The presence of Romanticism and Victorianism in three distinct literary works

In the late 18th century, Romanticism developed as a reaction to Neoclassicism, its

comprehensive faith in the Logos and its view of the universe from a mechanistic
perspective. On the contrary, the Romantic Movement embraced the emotional, the
irrational and the supernatural. Furthermore, Romantic artists adhered to the theory of
Pantheism, according to which humans could turn to Nature in order to find God or the
Divine. Romantic artists would depict Nature not only as scenery, but also as a real
character, attempting to challenge the truths imposed by the Industrial Revolution and the
disastrous consequences it had on the environment. Later in this century, there emerged a
somewhat different literary movement, known as Victorianism. Under Queen Victorias
reign, the British society suffered many changes as the nation became the wealthiest in the
world. Due to the progress brought about by the Industrial Revolution and British
expansionism, the social hierarchies became more visible and rigid and, therefore, the
contrast between the huge masses of poor people and the aristocratic and bourgeois elites
also became more evident and sharp. The negative effects of increasing industrialisation
and the rigid moral system of this period were conjugated and depicted in literary works of
the time. Features of both movements Romantic and Victorian literature can be observed
in literary works as relevant as Emily Bronts Wuthering Heights, Charles Dickens Great
Expectations and Mary Shellys Frankenstein.
In the case of Wuthering Heights, the Romantic/Gothic representation of Nature has great
significance. Heathcliffs manor, Wuthering Heights, enacts a very particular kind of
Nature. Its Gothic elements stand for a violent and raw, but still passionate Nature, instead
of a pastoral and idealised one. For Catherine, it symbolises heaven, which is also hinted by
its location in contrast to the Grange, which is located at a far lower level. It symbolises
Catherines and Heathcliffs wild passion for each other. Furthermore, in many instances
the weather is depicted in a deft way in order to portray different social atmospheres: when
Heathcliff finds out that Catherine is to get married to Linton, it is said that "The storm
came rattling over the heights in full fury," matching Heathcliffs enraged feelings with the
destructiveness of a storm, and thus anticipating subsequent events in the story. However,
the most evident Romantic element in this novel is the passionate and irrational love

between Catherine and Heathcliff. Its an impetuous kind of love since she goes through
emotional turmoil and gets physically ill because of the love triangle with Linton, and
finally dies. Heathcliff also goes gradually mad and behaves brutally with Isabella and
Cathy later on. They hand themselves to their unrestricted love without caring for the
terrible consequences of their acts. There is yet another interesting Romantic element: the
appearance of Catherines ghost meeting Lockwood at the window of her former room the
presence of the supernatural is typical in Romantic literary works.
The antagonism between Heathcliff and Linton is also shown by the description of
Thruschcross Grange, which is portrayed as an example of refinement, class and propriety.
It represents Victorian values and morality, high social status and comfort, with its
beautiful-splendid place carpeted with crimson, and crimson-covered chairs and tables.
At first, Catherine spends a month in the Lintons house and is delighted with their
Victorian manners. But after she falls wildly in love with Heathcliff, it comes to represent
hell for her, in contrast to the Heights symbolising heaven. Moreover, what defined the
Victorian era were the sharp differences among social classes: Heathcliff was considered a
vagabond for coming from the lower classes, and hence not worthy of Catherines love. In
fact, Catherine herself reflects on the fact that, if she marries Heathcliff instead of Linton,
they both will be beggars, which shows her uneasiness with his social origins. He would,
however, become a learned and well-off gentleman eventually.
In Great Expectations, Gothic elements are also used to depict Satis House, which
symbolise Pips Romantic perception of the upper class. The setting almost always
represents a theme in this novel and always sets a tone that is fitly matched to the dramatic
action. One of the most evocative of the storys settings is the misty marshes near Pips
childhood home in Kent. Every time Pip goes into the mists, something dangerous is likely
to happen. In fact, Pip goes through the mists when he travels to London shortly after
receiving his fortune, anticipating to the reader that this apparently positive development in
his life may have dangerous consequences. Therefore, Nature is described in a way that
helps the events unfold in the storyline. Additionally, in this novel we can also observe the
presence of feelings of love. During his visit to Miss Havishams house at the beginning of
the story, Pip falls in love with Estella, despite her cold treatment, and dreams of becoming

a wealthy gentleman so that he might be worthy of her. So his expectations of making

progress are, at this stage, driven by the desire to conquer her love.
Nevertheless, the barrier of hard social differences stands in the way between Pip and his
beloved, which reflects the social hierarchies typical of the Victorian age. All throughout
this story, Dickens explores the class system of the post-Industrial Revolution model of
Victorian England, from the most miserable criminals, such as Magwitch, to the poor
peasants, such as Joe and Biddy, to the middle class, and the very rich, as Miss Havishams
case. Undoubtedly, the main themes in the novel are wealth and poverty, ambition and selfimprovement, and social standing. Pip believes in social, moral and educational progress,
and he wants to go up the social ladder in accordance to Victorian values. At first, he is
ashamed of his poverty and his origins, so he works hard to improve his social status,
opposite to Estellas. She represents the life of wealth and culture that Pip pursues. In the
end, Pip learns that social class and wealth are not a criterion for happiness or selfimprovement, and the ruling principle of life should be loyalty, affection and inner worth,
as opposed to the case of cruel Drummle, a member of the upper class who beats his wife
and lacks moral worth.
The influence of nature on mood is also evident throughout Frankenstein. The sublime
natural world initially offers characters the possibility of spiritual renewal. Having fallen in
depression and remorse after the deaths of William and Justine, for which he feels
responsible, Victor heads to the mountains to lift his spirits. In the same way, after a gloomy
winter of cold and abandonment, the monster feels his heart lighten as spring arrives.
Nature is a recurrent setting in this story, as is the case of the Arctic desert when Victor sets
out to chase the monster in order to take revenge. Moreover, the monsters relationship to
Nature is also observable when, rejected by society, he escapes to the fields, to an idealised
natural landscape, where he finds refuge. In a cottage in the countryside, he would later
come to understand human relationships and family love. Certainly, the supernatural
element in this Romantic novel is represented by the monster Victor creates out of dead
body parts, in his quest to bridge the mortal world and the supernatural world. The dark
workings of this supernatural creation may be also considered a Gothic element.

As regards Victorian elements in this novel by Mary Shelley, we can consider that Victors
industriousness as a creator may reflect the post-Industrial Revolution developments in the
English society. His ambition for knowledge seems to lead to no progress, having profound,
dangerous consequences after he creates such a monster. On top of his ruthless aspirations,
Victor constitutes a somewhat morally-shallow character because he does not take into
consideration the potential results of his discoveries. He himself one night feels struck by
doubts about the morality of his actions, since he realises he cannot control such a creature.
In this way, the hypocrisy that characterized the value-system of the Victorian society is
reflected in the dubious actions of this learned scholar. Another element related to
Victorianism is the presence of passive women. In the Victorian age, women were
considered families possessions and devoid of intellectual purposes. In the case of
Elizabeth, she is devoted to Victor: Be calm my dear Victor, I shall sacrifice my life to
your peace She is the most visible female character, though the interruption of the
creation of the female monster also depicts a society in which women are not considered
equals to men.
Having analysed these traditional literary works of English literature from the perspectives
of Romanticism and Victorianism, it can be appreciated how the three authors chose to
depict the society of the times in accordance to the literary movement prevalent then.
Examining these novels allows us to be more aware of the pendulous or swaying flow of
historical and literary periods and how they developed. In short, the portrayal of Nature and
its strong role in the stories, the presence of passionate love Romantic elements, the
sharp social differences of post-Industrial England and the rigid moral code coupled with
great hypocrisy Victorian elements are the key common features of the analysed novels.