Overview: Socio-economic context of the nineteenth century

28 May 2005

An essay, examining the nature of the nineteenth century, and identifying (some) shaping influences pertaining to this. 1142 words

The nineteenth century was a period of comparative oppression when juxtaposed against today’s more liberal society, especially in terms of societal expectations of behaviour. This encompasses gender roles, political viewpoints, opinions of established institutions, and the acceptance of societal hierarchy, amongst other things.

Gender roles fell increasingly under scrutiny towards the end of the nineteenth century, as authors became more and more open in their criticism of the plight of the individual in society, particularly in terms of the requisite adherence to established roles within the home. A ruling class dominated by male figures demonstrated little regard for the autonomy of females within society; this was reflected both explicitly, in the form of policy enshrined in the legal system of the time, as is evident in the plight of Nora in A Doll’s House, and implicitly, as is demonstrated by Thomas Hardy in the character of Tess in Tess of the d’Urbervilles as she lives apart from her husband at his request.

The notion of gender equality was a prevailing concern of both these works, which may, perhaps, be considered iconoclastic to the concerns of the society that they were published in. Both are, amongst many other works, ‘guilty’ of bringing to light the hypocrisy of the period in its treatment of women, particularly – although this is not their sole concern. Hardy’s work, from its very subtitle (“A Pure Woman”), criticises a society in which a protagonist is made to bear the consequences of a sin against her, whilst the offender, Alec d’Urberville, can go on to achieve a (short-lived) salvation which Tess herself rejects in her blind devotion to her husband. In this society, authors argued, a person’s inherent nature was inconsequential in the face of prejudice and societal expectations forced upon people.

The only way such requirements could be circumvented, as portrayed in literature of the period, was through sufficient status created by wealth – something reflected in Henry James’ The Portrait of a Lady, in which Mrs. Touchett claims “You can do a great many things if you’re rich which would be severely criticized if you were poor,” which is similarly echoed in sentiment albeit not as explicitly, in Hardy’s Far From the Maddening Crowd, in which his protagonist rules over an estate even when she is unmarried in a notably assertive manner. She is, to an extent, androgynous in nature; this character is portrayed as having typically ‘masculine’ qualities, whilst Hardy actively develops her feminine nature – Bethsheba’s attraction of no fewer than three suitors, and particularly her flirtations with Boldwood, all serve to reinforce this in face of her assertive qualities. The proposition that a woman was capable of such leadership would generally be rejected in the society of the time, but, through granting her an inheritance, her status was assured by economic means.

There is a dual comment in this – the first of which identifies a prevailing inequality in terms of societal expectations, and secondly on the class distinctions which existed within that society. Artists of this period were revolting against the establishment in their work, and not accepting the ‘limitations’ society imposed upon them. Brontë, for example, could never have enjoyed success but for her use of a male pseudonym to publish her works in the earlier part of the 19th century. This observation is made irrespective of the message present in her works – the notable act in this instance is not the content published, but rather the means by which she achieved this. Class distinctions had, to an extent, diminished towards the middle of the 19th century, at least in urban centres – this made works such as Courbet’s The Village Maidens all the more controversial, as they were an unwelcome reminder of continuing class distinctions in provincial France.

Rejection of such limitations was not restricted to the realms of gender inequality and class. As has already been suggested, composers such as Hardy were criticising other aspects of the establishment – and religion was not excluded from this. Tess of the d’Urbervilles was one such text, in which the ‘purity’ of a woman was based on something outside of her control, and the hypocrisy of the pervading religion of the time was exposed in this. Similarly, Ibsen’s play Ghosts comments on a wide range of perceived societal problems, commenting also on religious hypocrisy through Pastor Manders’ concerns of social perception, and extending so far as to propose euthanasia as right, much to the chagrin of audiences.

Such overt criticisms may be attributed to new scientific observations, such as Darwin’s theory of evolution halfway through the century, and the philosophy of the late Enlightenment (specifically the writings of Kant and Rousseau) bore heavy influence upon many of the thinkers of the nineteenth century. Socially, a belief in absolute values dictated by a deity continued to be pervasive, but the artists of the period bore the scepticism of the previous century, instead adopting a belief system based around extreme relativism – and, in the case of some philosophers, a belief system based around the inversion of Judeo/Christian morality, a prominent example being the writings of Nietzsche, whose ideology focussed on the betterment of society through whatever means necessary, rejecting the conventional notion of ‘sin’.

The rise of socialism is also influential on the writings of many European authors, particularly in light of the industrial revolution, which resulted in the emergence of a ‘proletariat’ viewed by observers as the victims of an unregulated marketplace. Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto (extrapolating their theory of ‘scientific socialism’) proposed that social justice could only be brought about by means of a revolution, although this was by no means the only proposed solution. Figures such as John Stuart Mill proposed liberalism as a solution – an enlightened bourgeoisie whose action would reform capitalism to achieve social justice whilst preserving the notion of ownership. Socialism was a pervasive force in the literature of the nineteenth century, and, towards its end, of growing relevance to the general populace.

The literature of the nineteenth century was characterised by the emergence of these new philosophical and political ideologies, as well as the decline of absolute value systems mandated by religious belief systems. Towards the end of the century, individualism was an emergent force, and, as the feminist movement began to gain support, compositions of the period came to reflect that also.

Despite the changes in philosophy seen to have taken place in literary circles, oppression of free expression by artists continued throughout the century – but this is not reflected in the literature created so much as circumstances and correspondence regarding it. The work of more controversial composers such as Henrik Ibsen, Richard Wagner and Émile Zola, amongst others, was all subject to much criticism, as the views communicated in their work, as with that of innumerable other artists, clashed with a society still reluctant to accept their liberated ideals.