From Romanticism to Realism

Jane Austen
 Jane Austen
(1775 – 1817)

- born in 1775 in Steventon, England

- the daughter of a Hampshire
clergyman
- one of eight children
- loved making fun of 'the
establishment' (social laws, social
rules)
- started out writing to amuse her
friends and family
Regency England

- the 1810s and 1820s - the Regency

period
- refers more generally to the early
decades of the 19th century before
the start of Victoria’s reign in 1837,
- support for the development of the
arts and sciences
- the beginning of industrialisation in
England
Year 1996
 Regency England

- strict class structure

- individualism and self-expression became
prized in the arts.
- the novel - still a relatively new art form;
rapidly grew in popularity among the
educated classes.
- innovations in printing - novels more widely
available, lending libraries.
- art fascinated with the land, sea, and
portraiture. Portraits became much more
common during this period
 Jane Austen lived at a time when novel reading
had become one of the major forms of
entertainment for the middle classes. New works
were prohibitively expensive to buy, but there
were various methods of sharing and borrowing
the latest fiction through circulating libraries,
subscriptions libraries and reading clubs.
Though widely read, the novel’s status was not
high.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
yzlIzpDQdFQ Austen and social
realism while watching, decide on
2-3 main ideas about Austen’s
creative work
 Jane Austen lived at a time when novel reading
had become one of the major forms of
entertainment for the middle classes. New works
were prohibitively expensive to buy, but there
were various methods of sharing and borrowing
the latest fiction through circulating libraries,
subscriptions libraries and reading clubs.
Though widely read, the novel’s status was not
high.
➢ Reacting against extravagance and sensation
➢ Describing ordinary life (probable reality and the
kinds of people readers felt they already knew -
Austen’s novels are set in southern England, in places
and a landscape she knew well)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= ➢ Conversation and the mind of the character
yzlIzpDQdFQ Austen and social (interior space = the psychic space; the real
conversation (dialogue))
realism while watching, decide on
2-3 main ideas about Austen’s
creative work
 Jane Austen:
Pride and Prejudice
(1813)

- first called First Impressions:

- set in 1811 and 1812 in England
- most of the story is set in the
countryside
- the setting - important (the
characters' wealth and status is
displayed most prominently through
their homes, furnishings, and other
material goods).
 Jane Austen:
Pride and Prejudice (1813)

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in

possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or
views of such a man may be on his first entering a
neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the
surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful
property of some one or other of their daughters. (Chapter I
– the very beginning)

The first sentence - one of the most famous in

English literature. It sets the narrative in motion.
What else does it serve?
 Jane Austen: It is a truth universally acknowledged,
that a single man in possession of a
Pride and Prejudice (1813) good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
However little known
✓ Satirical Tone the feelings or views of such a man may
It is a truth universally acknowledged be on his first entering a neighborhood,
must be in want of a wife this truth is so well fixed in the minds of
the surrounding families, that he is
✓ Social Commentary considered the rightful property of
a single man in possession of a good fortune some one or other of their daughters.
(Chapter I – the very beginning)

✓ Public vs. Private Life

However little known the feelings or views of such a
man may be on his first entering a neighborhood
this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the
✓ Gender Expectations
surrounding families
he is considered the rightful property of
some one or other of their daughters
 Pride and Prejudice

The First Proposal episode (Ch. 34)

 Jane Austen: Nowadays

Why is Jane Austen trending 200

years after her death?
She's writing about people and their
problems, their dysfunctional families,
why, and even if, women should marry.
Those issues were relevant then, and
they're relevant now.
(Marilyn Joice, chairman of the northern
branch of the Jane Austen society.)
The Brontës

Ø born in the village of Thornton and later

associated with the village of Haworth in
the West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Ø the sisters, Charlotte (1816–1855), Emily
(1818–1848) and Anne (1820–1849), are
well-known poets and novelists
Ø published their poems and novels under
male pseudonyms: Currer, Ellis, and Acton
Bell
 The Brontës

• attended different schools at various times as well as

being taught at home
• were often left alone together in their isolated home and
all began to write stories at an early age
• were employed at various times as teachers and
governesses
• in 1842, Charlotte and Emily went to Brussels to improve
their French, but had to return home early after the
death of their aunt Elizabeth
• Charlotte returned to Brussels an English teacher in
1843-1844
• by 1845, the family were back together at Haworth
• By this stage, Branwell (their brother) was addicted to
drink and drugs.
 The Brontës

• in 1846, the sisters published at their own expense a volume of

poetry. This was the first use of their pseudonyms Currer
(Charlotte), Ellis (Emily) and Acton (Anne) Bell. They all went on
to publish novels, with differing levels of success
• Anne's 'Agnes Grey' and Charlotte's 'Jane Eyre' were published
in 1847.
• 'Jane Eyre' was one of the year's best sellers
• Anne's second novel, 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' and Emily's
'Wuthering Heights' were both published in 1848. ‘
• The ‘Tenant' sold well, but 'Wuthering Heights' did not.
• Branwell died of tuberculosis in September 1848. Emily died of
the same disease on 19 December 1848 and Anne on 28 May
1849.
The Brontës • left alone with her father, Charlotte continued to write
• she has become a well-known author and visited London a number of times
• 'Shirley' was published in 1849 and 'Villette' in 1853.
• in 1854, Charlotte married her father's curate, Arthur Nicholls
• she died of tuberculosis on 31 March 1855
The Brontës
Their most famous books are...
• Jane Eyre (by Charlotte) (originally
published as Jane Eyre: An
Autobiography )
• Wuthering Heights (Emily)
• Agnes Grey (Anne) (her second novel
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall)
 Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte (originally
published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography

- with Currer Bell (Brontë’s pseudonym)

listed as the editor
- has 38 chapters and was originally
published in three separate volumes
- a Bildungsroman, a type of "coming of
age" story that follows how the main
character grows up, matures, and
changes, and the experiences that
shape the character's development
the grand secret of [Jane Eyre’s] success …was its
reality. From out the depths of a sorrowing
experience, here was a voice speaking to the
experience of thousands (G.H. Lewes)
 Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte (originally
published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography

- The book's title takes its name from the main

character, Jane Eyre (titular character).
- It follows her perspective through her
childhood from about the age of ten and her
experiences at school to her work as a
governess and teacher, her romances, and her
eventual marriage.
- Along the way, the novel also reveals the social
realities of life for single women and women of
little economic means in England during the
Victorian era. Titular characters: Heroes who are referred to
in the very titles of the works in which they
appear as the title characters, whether they
are the main characters or not
 Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte (originally
published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography

- Significant supporting characters of the

novel include:
➢ Mr. Brocklehurst, who harshly runs the
boarding school Jane attends in the first
part of the novel
➢ Mr. Rochester, who owns Thornfield Hall,
where Jane works as a governess,
➢ St. John Rivers, who asks Jane to join
him on missionary work abroad.
➢ Jane's aunt, Mrs. Reed, and Rochester's
first wife, Bertha Mason, also impact the
novel's plot in key scenes.
 Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte (originally
published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography
- one of the most widely-read and enjoyed of all Victorian
novels
- widely considered a classic
- gave new truthfulness to the Victorian novel with its
realistic portrayal of the inner life of a woman, noting her
struggles with her natural desires and social condition
- Orphaned Jane Eyre endures an unhappy childhood,
hated by her aunt and cousins and then sent to
comfortless Lowood School. But life there improves and
Jane stays on as a teacher, though she still longs for love
and friendship. At Mr Rochester's house, where she goes
to work as a governess, she hopes she might have found
them - until she learns the terrible secret of the attic.

Penguin Random House

Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte

• inspired various film, TV, and

• blends diverse genres:
stage adaptations, including a
- Jane’s choice between sexual need 1943 movie that starred
and ethical duty belongs very firmly Orson Welles as Rochester
and Joan Fontaine as Jane.
to the mode of moral realism • Jean Rhys’s novel Wide
- her close escape from a bigamous Sargasso Sea (1966) offers an
account of Rochester’s first
marriage and the fiery death of
marriage.
Bertha are part of the Gothic
tradition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8HqRg_mURM