Unseen Prose Context

The Georgian Era

1714-1830/ 18th century

18th century novel

Novel was a relatively new form and was quite experimental in style, regarded as a female art form - less highbrow than poetry/drama

Common Styles of 18th century literature

epistolary writing, realism, romanticism, gothic literature

epistolary writing

novel constructed out of letters - popular form due to people's interest in spying into the private lives of others

realism

novel seeks to replicate relationships and settings as they are in everyday life

romanticism

features characters who are ruled by strong emotion who push against ordinary limits

gothic literature

seek to inspire emotions of terror and horror, tap into deepest fears - considered dangerous reading material for women as they were too much of a distraction from domestic duties

courtship 18th century

courtship was highly controlled by families, common to have chaperones

marriage 18th century

men and women would only meet a few times before proposals of marriage were made and upon marriage all of a wife's property/possessions would pass over to the husband - good husbands provided pin-money/allowance

cult of sensibility 18th century

fashionable to feel very deeply, love portrayed as having physical symptoms

Pamela 18th century

early novel by Samuel Richardson represented love story across class divide - very popular topic in later novels

18th century love

fashion for writing gushing and ornate love letters, romance became glamorised

18th century beginning of industrialisation

England still very rural but village life threatened by factories, farming life began to decline, working class masses became increasingly impoverished

Victorian Era

1830 - 1901/ 19th century

19th century industrial revolution

new factories and industries emerged and wealth of Britain became founded on industry - rise of middle class self made men, challenging power of landed aristocracy

19th century literature

social tensions from industrialisation often explored in relationships/divisions between classes

Scientific Discoveries 19th century

Darwin's theory of evolution instead of biblical account - conflict between science and religion. Victorian prudery - reaction against Darwin's ideas about our animalistic origins

19th century urbanisation

urban populations drastically increased - writers present threat to nature and innocents ways of life nostalgically

19th century sex

strict standards of modesty and respectability, sexual conversations were taboo, women's dress conservative, pre/extra-marital sex forbidden. Women not supposed to enjoy.

19th century themes

constraint and escapism

19th century expectations

seperate spheres - public male sphere making income and private female sphere being domestic, idealised 'angels of the house', encouraged by Queen Victoria - mother of the nation

19th century women

women expected to be obedient, virtuous and pure

19th century marriage

marriage was seen as binding for life as divorce would be viewed as bringing disgrace on both parties

When was Modernism

1901-1945

When was Post Modernism

1945-present

Modernism

focuses on central themes and a united vision, authors guide and control the reader's response to their work

Post-modernism

started after ww2 in time of social, political and cultural upheaval, sees human experience as unstable, open work where the reader must supply their own connections , work out alternative meanings and provide their own interpretation

Post-modernist features

vision of a contradictory, fragmented, ambiguous, indeterminate, unfinished and jagged world

20th century liberalisation

liberalised attitudes towards sex, relaxation of divorce laws, civil rights campaigning, contraception

Cynical attitudes 20th century

cynical attitudes towards love, less commitment, divorce more common, increasingly short-term relationships

20th century spiritual alienation and disillusionment

growing tendency to understand world through science rather than religion + world wars led to questioning existence of God

20th century consumerism

cheaper mass produced goods - fear of relationships with objects distracting from meaningful human relationships

20th century psychoanalysis

popularised by Freud, increasing interest in exploring mind, repressed traumas/desires from early life shaping our thinking as adults

20th century literature styles

stream of consciousness writing (reaction to psychoanalysis) - fluid, rambling writing resembles erratic thinking, experimental and unconventional metaphors

20th century women

the suffragette movement, women taking on male jobs in war, feminist campaigning in 60s and 70s

20th century world wars

overshadowed by the two world wars - fears over mankind's cruel and barbaric nature, spiritual alienation = lost generation

20th century rebellion

writing seeks to reject and rage against traditional systems, moralities and beliefs

Post colonial literature 20th century

popular genre due to breaking up of British Empire in 1960s - explores effects of colonisation on the native people, examining the oppression they endured

20th century immigration

increase in immigration to rich western countries e.g. UK and USA resulted in cultural diversity - writers explore tensions and difficulties of life in a new country

21st century context

technological advancements, growth of internet, terrorism and uncertainty/fear of war, sexual liberalism, continued religious conflict

2001

September 11th terrorist attacks

2008

economic recession