Extremities of Identity in the Victorian Era - Research Paper Example

Extremities of Identity in the Victorian Era Introduction Female identity in the Victorian novel is one of the most important aspects of the literature presented at this time. During this time frame, literature used specific characters to create different controversies and approaches to the understanding of society, culture and themes related to humanism. In both “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens and “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, is a representation of female identities that are able to create controversy of the characters. The female representation in both of these novels is a symbol of the movement from the old values and into modernism. The different characters that are represented in both of these novels create a sense of tension and conflict, specifically because they show both sides of society and the controversies that are related to this. The identities and plot that is used shows the extremity that was a part of the Victorian Era, specifically with conflict between old values and the opposing viewpoint of modernism. The Victorian Novel The Victorian novel was known to create specific changes because of the time frame that it was written in and the different social and cultural concepts that were occurring at the time. A main theme that was linked to this was the idea of transformation. Society, culture and the surrounding environment was known to move from the old ways of life and into a sense of modernism. However, this also created a sense of lost identity and a questioning of what one’s role was in society. The Victorian era was specifically defined by the contrasting identities that were a part of the time frame. This included two extremes that were a part of both failure and success and which are characterized through the different novels. This was known to relate to the industrial age and the way in which many were beginning to look at the growth of the economy. Politically, there were also conflicts with the French Revolution with the idea of pushing toward change being the basis of this. This was combined with reforms that continued to change within politics, ranging from the parliamentary reform to the whig and tory administrations. “A century after the Victorian age it is possible to see more readily and to focus more clearly on the extremes that characterized the 19th century… [This] period covers the best part of a century, but even by the 1840s what was striking commentators was the speed, hitherto, unparalleled, with which the world was changing in political, social, scientific, ecclesiastical developments” (Dennis, 10, 2000). The idea of change during this time, as seen through this quote, was the main ideal of the time. The extremes that began to form because of this is what formed the Victorian period as well as the idea of the novel and how it represented this specific conflict of interest. “Jane Eyre” and the representation of the feminine identity is one of the ways in which the Victorian novel is able to be seen. Jane shows the two extremes of the 19th century and creates the main conflict through her actions and identity. Jane moves between the identity of the old, which is based on the morality and older viewpoints that came before the Victorian age. At the same time, she is able to show the changes of the 19th century through her political, social and ecclesiastical developments. There are several points where the attitude Jane takes is one that accepts the modernization and extremes of the Victorian age and takes her place as a part of this society. She then becomes a conflicting character that moves between the two extremes and is able to become the representation of the Victorian identity. An example of this can be seen when Jane begins to work for Mr. Rochester as a maid for his daughter. At the beginning, Jane is expected to show her skills as a pianist and as a visual artist. When showing the paintings, she is seen representing the old ideas of art as well as that of the artist. “The subjects had, indeed, risen vividly on my mind. As I saw them with the spiritual eye, before I attempted to embody them they were striking; but my hand would not second my fancy” (Bronte, 96, 2010). This description by Jane is one that embodies the time before the Victorian era in which the spiritual eye and the imagination were the main inspiration. However, this is quickly changed with Mr. Rochester’s viewpoint, in which he can’t believe that she imagined this and it is only a dreamlike state. The conflict begins to be seen in Jane in which the Victorian sense of realism, status and intelligence overtake the older concepts of seeing with a spiritual eye. The same conflict of the Victorian novel and the feminine identity can also be seen in “Oliver Twist.” However, the extremes don’t come from the main character but instead are represented as one outside of this. Oliver represents the old way of living, specifically because of his character and the situation that has led him into being an orphan. The female identity that is surrounding this creates the main conflict, which is one that is closely represented by the Victorian period. For instance, Noah’s mother can be seen as the ideal identity of the female in the Victorian novel. Instead of taking a motherly approach to Oliver, she shows the Victorian independence and concepts of status. This is done through her dislike of Oliver and the way that she treats him as an orphan in her household. There are several instances that show the female identity and how it moves out of the traditional mother and into one that fits more with the identity of the Victorian novel by showing the extreme. For instance, one description shows how Oliver was treated by Noah’s mother. “For the rest of the day, he was shut up in the back kitchen, in the company with a pump and a slice of bread; and, at night, Mrs. Sowerberry, after making various remarks outside the door, by no means complimentary to the memory of his mother, looked into the room, and, amidst the jeers and pointing of Noah and Charlotte, ordered him upstairs to his dismal bed” (Dickens, 49, 2008). This example shows how the Victorian novel creates extremes with the female identity. The representation of Mrs. Sowerberry as well as the way in which each of the characters are shown creates a sense of extremity between the two identities of the feminine character. This is a direct reflection of the Victorian age and the movement from the old identities and into the new. Both “Jane Eyre” and “Oliver Twist” use the female identity as a representation of the extremities of the Victorian era. While this is not exclusively associated with the female identity, it becomes a symbol of the changes that were occurring during this time. Modernism and the Female Identity The Victorian novel not only relates to extremities that were a part of the time period, but also shows the relationship to the idea of modernism. This was known to relate directly to the female identity and the way that it was displayed in Victorian novels. The concept of extremities is also displayed with this, as well as the movement into the modern era. One of the ideals that is related to modernism is the idea of liberalism and the ability to be freed from the old rules and identities. This is further defined with the political, economic and social movements that are from the time. Instead of each gender and individual having a required role, there is a movement in the other direction. The roles are defined first by status and wealth with gender and social identity becoming secondary to this category. Modernism is then defined by how independent one could be as well as how they were able to associate with the idea of status. This led to a breaking of stereotypes of what every individual should have in society, and instead questioned identity and perception into a personalized identity. The stereotypes were based on personalized wealth and status as well as how different identities were able to break with tradition (Miller, 7, 1994). Modernism can be seen in both of the novels with a question of what independence should hold as well as what the traditional roles of feminine identity should be. The characters in both novels are faced with the stereotypes and judgments that are a part of the class and status that each holds. However, the movement into the modern idea also allows the characters in both novels to overcome this and to create a sense of independence outside of the traditional roles as well as the formation of class. For both novels, this becomes a main theme with the understanding of identity and the way that it is built for the feminine role as well as the role of the different classes. This main concept of modernism is not only seen in the feminine identity, but also in the identity of those that are in different classes. Jane Eyre shows the concept of independence and identity through class, judgment and the movement into modernism. She often talks about being the only one alive in her family, except her uncle, who passes away. As she moves into being a maid as well as into other situations, it is all defined by her independence and will to survive and work her way up the social ladder. This was a concept of modernism and shows the feminine identity that was a part of this time. However, this conflicts and moves to the other extreme when she meets her uncle and three cousins who have status and wealth. Jane’s disposition changes as she is now able to define a new status with her identity. However, this becomes conflicting with the attitudes of independence that she has created. For instance, when meeting her uncle, she states “Those who had saved my life, whom, till this hour, I had loved barrenly, I could now benefit. They were under a yoke, - I could free them: they were scattered, - I could reunite them: the independence, the affluence which was mine, might be theirs too” (Bronte, 296, 2010). This quote shows how Jane has a conflict with the modern concept of affluence and independence as a part of the feminine identity. The extreme that is related to this is the identity of belonging to a family and being a part of the family yoke that has the traditional understanding of the time. The idea of modernism, seen through the changes that Jane Eyre goes through, becomes central in understanding the dual feminine identity and the extremities that were a part of this time frame. “Oliver Twist” shows the same conflicts of modernism through the secondary characters and the movements that they take for status and wealth. This creates an extremity of identity with the independence used as well as the older concepts of obedience for society. Mrs. Bumble is one that shows this throughout the book as she changes into hands. When married to Mr. Bumble, she shows the sense of independence and has right over the children and the maternal treatment they take. This creates the main tensions with Oliver while he lives in the home, specifically because of her modern approach and independence that doesn’t offer him the care that is needed. However, when Mrs. Bumble goes into the hands of Mr. Bumble after Oliver leaves, it can be seen that modernism moves into the other extreme of what is expected. This is questioned by what the prerogative of both should be in the household. Mr. Bumble replies, “ ‘ To obey ma’am,’ thundered Mr. Bumble. ‘ Your late unfortunate husband should have taught it you; and then, perhaps, he might have been alive now. I wish he was poor man.’ Mrs. Bumble, seeing at a glance, that the decisive moment had now arrived, and that a blow struck for the mastership on one side or other, must be necessarily final and conclusive” (Dickens, 251, 2008). This instance, as well as several others, shows the movement into the modern identity. The feminine identity, in relationship to modernism, is divided against the ideas of independence and mastership of the household as opposed to obedience to the husband. This creates a conflict that is identified by the movement into modernity and the feminine identity that is at both extremes of this ideal. Identity of Gender The idea of extremity in the identity of the Victorian novel also led into the way that gender was perceived in the Victorian Age, specifically among the changes that the feminine characters had during this time. The identity of gender was one that was also divided into extremes, similar to the other characteristics that were a part of this time frame. The older concepts of feminine identity were based on maternity and motherhood. However, the Victorian period began to shift this into the extremes that made up the different components of the era. Women were seen as polar opposites of this identity which was socially undifferentiated. More importantly, women were not seen as a gender but were defined by their status and wealth. This fragmented the identity of women and men into several extremes. The men held this same fragmented identity of extremes; however, they were also known to all hold a similar place in society, making the identity of women more controversial and extreme. “Using the reductive, double categories of a binary opposition, they wrote up sexual differences as ontological polarity…. Victorians quarreled over whether the flesh was decorous and controllable or devilishly wild and uncontrollable. Moreover, they could not reconcile an ideology that gave all women one maternal identity with the actualities of class, which obviously divided women materially” (Poovey, 9, 1988). The idea of extremes in gender identity than became one of the main subjects of the Victorian novel. The feminine identity was one that was not only related to the domestic role of women that were accepted at the time. More importantly, women were divided into two extreme classes which were either accepted or rejected by certain judgments based on materialism and wealth. The status of Jane Eyre and the perception of the identity of woman is one that is continuous and controversial throughout the book. Jane goes back and forth between both extremes, both with her identity in the feminine role as well as her identity with wealth and class. When she is shaped by a more feminine role, she is also known to hold a higher class and status. However, the attitude that she forms leads her into the other extreme in which her feminine role is no longer accepted and leads her into the identity of holding no wealth. For instance, her desire not to marry and moving into Ireland creates an image that she doesn’t want to hold the feminine identity accepted at the time, which instantly changes her class and status. When she does marry, it is for wealth and status, but leads her into a role that is less than feminine. The internal conflict that Jane experiences throughout the book because of her identity of gender shows the juxtaposed roles and extremities that are specific to the Victorian era. Another feminine identity that shows these two extremities is with Mr. Rochester’s wife that he marries after hiring Jane as his maid. Jane takes care of Adele for a time then is replaced by the new wife in which Jane is forced to leave. This leaves Jane to a different role as a woman who is not able to hold a maternal position, even though she is known for giving Adele a better education through her understanding of different knowledge. The replacement of Mr. Rochester’s wife; however, leads to the opposing feminine role. While she is able to take the place of wife, she also holds a specific status and role because of her wealth. This creates a controversy as Adele is placed into a school and is not cared for properly. At one point, the wife is known to take matters into her own hands for money and starts a fire in the home in which several are killed and injured. The description not only shows that the wife is a suspect but also shows how the maid, Bertha, dies from the fire that she was told to start by the wife (Bronte, 329, 2010). Even though Mr. Rochester’s wife holds the status, she doesn’t hold the maternal role or identity and instead moves into the other extreme. This same controversial role is seen through the feminine identity in Oliver Twist. Most of the women that are in the book are absent unless they are taking an opposite identity of the maternal role. This is first seen as Oliver’s mother has died and left him as an orphan. The women that are seen throughout the book don’t take the maternal role that Oliver is looking for. Instead, they are seen as the opposing viewpoint. Since Oliver holds the identity of an orphan, he is immediately displaced and judged as someone who holds a lower class. The women that are surrounding him hold a different status and sense of wealth which immediately places them above him. This leads them to treat him in the extreme and against the identity of gender that holds a maternal role. Noah’s mother, Mrs. Mann at the orphanage and the women that are absent from the maternal role are all seen through this book. This creates a conflict with the feminine identity and the absence it has in the book. When comparing the identity of gender in “Jane Eyre” and “Oliver Twist,” it can be seen that the extremities of the feminine identity is seen. Jane shows this specific concept as she moves between a maternal role and one that can’t marry because of her status. At the same time, those who are supposed to take a maternal role carry a sense of status. This makes their roles absent of the traditional feminine ideals in which they are supposed to hold. Oliver’s experience shares this same identity. The lower class of women who would take a maternal role is absent, either through death or because of the hardships from their own status. Women who have a higher status display a superficial motherhood instead of showing maternal instincts. However, they are seen as cruel and take a feminine role that is not controlled and which has an absence of the traditional, domestic role. Religious Humanism and Morals Another concept that is identified with the Victorian period is based on morality and religious humanism. The idea of self – identity during this time and the extreme of the other side was defined as proper and improper ways of living. The religious concepts that were associated with this were identified by a questioning of what was moral, specifically in relation to the churches and the accepted worship during the time. Humanism was combined with this while working toward perfection and overcoming the darker side of human nature to create a different understanding of what one was able to do during the time. Holding to the religious humanism during this time and working to obtaining perfection then becomes a central part of this era. For the feminine identity, this is further identified by what the expected roles are in society (Pykett, 1992). The concept of religious humanism and obtaining perfection is shown with the feminine identity through the controversies that Jane has as well as her belief that she is perfect because of her belief in the social components of the time. The extremities that Jane faces begins with her morality and her spiritual eye, as defined when she is working for Mr. Rochester. However, her righteous attitude changes through the book as she is faced with moving into status and wealth. Her feminine identity goes into the other extreme in which she is righteous because of her status and the way that she has moved into riches. When she is faced with the belief system of religion, she shows that she has reached her own perfection, despite status. She states “you are a married man – or as good as a married man, and wed to one inferior to you – to one with whom you have no sympathy – whom I do not believe you truly love; for I have seen and heard you sneer at her. I would scorn such a union: therefore I am better than you” (Bronte, 194, 2010). The idea of religious humanism is one that is identified in the feminine identity not by beliefs, morals or values. Instead, as seen through the conflicts of Jane Eyre, this is defined by the status and the way that one carries themselves. These two extremes were a common part of the values of the Victorian era, as represented by Jane. The attitude that Jane takes is one that is pointed out by theorists such as Dupras. There are several statements in this article that shows that Jane is in a continuous battle between wealth and status over morality. This creates one of the main conflicts as Jane can’t find whether it is religious humanism or status that will change her position in society. Dupras states “A prominent pattern in the weave of Jane Eyre’s station, attitudes, and narrative is her finances, skewed by lineage and wont. Jane’s fortune and psyche are warped when she becomes wealthy and as a writer when she was a young, anxious outcast whom poverty demeaned and challenged” (Dupras, 395). The identity that Jane creates toward religious humanism as well as through the wealth and status that she creates is one of the continuous battles of identity. The circumstances, societal expectations and relationship that Jane has created toward status becomes controversial and moves against the ideas of morality presented in the book. The same extremities are seen with the conflicts that Oliver Twist faces from the beginning of the book. This shows the opposing viewpoint of religious humanism and how it was one defined by status. There are several instances where religion doesn’t take one of helping others or of following Biblical thought. The humanism is combined with this, where there are extremes, such as a loss of understanding humanism because of wealth and status. When he is placed into religious settings, the orphanage identity takes over his main role. “And so far from being denied the advantages of religious consolation, he was kicked into the same apartment every evening at prayer – time, and there permitted to listen to, and console his mind… in which they entreated to be made good, virtuous, contented, and obedient, and to be guarded from sins and the vices of Oliver Twist” (Dickens, 19 – 20, 2008). This quote shows the two extremities that were in religious humanism. On one side, the idea of virtue and of religion was a part of the daily living of those in society. However, the humanism was juxtaposed with the abuse and the inability to live by the rules through the actions taken. This created a double identity of the roles in society as well as the way in which others related to ideas of religion and humanism during the Victorian era. This relates to the feminine identity in the book as well. Several of the women in the book held the idea of status as virtue and created the extremities through their own actions in which they believed were moral, similar to this example of religion as portrayed through Oliver’s experiences. Class and Status The concepts of class and status were another important part of the Victorian novel and the way that individuals were looked at. This was the intertwining component of other extremes as the status that one held also created their overall identity. During this time, class and status became a major part of the social life in Europe. A hierarchy was created which divided individuals according to their wealth as well as the prestige that they carried within the community. This extreme was juxtaposed to past eras, which focused on the idea of class and status as one that was not related to one’s wealth or status. This sudden change in the Victorian class led into a different understanding of how one was supposed to live. New social rules and categories were added in to create a different set of ideals about the importance that one held in the community. “But the traditional and confronting representation, of social structures as a hierarchy of ranks was not erased…. The change in the way of describing society depended on the rise to dominance of a co-existing variant description, since it represented superior and inferior in a judgmental sense” (Ingham, 6, 1996). Class and status was then first divided into the category of one that was superior or one that held a lower status. To define this, wealth, morality and the character that one held were all judged. This was combined with other social structures that were able to provide divisions and categories of where one belonged in society. The feminine identity and class and identity are seen in both “Jane Eyre” and “Oliver Twist.” The idea of status depicts the way in which both move through society, specifically by changing their fortune for better or worse. When at a lower status with Jane, there is an identity that moves into an extreme and which carries a sense of worthlessness. However, when Jane’s identity is able to move into wealth, she changes her identity into one that is able to judge her own existence by the social structure that is surrounding her. For instance, when Jane leaves her uncle’s home, her status and wealth also define her identity. “No: I felt desolate to a degree. I felt – yes, idiot that I am - I felt degraded. I doubted I had taken a step which sank instead of raising me in the scale of social existence. I was weakly dismayed at the ignorance, the poverty, the coarseness of all I heard and saw around me” (Bronte, 276, 2010). This quote shows how the identity that Jane holds is directly associated with the social structure that she is under. When she moves toward or against wealth and status, her identity also changes. This moves from one extreme and to the other, which was a common conflict in the Victorian novels. The same opposing identities take place in “Oliver Twist” and the association one has with their own social status. Oliver Twist represents the lower class and is continuously judged because he is an orphan and doesn’t hold any wealth or status. The identity that is created then moves to the other extreme with the changing feminine identity that is defined by class and status. The representation of this is from Nancy, who is a part of a gang of burglars who take Oliver to run their burglaries for them. When Nancy is in the public eye, she is seen as one who has some wealth and status and which has a feminine identity that is more maternal. For instance, after finding Oliver when he has run away, she appears to be one who is concerned for him and wants to bring him back to his family. Nancy states when finding Oliver, “ ‘ Oh, ma’am,’ replied the young woman, ‘he ran away near a month ago, from his parents, who are hard – working and respectable people; and went and joined a set of thieves and bad characters; and almost broke his mother’s heart…. ‘ He can’t help himself. Make him come home, there’s good people, or he’ll kill his dear mother and father, and break my heart!” (Dickens, 115, 2008). However, this identity is one that is opposite to her true character. The loving and nurturing side in this scene is one that is specifically for wealth and status. When seen in other scenes, the true identity shows in her character, which is to the other extreme of who she truly is. This shows the opposing viewpoint of what is occurring and how the idea of wealth and status depict the identity that is held in the book. Conclusion In both “Jane Eyre” and “Oliver Twist,” there is an understanding of identity and how it relates to the Victorian Era. The Victorian novel and this time frame were known for extremities of thought. One side of this was based on the values and the older societal concepts that were related to this. The movement against this was toward modernism which was depicted by the categorization and the hierarchy created socially and among the culture of the time. The feminine identity in both of these novels shows the several extremes that were a part of this time frame. Jane, as well as the secondary characters in Oliver Twist, shows the extremities of both side. Modernism, the Victorian ideologies, identity of gender, morality and status are all defined through the feminine roles in the books. With both novels, there is an understanding of the extreme roles and identities. These both create opposing viewpoints and an understanding of the extremity that was a part of the Victorian Era. References Bronte, Charlotte. 2010. Jane Eyre. New York: CreateSpace. Dennis, Barbara. 2000. The Victorian Novel. UK: Cambridge University Press. Dupras, Joseph. 1998. Tying the Knot in the Economic Warp of Jane Eyre. Victorian Literature and Culture. (26). Dickens, Charles. 2008. Oliver Twist. New York: Puffin Books. Ingham, Patricia. 1996. The Language of Gender and Class: Transformation in the Victorian Novel. New York: Routledge. Miller, Jane. 1994. Rebel Women: Feminism, Modernism, and the Edwardian Novel. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Poovey, Mary. 1988. Uneven Developments: The Ideological Work of Gender in Mid – Victorian England. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pykett, Lyn. 1992. The Improper Feminine: The Woman’s Sensation Novel and New Woman Writing. New York: Routledge. Read More