in the course of the novel. He is ‘an excellent scholar’ and
‘a perfect master of Greek and Latin languages’ and knows many other oriental and
occidental languages but in spite of all his academic knowledge he is unaware of
the ways of the world and therefore he is often fooled by others. Fielding explains
his innocent nature: ‘Adams, who never saw farther into people than they desired
to let him’. This quality is visible in incidents when Adams gets exploited by a man
of false promises and by the nasty squire who loves to humiliate respectable people.
He is however not a man of words only but also acts impulsively and at times
violently as required by the situation. So he beats the ravisher who tries to molest
Fanny and makes the nasty inn keeper bleed when he attempts to beat the injured
Joseph.

Adams deserves appreciation for his trust in God, perseverance and generosity on
different occasions. He welcomes Fanny in his house despite his wife and elder
daughter’s disapproval of his hospitality. He refuses to follow Lady Booby’s
instructions to forbid Joseph and Fanny from getting married and when she
blackmails him by threatening to turn him out of her estate he responds: ‘I am in
service of a master who will never discard me’. He generously shares his money
with the Roman priest whom he meets on the way and opts to walk in order to let
Joseph ride the horse. But he is a human being and has drawbacks which are
effectively used by Fielding to make his readers laugh.

Adams forgets the sermons he plans to sell in London. Similarly, he forgets to take
his horse and covers ‘a quarter of a mile’ when he is detected by Mr. Slipslop who
is passing by in a stagecoach. The coach driver’s attempts to overtake Adams and
remind him about his horse completely fail because he runs swiftly. Adams’

75
encounter with Trulliber’s pigs is also a humorous event and so is his thrashing
Mrs. Slipslop when he mistakenly identifies her as a ravisher striving to molest a
woman. He is quite capable of giving surprises to the readers and does so by
jumping out of the moving chariot of Peter Pounce after a nasty argument with him.
The most interesting example of Adams’ demonstrating two contradictory traits of
personality occurs in Book Four when he receives the news of his son’s drowning.
Ironically the news arrives at the moment when Adams is referring to Abraham’s
sacrifice of his son Isaac and claiming that ‘no Christian ought so to set his heart
on any person or thing in this world’. However, he completely forgets his advice to
others as soon as he learns about the loss of his beloved son and begins to ‘stamp
about the room and deplore his loss with bitterest agony’. He thus shows human
weakness which he theoretically condemns. But the next moment when he hears
the news of his son’s getting saved he expresses his felicity without any constraint.
In addition to Adams the other most vital character in the novel is that of Mrs.
Slipslop. She appears throughout the course of the novel and every time she speaks
she proves ‘a mighty affecter of hard words’. This forty-five-year-old, short, fat,
ugly woman also limps but despite these physical defects she has strong amorous
desires and Joseph Andrews is the object of her love. She generously gives Joseph
‘tea, sweetmeats, wine and many other delicacies’ but he does not return ‘the least
gratitude to all these favors’. So when she expresses her love before him he tells
her ‘I have always loved you as well as if you had been my own mother.’ So like
her mistress Lady Booby she also feels disappointed and rather frustrated by
Joseph’s reaction. Even after getting no response from the object of her love she
continues to love him and it is obvious on different occasions on the road that she
tries to make him travel with her in the stagecoach.

The daughter of a clergyman Mr. Slipslop shows respect for Adams but also
reminds him that ‘she had been frequently at London, and knew more of the world
than a country parson could pretend to.’ She in fact stands at a higher rung on the
social scale and often feels superior to other servants and villagers like Adams. Her
sincerity for Adams is visible in her support for him in an inn where he has a fight
with the host and his wife throws ‘a pan full of hog’s blood’ on him. At this moment
Mrs. Slipslop enters the kitchen and seeing Adams all covered with blood which
she believes is his own she reacts violently. She not only gives the hostess ‘several
hearty cuffs in the face’ but also pulls her cap plucking some of her hair and fina lly
‘holding down the landlady’s face in her left hand, made so dexterous a use of her
right, that the poor woman began to roar.’ She is therefore a practical and down-to-
earth person who can become impulsively aggressive at times.

Besides she is a ‘faithful’ employee of Lady Booby and eavesdrop her mistress’s
conversation with Joseph Andrews. She then uses the information she has gathered

76
to blackmail her mistress whom she tells ‘I know what I know’. She however, fully
supports the opinion of her mistress for Pamela and together in their conversatio n
about her they ‘pull her to pieces, and so miserably deface her.’ She also provokes
her mistress to express her love for Joseph and suggests that she should get help
from Lawyer Scout to get rid of Fanny. In fact, Mrs. Slipslop hates Fanny because
of ‘her extraordinary beauty’ and turns her out of job. While travelling when Adams
and Joseph make her meet Fanny she refuses to recognize her and says, ‘I can’t
remember all the inferior servants in our family’. She is in fact the most superior of
all the servants since she has access to the food supplies and ‘by keeping the keys,
she had the absolute command’ of these precious possessions. She knows her
mistress’s weaknesses and can provoke her to take desperate steps as well as
blackmail her if she feels threatened.

Lady Booby is another interesting character of Fielding who appears in Book I and
then finally in Book IV. She is a complex character and is torn between her lust for
Joseph and her anxiety about her reputation. She is the widow of Sir Thomas
Booby, an aunt of Squire Booby and employer of Joseph, Mrs. Slipslop and Peter
Pounce. She has received ‘town-education’ and calls the villagers ‘brutes’. She
attempts to seduce Joseph and when he does not reciprocate to her advances
appropriately she gets furious and tells him ‘never let me see your face again’. So
she turns him out of job and therefore Joseph sets on the journey. Her frustratio n
and anger in her failure to tempt Joseph are expressed by Fielding in these words.
‘Her love was now changed to disdain, which pride assisted to torment her. She
despised herself for the meanness of her passion, and Joseph for its ill success.’ She
however, gets another opportunity to get closer to Joseph in Book IV when her
nephew Squire Booby along with his wife Pamela arrives at her estate.

She makes several attempts to stop Joseph’s from marrying Fanny. First of all she
tries to influence Adams and convinces him to stop them from marrying. Adams
refusal infuriates her to the extent that she threatens to turn him from her estate.
Adams however, stays adamant and does not help her in her plans to separate the
lovers. Next on Slipslop’s advice she calls Lawyer Scout and orders him to take
any measures and ‘rid the parish of both’. However, circumstances change when
Squire Booby arrives and saves both Joseph and Fanny. She then attempts to
convince her nephew to stop Joseph from marrying Fanny. But all her efforts fail
and the lovers manage to tie a knot. Failing to win Joseph she then returns to
London ‘where a young captain of dragoons, together with eternal parties at cards,
soon obliterated the memory of Joseph.’ In fact, this is the world where she belongs
to and feels extremely comfortable. She thus represents the hypocrisy and meanness
of people of upper class.

77
Fanny Goodwill is the love interest of Joseph Andrews and his companion from
Book II onwards. She has little role to play in the action of the novel though her
beauty makes her an object of desire for different men who accost her and
consequently get beaten by Joseph and Adams. She is nineteen years old ‘tall and
delicately shaped’ young woman whose parentage is unknown till the end of the
novel when she is discovered to be the daughter of Andrews. She is a fellow-ser va nt
of Joseph and when hears about his getting robbed and severely beaten on the road
immediately sets off to meet him since he is the person ‘she loved with
inexpressible violence, though with the purest and most delicate passion’. Her
travelling alone exposes her to the danger of rape but Adams timely intervenes and
saves her.

But her virtue is again in danger even when she is accompanied by Joseph and
Adams. The nasty squire whom the three travelers meet in Book III sets his eyes on
her and sends his men to kidnap her. Despite relentless resistance by Joseph and
Adams the ‘servants of the squire’s house’ manage to ‘lay hold on Fanny’ and she
is taken away. But on the way she is saved by Peter Pounce. The third time Fanny
faces a similar situation in Book IV when she encounters Squire Didapper ‘a young
gentleman attended by many servants’. Didapper is impressed by Fanny’s beauty
and makes an unsuccessful attempt to kiss her. After failing to achieve his purpose
the squire rides away leaving behind a servant who acts as a ‘pimp’ and convinces
Fanny to accept the squire’s offer to become his mistress. He even offers to marry
her himself but she refuses his offer and thus becomes the victim of a likely sexual
assault but again gets saved by Joseph’s well-timed arrival. She represents the
helpless and vulnerable members of society.

Another such woman is Pamela who manages to ‘preserve (her) virtue against all
trials’ and marries her employer after he fails to seduce her and instead becomes a
reformed person. In fact, the character of Pamela as presented by Fielding is
mockery of the virtuous depiction of the heroine of Richardson’s novel Pamela.
Joseph Andrews writes to his sister Pamela in the initial chapters of the novel and
informs her about the threats to his modesty and virtue. Like Pamela who is tempted
by her master Joseph is lured by his mistress. Fielding however, draws a contrast
between the brother and the sister and shows Joseph refusing to accept not only the
affection but also the wealth and status of Lady Booby.

Pamela finally appears in person in the last chapters of the novel as a relative of
Lady Booby and a woman of high social status who despises her brother’s intentio n
to marry a poor girl. Squire Booby and Pamela advise Joseph to change his mind
about Fanny since she is far inferior to him. Joseph angrily reminds his sister that
Fanny is her ‘equal at least’ and she should not condemn her lower social standing.

78
Pamela however, refuses to accept the idea of being an equal to Fanny and declares
‘I am no longer Pamela Andrews, I am now this gentleman’s lady and as such am
above her.’ Thus Fielding reveals the reality of Richardson’s virtuous Pamela by
exposing her arrogance and selfishness. She forgets her past and the infer ior
position she held before she married a rich man and boasts her superiority before
people of lower class.

Besides these major characters Fielding depicts several minor but quite lively and
vital characters including different inn-keepers, travelers, servants, clergyme n,
lawyers, hunters etc. Some of these characters are named after their professions but
they still contribute to entertain the readers. For instance, the surgeon who treats
Joseph in the inn and boasts about his knowledge of medicine as well as law is a
comic character but also a realistic one. The surgeon makes a humorous attempt to
impress Adams with his stock of information about ancient physicians and refers
to several technical terms in Latin. He then argues with parson Barnabas on legal
matters. His knowledge of depends upon the information he gathers from books
like ‘Attorney’s Pocket Companion’ and ‘Mr. Jacob’s Law Tables’ which
obviously contain sketchy and incomplete information. Thus the knowledge of the
surgeon is also faulty and deficient.

Similarly, Barnabas is also a comic character who is called to ‘administer his good
offices to the soul of poor Joseph’ but he first drinks ‘a dish of tea with the landlady,
and afterwards a bowl of punch with the landlord’ and then attends Joseph.
Barnabas not only loves to eat but also to brag about his knowledge of law which
he gains from a book titled ‘Woods Institutes’. The most hilarious exposure of
Barnabas’s character comes in his discourses with Adams. First time when he meets
Adams he asks his fellow clergyman to lend him ‘a funeral sermon’ since he has
not ‘penned a line’ despite his getting ‘double price’. In his second meeting
Barnabas gets furious when Adams condemns those clergymen who unfair ly
criticized a book written to ‘restore the true use of Christianity’. Adams asks
Barnabas to ‘propose any objections he had to it’ and he replies ‘I’ve never read a
syllabus in any such wicked book; I never saw it in my life.’ Barnabas thus exposes
his ignorance as well as his intolerance. Similar traits are visible in Trulliber another
clergyman Fielding presents in the course of the novel.

Parson Trulliber is undoubtedly a comic character who besides being a clergyma n

is also a farmer and raises pigs for sale. Adams visits Trulliber because he needs
loan to pay the expenses of the inn where he is staying but his host mistakenly
recognizes him as a pig-dealer and forces him in the pig-stye. When Trulliber sees
Adams fall in the mire he bursts ‘into a laughter’ and makes fun of his poor guest.
After the misadventure with the hogs Adams manages to introduce himself as a

79
clergyman. Trulliber then shows some willingness to entertain his guest but that too
by serving ‘the worst ale’. Finally, when Adams asks for loan Trulliber puts on ‘a
stern look’ and refuses to lend any money. He insults Adams calling him a ‘beggar’
and ‘a wretch who wantonly speaks of faith and scriptures’ and orders him to ‘get
out of my doors’. Thus Trulliber shows inhospitality to his guest as well as his
meanness.

Another interesting minor character is Lady Booby’s ‘steward’ Peter Pounce who
is ordered by his mistress to sack Joseph Andrews. Fielding presents Peter Pounce
as a manager who pays other servants ‘their wages; not before they were due, but
before they were payable; that is, perhaps half a year after they were due’. When
he pays their wages after long delays he often deducts ‘fifty percent or a little more’
thus leaving the poor wretches with nominal income. In addition to this dishonest
means of stripping poor people Pounce also ‘lends money to other people, and even
his own master and mistress’ and has thus accumulated almost ‘twenty thousand
pounds’. Peter Pounce’s character is revealed not only in his dealing with money
but also by his interaction with Adams when the two travel together for a short
while. In his conversation with Adams Pounce brags about his wealth which he has
accumulated in the form of ‘land’ he has purchased and declares that ‘the distresses
of mankind are mostly imaginary, and it would be folly rather than goodness to
relieve them.’ When Adams contradicts his opinion Pounce calls him an ignorant
man ‘who do not know the world.’ His insulting attitude makes Adams so angry
that he ‘leaps out into the highway’ from a swiftly moving chariot in order to avoid
the company of a greedy and selfish man.

4.5 FIELDING’S CRITICISM OF CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

Henry Fielding wrote plays condemning and criticizing the policies of the
government and consequently ended his career as a playwright. But he continued
to present a realistic picture of the society he lived in and strongly objected to
several wrong practices he saw around him. In the novel Joseph Andrews which
contains several episodes taking place at different locations Fielding gets an
opportunity to highlight and show disapproval for some common social practices
and also the groups of people who commit them. He depicts an England where
travelers frequently get robbed and in Joseph’s case also stripped naked and beaten.
When these injured fellows are discovered by passer-bys they also show extremely
callous attitude. The coachman who hears from his postillion about Joseph’s being
lying in the ditch declares that he is getting late and has ‘no time to look after the
dead’. However, one of the passengers a lady on hearing Joseph’s groans ask the
postillion to ‘look into the ditch’ and when he reports back about the presence of a
‘a naked man’ she orders the coachman ‘drive on and leave him’. But the lawyer

80
who is also a passenger interferes and insists on taking the injured man for treatment
the coachman asks who ‘would pay’ his fare. None of the passengers in the coach
give any garment to the injured and naked man who is ‘almost dead with the cold’
but the postillion removes his ‘his only garment’ his great coat and saves Joseph.

Once taken to the nearest in Joseph continues to receives the same inhumane attitude
from different people. First Mrs Tow-wouse the wife of the inn keeper refuses to give
him a shirt of her husband and the maid servant Betty borrows a shirt from ‘the hostler,
who was one of her sweethearts, and put it on poor Joseph’. Then the surgeon, who is
woken up at night by Betty refuses to attend a patient without any means of paying for
his services. Another inn keeper reprimands his wife for treating the wounded leg of
Joseph and orders her to attend other passengers. Joseph’s injured leg does not allow
him to walk or ride but he is stopped from travelling by the stagecoach because one of
the passengers of the stagecoach whom Fielding calls Ms. Grave-airs objects to his
presence and insists ‘that she would not demean herself to ride with a footman. Hence
Fielding shows the unkind and selfish behavior of people around him particularly to
the poor and wretched. He censures the upper class of contemporary British society,
the judicial system, the clergymen and even the servants and other people representing
the working class.

Lady Booby an educated and resourceful woman is a representative of the upper

class of society. She mostly lives in London though her income comes from her
deceased husband’s country seat where the poor tenants wait for her arrival hoping
that some of the money her agents collect from them will be spent on them. But she
is indifferent to the problems and hardships of life of these people. Her life is
directed by pleasure-seeking activities including attending parties, playing cards,
visiting the Hyde-Park and conspiring to entice her footman Joseph. She is fond of
gossip and back-biting. When furious she uses extremely abusive language and her
servants are usually the victims of her tantrums. Despite her lustfulness she is
adamant about saving her reputation and does not want to people to mock at her
love for her footman.

The life of lechery and debauchery lived by the members of upper class is also
highlighted by Fielding in the story of Mr. Wilson. Though a minor character yet Mr.
Wilson relates how he lost his fortune and suffered physically and emotionally by
indulging in the evil deeds commonly committed by rich people. Though Fielding
does not depict the life of people living in urban areas in the novel Joseph Andrews
yet through a brief description of Lady Booby’s activities in London and the story of
life of Mr. Wilson he gives a glimpse of lack of moral values in the higher echelons
of his contemporary society. Similarly, the behavior of different squires appearing in
the course of the novel also reflects moral degradation of upper class.

81
Mr. Wilson mentions how ‘the young squire, the son of the lord of the manor’ acts
like a ‘tyrant’. This ruthless young man, according to Mr. Wilson ‘had killed all the
dogs, and taken away all the guns in the neighborhood, but not only that, he
trampled down hedges, rode over corn and gardens, with no more regard than if
they were the highway.’ He causes irreparable damage to the property of people
but no one has the courage to retaliate against his trespass of their properties since
he is a powerful man. Joseph, Adams and Fanny also meet another squire who loves
the ‘ridiculous, odious and absurd’ and lives in the company of weird sycophants
who assist him in his pursuit to play pranks and insult and humiliate people. Beau
Didapper also belongs to the same class and always displays disgusting and
repulsive attitude. Despite his failure to lure Fanny and even getting beaten by
Joseph he does not give up his urge to seduce her. While staying at Booby-Hall
Didapper orders ‘his servant to bring him word where Fanny lay’ and at night creep
into her room. Though he mistakenly encounters Mrs. Slipslop and gets beaten by
Adams yet this misadventure indicates his amorous and wicked intentions.

The world Fielding depicts in Joseph Andrews is ‘divided into people of fashion
and people of no fashion’ whom he also calls ‘high people and low people’. This
segregation of classes is visible in characters representing the upper and lower
classes of society but some people exist at the borderline of these two differe nt
territories and often shuttle between the two parts of this world. Mrs. Slipslop, Peter
Pounce and Pamela represent such people who can boast of their superiority before
those inferior to them and easily switch to lesser roles the moment they encounter
people of higher class. Fielding comments on this switching of classes of these
people and gives several examples to prove his arguments. He claims that ‘the
lowest of the high, and the highest of the low, often change their parties according
to the place and time; for those who are people of fashion in one place are often
people of no fashion in another’. Mrs. Slipslop enjoys her status as the head of
employees of Lady Booby and at times ‘can’t remember all the inferior servants in
our family’. She refuses to recognize Fanny as her co-worker and considers Adams
an ignorant country parson who is unaware of the world since he does not get
enough opportunities like her to visit London. However, she is fully aware of her
position in the presence of her mistress and submits to her tantrums.

Besides Mrs. Slipslop and Peter Pounce are dishonest servants who fleece their
employers whenever possible. Mrs. Slipslop has keys of cellars where edibles are
stored and she steals these food items in order to bribe other servants. Simila r ly,
Peter Pounce deals with the financial matters of Squire and Lady Booby and does
not miss any opportunity to make money at their expense. He wisely uses the money
he has earned from all dishonest means and invests it into land and lends some of

82
it to the people he has fooled and robbed. Thus Fielding does not spare members of
lower class in his novels and censures their dishonesty and meanness.

Fielding is also critical of the flaws in the judicial system. In fact, the novel Joseph
Andrews is strewn with legal jargon and reflects the writer’s knowledge of legal
matters. Moreover, it depicts a gloomy picture of legal system and particularly the
conduct of judges and lawyers. The lawyers, fielding presents in this novel chatter
and take advantage of the ignorance of layman about law. However, their knowledge
is superficial and often derived from sub-standard books such as the ones used by
Barnabas and the surgeon. Joseph is rescued from the ditch where he lies naked and
injured because a young lawyer in the stagecoach informs the other passengers that
leaving a dying man could be dangerous and ‘they might be called to some account
for his murder. But the same lawyer using the legal language makes ‘several petty
jests’ about Joseph and a respectable lady travelling in the same stagecoach. While
travelling Adams meets two lawyers who give completely contradictory opinions
about a judge and soon discovers that ‘neither of them spoke a syllable of truth’. In
addition to these lawyers the most significant representative of this class is Lawyer
Scout. He serves Lady Booby and ensures her that ‘the utmost that was in the power
of a lawyer, was to prevent the law’s taking effect’ and he proves it by accusing
Joseph and Fanny for theft thus forcing them to leave the parish.

In addition to lawyers Fielding also depicts a repulsive and gloomy image of judges
and magistrates. These legal officers especially in the rural areas are squires with
little knowledge of law and are easily influenced either by the rich and powerful
people or by the popular opinion of the public. Joseph and Fanny about whom the
whole parish is sure ‘will certainly be hanged; for nobody knows what it is for’ are
saved because the justice before whom they are presented is ‘luckily Mr. Booby’s
acquaintance’ and a neighbor. Thus the influence of Pamela’s brother on the judge
protects them and they are released.

A similar situation occurs in another episode when Adams and Fanny are falsely
accused of robbery by the man who failed to rape Fanny and gets brutally beaten by
Adams. The party of bird-baiters who discovers the three strangers, believe in the
charge laid by the wicked man and compel Fanny and Adams to appear before the
justice. The juvenile and cheerful justice is also a landowner and has ‘just returned from
a fox-chase’ and is drunk and therefore ‘in the height of his mirth’. The trial is a fun-
filled activity for ‘all the people of the neighborhood, who flock’d together’ to witness
the legal process. The justice decides to send the accused to the jail and despite
Adams’s pleas that ‘he should not be condemned unheard’. However, he is saved
because one of the onlookers another squire recognizes him and testifies, ‘I assure you
Mr. Adams is a clergyman as he appears, and a gentleman of a very good character.’

83
The tables are therefore turned and Adams and Fanny are set free. These two trials
mentioned by Fielding besides his depiction of lawyers bring out his ironic stance on
the legal system which he finds extremely defective.

Fielding is also extremely critical about the contemporary clergymen. The most
significant of his characters representing the church is Parson Adams. He admires
Adams for all his goodness of heart, generosity and kindness but despises his reliance
on theoretical knowledge and much of humor in the novel is derived from the
simplicity and innocence of Adams. The other clergymen he depicts however are
neither innocent nor generous but extremely shrewd and cunning fellows. The
‘parson of the parish’ at the court of the justice is an ignorant fellow who supports
the views of others about Adams manuscript of Aeschylus that it is written in Greek.
He believes it is a book of catechism or ‘question and answer’. Parson Barnabas is
more interested in eating and drinking and takes his responsibilities as a priest very
lightly. He admits that though he is paid double the price to deliver a funeral sermon
he has not prepared his speech so he plans to deliver a ‘common sermon’ by add
something about the deceased to it. Adams meets a Roman priest in an inn who
convinces him with his eloquent speech about his being ‘penny less’ and borrows
half a guinea from him. However, the most interesting of the clergymen Fielding
brings in the course of the novel is Trulliber who is a six days a week a worldly man
working as a farmer and on Sundays assumes the role of a priest. Thus Fielding by
means of these different churchmen he presents in the novel highlights the ignorance
and corruption prevalent in the ecclesiastical class of his contemporary age.

The threats Fanny frequently receives from different men enable Fielding to bring
out the problems of women. She is a young single and poor woman and her virtue
is safe nowhere. Like Joseph she also has to protect herself from the amorous
advances of men of different classes. Twice in the course of the novel Fanny is
taken to the court for trial and on both occasions the judges treat her badly. First
time she is taken before the justice when she and Adams were accused of being
robbers and taken to ‘the justice’s house’ for their trial. Seeing a pretty but poor
young woman as an accused ‘the justice employed himself in cracking jests on poor
Fanny, in which he was seconded by all the company at table.’ Second time she
appears before the justice in the company of Joseph when both of them are accused
of stealing a ‘twig’ from Lawyer Scout’s field. The justice as soon as he sees
Fanny’s ‘countenance’ desires to send his wife to the prison and ‘have had Fanny
in her place’. The cunning judge tries to trap Fanny by apologizing ‘for having
treated her so roughly earlier’ and offers her a job at his estate. Thus Fanny’s
vulnerability reflects the insecure position of women and particularly those coming
from lower class in Fielding’s contemporary society.

84
 SUMMARY POINTS

• Henry Fielding is the pioneer of the genre of English novel and he established
certain rules for this type of writing.

• Fielding insists on presenting the real world in fiction.

• Joseph Andrews is his first original work.

• Joseph is set out on the road from the beginning of the novel and he meets
several adventures.

• Joseph’s companion Parson Adams is a lively and interesting character.

• Fielding severely criticizes different corrupt practices of his contemporary

society in this novel.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. Draw a list of important dates in Henry Fielding’s life.

2. State three principles of Fielding’s theory of novel.
3. Read the novel Joseph Andrews and answer the following questions:
i. What does Parson Adams, Fanny and Mrs. Slipslop look like?
ii. Besides Adams Fielding presents four other clergymen in the novel.
Identify the names of these clergymen. What does Fielding demonstrate
through their words and actions?
iii. Find evidences of Fielding’s criticism of judicial system in the novel.
iv. Though Pamela appears for a very short while in the novel but Fielding
brings her quite purposefully. What is his purpose in his presentation of
Pamela’s character?
v. What is your estimate of the characters of Squire Booby and Mrs. Adams?
vi. The world Fielding depicts is full of cruel and wicked people. However,
there are some kind and generous characters too. Find at least three
characters in the novel who act kindly and generously towards others.
vii. Why do you think Fielding uses generic names such as priest, surgeon,
innkeeper, etc. in his novel?
viii. Why does Fielding makes Mr. Wilson tell the story of his life?

85
 SUGGESTED READINGS

Brown, H. O. (1997). Institutions of the English Novel: From Defoe to Scott.

Philadelphia: Penn.

Fielding, H. (1964). A History of Tom Jones a Foundling. A Signet Book.

Forster, E.M. (1971). Aspects of the Novel. Middlesex: Penguin Books.

Kettle, A. (1967). An Introduction to the English Novel. New York: Routledge.

Kroll, R. (2013). The English Novel. (vol. I). London: Routledge.

Parrinder, P. (2006). Nation and Novel. Oxford: OUP.

86
Unit–5

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

by Jane Austen

Written by: Prof. Ambreena Qayyum

Reviewed by: Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

87
 CONTENTS

Page #
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 89

Objectives.......................................................................................................... 89

5.1 Jane Austen’s Life.................................................................................... 90

5.2 Jane Austen’s Works................................................................................ 91

5.3 Jane Austen’s Theory of Novel................................................................ 95

5.4. Summary of Pride and Prejudice ............................................................. 97

5.5 The Plot of Pride and Prejudice ............................................................... 101

5.6 Characterization in Pride and Prejudice................................................... 103

5.7 Themes of Pride and Prejudice ................................................................ 108

Summary Points ................................................................................................ 110

Self- Assessment Questions ............................................................................... 111

Suggested Readings .......................................................................................... 112

88
 INTRODUCTION

Jane Austen wrote six novels in her life span of forty-two years. Four of her novels
were published during her life, while two were published posthumously. But
despite her few works Jane Austen contributed greatly to the evolution of genre of
English novel. She is considered to be the first modern novelist in English because
she not only presents events externally visible, but she also depicts the inner
happenings in her works. She therefore delves deep into the recesses of human
psychology and presents these complexities in her characters. A contemporary of
another major English novelist Sir Walter Scott Jane Austen uses English countryside
for the settings of her novels and presents characters from contemporary middle-
class. Her themes include love, courtship and marriage and she depicts everyday
life of people in a realistic manner. Thus unlike Scott Austen’s canvas is narrow
but she paints several profound characters on it. She resembles Shakespeare
because she never repeats a character. She focuses on the relationship between
human beings. Despite her limitations Austen’s plots are cleverly crafted and she
uses dialogues and actions of her characters skillfully to develop her plot and reveal
their motives and intentions. She often entertains her readers with her humor and
also employs irony.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit, you will be able to:

• enlist the names of novels written by Jane Austen;
• summarize the plots of Jane Austen’s novels;
• discuss the principles of Jane Austen theory of novel;
• summarize the main events of the novel Pride and Prejudice;
• identify the qualities of main characters of the novel Pride and Prejudice;
• discuss the themes of the novel Pride and Prejudice;
• discuss the significance of the title of the novel Pride and Prejudice.

89
5.1 JANE AUSTEN’S LIFE

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in Steventon in the county of
Hampshire in England. Her father Reverend George Austen was a clergyman and
her mother Cassandra Austen a homemaker. They had six sons and two daughters.
The family usually lived in small towns where the father was appointed as minis ter.
The Austen children loved reading and borrowed books from local libraries. They
often read novels together. Besides they wrote and performed home theatrica ls.
Jane Austen’s novels depict families reading novels together and occasionally
performing home theatricals like her own family.

Jane Austen’s closest companion was her sister Cassandra and together the two
sisters attended different schools including a boarding school from 1783 to 1785.
However, they could not continue their formal education due to financ ia l
constraints and returned home. Their father had a large collection of books and they
were encouraged to read. Moreover, at home they learned Italian and French
languages and also playing piano. They were fond of attending social get-togethers
like ball parties and picnics.

When Jane Austen was twenty she met a young Irishman Tom Lefroy who came to
Hampshire to visit his relatives. Austen and Lefroy liked each other but could not
get married because the former’s family disapproved their son’s match with a poor
clergyman’s daughter. Later when Jane Austen was twenty-seven she received a
proposal of marriage from a wealthy man called Harris Bigg-Wither. She accepted
the proposal but on second thought refused to marry because she felt she did not
love Bigg-Wither. She therefore remained unmarried all her life. She died on July
18 in 1817 in Winchester and was buried there. Thus her life was quite uneventful
but this fact does not reduce the significance of her novels.

She began writing at an early age and composed poems, wrote stories and short
satirical plays for performance at home. Her literary career can be divided into two
phases and her biographers claim that she wrote three novels Northanger Abbey,
Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice between 1796 and 1798. However,
in 1801 when her family moved to the city of Bath as a consequence of her father’s
retirement Jane Austen’s creative process halted for several years and she did not
write. In 1805 her father died and then in 1809 with her mother and sister she moved
to a small town called Chawton in Winchester. Thus ended her hiatus and she
produced her next three novels Mansfield Park, Emma and finally Persuasion.
Beside her published novels she owes credit for another novel titled Lady Susan.
Written in 1805 it was published in 1871. Lady Susan is an epistolary novel
consisting of forty-one letters and thus a complex narrative.

90
5.2 JANE AUSTEN’S WORKS
Her first novel to get published was Sense and Sensibility. It was published in 1811
but received more acclaim after the publication and popularity of her second novel
Pride and Prejudice in 1813. In 1814 her novel Mansfield Park and in 1815 Emma
got published. Her two novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published
in December 1817 after her death. When she died in 1817 she was working on a
novel Sandition which remained incomplete like another novel The Watsons.

Sense and Sensibility opens with the circumstances of Dashwood family after the
death of Henry Dashwood. All his property is inherited by John Dashwood his only
son from his first wife. Thus Henry Dashwood’s second wife and three daughters
Elinor, Marriane and Margaret are left with little income and no place to live. Under
the influence of his greedy wife Fanny John Dashwood refuses to provide for his
stepmother and half-sisters and they become destitute. They consequently move
from their residence in Norland Park to live in Barton Cottage in Devonshire with
their distant relatives a family called Middletons. Elinor Dashwood is quite upset
about their moving from Norland because she is separated from her beloved
Edward Ferrars who is the brother-in-law of their half-brother John.

While living in Barton Cottage Marriane meets Colonel Brandon a bachelor and
twenty years her senior. Brandon is in love with Marriane but his love remains
unrequited because Marriane is courted by a young man called John Willoughb y.
However, Willoughby suddenly leaves for London making Marriane unhappy and
disappointed. In the meanwhile, two young women Anne and Lucy Steele arrive at
Barton Cottage and tell Elinor about Lucy’s secret engagement with Ferrars and
she assumes her referring to Edward Ferrars. The news about Ferrars engageme nt
adds to Elinor’s sorrows but being a composed person she hides her grief.

The two sisters travel to London and learn that people gossip about Marriane and
John Willoughby’s getting married. But when Marriane meets Willoughby in a
party he disowns her. She soon learns that Willoughby has squandered his fortune
and now being penniless has got engaged to a wealthy heiress Miss Grey. Later
Willoughby again contacts Marriane when she is extremely ill and staying in
Cleveland. He visits her and asks for her forgiveness for his selfishness and callous
attitude. But Marriane realizes that he is an opportunist and a mean person and she
attempts to forget him. She finally accepts Colonel Brandon’s proposal and gets
married to him.

Elinor learns that Edward Ferrars was disowned by his mother when his secret
engagement was revealed to her by Lucy’s sister Anne. Ferrars thus lost his fortune

91
but still married Lucy. But Edward Ferrars visits Barton Cottage and reveals the
fact that Lucy Steele in fact married his brother Robert and consequently he is free
to propose Elinor. Thus Ferrars and Elinor also get married after the
misunderstandings are clarified. Thus the impoverished Dashwood sisters after
suffering several hardships manage to get settled by getting married to right men.

Another impoverished heroine of Jane Austen’s novels is Fanny Price who is sent
to live with her maternal aunt Lady Maria Bertram and her husband Sir Thomas at
their estate Mansfield Park. In fact, Fanny’s mother Frances married below her
status with Lieutenant Price who turns out to be a drunkard and later becomes
disabled. Fanny is Prices second child and is adopted by the Bertrams to ease off
the financial pressure on her family caused by several children and very little
income. Fanny’s other aunt is Mrs. Norris, the wife of a clergyman and friend of
Sir Thomas supervises all household matters at Mansfield Park. Fanny often gets
scolded by Mrs. Norris who actually despises her sister Frances’ decision of
marriage. However, Sir Thomas and his wife are kind towards Fanny but their
daughters Maria and Julia treat her scornfully. Tom the elder son of Bertrams is
twenty-five and fond of wasting his fortune in gambling. On the contrary their
younger son Edmund is educated at Eton and Oxford and is a clergyman by
profession. He is also kind to Fanny.

When Sir Thomas goes to Antigua where he owns plantations two guests arrive at
Mansfield Park. Henry and Mary Crawford are half siblings of Mrs. Grant the wife
of Dr. Grant the Rector of Mansfield Park. Henry initially flirts with Maria but since
she is engaged to James Rushworth he shifts his attention to her younger sister Julia.
Similarly, his sister Mary loves Edmund but is reluctant to accept his proposal of
marriage because she thinks he is financially not as stable as his elder brother who
is the heir of the family’s estate. Besides the Crawfords another guests arrives at
Mansfield Park. John Yates is a friend of Tom and is quite keen on performing in
home theatricals. Yates suggests putting up a domestic theatrical and Tom, Maria,
Julia, Henry and Mary willingly rehearse to perform. Edmund and Fanny are forced
to participate in this plan. However, Sir Thomas’s unexpected arrival brings an end
to the plan of performance of a play.

Maria gets married to John Rushworth and Edmund confides in Fanny about his
disappointment at Mary Crawford’s refusal of his proposal of marriage. Fanny is
hurt to hear that Edmund loves Mary and is desperate to marry her. Henry Crawford
loves Fanny and to win her favor gets her brother William Price promotion in navy.
Fanny however declines his offer of marriage and makes Sir Thomas so angry that
he sends her back to her parents’ place. Henry still visits Fanny and his sister Mary
writes to her to convince her to accept her brother’s offer.

92
The course of events suddenly changes for the Bertram family when Tom gets
extremely ill and is on the brink of death, Henry Crawford runs away with Maria
and her younger sister Julia elopes with Yates. Mary Crawford shows her
callousness by expressing her desire for Tom’s death so that his share of inherita nce
is transferred to Edmund. Fanny is called back at Mansfield Park and Edmund
realizes how sincerely she loves him. So he finally marries her. Maria and Henry
Crawford get separated and the former goes to live in the Continent along with Mrs.
Norris. Julia and Yates make peace with Bertrams and also get married. Thus
Mansfield Park restores its harmony and peace.

Unlike the poor Dashwoods and Fanny Price the central character in the novel
Emma is a well-to-do young woman. Emma Woodhouse is twenty-one and lives
with her widowed father in Highbury. The novel opens with the marriage of
Emma’s former governess Miss Taylor and a widower Mr. Weston. Emma takes
the credit of this marriage because she introduced Miss Taylor and Mr. Weston.
She thus declares her plan of match-making which her father and her friend Mr.
Knightley disapprove. Emma however gives no heed to their advice and opinion.

She patronizes Harriet Smith a seventeen years old pretty girl who is a foundling
but brought up by Mrs. Goddard. Harriet is interested in a young farmer Robert
Martin a tenant of Mr. Knightly. Emma convinces Harriet to decline Martin’s
proposal. She thinks that Harriet should marry the clergyman Mr. Elton. Knightle y
gets angry at Emma when he learns that she advised Harriet to refuse Martin’s
proposal. He criticizes Emma for her foolish counsel to Harriet but she does not
give importance to his opinion and continue to guide Harriet. She is however soon
disappointed to find that Mr. Elton does not love Harriet. He, in fact tells Emma
that he loves her and spent time with Harriet only to please her. Elton soon moves
to the city of Bath and thus abandons Harriet.

Emma’s attention is soon diverted to two new visitors in Highbury. One is Jane
Fairfax the young and beautiful niece of Miss Bates who has come to visit her.
Emma does not like her because she finds Jane too ‘cold’ and reserve. She however
likes the other visitor Frank Churchill the son of Mr. Weston. Emma’s dislike for
Jane also owes to the fact that she already knew Frank Churchill and this makes her
jealous of Jane. Knightley reminds Emma of the privileges she enjoys in life and
advises her not to bother about the poor Jane Fairfax who has no option but to work
as a governess.

Emma soon begins to consider Churchill a suitable match for Harriet who admits
her love for a man of higher status. Emma does not know that Harriet is in love
with Knightely because he recently saved her from the embarrassment caused due

93
to her encounter with Mr. Elton and his newly-married wife. When Emma learns
the truth about Harriet’s love for Knightley she begins to realize that she also loves
him. She soon receives a letter from Frank Churchill who has hurriedly and
unceremoniously left Highbury. The letter reveals to her that Jane Fairfax and Frank
Churchill have been secretly engaged and were waiting for the consent of latter’s
parents. She shares the news with Knightely and confesses that she never loved
Frank Churchill. On hearing this Knightley expresses her love for her and proposes
a plan of marriage. Emma agrees but she worries about Harriet. Her worry ends
when Robert Martin again expresses his intention to marry Harriet and she accepts
his offer. The novel thus ends with three marriages and Emma’s realization that she
should not interfere in other people’s lives.

Like Emma Woodhouse Catherine Morland the heroine of Nothanger Abbey also
learns through her experiences. The seventeen-year-old Catherine goes to the city
of Bath with her family friends called Allens. There she meets a young man Henry
Tilney and falls in love with him. She also befriends Henry’s sister Eleanor and
together the three young people share their interest in books. Catherine is invited to
the family home of Tilneys at Northanger Abbey and she begins to believe she is
living in the mysterious ruins as mentioned in Gothic novels. During her stay at
Northanger Catherine’s imagination is overwrought with Gothic fiction and she
behaves strangely.

Henry Tilney wants to marry Catherine but his father does not approve his plan
because he thinks Catherine’s family is below their station in life. General Tilne y
sends Catherine away but his son convinces him to accept her as a daughter-in- law
and he finally agrees to allow him to marry Catherine. Catherine is now a changed
young woman who has become more realistic. This novel discusses the effect of
fiction on the imagination of a young woman as well as the problem of match-
making for the women of middle-class families. General Tilney rejects Catherine
because her family is not rich but when he learns that they are moderately well off
he approves the match.

Anne Elliot the heroine of Jane Austen’s novel Persuasion faces a similar situatio n
in life when at the age of twenty under the pressure of her mother she calls off her
engagement with Captain Fredrick Wentworth. Anne’s mother convinces her that
Captain Wentworth is socially inferior to her and she refuses to marry him.
However, she continues to love him. Later Sir Walter Elliot’s overspending creates
financial problems for the family and they have to rent out their estate Kellynch
Hall and move to the city of Bath where they can manage to live with limited
financial resources. By that time Anne is twenty-eight and proves to be quite unlike
her father and Elizabeth who are both vain and unwise. Anne is happy that their

94
estate is taken on rent by Admiral and Mrs. Croft and the latter is the sister of her
ex-fiancé Wentworth.

However, when Anne gets an opportunity to meet Captain Wentworth he pays little
attention to her. While on a visit to Lyme Anne meets her cousin William Elliot
who is likely to be the heir of her father’s estate. William Elliot is in search of a
wife after the death of his first wife about six months ago. Earlier Walter Elliot had
a quarrel with Sir Walter but he manages to make peace with his uncle and
frequently visits his family. William Elliot plans to propose Anne but she learns
about his vicious plans of taking over Kellynch Hall and become its sole owner.
She is saved from William Elliot because of the arrival of Captain Wentworth in
Bath. This time he has earned enough fortune despite his low birth that Sir Walter
Elliot accepts him as his son-in-law. Anne and Wentworth are both wise and
practical people but face the hurdles produces by class differences. The differe nce
in social classes is a favorite theme of Jane Austen and she depicts it through the
characters of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy in her most popular novel
Pride and Prejudice.

5.3 JANE AUSTEN’S THEORY OF NOVEL

Jane Austen always creates a world she is familiar with and can conveniently depict
with minor details. Her setting is usually English countryside including villages and
small towns. If she includes cities they are usually Bath and London which she has
visited or lived in. Her characters include middle class families and usually
landowners or traders. She hardly refers to upper class and if she does it is usually
with despise for their consciousness about their high station in life. Her characters
indulge in simple but popular pleasures of her contemporary society like ball parties
and picnics. They go for walk and often gossip.

Since her father was a clergyman and her brothers were in navy she shows men
related to these professions. Edmund in Mansfield Park is a minister and his cousin
William Price is an officer in navy. Admiral Croft in Persuasion represents navy
and so does his brother-in-law Captain Wentworth who manages to earn wealth and
honor because of his profession despite his low birth. Her female characters lie at
the centre of every novel. They are young as well as old and show various traits of
human character. The young women are educated and can sing, dance and play
music.

Like a dramatist Jane Austen makes her characters act and speak and thus reveal
their real intentions and plans. Beside dialogues Jane Austen’s characters exchange

95
letters in which they share information as well as express their views. Harriet Smith
in Emma gets a proposal of marriage from Martin Robert through his letter. Frank
Churchill reveals in a letter to Emma the secret of his engagement with Jane Fairfax.
In Pride and Prejudice when Elizabeth Bennet declines Fitzwilliam Darcy’s
proposal and accuses him of creating a rift between her sister Jane and his friend
Charles Bingley and also of depriving Wickham of his inheritance Darcy writes her
a letter explaining his stance. Similarly, Elizabeth’s aunt Mrs. Gardiner writes to
her and informs her about the role Darcy has played in looking for Lydia and
Wickham and then getting them married and sending them away.

She also makes her characters travel and learn from their experiences. They do not
cross oceans and go to other continents but moving from one county to the other
add to their experiences and knowledge. Catherine Morland goes to live in
Northanger Abbey and realizes her errors of judgment caused due to her excessive
fascination of Gothic novels. Fanny Price lives for a while with her family and
learns the importance of Mansfield Park in her life. Elizabeth Bennet’s visit to
Hunsford Parsonage and her encounter with Darcy serves as climax of the story
since it is the point of extreme tension. Similarly, Elizabeth’s visit to Pemberley
becomes the denouement for the novel since it leads to her becoming the mistress
of the estate.

Jane Austen writes with the intention to entertain her audience by telling them
stories with neatly knitted plots and occasional humor which arises from situatio ns
as well as the actions and speeches of characters. Mrs. Bennets foolish remarks and
her husband’s witty comments in the novel Pride and Prejudice often make the
audience smile. For instance, Mr. Bennet tells his daughter Elizabeth ‘Your mother
will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you
again if you do’. Similarly, Collin’s proposal of marriage to Elizabeth is extremely
humorous and especially his insistence that ‘it is usual with young ladies to reject
the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept.’

She also employs situational irony as well as verbal irony in her novels. The
opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice is an example of verbal irony: ‘It is a truth
universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must
be in want of a wife.’ The assertion refers to the perception of women who want to
be that single man’s wife or the mothers of marriageable daughters seeking this
match but the statement does not reflect the point of view of the single man. In the
same novel Caroline Bingley often insults Elizabeth Bennet in the presence of
Darcy in order to belittle her rival but her attempts produce a reverse effect and
Darcy admires Elizabeth more than ever. On one occasion Miss Bingley refers to
Wickham and Elizabeth’s interest in him. She does not realize that by mentio ning

96
Wickham’s name she embarrasses Darcy and his younger sister Georgiana whom
Wickham had failed to seduce. The situation becomes ironic because Miss Bingle y
degrades herself before Darcy and his sister while her intention is to humiliate
Elizabeth.

5.4 SUMMARY OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

The Bennets are residents of a village called Longbourne situated in Hertfordshire.

Their village is located a mile away from the small town of Meryton which is a
cantonment and constantly visited by different regiments of military. The Bennets
have been married for twenty-three years and have five daughters including Jane,
Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine and Lydia. The Bennet sisters are all marriageable and
their mother is desperate to get them married and well-settled. Due to the absence
of a male heir Mr. Bennet’s estate is entitled to be inherited by a distant cousin. The
Bennet sisters frequently visit their aunt Mrs. Phillip who lives in Meryton and
often invites military officers to her house. Among their various neighbors the
family of Sir William Lucas is quite close to Bennets and Elizabeth Bennet and
Charlotte Lucas are close friends.

The novel opens with the excitement caused at Longbourne and its surroundings
due to the arrival of Charles Bingley a young man who hires Netherfield Park. Mrs.
Bennet compels her husband to visit the new tenant at Netherfield and initiate
relations with him because she hopes one of her daughters can get married to this
rich bachelor. Besides Mrs. Bennet all families in the neighborhood look forward
to some interaction with Bingley whom they consider ‘a young man with large
fortune’. The balls and parties held regularly provide opportunities to the young
people to meet each other and consequently find suitable matches for them. In the
first ball at Meryton Bingley introduces his neighbors to his friend Mr. Fitzwillia m
Darcy who immediately receives attention because of his ‘fine, tall, person,
handsome features, noble mien and the report … of his having ten thousand a year’.
Darcy is the owner of Pemberley an estate located in Derbyshire and he is
unfamiliar with the people at the ball. At Meryton assembly Darcy remains very
reserve but he offends the other guests by one of his remarks about Elizabeth
Bennet which she overhears and reports to others.

When Bingley suggests that Darcy should dance with Elizabeth Bennet whom he
thinks ‘is very pretty, and … very agreeable’ Darcy replies, ‘She is tolerable, but
not handsome enough to tempt me.’ The remark makes Elizabeth develop prejudice
against Darcy and brings an end to ‘any cordial feelings towards him’. Elizabe th’s
friend Charlotte Lucas is of the view that Darcy’s social status gives him ‘a right to

97
be proud’ and Elizabeth responds by saying that she ‘could easily forgive his pride
if he had not mortified’ hers. Thus forms a rift between Darcy and Elizabeth which
gets deeper and wider in the coming days. They meet several times and often talk
on different topics but Elizabeth continues to dislike him. On the contrary Darcy
starts taking interest in Elizabeth and admires her intelligence and beauty in spite
of the fact that he finds her family’s behavior extremely abominable. Caroline
Bingley dislikes Elizabeth and is often ‘uncivil to her’ in Darcy’s presence. The
Bingley sisters however tolerate Jane Bennet who becomes the focus of their
brother’s interest but they believe there is no chance of his getting married to her.

The Bennets receive a guest William Collins who is a clergyman and the likely heir
of their father’s property after his death. Collins visits the Bennets looking for a
suitable wife and expresses his interest in proposing Jane. However, Mrs. Bennet
informs him that Jane is being courted by Bingley and is likely to get engaged soon
and ‘Mr. Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth’. In extremely comic
manner he proposes Elizabeth and she declines his offer thus making her mother
extremely furious but her father really pleased with her decision. Collins soon turns
his attention to Charlotte Lucas and she willingly accepts his offer. Elizabeth is
horrified at her friend’s decision to marry Collins but Charlotte reminds her that
she is already twenty-seven and with her plain looks and no dowry she has no
choice but to accept Collins’ proposal. Thus Charlotte who is ‘not romantic’ and
only desires for ‘a comfortable home’ gets married to Collins and leaves for
Hunsford Parsonage in Kent.

In the meanwhile, Elizabeth gets acquainted with an officer George Wickham in

Meryton and observes that when he meets Darcy neither talk to the other. In fact,
she notices that on seeing Wickham Darcy’s face gets ‘red’ while that of Wickham
becomes ‘white’ and she realizes that the two men know each other well. Since she
has developed prejudice against Darcy she avails every opportunity to meet
Wickham and get some information about Darcy. Wickham poisons her mind by
telling her that he is the son of the steward of Pemberley and Darcy’s deceased
father promised him one thousand pounds for his education and training as a
clergyman. Darcy however after the death of his father denied Wickham his share
of inheritance and this compelled him to join military. He also tells her that Darcy
is the nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh the patroness of Collins and owner of
Rosings Park and she intends to get him married to his only daughter. Elizabeth
thus forms a very poor opinion of Darcy and considers pride his greatest fault.

The Bingleys suddenly leave Netherfield Park in autumn and Caroline Bingle y
informs Jane that they plan to stay in London during winter. Jane visits her maternal
uncle Mr. Gardiner who is a trader and settled with his wife and children in London

98
and during her stay with them pays a visit to Caroline Bingley. She is disappointed
at the cold attitude of Bingley sisters who shows no interest in maintaining
friendship with her or returning to Netherfield Park. Thus Jane’s prospects of
getting married to Bingley get bleak and Elizabeth is also affected by her sister’s
disappointment.

In March Elizabeth visits her friend Charlotte at her new home in Hunsford
parsonage and meets Darcy and his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam at Rosings Park.
Colonel Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth that Darcy is quite pleased that he ‘saved a
friend from the inconvenience of a most inconvenient marriage’. Elizabeth realizes
that Colonel Fitzwilliam is referring to her family and gets angry at Darcy for
throwing a spanner in the way of Jane’s marriage with Bingley. She also observes
Lady Catherine’s abominable manners and her unbearably assertive attitude. Thus
her prejudice against Darcy gets stronger. At the moment when Elizabeth is
extremely angry and hates Darcy he visits her and proposes her declaring his love
for her. She indignantly refuses to accept his offer and blames him for his excessive
pride besides spoiling Jane’s prospects of marriage and Wickham’s professiona l
plans. Darcy gets furious on hearing her allegations but does not reply immediate ly.

Next day he visits Elizabeth and gives her a letter containing his answer to her
allegations against him. The letter reveals to Elizabeth that Wickham not only
received the one thousand pounds he was promised by late Mr. Darcy but also
another sum of three thousand pounds but he squandered his fortune. However, his
biggest crime was his attempt to seduce Darcy’s sixteen years old sister Georgiana
whom he convinced to elope with him last year. Georgiana however wisely told her
brother about the wicked intentions of Wickham and saved herself and her family
from disgrace. Elizabeth is horrified when she realizes how Wickham mislead her
and she foolishly believed in whatever information he fed her. Darcy in her letter
also tells her that he found ‘total want of propriety’ in the behavior of her Bennet
family and Jane’s ‘indifference’ to the partiality of Bingley made him think that she
does not love him. In fact, Charlotte also pointed out the same fact that Jane’s
inability to express her emotions discourages her suitors. Thus Elizabeth begins to
change her opinion of Darcy.

On her return to Longbourne Elizabeth finds that her sister Lydia plans to go to
Brighton accompanying the young wife of Colonel Forster. Elizabeth advises her
father to stop Lydia but he dismisses her suggestion and Lydia leaves for Brighto n.
Elizabeth also gets an invitation from her aunt and uncle the Gardiners to
accompany them on a tour of North of England. She accepts the offer and joins
them. They travel to different places and finally reach Derbyshire where Darcy’s
estate Pemberley is located. After confirming that Darcy is away on some business

99
Elizabeth visits Pemberley and is cordially received by the housekeeper Mrs.
Reynolds. She happily shows Elizabeth the whole estate and praises her master for
his many qualities. Mrs. Reynolds strongly believes that Darcy is not ‘proud’ he
only ‘does not rattle away like other young men.’

To Elizabeth’s surprise Darcy unexpectedly arrives and welcomes her with no hint
of the bitterness between them. The Gardiners are impressed by his hospitality and
praise him. Mr. Gardiner declares that ‘he is perfectly well-behaved, polite and
unassuming’. Darcy makes Elizabeth meet his younger sister and she finds
Georgina ‘exceedingly shy’. She also meets the Bingleys at Pemberley and is
surprised to hear Charles Bingley referring to his not seeing Jane for eight months.
The Bingley sisters however treat Elizabeth in very insulting manner especially in
the presence of Darcy.

While staying at Derbyshire Elizabeth receives a letter from Jane informing her
about Lydia’s elopement with Wickham. Extremely distressed and upset Elizabeth
shares this bad news with Darcy who consoles her and promises to help her family.
Elizabeth and Gardiners immediately return to Longbourne and unsuccessfully
search for Lydia. Even Colonel Forster is unable to locate the eloped couple.
However, after some time they are located and advised to get married in a
respectable manner and then leave for a distant location where Wickham has been
appointed. When Lydia returns to Longbourne in order to get married she mentions
her meeting Darcy and Elizabeth suspects that he has played a major role in finding
the couple and settling all their financial affairs. She writes to Mrs. Gardiner and
inquires about Darcy’s involvement in Lydia’s matter. She soon receives a reply
that Darcy not only located the abode of Lydia and Wickham but also convinced
them to get married. Besides he also paid all the debts Wickham accumulated and
paid for his appointment in a certain militia. He however convinced Mr. Gardiner
to keep his role a secret from the Bennets and take the credit for resolving the
matter. These revelations made by Mrs. Gardiner about Darcy’s conduct creates a
powerful effect on Elizabeth and ‘her heart did whisper that he had done it for her’.
She realizes that Darcy loves her and she changes her opinion about him.

Lydia’s marriage is followed by Jane and Bingley’s engagement and then Elizabeth
receives a surprise visit from Lady Catherine who strives to dissuade Elizabeth
from accepting a proposal of marriage from Darcy. She insists that Darcy has to
marry her daughter and not a woman far below his social station. Elizabeth tells
Lady Catherine that if her nephew is a ‘gentleman’ she is also a ‘gentlema n’s
daughter’ and they are both ‘equal’ so she should not object to this match. Lady
Catherine leaves angrily and Elizabeth soon receives a proposal of marriage from

100
Darcy which she happily accepts and the novel ends with Jane and Bingley and
Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriages.

5.5 THE PLOT OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Jane Austen is known for her tightly knitted plots with no lose ends. Pride and
Prejudice bears witness to this quality since its plot is quite well-weaved and one
event leads to the other. The action of the novel begins with the arrival of Bingle ys
in Hertfordshire which leads to meetings between Jane Bennet and Charles Bingle y
and also Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. While Jane and Bingley get
closer Elizabeth overhears a remark about her from Darcy and begins to dislike
him. Her aversion for Darcy increases because she is fed incorrect informa tio n
about him from a military officer Wickham who is an old acquaintance of Darcy.
The plot develops further with the arrival of Collins a relative of Bennets and heir
to their property owing to the fact that Mr. Bennet has no male issue. Collins comes
to Hertfordshire with the intention of finding a match for him and hopes to propose
Jane the eldest daughter of Mr. Bennet. He is however informed about Jane’s
likelihood of getting married to Bingley so he proposes to Elizabeth who declines
his offer. But Collins successfully convinces Elizabeth’s friend Charlotte Lucas to
marry him. Collins and Charlotte get married and the latter invites her friend
Elizabeth to visit her at Hunsford Parsonage where her husband is a clergyman. On
visiting Hunsford Elizabeth gets acquainted with Darcy’s aunt Lady Catherine the
owner of the estate called Rosings Park. At Hunsford she also meets Darcy and his
cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam who have come to visit their aunt.

In one of the conversations with Colonel Fitzwilliam Elizabeth discovers that Darcy
has played a significant role in convincing Bingley to abandon Jane. This revelatio n
adds to Elizabeth’s aversion for Darcy and she develops extreme prejudice against
him. She has already heard from Jane about Binley’s sisters’ cold attitude to her
when she visited them in London during her short stay with her relatives there.
Elizabeth realizes that Bingley’s sisters and Darcy have discouraged him to contact
Jane and court her. Thus Jane’s prospects of marrying Bingley cease. She strongly
believes that Darcy is responsible for Jane and Wickham’s ruin.

However, Darcy is unaware of Elizabeth’s feelings and he proposes to her a plan

of marriage which she haughtily rejects and accuses him of damaging the prospects
of Jane’s marriage with Bingley and Wickham’s career. Darcy reacts to her
accusations in a letter in which he explains his reasons for separating Jane and
Bingley and also reveals the wickedness of Wickham. He informs Elizabeth about
the squandering and wasteful nature of Wickham and his failed attempt to lure

101
Darcy’s younger sister. The interaction between Elizabeth and Darcy and
particularly the scene of proposal made by Darcy at Hunsford Parsonage serves as
the climax of the novel. Elizabeth gives vent to her fury against Darcy and he
consequently responds revealing some facts which have been hitherto unknown to
her. This leads to gradual change in Elizabeth’s opinion of Darcy.

Elizabeth’s journey to Derbyshire and her visit Darcy’s estate Pemberley becomes
instrumental to her change of heart. At Pemberley she meets his servants and is
surprised to find them all praise for their master. His housekeeper Mrs. Reynolds
asserts that her master is not a conceited man but he is quite reserve in his
communication with strangers. So Elizabeth is introduced to another side of
Darcy’s personality whom she has so far considered a pompous rich man with no
regard for other people’s feelings. Darcy’s unexpected arrival at Paemberley
contributes to further development of events. He meets Elizabeth very respectfully
and invites her to his house. At Pemberley Elizabeth meets Bingley who quite
contrary to his sisters’ desires expresses his interest in Jane. Thus Elizabeth begins
to cherish the hope of her sister getting married to Bingley. While in Derbyshire
Elizabeth receives the news of her youngest sister Lydia’s elopement with
Wickham. She is at that time with Darcy and gets so overwhelmed with emotions
that she cannot conceal the embarrassing news from him. Thus Darcy knows that
Lydia and Wickham have eloped and disappeared. Elizabeth in the company of her
aunt and uncle immediately leaves for Longbourne where she finds her family in
sheer distress.

Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet’s brother Mr. Gardiner’s initial attempts to locate
Lydia and Wickham fail and the former returns home. However, a little later Mr.
Gardiner informs the Bennets that he has met the couple and advises them to
arrange a marriage ceremony for them. When Lydia comes home to get married she
mentions Darcy’s involvement in the affair and makes Elizabeth suspect his playing
a major role in bringing Lydia back and settling the tangled financial affairs of
Wickham. She writes to her aunt Mrs. Gardiner and learns that not Mr. Gardiner
but Darcy located Lydia and Wickham besides paying the debts Wickham has
accumulated and finally managed to get him a job. She thus realizes that Darcy
does all these things for her sake and he genuinely loves her.

Soon the Bennets are visited by Bingley who intends to propose to Jane. He is
accompanied by Darcy but he remains cold and indifferent while Elizabeth now
begins to love him and desires to receive his attention. After Jane and Bingle y’s
engagement Darcy’s aunt Lady Catherine visits Elizabeth unexpectedly and insults
her for being the love interest of her nephew. Lady Catherine asserts that Elizabeth
should not accept Darcy’s proposal since her daughter is the right match for him.

102
She then visits her nephew in London ‘and there relates her journey to Longbourne,
its motive, and the substance of her conversation with Elizabeth.’ After listening to
his aunt’s report of Elizabeth’s response to her chiding Darcy develops the ‘hope’
that she also loves him and is likely to accept his proposal this time. So he
approaches Elizabeth and his request is happily admitted. Austen thus uses cause
and effect method to connect these different events. Every event causes the other
and therefore each event becomes a link in a chain forming the plot. So if one link
is removed the chain breaks and in the same way if one event is detached the plot
of the novel collapses.

5.6 CHARACTERIZATION IN PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Lord David Cecil admires Jane Austen for creating ‘living’ characters and depicting
their performance in the ‘private’ sphere of life. Cecil explains that the talents of an
individual are visible in public life but his morals can be seen in private life where
he deals with his family members, friends, neighbors and acquaintances. She shows
her characters in critical situations but mostly dealing with trivial matters which
make up most of our life. She therefore draws quite realistic characters. She is often
accused for having a narrow range of characters but like Shakespeare she never
repeats any character. She however, does not trespass the boundary of her own
observation and experience and her characters don’t indulge in actions unknown to
her. Her protagonist is always a female but each of her heroines is different from
others.

Elizabeth Bennet is the central character of the novel Pride and Prejudice. She is
twenty-one years old and as her father says has ‘something of more quickness than
her sisters’. She is good looking as well as intelligent. Moreover, she has ‘a lively,
playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous’. It is her jovial temper
which makes her report and laugh at Darcy’s remark that ‘She is tolerable, but not
handsome enough to tempt me’. She admits that he has ‘mortified’ her pride but
does not grieve over it. Though his remark leaves her with ‘no very cordial feelings
towards him’ yet she does not hate him or try to malign and criticize him publica lly.
Whenever she meets him again she talks to him without any hint of malice or hatred.

Besides Elizabeth is a keen observer and notices things which others ignore. She
observes how Darcy and Wickham react to each other’s presence in Hertfordshire.
They are both surprised but what strikes Elizabeth is the fact that ‘Both changed
color, one looked white, and the other red.’ The way the two gentlemen greet each
other also catches her attention and she realizes that Darcy forces himself to
acknowledge the ‘salutation’ he receives from Wickham. She therefore analyzes

103
that they are old acquaintances and bear malice for each other. She however
attributes Darcy’s odd behavior to his pride and thinks that he considers it beneath
his dignity to greet someone far inferior than him.

Since she has already developed a dislike for Darcy she is further disillusioned by
the information Wickham provides her and she believes in his story considering it
‘a very rational account’. But when she learns the reality and discovers how she has
been misled by the lies told by Wickham she admits her error and Jane Austen
describes her feelings ‘She grew absolutely ashamed of herself. …she had been
blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd.’ Later in her conversation with Darcy she admits
that his letter explaining to her the wickedness of Wickham’s character has a very
positive effect on her and ‘gradually all her former prejudices had been removed’.
In fact the major flaw of Elizabeth’s character is her prejudice which deceives her
but she manages to overcome this flaw. In fact, the word prejudice used in the title
of the novel refers to Elizabeth’s deficiency. She is otherwise a loving daughter and
sister and a sincere friend.

She feels embarrassed when her mother, her sisters and her cousin Collins talk too
much and foolishly before others. At home she gives sensible advice to her parents
and sisters but her wise suggestions are never accepted. She fails to dissuade her
father from allowing Lydia to accompany Mrs. Forster to Brighton and
consequently the family suffers great humiliation on the account of Lydia’s
elopement with Wickham. Later her father regrets his not taking heed of her advice
which he admits shows ‘some greatness of mind’. Despite major differences in
temperaments Elizabeth loves her sisters and particularly Jane. She is therefore
extremely hurt to learn that Darcy ‘had been concerned in the measures taken to
separate Bingley and Jane’. She openly disapproves her friend Charlotte’s decision
to marry Collins because she has a ‘distressing conviction that it was impossib le
for that friend to be tolerably happy in the lot she has chosen.’ When she visits
Charlotte at Hunsford parsonage she observes that though her friend is comfortably
settled she has to make an effort to ignore her husband’s foolish talk and actions.

Elizabeth’s mother calls her ‘a very headstrong, foolish girl’ but in fact she is wise
and clear-headed about her intentions. Her ideas are clear and she expresses them
without any embarrassment even when she has to contradict the opinion of other
people. At Netherfield Park Elizabeth explains that she likes to study characters and
particularly the ‘intricate’ ones. Darcy wonders if she finds enough characters to
study in the ‘confined and unvarying society’ of a ‘country neighborhood’. She
replies that ‘people themselves alter so much, that there is always something new
to be observed in them’. Similarly, she tells Darcy that his idea of ‘an accomplis hed

104
woman’ is so impractical that she wonders if such a person exists. Her opinion
horrifies the Bingley sisters and they condemn her.

Elizabeth’s confidence and intelligence make her unwillingness to submit to the

opinions of others and condescend herself to their conversational moves. She is not
impressed by the wealth and status of others and thus does not bother to display any
acquiescence to their opinions, or judgment. She openly disagrees with Darcy and
even with Lady Catherine who criticizes her for giving her ‘opinion very
decidedly’. In fact, Elizabeth dismisses Lady Catherine’s view that only
governesses can bring up children well. In another conversation with Lady
Catherine Elizabeth completely refuses to take her advice about refusing to accept
a proposal from Darcy and asserts ‘I am only resolved to act in a manner, which
will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness’. It is Elizabeth’s independent
and clear thinking and her graceful conduct before people which wins the heart of
Darcy who is the second principle character in the novel.

The first impression Fitzwilliam Darcy produces on the residents of Hertfordshire

as well as the readers is that despite his being intelligent and ‘clever’ he is ‘haughty,
reserved and fastidious’. He refuses to dance with strangers and is least impressed
by the beauty of the young women present in the parties. The general impression is
‘that he is eat up with pride’ because of his good looks, wealth and high social
standing. But the people who know him claim that is reserve with people he is not
intimate with. He interacts with different people including Sir William Lucas and
Elizabeth and often indulges in arguments with the latter. Both Elizabeth and Darcy
have firm and clear ideas about certain topics be it the accomplishments of a woman
or study of characters or ‘follies and vices’ of human character or the notion of
distance.

It is Elizabeth’s intelligence and her refusal to get impressed by his looks, wealth
and status which attracts him towards her. He realizes soon that ‘she attracted him
more than he liked’ and this attraction converts into affection and finally compels
him to offer her a proposal of marriage. However, when she refuses to accept his
hand and accuses him of spoiling Jane and Wickham’s lives Darcy despite his
‘anger, and disturbance of mind’ does not react impulsively. He tolerates
Elizabeth’s indignant reaction to his offer and does not respond impulsively to her
accusations. On the contrary he writes a letter to her explaining his position on both
matters involving Jane and Wickham. His letter reveals the reality and it changes
the course of Elizabeth’s thoughts. Besides his writing a letter to Elizabeth to clarify
his position rather than arguing with her in person reveals his composure and
maturity. He does not begin an argument with Elizabeth when she blames him but
silently listens to her accusations and quite calmly answers back to her.

105
After receiving a negative reply from Elizabeth whom he has proposed Darcy does
not insist that she should re-consider her decision. On the contrary he withdraws
and becomes reserve. He meets her when she visits her estate and invites her to his
house. Later he visits her house in Longbourne along with Bingley but never refers
to his proposal and pleas for her hand again. He approaches her only when his aunt
informs him about Elizabeth’s refusal to deny his proposal of marriage if he makes
one to her. On hearing his aunt’s account of what went between her and Elizabeth
Darcy realizes that she has changed her mind towards him and again asks for her
hand and she happily gives her consent to marry him. Thus Darcy’s reaction to
Elizabeth’s rfusal reflects his self-control.

In addition to Darcy’s relationship with Elizabeth he appears as a friend and brother

in the course of the novel. His sincere relations with Charles Bingley reflect in his
attempt to dissuade him from approaching Jane. He opposes the match because he
finds no indication of affection for Bingley in Jane’s attitude besides her family’s
‘total want of propriety’ also makes her an inappropriate partner for him. He thus
saves Bingley from ‘a most unhappy connection’. Elizabeth despite her excessive
love for Jane admits the two defects in this match and agrees with Darcy’s opinion.
She also observes his loving behavior towards his sister Georgiana and cannot help
admiring his role as a brother. In fact, his love for his sister saves her from
disgracing herself when she is convinced by Wickham to elope with him. Georgiana
is ten years younger than her brother and at the age of fifteen she is influenced by
Wickham who persuades her to elope with him, But ‘Georgiana, unable to support
the idea of grieving and offending a brother whom she almost looked up to as a
father’ discloses the plan to him and is thus saved.

Although Darcy has every reason to hate and despise Wickham yet he never talks
against him when he meets him in Hertfordshire. While dancing with Darcy in the
ball at Netherfield park Elizabeth mentions her ‘forming a new acquaintance’ with
Wickham Darcy does not avail the opportunity to inform her about the real
character of Wickham but prefers to change the subject. So unlike Wickham he
does not smear the reputation of his rivals with accusations. He only reveals the
truth about the bitterness he feels for Wickham when Elizabeth blames him for
ruining his life. Thus Darcy always behaves in a dignified manner in critical
situations.

Darcy certainly deserves appreciation for overcoming his pride during the course
of the novel. He admits before Elizabeth that he was spoilt by his parents since he
was the only son and the only child for many years. He confesses the fact that his
parents encouraged him ‘to be selfish and overbearing; … to think meanly of the
rest of the world.’ However, he gives credit to Elizabeth for reforming him and tells

106
her ‘By you, I was properly humbled.’ His interaction with Elizabeth makes him
realize that pride is the major flaw of his personality and he manages to get rid of
it. Thus Elizabeth successfully eliminates her prejudice and Darcy also does away
with his pride. Though he is never boastful but he offends people with his reserved
behavior. But under Elizabeth’s influence he alters his manners. Thus both
Elizabeth and Darcy reform themselves.

The novel also contains several minor characters. Elizabeth’s four sisters ‘are all
silly and ignorant’ as their father remarks. Jane is very pretty but her failure to
express her ‘tender affection for Bingley’ makes her suffer. Mary has accumulated
superficial knowledge by reading but has ‘neither taste nor genius’ to employ her
knowledge purposefully. Lydia is a precocious girl who at the age of fifteen has
uncontrollable ‘high animal spirits’ which lead her to choose Wickham as her
partner. She does not feel embarrassed about her elopement and boasts about being
the youngest yet the first of all the sisters to get married.

Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst are Bingley’s sisters and the former plays a
nominal role in diverting Darcy’s attention towards Elizabeth. Caroline Bingle y
longs for attention from Darcy and in her efforts to attract him openly critic izes
Elizabeth. Darcy realizes that ‘Miss Bingley was more uncivil to (Elizabeth) and
more teasing than usual to himself.’ He disapproves of this rudeness of Miss
Bingley and secretly admires Elizabeth for putting up so gracefully with such
disgusting behavior. Charlotte Lucas is a neighbor and close friend of Elizabeth and
surprises her by accepting Collins proposal. She is extremely practical and flexib le
and therefore adjusts to her husband’s repulsive behavior by an indifferent attitude
towards him.

Mrs. Bennet is quite a comic character who makes a fool of herself by her
impertinent remarks and boastful attitude. The sole purpose of her life is to get her
five daughters married and settled and she adopts all means and resources to
achieve her ends. Lady Catherine is a bossy and arrogant woman who intends to
keep Elizabeth away from her nephew Darcy but her moves backfire and she
provokes Darcy to approach Elizabeth and propose her the second time.

Among the male characters Bingley stands out for his pleasing manner and
outgoing nature. Soon after his arrival at Netherfield Park he becomes popular with
the neighbors. He however, lacks the profundity of character which Darcy
possesses and that is why he is ‘so easily guided’ by his friend. He admits that
‘Whatever I do is done in a hurry’. So he parts away from Jane as quickly as he gets
closer to her. But he is a good-natured man and a sincere friend. One can contrast
Bingley and Darcy because they both are in love but act quite differently.

107
Collins also amuses the readers with his artificial and pedantic talk and his flattery
of Lady Catherine de Brough. When Mr. Bennet reads his letter to his daughters
Elizabeth predicts from his formal style of writing that ‘He must be an oddity’ and
he proves to be one with his lack of sensibility. He has been to ‘universities’ and
received formal education which enables him to take up the profession of a
clergyman and rise to the position of a rector. But this exposure to life does not
influence him and he becomes ‘altogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness,
self-importance and humility’.

Mr. Bennet’s witty remarks entertain the reader but they are aimed at his wife and
consequently become instrumental ‘in exposing his wife to the contempt of her own
children’ Thus despite his provision of all ‘means’ of nurturing his daughters he
proves an incompetent father who fails to bring up his daughters properly. He
knows that his wife is ‘a woman of mean understanding, little information, and
uncertain temper’ but he does not take up the responsibility of guiding and directing
his children. On the contrary he takes everything she says very lightly and degrades
her in the eyes of children. His daughters therefore receive no direction from either
of the parents. He criticizes their conduct but never gives them any instructions to
mend their ways. Elizabeth grieves at ‘the impropriety of her father’s behavior as a
husband’ and laments for his failure to bring them up appropriately.

Finally, George Wickham is another character who contributes to adding to

Elizabeth’s prejudice for Darcy. He cleverly convinces Elizabeth that he has been
mal-treated by Darcy and paints a disgusting picture of Darcy’s character. Elizabeth
however, soon discovers the true nature of Wickham whose pleasing manners
deceive people but she cannot stop her sister Lydia from getting seduced by him.
Wickham is certainly an excellent conversationalist and with his eloquent speech
impresses the women. He not only influences the mind of Elizabeth but also the
hearts of Georgiana Wickham, Miss King and Lydia. He is a liar and slights his
opponents. His officer Colonel Forster finds him ‘imprudent and extravagant’. He
often borrows money and fails to return it. He thus quickly makes ‘friends’ by
means of his ‘happy manners’ but fails to retain them because of his bad habits.

5.7 THEMES OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

All Jane Austen’s novels discuss the theme of marriage and specifically from the
point of view of women. The opening sentence of the novel Pride and Prejudice
highlight this theme. Different characters in the course of the novel express their
ideas on this theme. Some like Charlotte Lucas and Colonel Fitzwilliam have very
practical and down-to-earth notions about one’s tying a conjugal knot while others

108
including Elizabeth and Darcy consider the idea of marriage differently. Caroline
Bingley, Collins, Mrs. Bennet and Lady Catherine de Bourgh have their own views.
Jane and Bingley are mutually attracted towards each other physically as well as
because of their sweet tempers and consequently hope to enjoy a happy married
life. However, Austen highlights the fact that women of her contemporary middle
class need to marry since they have no means to survive except those offered by
their fathers or husbands. Lydia despite her foolishness mentions the possibility of
her elder sisters becoming old maids after failing to find suitable husbands.

Charlotte Lucas believes a woman should marry a man as odious as Collins

provided he ensures her financial security. Thus ‘worldly advantage’ matters most
to her in matrimony. Mrs. Bennet and her sister Mrs. Phillips are of the same
opinion and insist that Elizabeth should accept Collins offer. Similarly, Darcy’s
cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth that his ‘habits of expense compel him
to marry to a rich woman. Caroline Bingley desires to marry an affluent man of
higher status and consequently tries to impress Darcy who can offer both wealth
and position to his wife. Collins in his harangue before Elizabeth gives logical
reasons for marrying. He insists that a well settled and financially secure clergyma n
should marry, and he hopes it will add to his ‘happiness’ and finally he needs a wife
to accompany and serve his patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Lady Catherine
insists that Darcy should marry her daughter because she strongly believes that “My
daughter and my nephew are formed for each other’. She claims that she and her
sister ‘planned the union’ of their children while they were ‘in their cradles’.
Elizabeth’s notion of matrimony differs from all these views.

She has observed and even experienced the bitter results of an unhappy marriage
of her parents. She therefore seeks compatibility of partners rather than wealth and
status. She believes that people should marry if they love and respect each other.
She denies Darcy’s proposal at Hunsford because at that time she feels no affectio n
for him and in fact hates him. However, when she realizes that she loves him just
in the same way as he loves her she cherishes a hope of their union. But unlike
Caroline Bingley she does not thrust herself on him. She meets him at Longbourne
and finds him ‘serious’ but is troubled by his ‘indifference’. She wonders whether
he still loves her or has given up the idea after her indignant refusal.

Darcy also believes in marrying a person one loves regardless of that person’s
financial and social position. He is well aware of the weaknesses of ill-breeding
visible in Bennets but he ignores the fact when he proposes to Elizabeth. Besides
loving her he admires her for her graceful conduct which she displays especially in
the company of Bingley’s sisters. He also is aware of her strong mental faculties
which make her superior to other members of her sex. He is impressed by her

109
indifference to his social standing and wealth. She is not intimidated by a woman
as dominating as his aunt. So he loves and respects her and acknowledges the
change she brings in his life making him give up his prejudice.

Another theme in the novel is reforming oneself by giving up bad habits or other
flaws. Both Elizabeth and Darcy alter themselves in the course of the novel when
they realize their defects. Elizabeth comes to know how the prejudice she formed
against Darcy is based on false information and she does away with it. She sees
Darcy neutrally and finds him a reasonable person. But when she meets him in
Pemberley she realizes his supreme qualities and begins to like him. She
acknowledges his efforts to save her family from the humiliation caused by Lydia
and finally develops affection for him. Similarly, Darcy realizes the harmful effects
of pride when he meets Elizabeth and she rejects his love and his offer of
matrimony. He alters himself and behaves more humbly. And thus he wins the heart
of Elizabeth. So Austen in Pride and Prejudice presents the need to change oneself
for better.

The theme of ill-breeding and its effects is also visible in the novel. Mrs. Bennet
and Lady Catherine display atrocious manners reflecting their lack of proper
nurturing. They boast and brag and express their opinions without any concern for
the feelings and emotions of others. Though they belong to different social classes
yet they behave in the same way and often offend other people. Through their
characters Austen indicates the fact that people with bad upbringing exist in all
classes of society. Bingley sister’s boastful nature, habit of back-biting and scoring
points at the expense of others also presents their poor nurturing. Lydia’s boldness
and coarse manners are a prime example of lack of parental guidance. Jane Austen
insists on propriety and good manners and despises those who lack these qualities.

SUMMARY POINTS

• In the second decade of nineteenth century Jane Austen’s six novels were
published.

• Her novels are social comedies since they depict the contemporary life in
humorous manner.

• She used countryside for the settings of her novels and depicted men and
women from middle class as her characters.

• Problems of contemporary middle class women particularly marriage and

financial security were the themes of her novels.

110
• Besides being humorous she also used irony in her novels.

• Pride and Prejudice tells the story of a young woman who develops feelings
of prejudice against a young man whom she considers extremely proud.

• The novel also depicts the young man who learns from his errors and manages
to get rid of his pride.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. Draw a list of Jane Austen’s novels along with their years of publication.

2. What are the characteristics of Jane Austen’s novels? Explain with examples.

3. Whom do you think represent Pride and who stands for Prejudice in the novel
Pride and Prejudice?

4. Read the novel and answer the following questions:

i. Which characters serve as foils for Elizabeth Bennet?
ii. Is Mrs. Bennet a comic character or she deserves pity? Give arguments.
iii. What makes Darcy superior than all other male characters in the novel?
iv. Identify and explain the problems of contemporary women highlighted
by Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice.
v. Is only the Bennet family in ‘total want of propriety’ of manners in the
novel or do others also behave badly? If so or if not, explain your stance.
vi. Read the conversation between Elizabeth and Darcy in chapter 58 and
explain each character’s views in your own words.
vii. Do you think Charlotte is happy with Collins? If so or if not, give reasons?

111
 SUGGESTED READINGS

Jane Austen ‘Emma’ E-book.

Jane Austen ‘Mansfield Park’ E-Book.

Cecil, D. L. (?). Poets and Storytellers.

Kettle, A. (1967). An Introduction to the English Novel. New York: Routledge.

Kroll, R. (2013). The English Novel. (vol. I). London: Routledge.

112
Unit–6

WUTHERING HEIGHTS
by Emily Bronte

Written by: Dr Zia Ullah Khan

Reviewed by: Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

113
 CONTENTS
Page #
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 115

Objectives.......................................................................................................... 115

6.1 The Age.................................................................................................... 116

6.2 Life of Emily Bronte ................................................................................ 116

6.3 Emily Bronte’s Works ............................................................................. 116

6.4 Summary of Plot ...................................................................................... 117

6.5 Chapter I-III ............................................................................................. 119

6.6 Chapter IV-IX .......................................................................................... 120

6.7 Chapter X-XVII ....................................................................................... 122

6.8 Chapter XVIII-XXVIII ............................................................................ 125

6.9 Chapter XXIX-XXXIV............................................................................ 128

Summary Points ................................................................................................ 130

Self- Assessment Questions .............................................................................. 130

Suggested Readings .......................................................................................... 130

114
 INTRODUCTION

This unit discusses Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights from various aspects. It
highlights the life of Emily Bronte and the elements which shaped her personality
as a writer which will make the reading easier for the students. Moreover, this unit
brings to the limelight the meager but brilliant literary production of Bronte. The
plot summary will give an overview of the whole novel which will enable the
students to understand the plot of the novel. This unit contains the chapter wise
summary which will clear students’ ideas regarding the chain of events in the novel.

OBJECTIVES

After reading the unit, you will be able to:

• explain the chief characteristics of the age;
• highlight major themes of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights;
• understand the genre and type of novel Emily Bronte has written;
• comprehend the traits of Bronte’s literary works;
• know the biography of Emily Bronte and her family.

115
6.1 THE AGE
Wuthering Heights was composed during Victorian era. It portrays Victorian traits
through the expression of various characters in the novel. It is not only a classic
novel but also pioneered the gothic novel tradition. The values of Romantic and
Victorian periods are present in the novel.

6.2 LIFE OF EMILY BRONTE

The renowned novelist and poet—Emily Jane Bronte known as Emily Bronte was
born on July 30, 1818 in Thornton, Yorkshire, England. She used to write under
her pen name, Ellis Bell. Emily is well known of her other two sisters, Charlotte
and Anne but the record about her life is scanty. She was the daughter of Reverend
Patrick Bronte and Maria Branwell Bronte. When she was two years old, her family
settled in Hawthorn and Emily Bronte experienced moors—an integral part of
Pennine Chain of Mountains and Bronte lived here till death. She died of
tuberculosis on December 19, 1848. There were certain conflicting traits which
shaped her personality. Her father was a clerk but he composed poetry and had
powerful imagination. She did not have an opportunity to learn from her mother
because she died when Emily was three years old. Emily Bronte and her sisters
were raised by her aunt, Elizabeth. Emily learned a lot from her five siblings and
Aunt Elizabeth (her mother’s sister). Elizabeth was a staunch believer in religio n
and advocated religious fervor but Bronte discarded such ideas.

6.3 EMILY BRONTE’S WORKS

She has made a significant contribution to English literature. She is not a prolific
writer but has secured a dominant position in British literature. She is well known
for Wuthering Heights but she has produced poetry too. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
and Agnes Grey are few books written in collaboration with her sisters.

Bronte’s literary works and her personality were shaped by her environment. She
had keen interest in mysticism, and took pleasure in outdoors seclusion. She did not
have bosom friends and the moors surrounded the isolated village of Hawthorn
where she spent most of her time. All these elements are visible in her poems and
in Wuthering Heights. Therefore, she chooses such a place as a setting for her only
novel. The motherless characters in Wuthering Heights are the replica of her life.
She was reticent by nature and the mystery of her spiritual existence is unearthed
by Wuthering Heights. It is a highly imaginative tale of love and hate set on the

116
moors of Yorkshire. Bronte stared writing the novel in December 1845 and
concluded it the next year. Wuthering Heights was accepted for publication in July
1847 and was printed in December.

6.4 SUMMARY OF PLOT

Lockwood hires a manor house called Thrushcross Grange in the remote and
isolated moor of England in the winters of 1802. He meets his stern landlord,
Heathcliff, a well-off man whose habitat is an ancient manor of Wuthering Heights.
This wild and stormy countryside is at a distance of four miles from Grange.
Lockwood asks his housekeeper, Nelly Dean, to tell him the tale of Heathcliff and
eccentric dwellers of Wuthering Heights. Nelly Dean relates the story and
Lockwood inscribes her reminiscence in the diary. Moreover, these recorded
recollections form a vital part of Wuthering Heights.

Nelly works as a servant for the owner of the manor, Earnshaw and his family at
Wuthering Heights. Once on his visit to Liverpool, Earnshaw brings home a dark-
skinned orphan named Heathcliff and raises him like his own child. Earnshaw’s
children—Hindley and Catherine—abhor him at first sight. Soon, Catherine falls
in love with Heathcliff and both spend most of the time playing on the moors.
Earnshaw considers Heathcliff as his son after his wife’s demise. He sends Hindley
away to college because he inflicts pain on Heathcliff.

Three years later, Hindley’s father passes away and he inherits Wuthering Heights.
He returns home with his wife, Frances, and wants to punish Heathcliff. Once a
favorite son of Earnshaw is now treated like a servant by Hindley. Catherine
cherishes the same feelings of love for Heathcliff. One night they want to tease two
gutless snooty children—Isabella and Edgar Linton, living in Thrushcross Grange.
During their wandering, a dog bites Catherine and it is her compulsion to stay there.
Mrs. Linton takes special care of her at Grange for five weeks and shapes her
personality into a refine young lady. Catheirne develops affinity with Edgar and her
relationship with Heathcliff grows more complicated.

Hindley becomes alcohol addicted when his wife dies after giving birth to a baby
boy, Hareton. He grows more offensive and abusive to Heathclif and exploits him.
Catherine decides to marry Linton, though; she has robust feelings for Heathcliff.
He escapes from Wuthering Heights because it is unbearable for him and he returns
three years later, after Catherine and Edgar’s marriage.

117
He returns a wealthy person and wants to avenge his wrongdoers. He destroys
Hindley while lending him more and more money because Heathcliff wants him
fall into dejection. He inherits not only the manor at Wuthering Heights after the
death of Hindley but also declares himself the sole owner of Thrushcross Grange
while marrying Isabella Linton. Heathcliff is very cruel to Isabella because he
wants to take revenge from everyone. He is devastated when Catherine dies after
giving birth to a daughter. He goes mad and raves, begging her spirit to remain on
Earth, she may haunt him but should not leave him alone. Isabella cannot tolerate
her husband weird attitude and she escapes to London. She gives birth to a son,
named Linton after her family.

Nelly serves as a nursemaid of Catheirne’s daughter in Grange. The young

Catherine is thirteen years old elegant like her mother and grows up at Thrushcross
Grange but does not know about Wuthering Heights. She roams around the moors
one day and comes across Hareton, they greet each other and play together. Isabella
dies and Linton comes to reside with his father. Heathcliff is crueler to his sick and
pale son than Isabella, the boy’s mother.

After three years, Cathrine finds Heathcliff on the moors and visits Wuthering
Heights where she meets his son, Linton. They fall in love and both express their
feeling for each other through letters secretly. Nelly rips the collection of letters but
Catherine creeps out one night to nurse his weak lover. It is revealed that Heathcliff
forces his son to pursue Catherine because he still thinks of avenging Edgar Linton.
He wants to have a legal claim upon Thrushcross Grange after his son marriage
with Catherine. Heathciff anger culminates when he finds his son on the deathbed
and he imprisons Nelly and Catherine until Catherine marries Linton. Edgar dies
after Linton’s marriage and Linton also passes away soon after his marriage but
Heathcliff is now the owner of Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights.
Catherine works as a servant at Wuthering Heights and rents Thrushcross Grange
to Lockwood.

Lockwood is shocked when Nelly ends her story; he leaves the place and returns to
London. Six months later, he comes back to Grange to meet Nelly and inquire about
further development in the story. Heathcliff is unkind to Hareton and does not send
him to school as a vengeance even after Hindley’s death. Catherine makes fun of
Hareton’s illiteracy but she develops affinity with him as they live together at
Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is haunted by the elder Catherine and suufers from
hallucination and eventually dies in grief on the moors one night. Now, young
Catherine and Hareton inherit Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights and they
plan to marry on New Years’s Day. At the end of the novel, Lockwood pays a visit
to the graves of Heathcliff and Catherine.

118
6.5 CHAPTER I-III
The novel starts in 1801 with the description of Loockwood’s first days at
Thrushcross Grange, a remote and isolated manor in Yorkshire, England. He visits
his harsh and dark looking landlord residing at Wuthering Heights. It is located on
the moors where the fierce gust of winds blows intermittently. Heathcliff shows an
indifferent attitude to Lockwood and he leaves him in the room with ferocious dogs
but a housekeeper saves Lockwood from the attack of the snarling hounds. When
Heathcliff comes back, Lockwood is furious but soon overcomes it and he feels
uneasy because the reticent host does not welcome him generously at Wuthering
height, though, he decides to visit his master again tomorrow.

Lockwood makes arrangements to sprawl before the fire for studies on a frosty
afternoon after his first visit. He finds it hard to study because he finds out a servant
sweeping the fireplace. As an alternative, he visits Wuthering Heights and arrives
there just snowflakes begin to fall. He knocks the door but an old servant, Joseph
calls out that master is not in the house. Finally, a young man receives Lockwood
and takes him to the waiting room where a beautiful girl is seated beside the
fireplace. Lockwood initiates the conversation but she responds curtly. Heathcliff
enters and explains that the young lady is his daughter-in-law. He presumes that the
man who let him in must be Heathcliff’s son but later on he discovers that his name
is Hareton Earnshaw and the beautiful girl is the widow of Heathcliff’s dead son.

A snowstorm starts when Lockwood intends to leave for Grange but he needed a
guide. He asks for the lantern and assures them to return it in the morning. Joseph
let the dogs loose because he sees Lockwood making his way through the snow and
thinks that he is stealing the lantern. Lockwood becomes angry and curses the
denizens of manor. His wrath brings on a nosebleed and he stays at Wuthering
Heights.

The housekeeper, Zillah, guides him to a room where nobody is allowed to enter.
He discerns three names: Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Linton, and Catherine
Heathcliff inscribed into the paint on the ridge of the bed. Besides, he notices a
twenty-five years old diary and it seems that the diary belongs to Catherine
Earnshaw. Lockwood reads an entry which illustrates the account of a day at
Wuthering Heights immediately after her father’s demise. It relates her
remembrance that how her unkind brother, Hindley, comple them to tolerate
Joseph’s monotonous sermons. The diary reveals a great affinity between Catherine
and Heathcliff, and the hatred of Hindley against Heathcliff. Lookwood has

119
nightmares and the cone from fire branch starts beating on his window wakes him
up but half asleep. He tries to break off the shoot by stretching his hand through the
window pane. He grabs a ghostly hand instead of a branch and hears a voice
insisting to be let in, sobbing Catherine Linton’s name. Lockwood rubs the wrist of
a ghost on the glass until blood spill on the bed sheet. The ghost let his hand loose
and Lockwood struggles to cove the hole in the window with books but the books
fall one by one and he screams in fright. Heathcliff rushes into the room and curses
Lockwood and the moment he rushes out, Heathcliff craves for Catherine, crying
and asking her to come back. Heathcliff exhibits a cruel attitude to his daughter- in-
law and he accompanies Lockwood to his home. Lockwood wants to confine
himself to studies only.

6.6 CHAPTER IV-IX

The lonely Lockwood is anxious to know about the story of Wuthering Heights
through his servant, Nelly Dean. Nelly tries to explicate the web of family
relationship, expressing that the young Catherine at Wuthering Heights is the
daughter of Catherine, and Hareton is the nephew of Catherine and Cousin of the
young Catherine. Catherine was the first mistress of Nelly at Wuthering Heights.
Catherine was the daughter of M.r Earnshaw who was the owner of Wuthering
Heights. Hareton is the last of the Earnshaws and young Catherine is the last of
Lintons. Nelly accentuates that she was a servant at Earnshaw’s manor whose
children were Hindley and Catheirne. Nelly continues the story telling Lockwood
that Mr. Earnshaw returans home from a trip to Liverpool with a lean, thin, and
untidy boy ‘Heathcliff’. He raises him lik his family member but his children,
Catherine and Hindley dislike Heathcliff. Ctherine soon falls in love with Heathcliff
and they do not spend a single minute without each other. Hindley hates his family
when he finds unflinching love of his family for Heathcliff. Mrs. Earchshaw does
not like the boy but Mr. Earnshaw loves him more than Hindley. Hindley is alone
when Mrs. Earnshaw passes away two years after the arrival of Heathcliff at
Wuthering Heights.

Mr. Earnshaw grows frail with the passage of time. He sends away Hindley to
college when he is frustrated by the conflict between Hindle and Heathcliff. Mr.
Earnshaw like his servant, Joseph’s religious beliefs he exerts more and more sway
on his master. Heathcliff and Catherine practice religion and discuss the precept of
heaven for their own solace. They wait for Hindley to come who will be the master
of Wuthering Heights.

120
Hindley and his ridiculous wife, Frances, come back to Wuthering Heights to attend
the funeral of Mr. Earnshaw. He avenges Heathcliff and announces that he is not
allowed to go to school rather he will work in the fields as a laborer. Cahterine has
still a soft corner for Heathcliff and they play together on the moors when he gets
free from daily tasks. One day, they do not return till evening and Hindley
commands that the two should not be allowed into the manor. Nelly still waits for
them but Heathcliff returns without Catherine. He tells Nelly that they went to
Thrushcross Grange for teasing Mr. Linton’s children, Edgar and Isabella but
Skulker, their guard dog bites Catherine. The Lintons took her inside Grange but
they did not let Heathcliff enter because of unrefined and rough looks. The next
day, Mr. Linton visits Wuthering Heights and elucidates the incident to Hindley
and reproaches him for his irresponsibility regarding Catherine. Hindley shouts at
Heathcliff in a state of rage and warns him to stay away from Catherine.

Mrs. Linton not only nurses Catherine but teaches her the art of becoming a true
lady and manners. Catherine returns home after five weeks of recovery at
Christmas time. Hindley asks Heathcliff to greet Catherine but like other servants
in the house. She looks down upon him and states that Heathcliff is not
sophisticated and clean as compared to Linton Childern. He is ambarrassed and
dejected with her remarks and hurries out of room. Nelly is kind to Heathcliff and
she assist him to wash himself and wear some presentable dress because the Linton
children are coming for the dinner at Wuthering Heights. Hindley orders that
Heathcliff be confined to the garret till the guests return because Mrs. Linton allows
her children (Edgar and Isabella) under the condition that the rough and dirty boy
must be kept away from them. Edgar makes insulting remark regarding Heathcliff’s
hair and he throws hot applesauce on him. Catherine criticizes the attitude of
Hindley towards Heathcliff and she goes upstairs to meet him. Nelly feeds
Heathcliff with supper and he shares his idea of avenging Hindley. Nelly, at this
point, stops her narrative because it is late night. Lockwood is anxiously waiting
for the next day to know the minute details of the story.

Nelly resumes the story few months after Lintons’ visit to Wuthering Heights.
Frances dies immediately after she gives birth to a baby boy named Hareton.
Hindley does not take interest in the child because of the loss of his wife and Nelly
raises the baby. He is prone to alcohol and is harsh towards his servants, especially
to Heaathcliff but he is in ecstasy because Hindley’s condition declines day by day.
Catherine and Edgar are attracted to each other and she acts as a well-mannered
lady. One day Heathcliff refuses to go to the fields because he wants to spend time
with Catherine. Moreover, he snubs her for spending more time with Edgar but she
retaliates that Heathcliff is tedious and unrefined. Edgar visits Wuthering Heights
and Heathcliff rushes out in jealously. Catheirne needs privacy with Edgar but

121
Nelly refuse to leave the room as per Hindley’s instruction. Catherine behaves
weirdly because she slaps Nelly and shakes Hareton when he cries. Edgar is
shocked and tires to console her but she punches his ears. Edgar leaves the place
and is irritated with her uncivilized behavior but her beauty compels him back.
They spend some time uninterruptedly but Nelly informs them about the arrival of
drunken Hindley.

Nelly witnesses that Edgar and Catherine express their love for each other. Edgar
leaver for home stealthly and Cratheirne goes to her bedroom. Nelly hides the gun
and Hareton from Drunken Hindley because anything can be expected from him
when he is not in his senses.

The stumbling Hinndley grabs the baby when Nelly tries to conceal him. Hareton
slips from him over the railing but Heathcliff cathes him in the stairs. Catherine
informs Nelly that she has accepted the marriage proposal of Edgar. Catherine
professes that she cannot marry Heathcliff because Hindley does not like him.
Heathcliff listens to the conversation of the two ladies and leaves the place with the
feelings of great anger, disgrace, mortification, and despair. But his haste does not
let him hear Catherine say that he is apple of her eye. She considers herself and
Heathcliff as the same soul in two bodies but it is her compulsion to marry Edgar
Linton. Heathclii escapes from the site but Catherine searches him in the rain
outside at night. She craves for her and catches fever. She is taken to Grange for
her soon recovery but Mr. and Mrs. Linton become infected and passes away. Three
years later, Catherine and Edgar marry and Nelly resides in Grange now to serve
her young mistress. Now, Joseph, Hareton, and Hindley live in Wuthering Heights.
Nelly stops her narrative at this point because it is midnight.

6.7 CHAPTER X-XVII

Lockwood spends four weeks in trauma because he is disturbed with his experience
at Wuthering Heights. He is curious to know the rest of her story because he
wonders that how the outlander became the master of Wuthering Heights and
Thrushcross Grange? Nelly informs him that Heathcliff accumulated great wealth
in his absence of three years. Heathcliff returns home after six months of
Catherine’s marriage to Edgar. Catherine is excited at the sight of a Heathcliff and
their care and affection for each other makes Edgar envious. He has shaped his
personality into a perfect gentleman but a sign of brutality is still visible in his eyes.
When Hindely comes to know that Heathcliff is a wealthy man, he invites him to
Wuthering Heights. Isabella and Catherine often pay visit to Wuthering Heights
and invite Heathcliff to Grange as well. Isabella falls in love with Heathcliff and he

122
encourages her with his infatuation further, though, he loves Catherine from the
core of his heart. Nelly wants to keep a vigilant eye on Heathcliff because she
suspects him of vicious motives.

Nelly hurries to Wuthering to inform Hindley regarding the wicked intentions of

Heathcliff but she meets Hareton who curses her. Nelly runs away from the site
when Heathcliff enters but Nelly learns that he has stopped the curate to teach
Hareton and is instigating him against his father, Hindley. Nelly sees Heathcliff
hugging Isabella and Catherine assures him of her help in marrying Isabella. He
looks at her with scornful eye and tells her that he intends revenge. Nelly infor ms
Edgar and he immediately orders him to leave but he refuses and challenges Edgar
to fight. He is unable to confront Heathcliff and is ambarrassed but Catherine’s
taunts provoke Edgar into giving Heathcliff a punch. The frighten Edgar wants to
subdue him with the help of armed men but Heathcliff weighs the situation and
disappears. Edgar asks Catherine to choose between her husband and her lover but
she confines herself in the room refusing to talk and eat. Edgar even warns her
sister, Isabella that if she still yearns for Heathcliff, he will cast her out of Linton
family.

Finally, Catherine grows hysterical and is dying of hunger. Thus, she asks for the
food but she is unable to comprehend the idea of Edgar’s curtly attitude and
shunning her. She is obsessed with death and thinks about her childhood
recollection with Heathcliff on the moors. Catherine is insipid and wants to have a
glance of Wuthering Heights. She wants her spirit to be with Heathcliff even after
her death. Edgar finds Catherine in a frail condition and asks Nelly to fetch a doctor
and he ensures her rapid recovery. Heathcliff and Isabella elope and Edgar asserts
that she will not have my blessing anymore. He is of the view that Isabella has
preferred Heathcliff over Edgar.

Nelly and Edgar nurse Catherine for two months but she is not fully recovered.
Catherine learns that she is pregnant. Isabella sends a letter to her brother and seeks
his forgiveness after six months of her marriage. Isabella writes to Nelly when
Edgar disregards her request and writes about the ordeal she has at Wuthering
Heights. She further elaborates, Heathcliff vows to punish Isabella as he cannot
inflict pain on Edgar who is responsible for Catherine’s ailment. Hindley, Joseph,
and Hareton do not treat Isabella well. Isabella write that Hindley is obsessed with
Heatchliff and he want to kill him with a pistol and knife once he robs Heathcliff
of his fortune. She confesses her heinous mistake and pleads Nelly to visit
Wuthering Heights.

123
Nelly is willing to visit Isabella but her brother does not want to exonerate her.
Heathcliif forces her for the news regarding Catheirne and wants her to arrange a
visit to Grange but Nelly declines. Heathcliff enrages and threatens her with
imprisonment if she is not willing to covey his message to Catherine. Nelly agrees
to carry the letter for him.

Nelly waits for Edgar to leave for church and deliver the letter to Catherine.
Catherine is so frail that she is unable to hold the letter but Heathcliff himself step
into the room. Their conversation is full of love and complains that Heathcliff and
Edgar both have ruined her life. Catherine expresses her love for Heathcliff and
claims that she never wants to be separated from him. It cleaves her heart that she
will die and Heatchcliff will remain alive. Heathcliff accentuates that he can forgive
for the wrongs done to him but will never excuse her for the pain she has inflicted
upon herself. He vows that he will never forgive her tormentor. Edgar comes returns
home after the church services are over but Catherine beseeches Heathcliff to stay
by her side and never leave her alone. He stays andf the moment Edgar enters the
room, Catheirne falls in the lap of Heathcliff. He places her on Edgar’s arms and
asks him to look for his needs rather than becoming angry. Nelly begs Heathcliff to
leave and promises him that she will inform him regarding Catheirne’s health.
Heathcliff stays in the garden to be near Catherine.

Catherine gives premature birth to the young beautiful Catherine and dies soon.
Nelly informs Heathcliff but he knows her condition and curses her for the pain she
has caused him. He implores her spirit to haunt him throughout his life. Nelly
allows Heathcliff to spend some time beside the body. He replaces Edgar’s hair
with his own in Catherine’s locket. Nelly intertwines the lock of Edgar and
Heathcliff in the locket. Hindley does not attend the funeral of his sister and
Isabbella is not invited by Edgar. She is buried in the churchyard ignoring the moors
she loved. Nelly tells Lockwood that Edgar’s tomb is near Catherine’s.

Isabella reaches at Grange after Catherine’s funeral sobbing and laughing

frantically, knowing that Edgar will be asleep. She informs Nelly that Heathcliff
and Hindley are at logger head violently. Hindley plans to shoot Heathcliff at sight
and Isabella informs Heathcliff about Hindley’s intention. Hindley aims the gun at
Heathcliff but latter seizes it and fires it back at his own wrist. Hindeley is not only
wounded by the gun but Heathcliff beats him to death. They fight again the next
morning and Isabella flees to Grange and then to London for her own safety.
Hindley dies six months after Catherine’s death. Isabella gives birth to Heathcliff’s
son named Linton. Isabella and Nelly are in contact for twelve years and Heathcliff
knows the location of his son and wife but he does not care for them. Isabella passes
away when her son is twelve years old. Nelly goes to Wuthering Heights for

124
attending funeral and she also brings Hareton Grange. Heatchcliff is now the owner
of Wuthering Heights because he lends a large amount of money to Hindley for
gambling and alcohol. Heathcliff does not permit Nelly to take Hareton to Grange.
He also wants to bring back his son, Linton. Nelly tells that Hareton deserved to
live as a true gentleman but Heathcliff’s vengeance reduced him to the position of
a servant. Heathcliff raised him uneducated, unrefined, and friendless at Wuthering
Herights.

6.8 CHAPTER XVIII-XXVIII

The young Catherine is now thirteen years old and she is an intelligent, beautiful,
strong lady. Her father does not let her go out of the territory of Thrushcross
Grange. She does not k now about the Heathcliff, Hareton, and the excruciating
history wrapped in Wuthering Heights. The young Catherine yearns to visit fairy
caves but her father refuses her plea. One day, he hurries to London after he receives
the news that Isabella is on her death bed. He wants to bring the young Linton to
Thrushcross Grange. The young Catherine finds it a gold opportunity and she runs
beyond Grange confinements. She wants to visit the fairy caves at Penistone Crags
but stops at Wuthering Heights. She Comes across Hareton and both fall in love
with each other. They play near the crags and are very happy together. Nelly come
after her and wants to force her back to Grange but the young Catherine wants to
spend some more time at Wuthering heights. Catherine denies the possibility when
Nelly tells that Hareton is her cousin because he knows about Linton only who is
in London. Finally, Nelly convinces the young Catherine to leave and they agree
not to tell Edgar about the incident. It can result into Nelly’s termination as an
employee.

Edgar brings his nephew, Linton back to Thrushcross Grange. Catherine shows
repulsive attitude towards her lean, frail, pale and sick cousin. Heathcliff sends his
servant, Joseph to restore the boy and Edgar has no choice but to bring the boy back
to Wuthering Heights. Nelly accompanies the young Linton to Wuthering Heights
and she consoles the baby that he will stay safe and comfortable there. Heathcliff
is harsh towards him at the first sight and calls Isabella as prostitute and calls Linton
his property. Linton entreats Nelly not to leave him with the brutal man but she
leaves.

When her cousin departs from Grange so soon, the young Catherine becomes upset.
Nelly inquires about the young Linton from the housekeeper at Wuthering Heights.
The housekeeper informs her that Heathcliff still hates the boy and he is the same
weak and sick boy. One day, Nelly and young Catherine are hunting birds on the

125
moors and Catherine is out of sight in a moment. She is talking to Heathcliff and
Hareton and she considers them son and father. Heathcliff invites Nelly and
Catherine to the manor house to see Heathcliff’s son. Nelly is hesitant to visit but
Catherine insists to visit and meet the boy. They had met before but do not
recognize each other because both have gone through physical transformatio n.
Heathcliff is optimistic about Linton’s marriage with the young Catherine. Linton
is sick and cannot make her roam around the farm; she goes out with Hareton
instead. Heathcliff forces his son to follow them. The young Catherine is curious to
know why her father keeps the identity of her relatives’ secret. Catherine can sense
the unfathomable contempt of his father for Heathcliff. Edgar politely requests his
daughter not to have any type of communication with Linton again. Catherine
cannot resist her feeling for Linton and both exchange letters secretly. Nelly finds
out the letters and tears Linton letters. This act of Nelly disappoints Catherinne.
Nelly requests Linton to cease the correspondence but she does not let Edgar know
about their secret relationship.

Edgar is unable to give time to his daughter because his declining health. Nelly
stays with Catheirne all the time. One day, during winter, Nelly and Catherine stroll
in the orchard and she climbs the wall and stretches forth to pluck some fruit. Her
hat glides from her head and falls down to the other side of the wall. Catherine
climbs down to get her hat back but in vain. Heathcliff emerges as a ghost telling
Catherine that it was spiteful of her to cut off communication with Linton. He
blames her for playing with Linton’s emotions. He urges her to visit Linton because
he is pining for the company of Catherine and any rift between them can be fatal
for him. Catherine trust his words and asks Nelly to take her to Wuthering Heights.
Nelly is convinced that the sight of Linton will expose the fraudulent personality of
Heathcliff.

Nelly and Catherine heads to Wuthering Heights where they come across whining
Linton. Catherine thrust her chair in a fit of anger when he talks of marriage to her.
Linton complains while coughing and telling her that she hurts his already
compromised health. He makes her realize of her fault and begs her to look after
him and restore him to health herself. Nelly catches cold on the way back to home;
Catherine takes care of her father and Nelly. She goes to Wuthering Heights and is
excited to be with Linton tonight.

Nelly is suspicious of Catherine’s weird behavior and detects that she has spent
evenings with Linton during her illness. She relates the stories of her visit to
Wuthering Heights. She also shares an incident in which Hareton tries to prove
himself educated one but fails and he admits his ignorance. Catherine calls Hareton
an idiot which makes him furious and disrupts her visit with Linton. He harasses

126
the frail boy and compels him to go upstairs. Later on, he repents for his nasty
behavior and apologizes but Catherine furiously disregards him and leaves for
home. Linton accuses her for his humiliation when she comes back to Wuthering
Heights after few days. She is hurt and leaves but returns two days later and infor ms
her that she will never meet Linton again. Linton is upset and apologizes for his
distrust. Nelly discloses Catherine’s relationship to her father, Edgar. Edgar asks
Nelly to keep a vigilant eye on Catherine and do not let her meet Linton again,
though, he gives consent to invite Linton to his manor house at Grange. Here, Nelly
elucidates to Lockwood the chronology of the story and adds that she never ever
thought to divulge the secret and heart rendering story of Wuthering Heights and
Thrushcross Grange to a stranger. Nelly expresses that it dawned on her that he
might fall in love with the young Catherine and he will remain no longer a stranger.
He admits that he is but fears that his proposal would be turned down. Lockwood
is enchanted by the story and urges Nelly to proceed, though, he is not desirous to
live on the moors anymore.

Nelly continues the story that young Catherine abides by Edgar’s aspirations and
she restraints from meeting Linton. Linton is unable to visit Grange as he is weak
and sick. Edgar is ready to allow her daughter to marry Linton because he is
concerned about his daughter’s happiness. Moreover, their marriage would
guarantee Heathcliff’s legal claim to Thrushcross Grange. Linton and Edgar suffer
from deteriorating health day by day. Edgar is willing to meet Linton but on the
moors, not knowing about their impending death.

Linton seems more frail and weak when Nelly and Catherine meet him but he
pretends that his health is improving. He is timid and cannot dare to go far from
Wuthering Heights because of Heathcliff. Catherine promises to come back on
Thursday. Catherine is worried about the health condition of Linton but she waits
for the next meeting before her final decision.

Edgar does not feel well and Catherine is concerned about her father’s health. She
meets Linton but he is quite nervous because his Heathcliff is asking him to propose
Linton. Heathcliff appears and asks Nelly and Catherine to walk with him to
Wuthering Heights. Catherine is reminded of her father warning but she agrees to
go with Heathcliff because of his terrifying countenance. Heathcliif is angry at his
son and he is weeping with terror. The moment Catherine and Nelly enter
Wuthering Heights, Heacthcliff imprisons them until Catherine agrees to marry
Linton. He permits only Catherine to come out of bedroom but locks Nelly for five
days in the custody of Hareton.

127
The housekeeper, Zillah releases Nelly and tells her that the people of Gimme rto n
town have spread the rumors about their death in the Blackhorse marsh. Nelly meets
Linton and learns that Catherine is imprisoned in the other room and they are
married now. He claims the ownership of Catherine’s possession because his
father-in- law will die soon. Nelly hastens to Grange and informs the dying Edgar
that Catherine is safe and will come back soon. Nelly fails to bring Catherine back
from Wuthering Heights with the help of men. Edgar keeps the inheritance of
Catherine away from Healthcliff and places it in the hands of trustees. Edgar calls
his lawyer, Mr. Green to the Grange. Edgar rejoices to meet his daughter before his
death, believing that she is happily married. Edgar dies and Nelly insists to bury
him according to his will in the churchyard beside his wife.

6.9 CHAPTER XXIX-XXXIV

Heathcliff comes to take Catherine to Wuthering Heights and informs her that he
has chastised Linton for helping her escape. Heathcliff mentions that she will work
as a servant there but she retaliates that she and Linton cherish true love for each
other and Heathcliff has no one to love him. She adds that Heathcliff is a miserable
person and his cruelty is the outcome of his frustration. Nelly wants to be with
Catherine at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliif tells Nelly that he removed the soil from
Catherine and stared at her through the coffin. He says that she is still fresh and will
not disintegrate into dust before Heathcliff’s death. He asks the sexton to remove
one side when he dies, so that Catherine and Heathcliff may amalgamate in the
earth. Nelly scolds him for violating the sanctity of the dead body but he exclaims
that her spirit tortures him every night since her death. He claims that he has felt
her presence in everything for the last.

Nelly is not allowed to meet Catherin but she inquires Zillah about Catherinne’s
health. Heathcliff torments Catherine by not allowing anyone to help her in nursing
the sick Linton till his death. Catherinne is left friendless after Linton’s death and
even Hareton and Zillah are in constant clash with her. Nelly is distressed about
Catherine’s solitude and is eager to bring her to the cottage. But Nelly is aware of
the fact that Heathcliff will not let it happen and she thinks about such possibility
though another marriage. Nelly does not have the strength to execute her plans
regarding Catherine’s marriage. Lockwood records the entire narrative of Nelly’s
story and substantiates the end of Nelly’s account. He recovers fromm his sickness
and thinks to visit Wuthering Heights. He wants to share his plans of spending six
months in London with his landlord, Heathcliff. Lockwood adds that Hethcliff may
find another tenant for the Thrushcross Grnage because he does not want to reside
here for another winter.

128
Lockwood concludes his tenancy and he brings a young Catheirne a letter from Nelly.
Hareton is illiterate and is unable to read and write while Catherine is craving for the
confiscated collection of her books. Hareton acknowledges that Catherine wants him
to read despite her mocking at his struggle to read. But he hurls his book into the fire
out of shame, humiliation, and embarrassment. Heathcliff notices that Hareton
resembles her aunt, Catherine and he can hardly bear to see him. Lockwood departs
the manor after having meal with Hareton and his landlord. He deems Wuthering
Heights as a desolate place where tedious people reside. Lockwood ponders that this
place would have been an Elysium if Catherine had developed affinity with him.

Lockwood stays at the Grange in the late winter of 1802. He makes an entry in the
diary that he travels again to the moors in September, 1802. He comes to know that
Nelly has settled in Wuthering Heights. Lockwood meets her there and Zillah has
been replaced with Nelly. Catherine repents for scornful remarks against
Haretonn’s struggle to learn to read. One day Hareton wounds himself while
shooting and confines to the room for recovery. First, Ctherine and Hareton
squabble but patch up later. She gives him a book and promises him to teach and
never make fun of him in future. Nelly waits for the blessed day of their marriage
because ethey repose trust in each other and develop true feeling gradually.

Heathcliff argues with Catherine over the inheritance and her strong bond with
Hareton. Heathcliff grasps her and wants to strike but looks into her face which
reminds him of the older Catherine and he instantly releases her. Nelly tells
Lockwood that Heathcliff has been transformed by the constant remembrance of
the deceased Catherine. Furthermore, he also reveals to Nelly that he does not want
to avenge Hareton and the young Catherine.

Heathcliff is prone to isolation now and eats less day by day. He loses interest in
life and shuns the company of people. He suffers from somnambulism and wanders
in the garden at night few days after the breakfast incident. He returns in a bizarre
and passionately jovial disposition. He share with Nelly that he was standing on
the doorstep of hell but now can see a glimpse of heaven. He does not eat food now
and wants a complete seclusion. He suffers from hallucination and communica tes
with an apparition but nothing is visible to Nelly. Hee mumbles Catherine’s name
and behaves weirdly, reminds Nelly of his burial wishes and dies.

Nelly tells Lockwood that Catherine and Hareton shall marry on New Years’s Day.
The lovers come back home and Lockwood feels like leaving. He makes his way
through the moors to the churchyard where he looks at the graves of Edgar,
Heathcliff, Catherine. Lockwood does not believe in the superstitious village rs’
claim that Heathcliff’s spirit rambles in the company of another one.

129
 SUMMARY POINTS
• Emily Bronte’s was born on July 30, 1818 and dies in 1848.

• Bronte’s literary works were shaped by her environment and her personality.

• Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is a story of love and hate.

• Wuthering Heights is written in flashbacks.

• Love and its destructive nature and social class are the major themes in the novel.

• The symbol of ghost symbolizes the manifestation of past in the present.

• The symbol of moors is a wild threat posed to the various characters in the novel.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. What are the major themes of Wuthering Heights?

2. Which narrative technique is used in Wuthering Heights?

3. Who are the main characters in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights?

4. What are the various symbols and motifs in the novel?

5. Who is the protagonist of the novel?

6. What is the difference between motif and theme?

7. What are the traits of Emily Bronte’s novel?

SUGGESTED READINGS

Bronte, E. (1996). Wuthering Heights. N.Y.: Dover Publications.

Bloom, H. (1988). The Brontes. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.

Bronte, E. (1941). The Complete Poems – edited from manuscripts by C. W.

Hatfield. New York: Columbia University Press.

130
Unit–7

THE MILL ON THE FLOSS

by George Eliot

Written by: Prof. Ambreena Qayyum

Reviewed by: Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

131
 CONTENTS

Page #
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 133

Objectives .......................................................................................................... 133

7.1 George Eliot’s Life ................................................................................... 134

7.2 George Eliot’s Novels .............................................................................. 135

7.3 Summary of The Mill on the Floss........................................................... 139

7.4 Characters of The Mill on the Floss ......................................................... 147

7.5 Themes of the Novel ‘The Mill on the Floss’ .......................................... 153

Summary Points ................................................................................................. 155

Self-Assessment Questions ................................................................................ 155

Suggested Readings ........................................................................................... 156

132
 INTRODUCTION

George Eliot lived and wrote in the Victorian Age. She was a contemporary of great
novelists including Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Charlotte
Bronte and Emily Bronte. Her writings however differ from those of her
contemporaries in many ways. She uses countryside for the settings of her novels
and depicts characters which represent and practice some particular philosophy or
point of view of life. She analyses the psychological make-up of her characters
whether they are children or adults. Her novels also contain philosophical allus io ns
and commentaries by invisible but omnipresent narrators. She also presents the
moral dilemmas faced by her characters. Her protagonists are men and women who
have to make moral choices usually between love and duty. They suffer from the
sense of guilt caused due to their failures to fulfill their moral obligations.

The Mill on the Floss is Eliot’s most popular novel. Its initial part is quite
autobiographical and Eliot draws upon her own affectionate relationship with her
brother Isaac representing it through the characters of Tom Tulliver. The latter part
of the novel also reflects the events of Eliot’s own life and particularly her
relationship with a married man. In the novel she presents the social and moral
consequences of such rebellious actions.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit, you will be able to:

• identify the major influences on George Eliot;
• enlist the names of novels written by George Eliot;
• summarize the plots of George Eliot’s major novels;
• summarize the main events of the novel The Mill on the Floss;
• discuss the themes of the novel The Mill on the Floss;
• compare and contrast the characters of Maggie and Tom Tulliver;
• discuss the end of the novel The Mill on the Floss.

133
7.1 GEORGE ELIOT’S LIFE
George Eliot was born on November 22 1819 in the county of Warwickshire in
England. She was the daughter of Robert and Christiana Evans. Robert Evans was
the manager of the estate and George Eliot who was their youngest child was born
there. She was named Mary Anne Evans and first sent to a local and then a boarding
school. Her family was Protestant and quite religious but while in the boarding
school she was strongly influenced by the evangelical preacher Maria Lewes. She
learnt French and Italian languages at school. At home she had an opportunity to
read extensively because the estate where she lived had a large library and she had
excess to the books owing to her father’s managerial duties. When she was
seventeen she had to discontinue her education and return home to keep her father’s
house. In fact, her mother had died and her sister also got married so she had no
choice but to stay at home and look after her ailing father. After some years her
brother Isaac got married and took possession of their house and as a result Mary
Anne and her father had to move to Coventry in 1841. In Coventry she formed a
new group of acquaintances and friends. She was introduced to rationalism and she
adopted it as a philosophy of her life. Charles and Caroline Bray and Charles
Henvel were the people who influenced her life and modified her views. Despite
the conventional atmosphere at home, her extensive reading and the evangelica l
influence on her life she renounced conventional Christianity. She began to
question her beliefs and stopped going to church thus infuriating her father.

She began her literary career as a translator and from 1844 to 46 translated German
theologian David Strauss’s book Life of Jesus from German into English. She then
went to Continental Europe and spent two years travelling there. On her return to
England and after her father’s death in 1849 she moved to London where she
formed strong relations with contemporary rationalists and particularly John
Chapman the owner of the journal Westminster Review. Chapman appointed her
the assistant editor of Westminster Review and this position gave her many
opportunities to meet contemporary theologians, philosophers and literary artists.
She met the philosopher Herbert Spencer and was in love with him. She also met
George Henry Lewes who was a drama critic and they fell in love. The couple could
not marry because Lewes was already married but they lived together despite the
severe criticism they received from their social circle. This companionship began
in 1854 and ended in 1878 when Lewes died.

Lewes encouraged Mary Anne to focus her attention on fiction instead of

philosophy. She thus began writing with the male pseudonym George Eliot. Her
literary career as a fiction writer began in 1858 when her collection of short stories
titled was published It was Scenes from Clerical Life. It was well received and even

134
contemporary writers including Dickens and Thackeray admired her work. In 1859
her first novel Adam Bede was published. It was followed by The Mill on the Floss
in 1860 and Silas Mariner in 1861. In 1872 Middlemarch was published and Daniel
Deronda in 1876. Besides novels Eliot also wrote reviews and articles but her
novels made her carve a niche for herself in English literature of nineteenth century.

Two years after Lewes’s death in 1880 Eliot married a banker John W. Cross who
was twenty-seven years her junior. Cross was her admirer and later became her first
biographer. She died seven months after her marriage with Cross in 1880 and was
buried in Highgate cemetery next to her lover Lewes.

7.2 GEORGE ELIOT’S NOVELS

Adam Bede is George Eliot’s first novel. It is set in a small English village called
Hayslop at the end of eighteenth century. Dinah Morris a young beautiful woman
arrives in Hayslop. She is a Methodist preacher and comes from Snowfield. The
mission of her life is to spread the love of God. She stays with the Poysers who are
her relatives. Sometime after her arrival in Hayslop, Dinah Morris receives a
proposal of marriage from Seth Bede a local carpenter. Despite her refusal Seth
continues to love her. Seth’s brother Adam Bede is also a carpenter and he loves a
beautiful young woman Hetty Sorrel. Hetty is an orphan and lives with her uncle
Mr. Poyser and helps her aunt in domestic matters.

Seth and Adam Bede’s father Thais Bede accidently gets drowned in a river near
their village after being heavily drunk. His death badly affects his wife Lisbeth
Bede who suffers from acute depression. In her miserable mental and emotiona l
state Lisbeth Bede is consoled by Dinah Morris and she begins to recover. Dinah
and Lisbeth’s relationship strengthens and the latter wishes the former to become
her daughter-in- law.

Hetty Sorrel Meets Captain Arthur Donnithorn the nephew of local landlord Squire
Donnithorn who is the owner of the estate called Chase. Captain Donnithorn is a
military officer and has broken his arm. He is on leave till he gets recovered. Hetty’s
meets Captain Donnithorn in the woods and thus begins their love affair. Hetty
believes that Donnithorn will marry her. In fact, she does not love him but is
interested in the comforts of life he can offer her if he marries her. She is a poor
orphan and works as a rural peasant. If she gets married with Donnithorn her social
status will change and she can live comfortably.

Adam Bede finds Hetty and Donnithorn together in the woods. After defeating
Donnithorn in a fight Adam questions his sincerity towards Hetty. Donnithor n

135
admits before Adam that he does not intend to marry Hetty and will soon leave
Hayslop. Adam forces Donnithorn to write a letter to Hetty informing her about the
reality of their relationship. Adam delivers this letter to Hetty and she gets
extremely disappointed after reading it. She then accepts Adam’s proposal of
marriage but soon discovers that she is pregnant. Since Donnithorn has left the
village she plans to find him and sets out on an arduous journey.

Hetty faces several hardships while travelling and finally learns that Captain
Donnithorn has gone to Ireland. Disappointed and heartbroken she returns and on
her way gives birth to a child. In her state of sorrow and desperation Hetty kills her
infant but is caught by a local peasant and a policeman. She is consequently
imprisoned and faces the charge of infanticide. Adam is upset about Hetty’s
disappearance and believes she has gone after Captain Donnithorn. He plans to go
and find her out but Aldophous Irwine a kind-hearted and unconventio na l
clergyman informs Adams about Hetty’s imprisonment and the charge against her.

Adam Bede attends Hetty’s trial and Dinah Morris visits her in the jail advising her
to repent in order to save her soul. The court orders excommunication for Hetty that
is removal from England but Captain Donnithorn intervenes and manages to get
her punishment altered. However, Hetty soon dies. Thus begins a new phase in the
lives of Adam Bede, Dinah Morris and Captain Donnithorne. Adam Bede proposes
Dinah and she accepts his offer after realizing that it is God’s intention to unite her
with Adam. They get married and Seth Bede lives with them. Captain Donnithor ne
returns and makes peace with Adam Bede.

Silas Marner the protagonist of the novel named after him initially lives in northern
England where he is a member of a community of Calvinists. When Marner attends
the ailing deacon the members of his community blame him for stealing their funds
and the empty bag of money is discovered in his house. The majority of his
community members consider him a criminal and consequently Marner has to
leave. He is heartbroken after being falsely accused of theft. Besides his fiancé ends
up their relationship and marries his close friend William Dane. Marner believes
that his friend Dane and his fiancé planned a conspiracy against him and get rid of
him. He however, has no evidence to prove his innocence. So he chooses to live in
a remote area called Raveloe where his past is unknown to the people.

Most of the action in the novel Silas Marner occurs in a small village called Raveloe
in the county of Warwickshire in early nineteenth century. At Raveloe Marner
establishes his reputation as an excellent weaver. He does not socialize and lives a
life of seclusion drawing pleasure from his work and his income which he hordes in
the form of gold coins. Marner’s life gets disturbed when his two bags of gold get

136
stolen by Dunstan Cass the younger son of the local landlord Squire Cass. Dunstan
however disappears leaving Marner in depression for the loss of his treasure.

Marner soon meets a golden-haired girl child whose mother has died on the way to
the village. The dead woman is a stranger in the village and nobody recognizes her
except Godfrey Cass the elder son of Squire Cass. Her name is Molly Farren and
she is in fact the wife of Godfrey Cass whom he had secretly married. Godfrey Cass
does not want to declare his marriage with a working-class woman opium-eater and
hides the fact that the woman found dead is his wife and the little girl is his daughter.
Cass in fact courts Nancy Lammater a young woman and desires to marry her and
therefore has to keep his first marriage and fatherhood a secret. Molly Farren’s
unexpected arrival and sudden death before she could reveal Godfrey Cass secret
relieves him from his cumbersome relationship and he becomes free to marry
Nancy Lammater. Godfrey also abandons his two years old daughter and
completely disowns her. Thus Silas Marner adopts the fondling and names her
Eppie. He believes Eppie is sent by God as a compensation of his loss of gold coins.

The arrival of Eppie changes Marner and he gets integrated into the village life. He
is assisted by Dolly Winthrope a kind-hearted neighbor in bringing up Eppie.
Moreover, Godfrey Cass though never admits his fatherhood occasionally gives
gifts to Eppie. None of Godfray and Nancy’s children survive and they remain
childless. After sixteen years of Eppie’s arrival and loss of Marner’s coins one day
quite surprisingly the skeleton of Dustan Cass still holding the stolen bags of coins
is discovered in a pond of water formed at a local quarry. The coins are duly
returned to Marner who is their owner and then another event occurs and changes
the course of narrative. Godfrey Cass admits before his wife Nancy that he is the
natural father of Eppie. Godfrey and Nancy offer Eppie to live with them but she
declines their proposal and continues to live with her foster father Marner and soon
marries Aaron Winthrope the son of their neighbor Dolly. Marner visits the sight
of his old residence from where he was driven out in utter humiliation. He is
surprised to see that the old buildings have been demolished and replaced by a huge
factory. No one in that neighborhood recognizes Marner and he returns to Raveloe
to live a happy life with Eppie and her family.

Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life is a long and unconventional novel

depicting the life of several characters living in the fictitious town called
Middlemarch known for its manufacturing of silk ribbons. The events occur
between 1829 and 1832. The story revolves around the lives of two orphaned sisters
Dorothea and Celia Brooke who live with their uncle a local landlord Arthur
Brooke. Brook wants to get a seat in the parliament and publishs a paper but he is
oblivious to the miserable conditions of lives of the tenants of his own estate.

137
Dorothea unlike her uncle desires to helps people practically by renovating the
ramshackle buildings in which the tenants of her uncle live. Sir James Chettam is a
baronet and owner of a large estate called Freshitt. He wants to marry Dorothea but
she does not accept his offer and he marries her younger sister Celia. Chettam
successfully applies Dorothea’s plan of renovation of houses in his estate. Dorothea
chooses to marry Edward Casaubon a clergyman and scholar. Casaubon is forty-
five years old while Dorothea is only nineteen. Yet she is impressed by his
knowledge and intelligence. She however, soon after her marriage discovers that
her husband does not value her intelligence and longing to contribute to his
intellectual pursuits. On the contrary Casaubon considers his wife intellectua lly
inferior and believes she being a woman should not aspire to get indulged in
scholarly projects.

However, Will Ladislaw a young man and a cousin of Casaubon admires Dorothea.
Casaubon gets ill and dies but leaves a will that if Dorothea marries his cousin Will
Ladislaw she loses her inheritance. The declaration of the will creates an awkward
situation for Dorothea and Will because it gives the impression that they are lovers.
Will Ladislaw serves Arthur Brooke when he runs his election campaign but after
his failure Will decides to leave Middlemarch. He visits Dorothea to bid farewell
to her but she shocks and surprises everyone by expressing her love for Will and
her desire to marry him. Will Ladislaw and Dorothea get married and live a content
life with their two children.

Middlemarch is labeled as a historical novel like Eliot’s earlier novel Romola set
in the Italian city of Florence in fifteenth century. While Romolo refers to important
historical events happening in the wake of Christopher Columbus’ departure to the
New World Middlemarch uses the Reform Act of 1832. This act was meant to alter
the electoral system in England. Despite a lot of opposition especially received from
the House of Lords the bill was finally passed under excessive pressure from public.
In the novel Middlemarch Arthur Brook uses the platform of the Reform Act to win
a seat in the parliament but ironically he does not believe in the reforms to be made
under this law. He is least concerned for the welfare of his tenants and uses the
recommendations mentioned in the act only to achieve his own ends.

Daniel Deronda is George Eliot’s last novel which brings together the lives of two
young people Daniel Deronda and Gwendolen Harleth. They are English but meet
during a visit to Germany. They are both fleeing from their families and friends in
England. Gwendolen Harleth refuses to marry a rich man Henleigh Mallinger
Grandcourt because she learns that he has several children from his mistress. While
Daniel Deronda wants to avoid a Jewish woman Mirah Ladipoth with whom he
experiences growing affection and is afraid of his attachment.

138
When Gwendolen returns to England she finds her family has become bankrupt.
She is therefore forced to marry Grandcourt against her will and she consequently
suffers due to her unhappy marriage. After returning to England Daniel Deronda
discovers his true identity and learns that he is a Jew. He thus becomes a disciple
of a Jewish visionary Mordecai and plans to leave for ‘the East’ with his fiancé
Mirah. Daniel Deronda writes a letter to Gwendolen informing her about his plans
to work for Jews and his marriage with Mirah. The letter has a dual effect on
Gwendolen. On one hand it makes her unhappy but on the other hand it relieves her
from severe depression and revives her hope in life.

The novel Daniel Deronda is noted for breaking away from the tradition of George
Eliot’s contemporary Victorian literary artists who tend to depict the Jewish
community differently. Eliot presented the problems of the minority community of
Jews in Britain and showed them as victims of oppression. In fact, Eliot wrote this
novel under the influence of Emanuel Deutsch a Jewish scholar she met in 1860s.
The character of Mordecai in the novel Daniel Deronda is partly inspired by
Deutsch. With its unusual theme the novel did not receive as much acclaim as other
novels by Eliot did. Even the setting of the novel in Eliot’s contemporary age did
not contribute to its success.

The Mill on the Floss is the most loved of all Eliot’s novels. It tells the story of a
Tulliver family who fall from a state of prosperity into that of adversity. It is a
bildungsroman or a novel depicting the initial and formative years of its central
characters Tom amd Maggie Tulliver. As compared to Middlemarch it includes
lesser number of characters and a single plot. The narrator’s philosophica l
reflections and analyses dispersed throughout the course of the novel do not
interrupt the flow of the story. It is predominantly a narrative meant to entertain the
readers who also get a taste of novelist’s attempts to present human psychology.

7.3 SUMMARY OF THE MILL ON THE FLOSS

An unnamed but omnipresent narrator tells the story of the Tullivers the owners of
Dorlcote Mill which is located near the ancient city of St. Oggs at the junction of a
small rivulet the Ripple and the big river called the Floss. The novel is divided into
seven books and a brief summary of each book is given below.

Book One: Boy and Girl

Edward Tulliver is the owner of Dorlcote Mill and he lives in a house adjacent to
the mill with his wife Bessy and two children Tom and Maggie. Tulliver has only
one sister Gritty Moss who has married a poor farmer. Eight children add to the
financial problems of Mosses who are tenants of a landlord. However, Mr. Tulliver

139
being a well to do tradesman gives them loan to meet their expenses. The Tulliver
children and especially Maggie loves her aunt Moss who also shows her affectio n
for her brother’s children. Tulliver’s wife Bessy is one of the four Dodson sisters.
Since the two elder Dodson sisters ‘had married very high’ therefore the Dodsons
claimed that they ‘were a very respectable family’ and ‘there were particular ways
of doing everything in that family’.

The Tullivers are apparently well off but they have many financial problems
because Mr. Tulliver has mortgaged his property and taken heavy loans which he
cannot repay. Besides he indulges in litigation and as Mrs. Glegg says ‘always
going to law’. In fact, Mr. Tulliver’s problem is his claim over the water of the river
which is a source of running his mill. He has a quarrel with his upstream neighbor
Pivart who has build a ‘dykes’ for his agriculture and irrigation of lands and thus
affected the performance of Tulliver’s water mill.

Tulliver loves his children but has a special love for nine years old Maggie. He
always supports her when her mother or aunts condemn her and also when she has
confrontations with Tom. Tulliver is proud of his intelligent and clever daughter
who can ‘read the books and understand ‘em’ but he is not interested in sending her
to school for formal education. Instead he plans to send his son Tom to a private
school run by a clergyman Stelling. He receives severe criticism from his wife’s
family for spending a hundred pounds yearly on his son’s education. Tulliver
however has his own logic and wants Tom to learn about ‘law’ and ‘business’ in
order to help him in dealing with different matters. Tulliver realizes that he lacks
knowledge of law and is unable to keep up with the changing trends of business
and therefore wants his son to assist him. Besides, Tulliver also fears that his son
will turn him ‘outdoors’ when he grows up and take control of his business.

In addition to this introduction of the characters book one includes several events
vividly describing the activities of Tulliver children. Maggie is always reprimanded
for her wild and unconstrained activities by her mother who grieves over the fact
that her only daughter is ‘comical’ and ‘half an idiot’. Maggie is a child of strong
imagination and lives in the world of dreams. She loves her brother Tom but
practically fails to please him by forgetting about his rabbits and causing their
death. She often acts impulsively and then regrets. When her aunt Mrs. Pullet
remarks ‘I think the gell has too much hair’ Maggie cuts her locks of hair and shocks
all the guests and horrifies her mother. Besides, Maggie is always compared with
far-complexioned cousin Lucy Deane. On one occasion when Tom, Maggie and
Lucy visit their aunt Pullet’s farmhouse Maggie pushes ‘poor little pink and white
Lucy into the cow-trodden mud’ and then angrily runs away to join the gypsies
dreaming of an idyllic life with them. However, only few hours with the gypsies
disillusion her because she cannot eat the food they offer her and she does not

140
understand their strange language. She desires to return to return home and is sent
back and handed over to her father.

Book Two: School-time

Tom is sent to King’s Lorton Parsonage at Mr. Stelling’s Academy where he spends
almost three years. While Maggie also attends ‘Miss Firness’s boarding-school in
the ancient town of Laceham on the Floss, with cousin Lucy’ and she learns to
behave like a ‘young lady who had been at a boarding school’. No details of
Maggie’s education are given but Tom’s progress in his studies is mentioned in
detail. Mr. Stelling makes him study Latin and Greek languages as well as history
of ancient civilizations. He also learns mathematics and drawing for which his
father pays extra money. Tom is however not interested in learning theoretical
knowledge and prefers to do practical things like ‘discerning’ two different breeds
of dogs, predicting ‘with accuracy what number of horses were cantering behind
him, throwing ‘a stone right into the centre of a given ripple’ etc. The discrepancy
in Tom’s inclination and the type of education he received made life difficult for
him and he received punishments from his teacher as Mr. Stelling ‘was severe with
Tom about his lessons’. Moreover, Tom suffered from loneliness since he was the
only student and had no companions to play with. Maggie visits Tom and together
the siblings enjoy themselves.

After one year another student Philip joins the academy thus Tom has a companion.
Philip is the son of lawyer Wakem whom Mr. Tulliver considers his worst enemy
since he is the lawyer of his opponent and neighbor Mr. Pivart. While Tom is a
‘well-made, active-looking boy’ of fourteen Philip Wakem is fifteen but ‘a hump-
back’. Unlike Tom Philip loves to study Greek language and history and also enjoys
drawing and music. When Maggie visits Tom she immediately strikes a friends hip
with Philip because they share common interests in stories and learning. And also
Maggie has ‘rather a tenderness for deformed things’ so she treats Philip with
affection and kindness. Maggie wishes Philip were her ‘brother’ and would ‘teach’
her ‘everything’. Philip also likes Maggie and tells her ‘I’m very fond of you’. He
also admires her ‘dark eyes’ and his praise pleases Maggie since no one except ‘her
father speaks of her eyes as if they had merit.’

Maggie’s third visit to King’s Lorton is very short because she comes to inform
Tom about their father’s losing the lawsuit, his falling off his horse and then going
in a state of coma. Tom is quite shocked to hear the bad news because he has ‘never
dreamed that his father would fail’ but he prepares himself to face the consequences
of his father’s misfortune of losing ‘the mill, the land, and everything’. Thus ends
Tom’s education at the age of sixteen he returns home to take care of the tangled
affairs.

141
Book Three: The Downfall
The narrator reports the circumstances which caused the loss of consciousness of
Mr. Tulliver. He patiently received the news of his losing the law suit against Pivart
and sent for Maggie whose presence he felt would console him. He soon received
a message from his lawyer that his creditor Furley ‘had parted with his securities,
among the rest, the mortgage on Mr. Tulliver’s property, which he had transferred
to – Wakem’. The news of his becoming in debt to Wakem had such perverse effect
on Mr. Tulliver that he becomes ‘insensible’. When he gradually regains
consciousness he cannot remember anything or recognize anyone but only desires
to see Maggie his ‘little wench’. Tom after hearing an account of the stroke his
father received gets furious about the role Wakem played in the downfall of his
father and consequently advises his sister, ‘Mind you never speak to Philip again.’

The family soon realizes that all their possessions will be auctioned to pay the debts
Mr. Tulliver has accumulated. Mrs. Tulliver laments over the loss of her household
items and hopes her wealthy and affluent sisters will buy them but they don’t show
much interest in saving her possessions. Mr. Tulliver’s sister Mr. Moss comes to
see her brother and informs the family that she owes him three hundred pound
which she intends to pay regardless of her husband’s impoverished finances. While
Mrs. Tulliver and her family insist that Mrs. Moss returns her debt Tom recalls his
father’s desire to forgo the loan and expresses his desire of ‘destroying the note’
containing the proof of the loan given to the Mosses.

Tom sets off to take matters in his hands and act as the man of the family. He not
only gives up the demand of return of loan from his aunt Gritty Moss but also pays
the head miller Luke the fifty pounds he invested in Mr. Tulliver’s business and he
manages this payment ‘out of his own and Maggie’s money in the savings bank’.
Next Tom approaches his uncle Mr. Deane who is a partner in the company Guest
and Co and asks for a job. Mr. Deane criticizes Tom’s useless education but get
him the job of a ‘copying clerk’ in his company. Tom realizes his deficiencies and
immediately begins to learn ‘book-keeping’ in order to seek better prospects.

While the wealthy relatives turn their backs on the miserable Tullivers in the time
of need their servants Luke and Kezia continue to work for them. In addition to
servants a childhood companion of Tom Bob Jakins also visits them and offers his
savings of ‘nine sovereigns’ to Tom so that he can set up his business. Tom and
Maggie return the gold coins but feel pleased for making a new and reliable friend.
While Maggie and Tom act wisely their mother makes a wrong move but with good
intentions. Mrs. Tulliver hears her brothers-in-law speculating that Wakem would
buy the Dorlcote Mill she visits his office and dissuades him from making ‘a bid
for the mill and buy it’. She thinks if Wakem becomes the owner of the mill it would
cause irreparable damage to her husband’s already failing health.

142
Wakem does not have any plan of buying the Dorlcote Mill before he meets Mrs.
Tulliver but she informs him that Guest and Co also intends to bid for the mill and
buy it. Wakem at once sees the benefits of his buying the profitable establishme nt
and at the same time teach a lesson to Tulliver by retaining him as a servant to run
the mill. Thus Wakem buys the mill and Mr. Tulliver who gradually regains his
consciousness has no choice but to serve his worst enemy. Mr. Tulliver’s hatred for
Wakem increases many folds and he often says that he ‘won’t forgive him’ and also
makes Tom promise not to ‘forgive Wakem’ since he is the man who caused the
downfall of the Tullivers.

Book Four: The Valley of Humiliation

Mr. Tulliver recovers from his illness and begins to work as ‘Wakem’s manager at
the old spot’ and thus his family continues to like at Dorlcote Mill. Both Mr.
Tulliver and Tom work hard and save money to pay the remaining debts Maggie
also desires to contribute to the family’s meager income by sewing but Tom strictly
forbids her from working. Thus Maggie who is ‘shooting up into a woman’ has
nothing to do but to read ‘battered school-books of Tom’ and grieve for her father’s
sullen uncommunicative depression’. She however, quite unexpectedly receives a
gift of some books and magazines from Bob Jakins who during his previous visit
witnessed her mourning for the loss of her books.

She envies Bob and Tom for getting opportunities to perform productive work
while she is compelled to stay at home and has nothing on which she could to fix
her ‘mind with a steady purpose and disregard everything.’ She is eager to improve
her mind but finds no means to achieve her ends. In her search for ‘they key that
would enable her to understand’ she begins to read a book about the fiftee nth
century Dutch philosopher Thomas a Kempis and adopts his ideas of renunciatio n.
She sews cloths and at the same time meditates on her newly learnt information.

Her temperament changes with her physical appearance. Mr. Tulliver feels proud
of her ‘tall, brown girl’ whose ‘abundant black locks’ she pleats ‘into a coronet on
the summit of her head’. Moreover, Maggie’s submissive attitude confuses and at
the same time pleases her mother. On the contrary her father worries about her
‘poor chance for marrying’ because despite her beauty she has no dowry to offer to
a husband and he believes she is likely to marry a poor man like her aunt Gritty.

Book Five: Wheat and Tares

Maggie is seventeen years old and meets Philip Wakem at a place called ‘Red
Deeps’ where the ‘uneven wall’ formed by trees keeps her secret since her father
and Tom disapprove her meeting with their enemy’s son. Philips is twenty-one and
they meet after five years. Philip shows her a ‘portrait’ he made of her when she
visited Tom at Mr. Stellings. He admires her beauty and wishes to meet her. Maggie

143
also desires his friendship but declares she does not want to hurt her father. For one
year they continue to meet secretly and Philip brings her books and teaches her.
Her broadens her horizon and persuades her to give up her philosophy of self-
humiliation. More than once Maggie suggests that they should part away because
if ‘their secret was discovered, there would be nothing but misery’. Philip however,
wants to continue meeting her since he is lonely and extremely unhappy. Maggie
does not think of Philip as her lover and therefore when he expresses his love for
her she is utterly shocked and admits ‘but I had never thought of you being my
lover’. She confesses that she also loves him but her duty to her father comes first
and she would ‘never do anything to wound’ her father.

While Maggie has a clandestine relationship with Philip Tom strives to move
forward in practical life. He receives an offer of investment in a small business run
by Bob Jakin’s friend and he decides to accept it after learning about all the details.
He approaches his father and asks him to lend him twenty pound out of their saving
of two years but Mr. Tulliver is reluctant to take the risk. So Tom asks his uncle
Glegg for a loan of twenty pounds and begins ‘trading’. The venture meets success
and within a year Tom saves three hundred pounds which he gives to his father to
return his debts. Thus after ‘four years of gloom’ Mr. Tulliver meets his creditors
and returns their debts. He is so happy that looks ‘like the proud, confident, warm-
hearted and warm-tempered Tulliver of old times.’ He delivers a speech and
admires the role his son has played in earning and saving the money.

On one hand Tom is happy and satisfied by the progress of his ‘trading adventures’
which relieve his father from the burden of debts while on the other hand his
relations with Maggie get sour. He follows her when she goes to the Red Deeps’
because he suspects her of meeting Philip Wakem. He has earlier heard his aunt
Pullet mentioning her seeing ‘that mismade son o’ Lawyer Wakem’s … scrambling
out of the brambles at the Red Deep’. Tom notices that Maggie blushes when she
hears Philip’s name and he decides to confirm his suspicion. When Maggie realizes
her secret is revealed she confesses before Tom about her meeting Philip and tries
to justify herself, ‘Tom, it was wrong of me – but I was so lonely – and I was sorry
for Philip. And I think enmity and hatred are wicked’. But Tom refuses to accept
her arguments and reminds her ‘Your duty was clear enough’. Tom also meets
Philip and insults him. He finally makes Maggie vow that she will not meet Philip
or otherwise he would tell their father. Since Maggie could not bear to hurt her
father she makes a promise and fulfills it.

Thus Maggie loses Philip and very soon her father too. Mr. Tulliver while coming
home after his triumph at returning all his debts meets Wakem who is riding ‘a fine
black horse’. After a brief verbal encounter Mr. Tulliver begins to beat his rival
who has fallen off his horse. Wakem shouts for help and Maggie arrives to stop her

144
father from his violent pursuits and she is soon joined by Luke and Mrs. Tulliver.
Wakem is saved and sent away but Mr. Tulliver becomes ‘too faint’. Next morning,
he breaths his last but before he dies advises Tom to ‘try and get the old mill back’
and also insists that he must take care of his sister and ‘be good to her’. Maggie
pleads before her dying father to forgive his enemy but he refuses. After their
father’s death Maggie asks Tom to forgive her and like they did as children ‘they
clung and wept together’.

Book Six: The Great Temptation

After a lapse of two years Maggie who has been working in a school since her
father’s death returns to St. Oggs to spend holidays with her cousin Lucy in Mr.
Deane’s house. She meets Toms after two years because he lives at Jakin’s place
and Mrs. Tulliver lives with the Deanes and keeps their house since her sister Mrs.
Deane’s death. Maggie wears ‘shabby clothes’ but still looks very pretty. She is
proud of her earning money and plans to take ‘lessons’ in order to ‘get a better
situation’. She is thus an independent woman who feels proud of her
accomplishments and desires to receive education to improve her prospects in
future. At Mr. Deane’s house Maggie meets Stephen Guest the son of one of the
owners of Guest and Co. He visits Lucy whom he is courting and they intend to get
engaged and married.

Another frequent visitor at Mr. Deane’s house is Philip Wakem. Lucy and Stephen
admire his singing abilities and hope to hear him play the piano and sing in his next
visit. Maggie shares the secret of her meeting Philip and then abandoning him for
her father and brother. She then goes to meet Tom to get permission from him to
meet Philip in Lucy’s house. Tom tells her, ‘I shouldn’t mind you seeing him
occasionally at my uncle’s; … but I have no confidence in you Maggie. You would
be led away to do anything.’ Maggie is hurt by Tom’s harsh treatment but she
ensures him that she has ‘given up thinking of him as a lover’. Tom finally ‘softens’
and Maggie leaves happily after her reconciliation with her brother.

While staying with Lucy Maggie meets Philip who is twenty-five years old and
works as an artist in the painting-room he has made at the ‘house-top’. Philip loves
her passionately but the nature of Maggie’s feeling for Philip alters since she has
promised Tom never to ‘overstep’ her limits. Besides she is no more a teenage girl
craving for affection and attention. She is an independent woman seeking a better
opportunity to earn her living and improve her mind. Philip observes ‘in Maggie’s
glance and manner the evidence of change’ but he still hopes to receive the affectio n
she showered on him in the past. Lucy since she has learned about the love which
existed between Maggie and Philip strives to bring them together and for this
purpose convinces her father to buy the Dorlcote mill and hand it over to her cousin
Tom. Lucy asks Philip to persuade his father to sell the mill and thus remove an

145
obstacle ‘in bringing Maggie and Philip together’. Wakem also finds the business
of the mill cumbersome and desires to get rid of it and therefore he sells it to Guest
and Co thus paving the way for Tom to take charge of his family’s property again.

Philip meets Maggie while Lucy and Stephen are also present. He observes them
and feels jealous to see Stephen Guest performing even ‘an ordinary act of
politeness’ for Maggie. But Lucy allay his fears by telling him ‘Maggie is not the
sort of woman Stephen admires, and she is irritated by something in him that she
interprets as conceit’. Lucy however, is unaware of the increasing closeness
between Maggie and Stephen. Apparently they remain aloof but Stephen feels
strongly attracted towards her and visits her while she is at her aunt Moss. In his
conversation Stephen convinces Maggie ‘we should throw everything else to the
winds for the sake of belonging to each other. We should break all these mistaken
ties that were made in blindness, and determine to marry each other.’ Maggie is
confused about her relationship with Stephen but he has a clear plan.

One day Lucy arranges to send Maggie and Philip for rowing while she goes for
shopping. But Stephen comes instead to accompany Maggie since he has been
informed by Philip about his illness. So Maggie and Stephen go for rowing but
never return. Maggie goes to sleep while rowing and when she wakes up she
realizes another day has begun and ‘It was too late’. While Stephen insists that they
should stay together and marry Maggie insists on parting and she abandons him.
Thus Maggie opts to become a fallen woman who despite her own engagement with
Philip Wakem elopes with the fiancé of her cousin Lucy.

Book Seven: The Final Rescue

Five days after her disappearance Maggie returns to Tom who now lives at Dorlcote
mill because ‘he was master there now’. Maggie admits her faults and asks ‘for
refuge’ but Tom callously disowns her though he takes the responsibility of helping
her financially. Mrs. Tulliver however, accompanies Maggie and they rent a room
offered by Bob Jakin’s mother. Maggie’s ‘elopement’ makes her notorious and
people talk about her misconduct. She remains indifferent to public opinion but
suffers from ‘agonizing anxiety … about Stephen, Lucy and Philip.’ She visits the
‘parish priest’ Dr. Kenn and makes her confession. He informs her that Stephen has
gone ‘abroad’ and also tells her about a letter he has written to his father in which
he mentioned ‘all that passed’ thus clearing Maggie from the blame of seducing
him.

Dr. Kenn advises Maggie to leave St. Oggs and ‘take a situation at a distance’ but
she refuses to work at another place and insists ‘I will not go now’. She thus
resumes her ‘plain sewing and so getting enough to pay for her lodging at Bob’s’.
Her aunt Mrs. Glegg condemns Tom for his maltreatment of his sister because she

146
has strong belief that “If you were not to stand by your ‘kin’ … pray, what were
you stand by.” She offers Maggie an accommodation in her house but Maggie
asserts, ‘I can’t live with anyone or be dependent on them,… I must get my own
bread.’ She receives a letter from Philip which absolves her from the burden of
hurting him. He admires her courage for taking the taking the difficult decision and
abandoning Stephen. Lucy also visits her after she recoversfrom her prolonged
illness caused due to the shock of Maggie and Stephen’s elopement. They talk very
little but Lucy praises Maggie telling her ‘you are better than I am’ while Maggie
advises her to forgive Stephen and accept him.

In the time span of two years Dr. Kenn badly fails to get Maggie a job because of
her bad reputation. He finally asks her to serve as ‘a daily governess for his
children’ since his wife has died and ‘Maggie gratefully accepted an employme nt’.
But Maggie’s serving Dr. Kenn gives another opportunity to the people to speculate
and gossip about her likely marriage with her employer. So Dr. Kenn suggests that
she should ‘go away from St. Oggs for a time’. Maggie accepts his advice and
makes up her mind to leave the familiar surroundings and become ‘a lonely
wanderer’. She receives a letter by Stephen who begs her to accept him, ‘Maggie,
call me back to you!’ She is tempted to tell him to ‘Come!’ but she is resolved to
fight against the temptation and plans to ‘write to him the last words of parting’
next day. However, it rains heavily at night and Maggie soon discovers that the
house is flooded by the water of the river.

She immediately wakes up Bob Jakins and they set out to find a safe place. Maggie
rows her boat to the Dorlcote mill to rescue her brother Tom who is extremely
astonished at her arrival and that too ‘alone’. Finally, the siblings are together in
the boat and Tom experiences ‘a certain awe and humiliation’ seeing his sister
taking the risk to save him. They however, soon get drowned and when water level
lowers their ‘two bodies …were found in close embrace. Their graves are visited
by Philip who is ‘always solitary’ and Stephen accompanied by Lucy.

7.4 CHARACTERS OF THE MILL ON THE FLOSS

The novel The Mill on the Floss depicts different families including the Tullivers,
Dodsons, Mosses, Stellings, Gleggs, Pullets, Deanes, Wakems, Guests and Jakins.
Different members of these families perform their roles in the development of the
plot. In addition to these characters belonging to different families some other
individuals play minor roles such as Luke Mogg the head miller at Dorlcote mill,
Kezia the maid-servant of Tullivers, Riley an acquaintance of Mr. Tulliver and
Dr. Kenn the rector of St. Ogg’s parish. Moreover, the novel traces the lives of four
children Maggie, Tom, Lucy and Philip and their transformation into adults.

147
Maggie Tulliver is the major character in the novel and George Eliot gives an
account of her life from early childhood when she is nine to her death at the age of
twenty. As a little girl ‘Maggie was the picture of her aunt Moss, Mr. Tullive r’s
sister – a large-boned woman’. She is a tall girl with black eyes, brown skin and
plenty of thick long hair which her mother fails to curl. She is an animated child
who loves to play by herself since her companion and her brother Tom who is about
three years older than her lives in the boarding–school. Throughout her childhood
she is constantly criticized by her aunts and often compared with the pretty and
decent cousin Lucy but she cares little about other people’s opinion. Her father and
her brother are ‘the two idols of her life’ and she strives to please them but often
fails to do so. For instance, she carelessly forgets to feed the rabbits Tom entrusts
her and they die of starvation thus making Tom angry. Later he condemns her for
her clandestine relationship with Philip and her elopement with Stephen Guest.

Little Maggie is often told that ‘she was like a Gipsy’ and ‘half wild’ and she begins
to believe that she can easily settle among the gypsies. She therefore makes an
unsuccessful attempt to live with gypsies but returns home very soon. She tells her
father that she ran away because she was ‘so unhappy – Tom was angry with me. I
couldn’t bear it.’ Her father does not reprimand her ‘about this foolish business’.
Later when her father loses his lawsuit and becomes bankrupt and consequently
receives harsh criticism from her mother’s family Maggie supports her father and
angrily tells her aunts and uncles, ‘don’t come to find fault with my father – he was
better than any of you – he was kind – he would have helped you if you had been
in trouble.’ She also severs her relationship with Philip for the sake of her father.
She disapproves her father’s excessive hatred for Lawyer Wakem and stops him
from beating his rival. She pleads before her dying father to ‘’forgive his enemy
because she strongly believes that ‘enmity and hatred are wicked’.

Maggie aspires to learn her and goes to a boarding–school for two years but then
withdraws on account of her family’s downfall. Her love for learning and stories
brings her closer to Philip Wakem who is Tom’s school fellow and she wishes he
were her brother. She resumes her friendship with Philip some years later when she
is frustrated by her confinement at home while she yearns to do something like
Tom. Maggie gets closer to Philip initially because of her natural ‘tenderness for
deformed things’ and then she cares for her more than Tom does. When she meets
him again in the Deep Reds he satisfies her desire for attention which she does not
receive from any one at home. She desires to part away under a sense of duty to her
father but fails because she cannot resist the ‘sense of comradeship’ she experiences
when she is with Philip. His ‘affectionate admiring looks’ and the assurance that he
‘would care to hear everything she said’ does not allow her to discontinue her
relationship with him.

148
She again meets Philip while spending holidays with Lucy but the nature of her
affection for him has changed and she assures Tom that she does not consider Philip
her ‘lover’. Besides, Maggie has other plans of taking up a job and getting ‘lessons’.
Moreover, she is attracted to Stephen who unlike Philip is ‘a striking young man’
and experiences ‘a new incitement to rush towards Maggie and claim her for
himself’. She resists his advances out of a sense of duty to Lucy but at times she
desires to accept his love as a compensation for her suffering’ through many years
of her life’. Maggie is thus torn between her natural impulse to love and her sense
of duty to her family.

Tom Tulliver is quite different from Maggie in many ways and these differe nces
are visible since their childhood. Tom is inclined to act like the Dodsons in
composed, calculated and rational manner. He has a strong sense of pride which
becomes the driving forces of his life and career. Besides he strongly believes in
his duty to his family and adherence to this principle badly affects his relations with
Maggie whom he loves. As a child he does not acknowledge Maggie’s love and
thus hurts her feelings. He does not share her interest in books and stories because
he is a practical person who likes doing things rather than imagining them happen.
He wants to impress her with his ability to do different things like using a sword
which he borrows from his drilling master Poulter. His attempts to show ‘his
military performance’ by means of the sword end up badly because he drops it on
his feet and gets injured.

Though Tom is not good a studies but he learns some important lessons while he is
at Mr. Stelling’s Academy. He realizes that ‘Mr. Stelling’s standard of things was
quite different, was certainly something higher in the eyes of the world than that of
the people he had been living amongst’. He vaguely understands the fact that he
represents backward people from the countryside and when he gets an opportunity
to take up a vocation he prefers to go for modern corporate business conducted in
cities. He admires his father and his family business of running the mill but also
develops the understanding that his father and his uncle Glegg’s conventio na l
thinking patterns cannot lead him further into the world of fierce competition.

Tom’s real test comes when his father loses all his possessions as well as his
consciousness. He then takes matters in his hands and pulls up his socks. He sets
out to settle the tangled financial matters and for this purpose he rightly gets advice
from his uncle Deane who has made his way in business from a very infer ior
position to that of one of the partners of Guest and Co. Mr. Deane clearly tells Tom
about the uselessness of his education which gets him the job of a copying clerk but
Tom’s spirits are not dampened. He works and simultaneously learns the skills
which can help him to seek better opportunities. He works hard for seven years
during which he frees his father from the burden of debts and gets the Dorlcote mill

149
back. In addition to hard work Tom’s success owes a great deal to his taking risk
and initiating his own business. He borrows money from his uncle Glegg and
invests it and ultimately receives the profit. He thus has a business acumen which
later enables him to become a partner in the company which he joined as an
insignificant worker.

Though Tom is a dutiful and loving son yet he treats Maggie quite harshly. He
condemns her for her friendship with Philip Wakem and refuses to understand her
emotions. He despises her decision to live and work independently after their
father’s death. He however, disowns her completely when she returns after eloping
with Stephen. While Lucy and Philip forgive Maggie and admire her courage to
make a correct but difficult choice of abandoning Stephen Tom refuses to pardon
her. His ‘masculine philosophy’ makes him believe that his sister’s ‘unwoma nly
boldness and unbridled passion’ deserves severe punishment and he therefore
abandons her. He is quite surprised to find her at the mill rowing a boat all alone
on the flooded river in order to save him and he finally makes peace with her before
they get drowned together.

Mr. Tulliver is a loving father and brother as well as a dutiful husband who even in
worst circumstances his wife ‘to make what amends he could for her trouble’. He
overcomes his ego and opts to serve his worst enemy Wakem so that his wife and
children don’t get displaced and they can make the ends meet with his meager
income. Though he disapproves his sister Gritty’s choice of a poor man as her
husband he still loves her and refuses to receive back the loan he has given her at
the time when he is bankrupt and desperately needs finances to pay back his
creditors. Similarly, he loves his daughter Maggie and at his deathbed advises Tom
to be good to her. He however, dislikes his wife’s relatives and often quarrels with
them. Like his son Tom he refuses to forgive people and even on his deathbed
expresses his hatred for Wakem. He is but a kind-hearted and honest man whose
servants Luke and Kezia refuse to abandon him despite his dwindling financ ia l
conditions.

Despite his personal qualities Mr. Tulliver is not a wise man. He is uneducated and
lacks a perception to understand the real abilities of people. He gets advice about
Tom’s education from Mr. Riley who is an auctioneer and a man of little
understanding and knowledge. But Mr. Tullivers thinks very high of him. He
understands that Tom has ‘got a notion o’ things out o’ the door … but he’s slow
with his tongue…and he reads but poorly…and spells all wrong’ but still he wants
to make him a ‘scholar’. He wastes his money and Tom’s time by getting him
useless education at Stelling’s Academy. In fact, Mr. Tulliver is unable to
understand and gauge the contemporary changing circumstances and fails to cope
with new developments around him. He wastes his resources in litigation against

150
his neighbor despite several warning s from his relatives about the disastrous results
of his law suits. Moreover, Mr. Tulliver is not a good manager when it comes to
financial matters. His downfall owes to his foolish investments based on the loans
he has taken. He puts the blame of his financial crisis on the ‘raskills’ including his
opponent Pivart and his lawyer Wakem but in fact he is responsible for his troubles
because of his mismanagement of money.

Mrs. Elizabeth Tulliver is a beautiful and ‘good-tempered’but ‘dull-witted’ person

whose sole interest lies in her linen and crockery and she strives to please her elder
sisters Mrs. Glegg and Mrs. Pullet. She gets annoyed with unruly behavior of her
little Maggie but later when she grows into a submissive pretty young woman she
feels proud of her. When Maggie returns after her elopement and Tom washes his
hands off her Mrs. Tulliver follows her ‘mother’s instinct and decides ‘to go with
her unhappy child’. Earlier her attempt to stop Wakem from buying Dorlcote mill
puts the notion of buying the mill into his mind and she unintentionally gives him
an opportunity to subdue Mr. Tulliver.

Her elder sister Mrs. Jane Glegg has married a wealthy ‘wool-stapler’ and lives
comfortably. She is a bossy and quarrelsome woman who interferes in other
people’s affairs. She criticizes Mr. Tulliver’s decision to send Tom to Academy
and pay a hundred pounds annually because she thinks no ‘good is to come to the
boy by bringin’ him up above his fortin’. She also quarrels with Mr. Tulliver and
demands a return of the loan of five hundred pounds thus adding to his troubles.
But she reprimands Tom for his cruel behavior towards Maggie and offers her
lodging in her house.

Gritty Moss is the sister of Mr. Tulliver and presented as ‘a large, easy-tempered,
untidy’ but loving woman burdened by a poor husband and eight children. She
acknowledges her brother’s kindness since he has given her a loan of three hundred
pounds but criticizes his going to law because she strongly believes that ‘there’s
never any knowing where that’ll end. And the right doesn’t always win.’ She also
advises Mrs. Tulliver to ‘please’ her husband instead of her sisters. In addition to
Gritty the other relative who always shows kindness to Maggie is her cousin Lucy.
She appears as an adorable pretty and obedient child in Book One but in the later
part of the novel she shows her good qualities in many ways. She invites Maggie
to spend holidays at her house and treats her ‘as the grandest lady-visitor’ she
strives to bring Maggie and Philip closer because she believes they love each other.
She compels her father to help Tom recover his lost property the Dorlcote mill.
However, Lucy completely fails to understand the fact that Stephen is unable to
resist the temptation of getting attracted towards Maggie and she also encourages
him. She suffers greatly when Maggie and Stephen elope but recovers her health
after learning the facts from Stephen’s letter. She visits Maggie at Jakin’s place and

151
appreciates her courage for facing adverse circumstances as a consequence of her
sacrifice for her loved ones. Moreover, Lucy also follows Maggie’s advice and
forgives Stephen whom she marries later.

Another minor but significant character in the novel is Mr. Deane the brother-in-
law of Mrs. Tulliver. His family also depends on ‘gifts’ of his wife’s elder sisters
till he rises in his profession and becomes the wealthiest of all relatives. He is the
ideal for Tom and advises him to learn ‘accounts …between working hours.’ He
thus sets Tom on the path to success with his clear and practical suggestio ns.
Lawyer Wakem is also another practical man who invests in property when it is
profitable and disposes it off when it causes loss. He is a loving father who provides
his deformed a comfortable life and ‘education of a gentleman’. Similarly, Tom’s
teacher Mr. Stelling also ‘meant to rise in his profession’ of education and teaches
his students regardless of their aptitude and receives ample fees from their parents.

Dr. Kenn, Luke Moggs and Bob Jakins are characters who despite their worldliness
depict display kindness, sympathy and sincerity. Dr. Kenn is an unconventio na l
clergyman who treats his parishnors very kindly. He is the only person who
understands Maggie’s dilemma ‘of the shifting relation between passion and duty’.
Luke stays with Mr. Tulliver even when he becomes penniless. Moreover, he
refuses to take his fifty pounds back since Tom plans to give him his money from
his and Maggie’s savings. Similarly, the good-hearted, bad-tempered’ maid servant
Kezia also continued to work for the Tullivers when they begin to ‘live meagerly
and humbly’. However, Bob Jakins a childhood acquaintance of Maggie and Tom
shows his kindness and sincerity many times. He visits them and offers his meager
saving of nine gold coins to them. He observes Maggie lamenting over the loss of
books and next time brings her some books as gift. He helps Tom to initiate his
own business. But most of all Bob names his little daughter after Maggie at the time
when she has become an outcast. Unlike the affluent and resourceful people these
characters who possess very limited resources show more generosity and sympathy
for the miserable and wretched people.

Philip Wakem and Stephen Guest both appear in the course of the novel as
Maggie’s lovers. Philip is an intelligent but physically deformed young man. As a
child is unable to participate in physical activities and consequently spends his time
reading, drawing and playing music. He pursues these activities later and continues
to sing, play piano and paint. He is attracted to Maggie because she treats him
kindly but he realizes his error in thinking of marrying her because of the
discrepancy in their physical formations. He does not blame her for getting lured
by Stephen but admires her courage and sincerity for abandoning him and thus
facing severe humiliation. Stephen too admires Maggie initially for her physical
beauty and then the sincerity she displays for her cousin which compels her to

152
choose the difficult path and abandon her lover. Stephen appears for a very short
span of time in the novel and his real qualities are not exposed. He appears as a
‘coxcomb’ and seems more like a vain young man popular with ladies for his good
looks and ability to sing well.

7.5 THEMES OF THE NOVEL ‘THE MILL ON THE FLOSS’

The conflict between duty and passion is one of the major issues discussed in the
novel. The characters have to make choices. Tom prefers duty and works dilige ntly
and relentlessly for seven years to get back the property his father lost because of
his imprudent decisions. On the contrary Maggie finds it very hard to resist the
temptation of her passion. She meets Philip and forms an affectionate relations hip
with him though she knows well how much her father and brother feel injured if
they learn about her comradeship with Wakem’s son. She goes rowing with Stephen
when she realizes the fact that it would hurt her Lucy and Philip. She however,
makes a bold but painful choice of abandoning Stephen and fulfills her duty to her
cousin and her lover. But her last decision exposes her to the criticism of the world
who fails to comprehend her motives. She performs her duty but consequently lives
‘in that degraded and outcast condition’, without her family and a reasonable
occupation. Her insufficient education adds to her miseries and George Eliot
mentions this issue in the novel.

Both Maggie and Tom go to boarding schools but neither is trained for practical
life. No details of Maggie’s education are mentioned in the novel but its poor
quality is obvious from the fact that she is unable to earn her living by employing
her knowledge. On the contrary she is an accomplished seamstress and ears enough
money to manage her expenses by this skill. Tom’s education is the major concern
of his father who proudly pays a hundred pounds annually for it. Mr. Tulliver
admires the intelligence of Maggie but never shows any interest in educating her.
Moreover, Maggie’s school fees are provided by her aunt Pullet. So it is quite clear
that a daughter’s education is not of any significance for a family.

Tom also receives useless education which does not helps him in crisis. He studies
Latin and Greek languages and Eton Grammar and Euclid at Mr. Stelling’s
Academy but none of these things are applicable in practical life. So he is forced to
learn accounting and book-keeping while working for Guest and Co and he applies
his newly learnt skills to excel in his job. Besides, Tom is forced to study things
which do not match his aptitude and he ends up cramming information without
really understanding anything. Eliot explains this fact, ‘What was understood by
his education was simply the practice of reading, writing, and spelling, carried on

153
by an elaborate appliance of unintelligible ideas and by much failure in the effort
to learn by rote.’ Thus Eliot strongly criticizes the contemporary education system
by depicting its flaws visible in tom’s education.

Another issue highlighted by Eliot in this novel is the plight of women. Maggie
though the favorite child of her father does not get her due share in his resources
which enable her to live a better life. Mr. Tulliver worries about Maggie’s little
chance of getting married well since she has no dowry to attract a better suitor. He
never bothers to give her any opportunity to improve her mind and make her way
in the world. She is strictly forbidden from contributing to the income of the family
even when they experience a financial crunch. When her father dies Maggie is
offered by aunt Pullet to live with her but she refuses and opts for ‘a dreary situatio n
in a school’. Though her job separates her from her family yet it teaches her the
reality that she needs more accomplishments to survive and she saves money for
further education. The deprivation of woman is another significant these of the
novel.

154
 SUMMARY POINTS

• George Eliot is a Victorian novelist who introduced the element of

psychological analysis to English novel.

• She is a rationalist and a moralist.

• Her characters face the dilemma of making appropriate moral choices in their
lives.

• She discusses different themes in her novels including the criticism of

contemporary society.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. Enlist the significant events of George Eliot’s life.

2. Summarize the plots of Eliot’s major novels.

3. Read the novel The Mill on the Floss and answer the following questions:

4. Find textual proof of Maggie’s love for Tom.

5. Enlist the flaws George Eliot’s points out in the contemporary education
system as mentioned in Book Two of Mill on the Floss?

6. Does Phillip Wakem deserve Maggie’s sympathy or her love?

7. How do you analyze the character of Stephen Guest?

8. Is the final scene of Maggie and Tow’s getting drowned real or symbolic?
Give reasons to justify your stance.

155
 SUGGESTED READINGS

Bodenheimer, R. (1994). The Real Life of Mary Ann Evans. (E-book).

Haight, G. (1965). A Century of George Eliot Criticism. (E-book).

James, H. (1888). Partial Portraits. (E-book).

Silas Marner E-book Woolf, V. (1925). George Eliot. (E-book).

156
Unit–8

DAVID COPPERFIELD
by Charles Dickens

Written by: Prof. Ambreena Qayyum

Reviewed by: Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

157
 CONTENTS

Page #
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 159

Objectives ...................................................................................................159

8.1 Charles Dickens’ Life .............................................................................. 161

8.2 Charles Dickens’ Novels and Other Literary Works ............................... 164

8.3 Summary of David Copperfield ............................................................... 166

8.4 Characterization in David Copperfield .................................................... 169

8.5 Themes in David Copperfield .................................................................. 171

Summary Points ................................................................................................ 172

Self- Assessment Questions ............................................................................... 173

Suggested Readings .......................................................................................... 174

158
 INTRODUCTION

Charles Dickens is a Victorian novelist and a true representative of his age. Dickens
lived in the Britain which was a colonial power and ruled half of the world. Besides
Britain in Dickens’ life time was making progress in science and technology by
leaps and bounds. Dickens in his novels depicts the contemporary British society
but he does not paint a rosy picture of his age, He is in fact a realist who depicts the
bitter truth he saw around him. Since he had the first-hand experience of working
as a child labor, visiting prisons where his father was detained, selling and pawning
household to make some money for day-to-day needs, and bad or no schooling at
all he therefore projects these miseries of life in his works. He blends the facts of
life with his imagination and tells entertaining stories. He skillfully employs humor
and makes his readers laugh. His novels are divided into chapters of almost the
same length because they were initially published in different magazines or journals
in weekly or monthly installments. Dickens plots are loosely knitted and his
characters are often flat but despite these weaknesses he is a popular and effective
story-teller. Besides he voices the issues of working class in his novels and depicts
the miserable conditions in which this lower stratum of society exists. David
Copperfield is Dickens autobiographical novel though most of his novels contain
some of the facts he either experienced or observed in his life. However, David
Copperfield is a blend of the bitter experiences of his life as well as the desires and
aspirations he had as a young man. The novel David Copperfield depicts several
instances reflecting sorrow, treachery, unjust manipulation, financial difficulties
and despair but it still never loses the humorous strain which is characteristic of
Dickens novels.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit, you will be able to:

• enlist the major events of Charles Dickens’ life with the relevant dates;

• summarize the plots of George Eliot’s major novels;

• summarize the main events of the novel David Copperfield;

• identify the autobiographical elements in the novel David Copperfield;

• discuss the character of Uriah Heep;

159
• find examples of Dickens criticism of contemporary society in the novel
David Copperfield;

• discuss the episode of Little Em’ly and its significance in the plot of the novel
David Copperfield;

• identify the instances of James Steerforth’s exploitation of David Copperfield;

• discuss the roles of different women in David Copperfield’s life.

160
8.1 CHARLES DICKENS’ LIFE
Charles John Huffman Dickens was born on February 12th , 1812 in Portsmouth a port
city located in the south of England and the home of British Navy. Dickens father John
Dickens was a clerk in Navy pay office. His mother’s name was Elizabeth Dickens and
she bore eight children. Charles Dickens was the second child while Mary was the
eldest. Despite the financial problems the family of Dickens faced for several years
Mary was selected to study in the Royal Music Academy and proved herself a brilliant
student. Mary’s performance at the Academy and her getting a prize was one of the
great joys of young Dickens life when he was working a child laborer and faced
financial as well as emotional distress.

When Dickens was two years old his father was transferred to London and the
family shifted from Portsmouth to London. They lived in Norfolk Street but were
soon compelled to move to Chatham a town in England known for its ancient
dockyard and ship-building industry. At that time Dickens was almost five years
old and his family stayed in Chatham till he was nine. He had vivid memories of
his stay in Chatham It was during his stay in Chatham when he fell in love with a
house called Gad’s Hill Place which was built in 1780. He expressed his desire to
buy the house and his father told him he could buy it provided he worked and earned
enough money. Dickens wrote about his love for the house in these words: ‘I used
to look at it as a wonderful Mansion (which God knows it is not) when I was a very
odd little child with the first faint shadows of all my books in my head – I suppose.’
As a successful novelist he managed to buy this house at a later stage in his life in
1856 and it remained his summer residence till his death in 1870.

Charles Dickens was physically a weak child and could not participate in sports. He
was pleased to see other boys playing while he watched them or read books. His
inability to actively participate in games made him read extensively. He had some
books available at home and he read them thoroughly. His excessive reading made him
a good narrator and he could tell stories. Besides he could sing humorous songs and
entertain people. In later life this ability of performing publically contributed to his paid
public readings which made him popular besides adding to his income. Young
Dickens’ interest in acting, narrating stories and singing was encouraged by a distant
relative James Lamert who was fond of private theatricals. Since early childhood
Dickens had opportunities to watch Shakespeare’s plays performed in theatre.

In Chatham Charles Dickens and his sister Fanny attended a preparatory school.
Then he attended a school run by Mr. Giles who recognized his unusual talents and
encouraged him to read and express himself in different ways. During his education
at Giles’ school Dickens read the books he makes David Copperfield read includ ing

161
‘Roderick Random, Perigrine Pickle, Humphrey Clinker, Tom Jones, the Vicar of
Wakefield, Don Quixote, Gil Blas, and Robinson Crusoe. … the Arabian Nights,
and the Tale of the Genii.’ Besides he also read contemporary newspapers and
magazines like the Spectator, the Idler, the Tatler and the Citizen of the World.
Thus reading books, magazines and newspapers, watching theatrical performances
particularly Shakespeare’s plays and performing as a storyteller and singer all
contributed to Charles Dickens’ literary career.

Once again the Dickens’ family moved from Chatham to London where for the first
time in his life the little boy began to realize the severity of financial problems and
their consequences. The Dickens lived in one of the poorest quarters of London
called the Bayham Street in a decaying old building. While his sister attended the
Royal Academy Dickens was not sent to school on account of financial constraints.
The family suffered because Dickens father was unable to pay the loans he had
taken. In the novel David Copperfield Dickens shows Mr. Wilkins Micawber facing
the same problems his own father experienced by his financial mismanageme nt.
Mr. Micawber advises David Copperfield about better management of one’s
income, ‘Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result
happiness. Annual income twenty, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and
six, results misery.’ It was a difficult time for young Dickens who was out of school
and had no company. Being a sensitive child he felt extremely miserable and
neglected by his parents who were fighting against their financial hazards.

In order to improve the income of the family Dickens’ mother followed the
suggestion of a relative and opened a school called Mrs. Dickens’ Establishment in
Gower Street. She hoped that Englishmen living abroad in colonies like India and
West Indies sent their children to England to study and she could get some of those
children as her students and earn enough money to send her own son to school. But
the venture completely failed. The loans Dickens’ father had accumulated increased
and he was consequently sent to Marshalsea prison in 1824. Young Charles Dickens
and his sister Fanny often visited their father in the debtor’s prison. Thus Dickens
had an exposure to the life of imprisonment at an early age. While John Dickens
was in prison circumstances at home grew worse. Almost all household possessions
were either sold or pawned in order to get some money for day to day expenses.
Ultimately the Dickens’ house became almost empty except few beds and chairs
and a kitchen table which were left. The young Dickens was mostly responsible for
making deals to extract some money from buyers or pawn-dealers. The
impoverished circumstances left long-lasting impressions on his mind.

When Dickens was twelve his distant relative and former patron James Lamert who
by that time had become a businessman helped his family by giving him a job in

162
his factory. Lamert’s factory was a blacking warehouse. It was situated in a
rundown building with plenty of rats living in it permanently. Dickens’ job was to
‘cover the pots of paste-blacking’ with paper and then ‘tie them round with a string’.
In the novel David Copperfield Dickens depicts his young protagonist facing
similar situation when he is forced to work at ‘Murdstone and Grinby’s warehouse’
located in ‘a old crazy house … overrun with rats.’ However, David Copperfield
has to put labels and corks on the bottles, seal the corks and pack the ‘finis hed
bottles’ in cask. While Dickens was extremely unhappy with his job his parents
were quite pleased and satisfied about his first employment because he earned first
six and then seven shillings weekly.

The wretchedness Dickens experienced as a child laborer is depicted in the novel

David Copperfield when the protagonist while going through the same situatio n
exclaims, ‘No words can express the secret agony of my soul’. Dickens’ plight
ended when his father quarreled with James Lamert and consequently he was turned
out of job. He was then sent to a school called Wellington House Academy in
Hampstead Road. It was run by Mr. Jones and Dickens studied there for two years
from 1824 to 1826. He recreated this school as Salem House in the novel David
Copperfield. In 1827 he began his career as a clerk in an attorney Mr. Edward
Blackmore’s office and continued working there till the end of 1828. He then
worked as a short hand reporter in different courts till he got an opening in the
career he desired to join that is journalism.

Since Dickens wanted to become a newspaper parliamentary reporter and he felt he

needed to train himself for this vocation. He therefore resolved to learn short hand
and improve his reading. He frequented the British Museum reading-room and read
extensively. He also worked as a short hand reporter in different courts till he got
an opening in the career he desired to join that is journalism. His consistency and
hard work paid well and at the age of nineteen he became a reporter and worked for
different newspapers including Chronicles, Mirror of Parliament and Morning
Chronicle which he joined in 1835. Even when he became a successful novelist he
never gave up working as a journalist. He worked as an editor for the Daily News,
Household words and All the year Around. His literary career began when his first
short story was published in the Monthly Magazine in 1833. He then adopted the
pseudonym Boz and produced Sketches which were initially published in
magazines and then in the collected form in 1836.

In 1836 Dickens married Catherine Hogarth the daughter of George Hogarth the
editor of Evening Chronicle. The marriage lasted till 1858 when they separated.
They had ten children. Catherine Dickens was a talented woman and wrote and
published a cookery book. However, her relations with her husband began to get

163
bitter since 1851 when she fell in a state of depression after the death of her eight
months old daughter. Dickens who initially admired her for her flexibility despised
her and blamed her for bearing so many children. A scandal caused by Dickens’
interest in an actress Ellen Ternan finally forced Catherine to live separately while
their children stayed with the father and Georgina Hogarth who was Catherine ‘s
younger sister kept Dickens’ house. Catherine died in 1879.

In 1842 Dickens accompanied by his wife Catherine travelled to the United States
and Canada. The couple then went to continental Europe and stayed in Italy, France
and Switzerland from 1844 to 1846. From 1858 to 1869 Dickens travelled widely
and read his novels before the audience. These paid readings were financially very
beneficial. However, they paid the toll for it by his deteriorating health and the
stroke he received in 1869 led to his death in 1870. Dickens began his literary career
with Sketches of Boz and then produced several novels. A brief account of his
literary career is given in the following pages.

8.2 CHARLES DICKENS’ NOVELS AND OTHER LITERARY

WORKS

Literary artists have produces Sketches in English since sixteenth century. Sketches
are short humorous pieces of prose describing an individual who represents a
profession or a class or anecdotes or brief narratives. Dickens wrote sixty sketches
which were initially published in the Monthly Magazine, the Morning Chronicle
and also some other magazines. They were illustrated by George Chruikshank who
also illustrated his novels. This pictorial presentation of major events of novels
added to their popularity. Dickens’ Sketches were humorous observations of
different places and people of London. Dickens describes the River Thames in
addition to the prisons, courts, theatres, roads, inns and residents of London. These
sketches bear witness to his keen observation and his ability to make his readers
laugh.

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club was the next work produced by
Dickens. It was published in installments from April 1836 to November 1837. It is
an account of the adventures of members of Pickwick Club which was established
by a retired businessman and philosopher Samuel Pickwick. Its members included
Tracy Tupman, Augustus Snodgrass and Nathaniel Winkle. The Pickwicians travel
to different places and encounter different adventures. In London they meet Sam
Weller who becomes a valet of Pickwick. Since Weller knows the city well he
accompanies the Pickwicians and shows them around. Samuel Pickwick and Sam
Weller travel together like the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes’s famous

164
character Don Quixote and his companion Sancho Panza. Despite its dominant
strain of humor there are serious passages in the Pickwick papers depicting the
darker side of life. For instance, Pickwick like Dickens’s father goes to the debtor’s
prison and there he is introduced to the seamy and squalid life of prisoners. Thus
Dickens in almost all his works presents some unpleasant facts and exposes the
failure of society to address these evils.

His next novel The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby contains critic is m
against the education system. It was also published as a serial in 1838 and 1839.
The central character Nicholas Nickleby is a young man who along with his mother
and sister Kate moves from Devonshire to London after his father dies as a
consequence of his bankruptcy. Nicholas’s uncle Ralph Nickleby is a mean and
stingy businessman and he refuses to help the destitute family but gets his nephew
a job as an assistant teacher in Dothboy’s Hall School in Yorkshire. Nicholas
Nickleby soon finds that the owner of the school Wackford Squeers is an
incompetent teacher besides being a cruel and greedy man. Squeers maltreats the
children at school and misuses the money their parents pay as their fees. Thus
Dickens highlights the faulty education system run by poorly educated teachers like
Squeers. He also depicts the lives of children who become victim of greedy and
unkind teachers and are deprived of their chances of living happy and useful lives.

His next novel Oliver Twist was also published as a serial during the years 1838
and 1839. It is in fact one of the most widely read and popular novels of Dickens.
In the beginning of the novel Oliver Twist presented the plight of poor especially
those living in workhouses and orphanages. Oliver Twists mother arrives in a
workhouse a government-run establishment where homeless people can reside and
pay for their lodging and food by working. Oliver’s mother soon dies and his father
has already mysteriously disappeared. So Oliver lives in the orphanage where
children starve and frequently get beaten by the supervisors. Oliver is nine years
old when he demands more food and startle everyone in the orphanage for his
courage but he punished by being sold to Mr. Gamfield a chimney sweeper who
uses little boys to clean narrow chimneys. He is saved from getting into the clutches
of the cruel chimney sweeper by timely intervention of a kind-hearted magistrate
and is then made to work for an undertaker Mr. Sowerberry. A fight with
Sowerburry’s other servant Noah forces Oliver to leave for London.

Dickens in the second part of the novel paints a true picture of London’s underworld
where Oliver first resides. On his arrival in London Oliver meets Artful Dodger a
criminal who traps him and makes him a part of the gang of Fagin. Oliver gets
trained as a pickpocket and his skill wins him a prize. But he despises the unlawful
activities. He gets an opportunity to escape with the help of an elderly gentlema n

165
Mr. Brownlow but the criminals don’t let him go. Fagin, dodger, Charley Bates and
Nancy kidnap him and he is again forced to commit crimes. In an attempted
burglary Oliver is made to pass through a narrow window but he gets shot in the
arm. His accomplices escape and the owner of the house Miss Rose cares for the
little wounded criminal. A vicious and mysterious character Monk appears in the
course of the novel and tries to destroy Oliver but over a period of time it is revealed
that Monks is Oliver’s half-brother and Miss Rose is Oliver’s aunt. Thus Oliver is
re-united with his family and saved from the clutches of criminals. Dickens makes
Oliver a loveable character and compels his readers to loathe his opponents the
gangsters of London’s underworld.

Dickens’s next novel was Martin Chuzzlewit was published in 1843 after his return
from the United States but it did not receive much acclaim. It was followed by a
children’s fairy tale or an allegory titled the Christmas Carol. It was published in
1844 and was immediately gained popularity. Ebenezer Scrooge the central
character of this short novel or novella is an elderly businessman notorious for his
stingy nature and meanness. On Christmas eve Scrooge receives four guests who
are all ghosts including the spirit of his dead partner Jacob Marley, the Christmas
Past, the Christmas Present and the Christmas Yet to Come. The visit paid by these
guests and their interaction with Scrooge transform him and he becomes a better
person.

Great Expectations is another major achievement of Dickens. It was published in

1861.Pip is the protagonist of the story and cherishes great expectations from life.
But the character of Miss Havisham a crazy old woman who is trapped in a moment
of distant past is the hallmark of the novel.

A Tale of Two Cities was Dickens historical novel and was published in 1859. The
two cities referred to in the title are Paris and London and the action in the novel
takes place at the time of French Revolution in 1789.

8.3 SUMMARY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD

The novel consists of sixty-four chapters and shows David Copperfield’s coming
of age. David Copperfield is the narrator and on many occasions in the novel one
can identify him with his creator Charles Dickens. The novel opens at Blundersto ne
Rookery the house bought by late Mr. Copperfield who died six months ago. It is a
cold day in March and Clara Copperfield ‘the pretty little widow’ who is expecting
a child is surprisingly visited by her deceased husband’s aunt Ms. Betsy. The effect
of Ms. Betsey’s inquisitive conversation and harsh attitude on the ailing young

166
woman compels her to prematurely give birth to her child who is named David
Copperfield. He turns out as a ‘child of close observations’ and then a man of
‘strong memory’ of his childhood. David Copperfield and his mother live together
with a servant woman Peggotty on an income of ‘one hundred and five pounds’ a
year. But then the peaceful and calm life of little David Copperfield begins to
change. His mother marries a ‘gentleman with beautiful black hair and whiskers’
Mr. Edward Murdstone who turns out to be ‘cleverer and cold’ and re-directs the
life of the little boy.

Little David Copperfield goes to visit his servant Peggotty’s family Yarmouth.
They live in a boat which looks like ‘Aladin’s Palace’ to the little boy who reads
books like the Arabian night. In his visit to Yarmouth David Copperfield gets
introduced to Peggotty’s brother and ‘his orphan nephew and niece’ Ham and Little
Em’ly whom he has adopted. However, immediately after his return from the
pleasant trip of Yarmouth David Copperfield receives the news of his mother’s
marriage with Mr. Murdstone and he realizes how the world has altered for him, ‘I
rambled downstairs to find anything that was itself, so altered it all seemed.’ Thus
begins a new phase of David Copperfield’s life under the supervision of his step
father and his sister Miss Jane Murdstone who soon joins them. Miss Murdstone’s
appearance terrifies young David Copperfield who keenly observes the ‘gloomy
looking lady’. He finds her ‘dark … and with heavy eyebrows’. Besides he is scared
of her possessions including her ‘two uncompromising hard black boxes’ and her
‘hard steel purse’ which ‘hung upon her arm by a heavy chain.’

The Murdstones soon take control of the house and David’s mother’s role in
housekeeping is reduced. She is often reprimanded by her husband and sister- in-
law about her poor upbringing of her only son. They believe in ‘firmness’ which
turned out to be ‘tyranny’ for David. His mother regularly teaches him but the sight
of the Murdstones scares the life out of him. One day when he is getting his lessons
from his mother the arrival of Mr. Murdstone makes him feel that the ‘words’ in
his mind are ‘all sliding away’ and he begins to stammer while his step father
advises his mother ‘be firm with the boy’. David’s mother is completely helpless
and unable to defend her son. In order to punish David Mr. Murdstone keeps him
confined in his room for five days and then sends him away so that he becomes a’
better boy’. He is sent to London to study at Salem House.

Mr. Mell his schoolmaster is sent to bring David to Salem House. David and Mr.
Mell stop on the way to school at an alm house in a busy and impoverished part of
the city where they visit a poor old woman who cooks and serves them a meal. She
is Mr. Mell’s mother. On arriving at Salem house where David Copperfield has to
stay and study he finds that ‘All about it was so quiet’ because ‘it was holiday-time’

167
so all students are away. He however soon receives a shock when he is made to
bear a placard on his back which says, ‘Take care of him, he bites’. It’s done at the
instructions given by Mr. Murdstone to the administration of the school. David
expresses his distress about this act of humiliation: “What I suffered from this
placard nobody can imagine.’ Besides David’s meeting with Mr. Creakle the
headmaster of the school also terrorizes him because he pinches his ear and
threatens to beat him.

Soon the boys are back and they make fun of David Copperfield. However, when
James Steerforth arrives things begin to change for David. Steerforth is a good
looking, clever and rich boy who is about six years older than David and thus
becomes his patron. They strike a friendship because David is impressed by
Steerforth who on the contrary loves to hear the stories little David tells. David
unintentionally reveals before Steerforth a secret about the schoolmaster Mr. Mell’s
mother When Mell and Steerforth quarrel the latter uses the information he has
received from David to inform the headmaster Mr. Creakle about the poor mother
of his opponent who lives in an alm house. This gives Creakle an excuse to dismiss
Mell.

Besides Sterforth David also makes another friend called Tommy Traddles a plump
boy who loves ‘drawing skeletons’. He often gets punished like David and other
boys because Mr. Creakle is a strict master and frequently punishes his students.
David recalls a surprise visit by Mr.Peggotty and Ham ‘two Yarmouth boatman –
very kind, good people’ who come to see him at school and bring gifts of lobsters,
crab and shrimp. David is astonished and pleased to meet them.

After one year he gets an opportunity to visit home and meet his mother whom he
finds quite changed. She nurses her infant son and David observes that she has
become very thin and weak but it is her ‘manner, which became anxious and
fluttered’ and worries him. David, his mother and Peggotty spend a pleasant
afternoon because the Murdstones are away. But with the return of Murdstones
David finds t hard to spend time at home and desires to go back to school. He returns
to school and after two months on the morning of his birthday he receives the news
of his mother’s death. He is immediately sent home and he realizes that he would
never return to Salem House.

At home David is only consoled by Peggotty and she takes him to Yarmouth. David
is comfortable with Peggotty’s family and is surprised to find Mr. Pegotty and Ham
talking and admiring Steerforth while Em’ly hears them with ‘the deepest
attention’. She seems impressed by this young man. Soon David returns home and
experiences a ‘solitary condition’ since his mother and Peggotty are no more there

168
to love him and care for him. He is deprived of education and attention and ‘coldly
neglected’ for months and finally sent to London to work at ‘Murdstone and
Grinby’s warehouse’ where along with other boys he washes, puts labels and corks
and finally seals the wine bottles. He receives a salary of six shillings a week and
stays with Micawbers a poor family whose only visitors are ‘creditors’. David helps
the Micawbers by selling his mother’s ‘pearl necklace and bracelets’ and also a ‘set
of coral’ but he fails to dissipate their ‘old difficulties’. Mr. Micawber gets
imprisoned for not paying his debts and when released he along with his family
leaves London in order to avoid creditors.

Once Micawbers are gone David decides to find his only living relative Miss Betsey
Trotwood and go to her. Peggotty informs him that his aunt lives near the city of
Dover and also sends him a ‘half guinea’ to pay his fare. However, David is robbed
on the way and loses his money. He sells his waistcoat and jacket to raise money,
sleeps on haystacks at night and walks to his destination ‘very stiff and sore of foot’.
After six days he finally reaches his aunt’s cottage and she receives this shabby
little boy who is ‘hungry, thirsty and worn out’ by crying ‘No boys here!’ However,
when David introduces himself she accepts him with little difficulty after consulting
a family friend Mr. Dick who suggests she should accommodate him. So fina lly
David is no more ‘houseless’.

His aunt however, writes about his arrival to Mr. Murdstone who arrives with his
sister to meet Aunt Betsy. The Murdstones arrive on donkeys which Aunt Betsy
hates and they receive an unfriendly welcome. Mr. Murdstone expresses his
intention ‘to take him away’ at which David pleads his aunt to ‘protect’ him and
she thereby agrees to do so. She turns the Murdstones out of her house refusing to
hand over David to them and thus he begins his ‘new life’ with a new name ‘Trot’
which his Aunt uses for addressing him. She immediately after adopting David
arranges for his education and takes him to Mr. Wickfield who provides him
lodging while he attends the school run by Dr. Strong. While living with Mr.
Wickfield David meets two people who play significant roles in his life. One is Mr.
Wickfield’s daughter and his ‘little housekeeper Agnes and the other is another
tenant Uriah Heep.

8.4 CHARACTERIZATION IN DAVID COPPERFIELD

David Copperfield is an intelligent child who though fatherless is brought up in a
loving and comfortable environment at home where he gets abundant affectio n
from his mother and nurse Peggotty. He blossoms when treated with love and
withers away if neglected and despised. He is observant and has a sharp memory.

169
Under the guidance of his mother he learns well but once terrified by his stepfather
his mind goes blank. He is not a mischievous child and quickly makes friends. He
loves reading and when mal-treated by his stepfather seeks refuge in the world of
books left by his deceased father.

Clara Copperfield is David’s mother and a pretty young woman who feels lonely
since she has not ‘out of this place, a single friend to turn to’. Her fear of being
alone compels her to marry the clever and handsome Mr. Murdstone. However, she
does not enjoy conjugal happiness with her second husband because he and his
sister treat her as well as David very cruelly. She is a submissive person and fails
to protect David from unjust punishments he receives from Murdstone. She bears
another son but does not live long and soon dies leaving David an orphan.

David’s nurse Peggotty is a ‘rough’ and dark-complexioned woman but she is

loving and sincere. She affectionately cares for David and strongly criticizes his
mother’s decision to marry Murdstone. When Clara dies Peggotty returns to
Yarmouth and marries Mr. Barkis but lives a miserable life with her stingy husband.
She never gives up David and guides him about the whereabouts of his Aunt Betsy
and very generously sends him some money against the consent of her husband.
Besides, Peggotty David finds her relatives also very loving and caring. He visits
them in Yarmouth where Mr. Dan Peggotty and his nephew Ham work as
fishermen. He becomes a friend of Little Em’ly an orphaned niece of Peggotty.
Both the children David and Emily love each other.

Mr. Edward Murdstone despite his good looks is a callous and mean person. He
beguiles Clara Copperfield ‘the pretty little widow’ and marries her. He soon takes
charge of all her affairs and mal-treats little David. He is assisted by his ‘gloomy-
looking’ and ‘dark’ sister who takes away the keys and keeps them in her ‘hard
steel purse’ all day and ‘under her pillow all night’ thus controlling all household
matters. The Murdstones believe in executing the philosophy of ‘firmness’ and they
apply it on David. They treat both Clara and David very badly and Mr. Murdstone
often scolds them. He sends David to Salem House and instructs the authorities to
make little David wear a placard on his back with words written ‘Take care of him,
he bites’. He thus ensures that David is humiliated before his school fellow. After
David’s mother dies Mr. Murdstone sends him to work as laborer in his factory and
deprives him of all his parents’ belongings. He is thus a cruel and greedy man who
takes possession of all the property of a widow and her orphan child.

At Salem House David meets James Steerforth whom he describes as ‘this boy who
was reputed to be a great scholar, and was very good looking, and was half a dozen
years my senior’. Apparently Steerforth becomes a patron and protector of David

170
Copperfield but he in fact exploits him. Steerforth discovers David’s talent of
telling stories and compels him to relate those tales to him at night. Even when
David is ‘sleepy and indisposed to resume the story’ he has to keep awake and
complete his narration because ‘to disappoint or displease Steerforth was of course
out of question.’ In fact, Steerforth’s wealth and social status gives him an
advantage over the other boys. He represents the upper class of British society and
the influence he produces on other boys depicts the class differences in Dickens’
contemporary society. Besides being rich and resourceful Steerforth is a cunning
fellow who manipulates people for his own advantages. For instance, he impresses
little David Copperfield who is ‘the youngest there’ with his fake kindness and then
uses him for his own purposes.

Unlike James Steerforth who enjoys all the privileges available at Salem house
Tommy Traddles seems to David as ‘the most unfortunate boy in the world’. He
often gets into trouble in spite of the fact that he has no evil intentions. For instance,
he breaks the glass of the window with the ball and gets canned. David calls him
‘the most miserable and the merriest of the boys’ because he is resilient and even
after getting beaten for the mischief he never made he laughs and gets normal. He
has a queer interest in ‘drawing skeletons’ and especially after he receives ‘canning
by Mr. Creakle. He claims that he would complain against the maltreatment he
receives at school to his uncle but he never does so.

8.5 THEMES IN DAVID COPPERFIELD

The plight of children who receive cruel and unjust treatment at home as well as in
schools is one of the themes of the novel David Copperfield. Charles Dickens
personally experienced the agony of getting scolded and beaten and expresses the
feelings of unhappiness and fear caused by such abusive treatment. David
Copperfield is an obedient child but he is unfairly made a victim of undue
‘firmness’ of the Murdstones. He is kept in confinement for five days for a minor
error and then sent away from the save haven of home to a school run by the tyrant
Mr. Creakle. In addition to David other boys are also shown as victims of severe
and unfair punishments. Tommy Traddles is an example of the boys who is often
punished for the mischief he has not committed.

The depiction of schools like Salem House reflects Dickens’s criticism of

conventional educational system which relies on punishing children rather than
rewarding them. However, the school run by Dr. Strong is quite the contrary to that
administered by Mr. Creakle. It is an institution where the students are given
opportunities to play ‘games’ besides sharpening their minds. Dr. Strong whom

171
David calls ‘the kindest of men’ believes in giving his students ‘plenty of liberty’
and as a consequence of favorable circumstances the timid little boy David becomes
the ‘head-boy’ of the school. Dickens thus shows both ends of the spectrum of
educational institutions in his novels.

Child labor is another issue Dickens discusses in the novel David Copperfield. He
depicts the miserable conditions in which David works in the wine factory with
other boys. These child laborers are made to work for several hours and paid meager
wages. The establishment where they work is a dangerous and unhealthy place ‘a
crazy old house …overrun with rats’. It is a warehouse characterized by ‘dirt and
rottenness’. The workers are all ‘shabby’ and David the youngest of all laborers
suffers most because he is ‘so young and childish, and so little qualified’. He
complains of being ‘insufficiently and unsatisfactorily fed’ since his income is very
little and he has to buy his food which costs him quite a lot. Dickens thus condemns
the practice of making children work in factories where they are exploited for being
young and defenseless.

Another theme discussed by Charles Dickens in the novel David Copperfield is the
difference in social classes. Dickens in fact, is the voice of the poor and working
class of people in his contemporary Victorian Britain. He depicts the miserable
conditions poor people live in and how they are oppressed by the upper class and
resourceful people. The clash between Mr. Mell a teacher at Salem House and
James Steerforth a wealthy student reflects the power of the rich over the poor. Mr.
Mell scolds the rowdy boys generally and when he sees Steerforth with ‘his hands
in his pockets …with his mouth shut up as if he were whistling’ he tells him to get
quiet but he retaliates and insults his teacher. The quarrel gets serious and is
reported to Mr. Creakle who obliges the rich man and turns his poor teacher out of
job. Steerforth calls Mr. Mell ‘an impudent beggar’ before all his students and later
informs Mr. Creakle ‘that his mother lives on charity in an almshouse.’ David
sympathizes with Mr. Mell and so does Traddles but they are also as helpless as he
is and cannot help him to retain his job.

SUMMARY POINTS
• Charles Dickens was a journalist who began writing short humorous sketches
and soon became an established literary artist.

• His novels were published as weekly or monthly serials in different magazines.

• Despite their weak plots, Dickens’s novels were very well received by public
and critics.

172
• Some of his characters though they play secondary roles in his novels are so
unique that they become memorable like Miss Havesham in Great
Expectation and Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield.

• He wrote some historical novels but most of his novels are set in
contemporary England.

• His impoverished childhood left strong impressions on his personality and he

depicts the plight and misery of poor people.

• He depicts a humorous but realistic picture of his contemporary society.

• He was a strong critic of the evils he saw prevailing in his contemporary age.

• David Copperfield mostly consists of Dickens’s own experiences of life.

SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. Draw a list of important dates in Charles Dickens’ life.

2. Name the characters of the Pickwick Papers.

3. Which social institutions does Dickens attack in his novels Nicholas Nickleby
and Oliver Twist?

4. Read the novel David Copperfield and answer the following questions:

5. What is the role of Miss Betsey in David Copperfield’s premature birth?

6. Discuss David Copperfield’s relations with his mother after she marries
Mr. Murdstone.

7. Find textual evidences for Murdstone’s cruel treatment of David Copperfield.

8. What is your estimate of Mr. Creakle of Salem House?

9. How does James Steerforth befool David at School?

10. Discuss James Steerforth and Tommy Traddles as characters representing the
social classes of Victorian England.

11. What is the role of Peggotty in David Copperfield’s life?

12. Enlist the similarities in Dickens’s and David Copperfield’s lives.

173
 SUGGESTED READINGS

Allen, W. Six Great Novelists. (E-book).

Allen, W. The English Novel. (E-book).

Brown, H. O. (1997). Institutions of the English Novel: From Defoe to Scott.

Philadelphia: Penn.

Cecil, L.D. Early Victorian Novelists.

Forster, E.M. (1971). Aspects of the Novel. Middlesex: Penguin Books.

Kettle, A. (1967). An Introduction to the English Novel. New York: Routledge.

Kroll, R. (2013). The English Novel. (Vol. I). London: Routledge.

Parrinder, P. (2006). Nation and Novel. Oxford: OUP.

174
Unit–9

TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES

by Thomas Hardy

Written by: Dr Wajid Hussain

Reviewed by: Dr Muhammad Kamal Khan

175
 CONTENTS
Page #
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 177

Objectives.......................................................................................................... 177

9.1 Events in History at the Time of the Novel ............................................. 178

9.2 Marriage for the Victorians...................................................................... 179

9.3 The Victorian Woman.............................................................................. 180

9.4 A Society in Flux ..................................................................................... 181

9.5 Life of Thomas Hardy.............................................................................. 182

9.6 Works and Style of Thomas Hardy.......................................................... 183

9.7 Plot Summary of Tess of the d’Urbervilles............................................. 184

9.8 The Analysis of the Major Characters in the Novel ................................ 186
9.8.1 Tess Durbeyfield ........................................................................... 186
9.8.2 Angel Clare.................................................................................... 188
9.8.3 Alec Stoke-d'Urberville ................................................................. 189

Summary Points ................................................................................................ 191

Self- Assessment Questions ............................................................................... 193

Suggested Readings .......................................................................................... 194

176
 INTRODUCTION

Tess of the d’Urbervilles is a beautiful novel, which satisfies all types of

readership aesthetically. Its story, which is quite simple, also offers an ample
scope to explore almost all social aspects of the rural England of the late
Victorian era. Tess, the heroine of the book who is a poor country girl, is raped
and made pregnant by a man named Alec D’Urberville. She gets pregnant;
however, the baby dies after its birth. Tess goes to work on a farm where she
meets and, subsequently, marries Angel Clare. But when she discloses to him her
past, the man rejects her and leaves for Brazil. Tess meets Alec D’Urberville again
and agrees to live with him after he has persuaded her that Angel will never return.
Angel does return, however, and Tess murders Alec. She experiences freedom in
Angel’s company for a few days before she is arrested and executed at the end of
the novel. The tone of the novel suggests that this innocent lady has fallen a victim
to society’s attitudes towards sex and women. Hardy’s treatment of Tess vivid ly
shows his anger towards the world for its double standards and his intense
sympathy for the heroine of the novel. You, while reading this novel, are also
likely to share these sympathies for Tess and indignant against Alec and Angel.
Here are the objectives of the unit.

OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit, you will be able to:

• demonstrate their knowledge of Thomas Hardy’s novel, Tess of the

d’Urbervilles and through this book, about particularly and the late Victoria n
fiction generally;

• discuss the industrial revolution in England, as depicted by the novel, and its
impact on the rural life of the England of that time;

• explain the distinct features of Hardy’s style;

• give sketches of the important characters from the story.

177
9.1 EVENTS IN HISTORY AT THE TIME OF THE NOVEL

The latter half of the Victorian era, which comprised the years between 1860 and
1900, was a period of transformation, especially for rural England. The people of
country villages sought employments in industrialized cities such as London and
Manchester. Resultantly, there was an agricultural depression that dominated the
last quarter of the 19th century.

The setting of Tess of the d’Urbervilles is in southwest England. This part of the
country is a rural region to which the writer also belonged by origin. In real life,
farm wages were low in this area, in contrast to the middle and northern parts of
the country. Since the factories were not enough, the farm employers did not feel
pressed to raise wages. This caused grim circumstances for farm workers toward
the end of the 1800s. The number of unemployed people had grown drastically.
Women also faced difficulties to find work in the fields.

The early 1800s had witnessed the growth of mass transportation. Villages became
readily accessible to one another, so trade within the nation started thriving.
Railways made the transportation of goods significantly fast, which caused a
colossal increase in commerce and trade. The dairy industry also grew rapidly.
Fresh milk could now survive a journey of hundreds of miles daily. In Hardy’s
novel, Tess can find plenty of work on a dairy farm though her own village is
fraught with a decline in agriculture.

Such industrial developments significantly affected rural life. One of the episodes
in the novel involves Tess’s employment at a steam threshing machine, which
brings to her physical pain as well. The machine requires the workers to perform
repetitive tasks for hours. The steam threshing machine was not new in Tess’s time.
It had already been in fashion since the first decade of the 19th century. The author
wanted to create the scene by drawing on his memory. Perhaps, the new
technologies, such as the one involving wooden tools to separate corn from the
stalk, saddened him about the decline of the old rural traditions. Or, this nostalgia
can only be Hardy’s nostalgia about the environment of his youth. In either case,
the scene reflects some of the rural hardships of the time.

The rural industries also suffered some of these hardships. Though the new
technology, such as the invention of rapid transport, served some industries, it also
caused a decrease in productivity for others. To top all, this technology deprived
many young workers of their employment and compelled them to seek their
livelihood in the city.

178
This departure of youth disrupted significantly not only the economic structure of
the countryside, but upset the social organisation as well. First, it brought change
in the landowning class. The agricultural decline forced the old gentry to abandon
lands which had belonged to them for several generations. In Tess of the
d’Urbervilles, the D’Urbervilles, to whom Tess might be related, were once-
powerful landowners who came to lose not only their estates but their social
influence as well.

9.2 MARRIAGE FOR THE VICTORIANS

In Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Angel Clare hails from a traditional middle class
family which expects this youngest son to marry a lady with a similar
socioeconomic status. When he declares that he has found “a woman who possessed
every qualification to be the helpmate of an agriculturist” (Hardy, Tess of the
D’Ubervilles, p. 28), his mother immediately asks, “Is she of a family such as you
would care to marry into—a lady, in short?” (Tess of the D’Urbervilles, p. 28). Her
question reflects that marriage for the Victorian gentry meant a union that was
based on something more than mere love.

In the Victorian time, the upper classes mostly depended on their lands for their
earnings. However, as the time progressed, these lands grew more and more
difficult to maintain as one parcel. Moreover, now, grains, wool and produce began
to be obtained from foreign sources on cheap prices. This growing foreign
economic competition also led to a collapse in British agriculture. Many of the
gentry felt compelled to sell off their acreage. Now, they looked to marriage as a
means of survival. For example, the Ninth Duke of Marlborough preferred a
profitable match with Consuelo Vanderbilt, who was a great-granddaughter of an
American tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, to a relationship of love. There were many
other examples of such practical marriages.

Additionally, a growing opinion about sexuality also discouraged people from love
marriages to a certain extent. The Victorians thought that the indulgence in sex
retards the growth of the genital organs and the development of the entire body,
weakens the strength, and shortens life. Discussions on the topic of sexuality also
began to be avoided in the company of polite society. Given such controlled ideas
concerning sexuality, Angel Clare’s response about Tess’ sexual encounter in the
past seems quite understandable. However, it would be wrong to say that Victorians
did not have sexual feelings or illicit relations. In fact, people felt compelled to hide
such relations from the public. Whereas literature such as health manuals warned
against excess in sex, books also reinforced that complete abstinence from sex was

179
also detrimental to health. Moreover, prostitution, which was quite prevalent, also
indicates that the Victorian men never abstained from sex. According to the Pall
Mall Gazette of 1885, there were more than sixty thousand prostitutes only in
London. In Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Angel Clare confesses that he had an “eight-
and-forty hours’ sexual indulgence with a stranger” (Tess of the D’Urbervilles, p.
177). Perhaps, what the Victorian men considered improper at home they sought
secretly outside. The novel hints at such possibilities and inclinations through its
scenes in the woods. The society also expected the upper class women to be a
passionless creature and ascribed sexual desires and feelings only to females of
lower classes.

9.3 THE VICTORIAN WOMAN

Tess as a milkmaid represents a minority of women of the Victorian era who sought
financial independence. The census of 1861 records only one percent of the Englis h
labour force as female. By the last two decades of the 19th century, this number had
grown to three percent. Moreover, a few improvements had also occurred for
female workers in the job market. By 1871, around 100,000 women had jobs as
teachers. Other professions also showed some growth. In 1865, Elizabeth Garrett
became the first women to get a medical qualification. By 1881, the country had
twenty-five female doctors. However, many of these women had to face a double
standard. Their positions were identical to those of men, but their remuneration was
half of the amount paid to their male colleagues.

Similarly, the treatment of the institution of law towards women was also unfair.
Although divorce was legalized in 1857, women had a very limited scope to divorce
their husbands. For instance, a husband needed no proof to file for separation even
on the ground of adultery, a woman was required to prove adultery or cruelty or
desertion by her husband. Moreover, if a woman sought compensation by getting a
divorce, she found herself socially cut off for her efforts. However, in most of the
cases, couples were generally discouraged from separating. For this reason,
grounds for divorce were generally difficult to prove, and the marriage termina tio n
was not granted. In Tess of the D’Urbervilles, when Tess shares with Angel that
she had been raped, she thinks that with this revelation would enable him to divorce
her if he wishes to do so. But he replies very definitively, “Indeed I cannot” (Tess
of the D’Urbervilles, p. 187). Since the rape had occurred before the marriage, it
did not establish a violation. Although amendments were made to the qualificatio ns
concerning divorce in 1868, yet the procedure continued to remain to be arduous.

180
Women suffered inequality in marriages as well. For example, upon marriage, a
woman had to surrender all of her assets to her husband. Until 1880s, she was
deprived of any legal claim to her personal belongings. Women who remained
unmarried were scarcely better off. In Victorian society, an unmarried woman was
considered as a sort of failure. The society believed that for a woman her home is
the right place. Therefore, in any case, women could not afford to leave their homes.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles frequently comments on the challenges faced by the

Victorian woman. Although Tess tries to wise make moral decisions throughout the
story, she mostly remains bound because of her gender to the role of a social
deviant. It is she, and not Alec, who has to bear the consequences of the sexual
assault on her. Her society calmly accepts her desertion by her husband, Angel
Clare, on the basis of the revelation about her past. The complete title of the book,
Tess of the D’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, demonstrates the
author’s sympathies for the tragedy of his heroine.

9.4 A SOCIETY IN FLUX

Tess of the D’Urbervilles reflects social, religious and economic changes of the late
Victorian time. In religion, for example, a movement against negligence in the
Church had emerged in the country during the 1700s. It was a religious movement
which led by John Wesley, whose followers departed from the mainstream and
formed the Methodist Church. It focused on hellfire and damnation, which made
the outsiders to identify it as a fanatical sect. It continued prevailing in the 1800s.
The works of various novelists including Hardy showed a strong disapproval for
this sect. In Tess of the D’Urbervilles, the villainous character Alec d’Urberville is
a preacher from a Methodist group called the “Ranters”.

Likewise, shifts in the rural economy and social order of England also surface in
this novel. Although the novel significantly focuses on the early 1800s that
witnessed herds of sheep driven to markets, yet it also depicts in detail the scenes
of the railroad that made this transport unnecessary. Rather than raising corn and
cattle and sheep for different purposes, it became promising to allocate farms
exclusively to dairy products. Tess’s workplace is one such example. Railroads
made especially dairy farming possible by rapidly transporting fresh and fragile
goods.

But, whereas these changes brought advantages to the rural society of England, they
also caused disadvantages. For example, large landowners had not been adversely

181
affected by these changes. The start of the 19th century had witnessed a hierarchy
of stable rural classes:
1. Landed aristocracy: this class included old families with large land, each
comprising minimum ten thousand acres
2. Gentry: This group consisted of landowners who had less property than the
aristocracy. Each estate had one thousand to three thousand acres. They
generally rented out these holdings to others for farming
3. Yeomen: They were gentlemen farmers who also possessed a large property,
but, unlike the gentry, they worked their lands themselves. This class
disappeared towards the end of the century
4. Labourers or cottagers: This was the lowest rural class. They inhabited small
thatches or slate dwellings and owned or leased these small plots for
generations. They used common lands for grazing their livestock.

In Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Tess’s family belongs to the lowest class of rural
labourers. When Tess’ mother was a child, these labourers had generally stayed on
the same farm almost all their lives. They kept on renewing their lease from one
generation to the next. However, as the time progressed, the rural focus moved to
large-scale farming, which was also a consequence of new mechanization and
transportation. As a result, landowners now preferred to send cottagers packing on
the expiry of leases. It is because of this new tradition that a calamity befalls Tess’s
family. Tess herself “spends her brief life as an itinerant farm laborer, working here
for a dairy farm, there cutting turnips—but always moving on when the season is
over and the task is done. We are made witness in the tale of her life to the story of
an itinerant labourer whose own destruction is meant to mirror the disappearance
of the traditional English countryside” (Pool, p. 166).

9.5 LIFE OF THOMAS HARDY

According to Ben Johnson, Thomas Hardy was a very shy person. He surrounded
his house, Max Gate in Dorchester, with dense trees and avoided publicity. On
visitors’ unexpected arrival, he slipped out of the backside door. Moreover, he
maintained a rigid and subtle control so that people should not penetrate his shyness
to explore those aspects of his life which he did not want to reveal. His first wife,
Emma, also behaved similarly. The similarity between the temperaments of the two
is reflected from their letters to one another: she burnt all that she could lay her
hands upon. After her death, Hardy also burnt, page by page, a manuscript of hers
entitled What I Think of My Husband, together with most of her diaries. However,
he did not burn all of them. When his second wife, Florence, wrote his ‘biography’,
he retained control and dictated to her the whole of the manuscript. When he

182
himself died in 1928, his wife destroyed many of his and his first wife’s personal
papers. The question arises: did Hardy have something to hide, some secret; and if
so, is it possible now to investigate what that secret was?

At first, this task of burning the manuscripts appears to be odd and impossible. One
would wonder how such a vast quantity of ‘evidence’ could deliberately be
destroyed by Hardy and his wives during their lifetimes. Also, when Hardy’s
second wife died in 1937, her executor, Irene Cooper Willis, disposed of a huge
quantity of his first wife’s correspondence that had remained undisturbed in her
attic at Max Gate ever since her death twenty-five years earlier. However, with an
open mind, we can imagine the conundrum which Hardy left after his death, the
task no more seems impossible.

The genius of Hardy is multi-faceted. Each aspect of his personality reflects his
brilliance. His writings exhibit a variety of allusions that reflect his vast knowledge
and a devoted study of years. His stories which are rich with meticulous details
make his writings exquisite and plausible. His empathy with the underprivile ged
classes enabled him to feel and comprehend the things in depth. That is why his
characters, especially protagonists, who are poor seldom reflect any technical flaw
on the part of the author.

9.6 WORKS AND STYLE OF THOMAS HARDY

Thomas Hardy enjoys a prominent status as a literary figure. He started his career
as an apprentice. He started writing at the age of seventeen, but the publis hers
initially did not pay any heed to his pieces. His first work, A Humorous Sketch, was
published in 1865. This prose work won a welcome reception. But, Hardy preferred
to pursue his poetic skills more vigorously than prose. In the next few years, he
completed his novel The Poor Man and The Lady. He was advised by a friend,
George Meredith, to avoid publishing this work. Meredith believed that this novel
would offend the Victorian Society. Though Hardy listened to his friend’s advice,
yet he never gave up on writing. In 1870 he published a novel, Desperate Remedies,
followed by The Return of the Native in 1874. Between 1878 and 1912 he produced
three volumes of short stories, nine more novels, three collections of poems and
The Dynasty, a dramatic lyric. However, the cold reception and biting critic is m
against his last novel, Jude the Obscure, forced him to turn toward poetry.

Hardy contributed significantly to the diverse world of literature through his

unconventional ideas. His epic dramas and ballads reflect his unique style. He
described his characters and events very meticulously. Moreover, he did not confine

183
his characters to human species; he treated animals and blissful nature with equal
interest in his texts. Moreover, he used sexual imagery quite explicitly in his works.
Also, his poetry is equipped with versatility, musicality, control of language and
vitality. Though Hardy followed the modern style, yet in many of his poems, he
used old English with a view to preserve it in the face of neologisms. The recurring
themes in most of his works are loneliness, loss, and death.

His most famous works can be classified majorly into two genres. In poetry, Hardy
has produced many masterpieces. Some of his best poems include “The Darkling
Thrush”, “Neutral Tunes”, “The Convergence of the Twain”, “The Man He Killed”,
“The Voice” and “The Ruined Maid.”

However, Hardy is more famous for his fiction. Some of his best novels include
The Poor Man and The Lady, Under the Greenwood Tree, Jude to Obscure, Tess
of the d’Urbervilles and The Return of the Native.

9.7 PLOT SUMMARY OF TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES

Tess Durbeyfield is a sixteen-year-old country girl. She is the eldest daughter of

John and Joan Durbeyfield. Her father, John Durbeyfield, chances to meet Parson
Tringham along the road one night. The latter tells the former that Durbeyfields are
the descendent of the d'Urbervilles, an ancient, monied family that had estates and
holdings as far back as William the Conqueror in 1066. Upon this revelation, the
Durbeyfield family, which is already in financial crisis, sends their daughter to the
d'Urbervilles at The Slopes to “claim kin” so that they could ameliorate their
condition. On the way, Tess meets Alec d'Urberville. The man soon finds himse lf
attracted to her. He offers her to become the caretaker for a poultry owned by his
mother who is blind. She moves to The Slopes to start working there. Here, Alec
seduces and rapes her.

Tess gives birth to a son after she has returned home. The child who is the product
of the rape falls ill and dies, leaving Tess distressed at her loss. Tess tries her luck
at a dairy called Talbothays Dairy as a milkmaid under a good-natured dairyman,
Mr. Crick. Here, she meets Angel Clare, who is a travelling farmer's apprentice,
and soon falls in love with him. She initially tries to resist his pleas for marriage
but finally marries him. The man does not have any idea about Tess' past, although
she has tried to explain it to him on several occasions. After the marriage, the couple
confess their pasts to each other. Tess open-heartedly forgives Angel Clare for all
of his past indiscretions, but he does not forgive her for conceiving a child with
another man.

184
Soon, Angel recommends that they should split up and Tess agrees. He leaves for
Brazil for a year and Tess returns to her parents’ home. Tess leaves home again to
work at Flintcomb-Ash farm which is situated in another town. The working
conditions at this farm are very tough. Here, Tess comes to be reunited with some
friends from Talbothays. This eased her settlement at this new workplace. Tess
plans to meet Angel’s family which is living in nearby Emminster but she loses her
nerves at the moments. On her return to Flintcomb, she comes to find Alec again.
Alec is now a practicing evangelical minister. He preaches to the people in the
countryside. He is surprised to see Tess. Soon, he leaves his preaching to pursue
her. He follows her to Flintcomb and asks her to marry him. She rejects his
proposal, but he is persistent.

Tess returns home. She finds that her mother is recovering from illness. But her father
dies suddenly from some ailment. Now, the burden of the family falls on her
shoulders. The family has already been evicted from their cottage and is now destitute
and homeless. Under these conditions, Tess decides to accept Alec's proposal in order
to support her family. Moreover, Alec convinces her that Angel has abandoned her
and will never return. Tess has also come to believe this idea already.

Meanwhile, Angel returns to look for Tess and start his own farm in England. He
is informed by Tess' family that Tess has gone to a fashionable seaside resort called
Sandbourne situated in the south of England. He finds her there, living as an upper-
class lady with Alec d'Urberville. Tess insists upon him to leave and not return for
her. He does leave believing that he returned too late.

Later, Tess and accuses Alec of lying to her about Angel. The argumentation leads
to a tussle. Tess, in a fit of anger, stabs Alec in the heart with a knife and kills him.
After Alec’s murder, she finds Angel to tell him about this deed. Though he feels
difficulty in believing her story, yet he welcomes her back.

The two take back roads to travel the countryside and succeed in avoiding detection.
Their plan is to leave the country as soon as possible. They spend a few days in an
empty house. But their blissful reunion lasts for a short time. They are discovered
and the trail ends at Stonehenge, which is an ancient pagan monument. The police
arrests Tess and takes her away.

Before Tess is executed for her crime, she requests Angel to marry her sister Liza
Lu. Angel agrees and both, he and Liza Lu, witnesses the black flag which has been
raised in the city of Wintoncester as a sign that Tess' death sentence has been
implemented. The two, Angel and Liza Lu, leave the place together and the tragedy
of Tess ends.

185
9.8 THE ANALYSIS OF THE MAJOR CHARACTERS IN THE
NOVEL

9.8.1 Tess Durbeyfield

Tess seems to be Hardy's most sympathetic protagonist. She is also one the most
likeable characters found in English literature. We come to understand Tess’
dilemma and her acceptance of the things that happen to her. She exhibits and
maintains a good character throughout the novel and never loses our expectations
and sympathies even when she commits such a terrible deed as murder. Resultantly,
by the end, the reader wishes for a happy ending for her and Angel. Yet, tragic
stories have their own demands.

Happy endings are typical of some of the author’s contemporaries. Especially, Jane
Austin and the Bronte sisters are famous for such endings in their writings. But,
Hardy has infused into the literature more plausible characters with a story that
righteously contradicts the concept of a happy ending.

Tess is an archetypal anti-heroine. Though she never wins her battles of life or
influences any political decisions, yet she has incomparable heroic qualities
through which she wins our heart and admiration. These qualities are evident in the
following events: when she baptizes her infant son; when she endures the tortures
inflicted to her by Alec and her abandonment by Angel Clare; and when she
eventually liberates herself from Alec's influence. Thus, she is a heroine who stands
unique from the traditional heroines but proves more life-like.

Tess is a simple country woman who has a basic education but lacks adequate
exposure to the wiles of the world outside. She has knowledge and curiosity and
she exhibits these abilities and qualities when she debates on moral and religio us
issues with Alec and Angel. However, she is innocent and her innocence becomes
her greatest weakness. She is unschooled "in the ways of the world" and therefore
unable to protect herself. Tess chides her mother for not telling her full truth about
a less-than-kind world: "Why didn't you tell me there was danger in men-folk?"

Throughout the story, the author develops her as a character and continues
describing her simple beauty. Her beauty attracts all men. Even when she tries to
change her appearance to hide her natural beauty in order to avoid others’ attention,
she fails in her attempts. In the scene involving the baptizing of her baby, the author
depicts her as a person of almost divine qualities. He says that she looked "with a
touch of dignity which was almost regal." Moreover, her beauty is balanced by an
earthy elegance, which is, especially, evident when she is courted by Angel at

186
Talbothays:
Minute diamonds of moisture from the mist hung, too, upon Tess' eyelashes, and
drops upon her hair, like seed pearls. When the day grew quite strong and
commonplace these dried off her; moreover, Tess then lost her strange and ethereal
beauty; her teeth, lips, and eyes scintillated in the sunbeams and she was again the
dazzlingly fair dairymaid only, who had to hold her own against the other women
of the world.

Fate plays a leading role in Tess’s life. This role by fate is best summed up by the
following by the locals in the small town as "It was to be." Even Tess also realizes
that her family is in a very difficult position when the family horse is killed. She
feels that under these conditions she has no other option except going to the Stoke-
d'Urbervilles for recovery. Her mother also realizes that Tess has suffered
devastating blows by Alec. She tells her, "Well, we must make the best of it, I
suppose." Tess accepts Alec's proposal near the end of the story when she tells
Angel, "I don't care what he [Alec] did wi' me!" For her, her own happiness and
safety are now of no value. Even after murdering Alec, when she is arrested, she
accepts the consequences— "It is as it should be." She knows that her attempts to
avoid prosecution would be futile. She believes that she must accept her fate and
she accepts it willingly.

Tess shows a great stamina to bear the burdens placed on her at such a young age.
She is between 16 and 23 when we, as a reader, read her tale. Her ability to undergo
an immensely bitter reality at this young age establishes her character as a very
powerful force. She accepts blame for the death of the family horse and the death
of her baby. Similarly, she bears the destruction of her marriage with Angel and her
killing Alec. She also leaves home three times to "test the waters of the world"
outside her village.

She always remains unselfish in all of her actions towards others. We see
unselfishness in her suggestion to her milkmaid colleagues at Talbothays and Angel
Clare that Retty, Marian, and Izz, are more acceptable for marriage with Angel than
she is. Similarly, her colleagues also do not develop any bad feelings toward her,
thinking that she deserves Angel more than any other girl does. Thus, she remains
pure from any discernible negative qualities.

Moreover, we find her very passionate whether it is her love for Angel or her hatred
of Alec. She quits her marriage with Angel only when she is convinced that he will
not return to her from Brazil. She accepts Alec’s proposal merely to support her
destitute family. But when she comes to discover Alec's dishonesty, she
immediately convinces herself that she will never fall in his trap again.

187
Her passion, therefore, engenders our sympathy. She keeps on trying to correct
herself and not the repeat her "mistakes". She vows to end her marriage with Angel.
She also offers Angel that she can free him by committing suicide. Similarly, she
refuses to ask his parents for additional money during his sojourn to Brazil. She
keeps herself self-sufficient and is always determined to sacrifice for others. Her
unselfishness elevates her morally much higher than other characters.

Her greatest weakness is that she always feels for her family. She always feels
concerned about her siblings. It is this weakness that Alec always exploits. She
always prefers to improve her family’s life and undergoes immense pains in all her
attempts. She feels concerned about her sister’s future even at the time of her death.
It is only for the welfare of her family that she feels compelled to accept monetary
aid offered to her family by Alec, even realizing that by offering this aid he may
subdue her. Thus, the author paints a grand picture of a greatly well-rounded
character in her.

9.8.2 Angel Clare

Angel Clare is the youngest son of the Reverend and Mrs. Clare. His family wants
to see him as a minister and preacher. But he resists the family pressure chooses a
career which goes against his family’s expectations. He chooses farming.

Angel is introduced in the novel at the very beginning. He is introduced as a nameless

young man who prefers dancing with the girls of Marlott. But then he suddenly
disappears. He reappears later at Talbothays. Now, he is 26 and Tess is 20.

Hardy depicts him as a good man. His relationship with Tess starts with his offer
to tutor her for subjects such as history in order to improve her education. She
refuses this offer very gently. However, he cannot help falling in love with her. His
gentle nature is also reflected from his offer to all four dairymaids to carry them
over a swollen creek when they are on their way to church.

Angel Clare hates old families. He makes his opinions known to others. When Tess
comes to know about his views, she thinks that her future with him may prove short
if he comes to learn about her ancient lineage. However, he does not make any issue
of her heritage, when later he learns about her family history. However, he has issue
with his own concepts of love and marriage. Angel respects Tess' wishes when she
requests him to leave her. However, he keeps observing her from distance, but does
not make any advances to her thinking that this may mislead. He waits for a
significant time to express his love for her and then waits for her response. Finally,
he is able to convince her of his intent to marry her. Yet, his ideas about love and
marriage have a very little flexibility: “Yet Clare's love was doubtless ethereal to a

188
fault, imaginative to impracticability.” In fact, he is more idealistic than practical
in his love for Tess, though later he regrets his quick decisions.

Like Tess, Angel also has a past. He tells Tess that once he was in a relations hip
with a girl in London. But, when Tess shares with him her own past experience, he
at once forgets his own tale and refuses to forgive her. This intractability indicates
a major flaw in his character. It is this flaw that establishes the reason for him to
reject Tess and leave for Brazil.

Angel always makes quick decisions which are not well planned. His is impuls ive
and rash in deciding things, though he is not bad at all. His impulsive and rash
decisions involve his proclamation of love for Tess, his plan to leave for Brazil, and
his requesting Izz to accompany him. However, he always analyses his errors and
regrets his regrets his impulsive and quick decisions: “Viewing her [Tess] in these
lights, a regret for his hasty judgment began to oppress him.” Later he requests Tess
for forgiveness: “Tess! Can you forgive me for going away?” He promises Tess
that he will take care of her after she murders Alec. He also tells her that after her
death he will marry her sister Liza-Lu. Here, he lives up to all these promises. His
compensation for his bad decisions done in the past wins the praise of readers for
him.

Angel represents modern and free thinkers who seek reason and reject myths and
traditions in religious matters. At times, he appears to be the author’s own voice of
agnosticism. Angel can be viewed as a deist. He views God as a creative and living
force but rejects any formal religion such as the one imposed by the church. Hardy
writes, “Angel preferred sermons in stones to sermons in churches and chapels on
fine summer days.” Angel chooses Tess because he thinks that she can prove a very
good and loyal wife especially for a farmer like him. He does not consider her
religious opinions in his decision about his marriage with her. Hardy writes, “Angel
never would have made orthodoxy a condition of his choice.” However, when he
describes her to his parents, he tells them that she is a good Christian lady. He
describes her so merely to convince them about her.

As soon as Angel clears this last barrier in the way of his marriage to Tess, he
returns to Talbothays in order to convince her for marriage. He, therefore,
represents a practical facet of religion that may be the author would have
championed by himself.

9.8.3 Alec Stoke-d'Urberville

Alec, in actuality, is not a D'Urberville. His family’s name was Stoke. Then it
became Stoke-D'Urberville, and finally became known as D'Urberville. Alec’s

189
father, who had settled in the southern region, adopted a local name with the
historical affiliation of place.

Alec finds irresistible attraction in Tess and starts wooing her. For this, he uses his
sophisticated talk and noticeable wealth. His motives are, however, clear right from
the beginning that he wants to seduce her for his own interests, though it cannot be
denied that after seducing her he does feel love for her and also plans to marry her.

At first, he is friendly. He uses his charms to attract Tess to The Slopes. When Tess
returns work as a keeper of Mrs. D'Urberville's poultry, he uses tactics to force her
to ask him for relief. He can design any scheme to convince her about his power.

In Chapter 5, we see that Alec feeds Tess strawberries. This scene is clearly sensual
and suggestive. Such a scene would have raised many Victorian eyebrows. The
author includes this scene quite early in the novel so that he could arouse the
reader's response. In fact, sex is not a subject for this book. The inclusion of
seduction, lust and sex in the first section of the novel serves a thematic function.

As a reader, we find no match between Tess is and Alec. Tess is inexperienced and
naïve. Alec is sophisticated and worldly. Moreover, Tess has the responsibility of
her family, whereas Alec has no such obligation. He always tries to exploit her,
taking advantage of her vulnerable position. But, Tess continues to resist his
advances. It is only when, in Chapter 10, he saves her from a fight with other
workers at Trantridge that she starts falling in his trap. He maneuvers to get lost in
the woods, pretending to find out the track. Here, he finally grabs the chance to rape
her when she is sleeping.

Alec makes no appearance in Chapters 12-43. However, he still continues

impacting the story throughout these chapters. First, his earlier actions includ ing
the rape shape the subsequent events. He physically returns in Chapter 44. In this
chapter, he appears as a street minister.

Alec renounces his newfound faith when he sees Tess again. He uses twisted logic
by accusing her of diverting him from his ministry. He cannot control his passion
for her and calls her a “temptress.” The author writes “The corpses of those old
fitful passions which had lain inanimate amid the lines of his face ever since his
reformation seemed to wake and come together as in a resurrection.”

His tactics are so powerful that Tess stats feeling a sense of guilt for his plight. He
feels even stronger and uses this situation to his advantage. He makes her swear to
leave him alone at a place called “Cross-in-Hand,” which is a symbol of evil.

190
He tries to convince her that Angel will never return. We see that he will succeed
in his attempts. He can never accept her rejection of him. In Chapter 50, he
strengthens his case by offering financial to the poor family of Tess. Here, he can
take full advantage of her. He persuades her to live with him as a d'Urberville.
Finally, he has succeeded her to live a life of sin. This deception results in his
murdering by her. In a fit of fury, she stabs him.

SUMMARY POINTS

• Tess of the D’Urbervilles is a great novel, which satisfies all types of

readership aesthetically. Its simple story offers an ample scope to explore
almost all social aspects of the rural England of the late Victorian era.

• The tone of the novel suggests that Tess, the innocent lady has fallen a victim
to society’s attitudes towards sex and women. Hardy’s treatment of Tess
vividly shows his anger towards the world for its double standards and his
intense sympathy for the heroine of the novel.

• The setting of Tess of the d’Urbervilles is in southwest England. This part of

the country is a rural region to which the writer also belonged by origin.

• Tess as a milkmaid represents a minority of women of the Victorian era who

sought financial independence. Thus the novel shows the English female
workers with some improvements in their living and job market.

• Tess of the D’Urbervilles frequently comments on the challenges faced by the

Victorian woman. Thus, Tess of the D’Urbervilles reflects social, religio us
and economic changes of the late Victorian time.

• According to some experts, Thomas Hardy was a very shy person. He

surrounded his house, Max Gate in Dorchester, with dense trees and avoided
publicity. On visitors’ unexpected arrival, he slipped out of the backside door.
Moreover, he maintained a rigid and subtle control so that people should not
penetrate his shyness to explore those aspects of his life which he did not want
to reveal. His first wife, Emma, was also a very shy person and she behaved
quite similarly.

• Thomas Hardy enjoys a prominent status as a literary figure. He started his

career as an apprentice. He started writing at the age of seventeen, but the
publishers initially did not pay any heed to his pieces. His first work, A

191
 Humorous Sketch, was published in 1865. This prose work won a welcome
reception.

• Tess seems to be Hardy's most sympathetic protagonist. She is also one the
most likeable characters found in English literature. We come to understand
Tess’ dilemma and her acceptance of the things that happen to her. She
exhibits and maintains a good character throughout the novel and never loses
our expectations and sympathies even when she commits such a terrible deed
as murder.

• Hardy depicts Angel Clare as a good man. His relationship with Tess starts
with his offer to tutor her for subjects such as history in order to improve her
education. She refuses this offer very gently. However, he cannot help falling
in love with her. His gentle nature is also reflected from his offer to all four
dairymaids to carry them over a swollen creek when they are on their way to
church.

• Alec was greatly attracted by the beauty of Tess. He uses his sophisticated
talk and noticeable wealth to inspire her. At first, he is friendly. He uses his
charms to attract Tess to The Slopes. When Tess returns work as a keeper of
Mrs. D'Urberville's poultry, he uses tactics to force her to ask him for relief.
His motives are, however, clear right from the beginning that he wants to seduce
her for his own interests.

192
 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1. What major themes do you derive from the novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles?

2. Discuss Hardy’s use of symbolisms in this novel.

3. What is the significance of the legend of the D'Urberville Coach?

4. Discuss the differences found in Angel Clare and Alec D'Urberville.

5. How is the novel an indictment of the class system of English society near the
end of the 19th century?

6. How do nature and fate play a role in this novel?

7. Are there any fundamental contrasts between the Durbeyfields and the
D'Urbervilles as we come to know them?

8. Describe the relationship of Angel to his father, Reverend Clare, and Angel
with his brothers.

9. How does the novel begin? Does Hardy use a natural or seemingly invented
device to start the book?

193
 SUGGESTED READINGS

Course Hero. (2017, September 25). Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Infographic.

Kramer, D. (1999). The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Hardy. Cambridge:

CUP.

Mallett, P. (2013). Thomas Hardy in Context. Cambridge: CUP.

Prior, K. S. (2013, May 28). You Ain't Ruined: How Thomas Hardy Took on
Victorian- Era Purity Culture. In The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company.

Roberts, M. (2017, April 14). The Fallen Woman: Prostitution in Literature. In

Guardian. Guardian News and Media.

The British Library. (2014, February 6). Rescue of Fallen Women.

Williams, M. (1972). Thomas Hardy and Rural England. Macmillan.

____[ ]____

194