Realism Notes
Discontent of Women
Literature of the Civil War and Beyond
1850-1914
• As the United States grew rapidly after the Civil War,
the increasing rates of democracy and literacy from:
– the rapid growth in industrialism and urbanization
– an expanding population due to immigration
– a rise in middle-class affluence
• Non-fiction pieces depicting ills and hardships of war
were predominant
• Anti-slavery literature was born and became
widespread (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
• Literature reflects discontent with widespread
poverty/destruction due to war
• Social ills due to industrialization were often
showcased
• Reflects a loss of innocence and national idealism due
to hardships
Realism
• Writers turned away from Romanticism and focused on
portraying “real life” as ordinary people lived it
• Characters and people are portrayed with an amoral
attitude—honest, objective, factual perspective (no
judgment)
• Events will usually be plausible. Realistic novels avoid
the sensational, dramatic elements
• Character is more important than action and plot;
complex ethical choices are often the subject
• Diction is natural vernacular, not heightened or poetic;
tone may be comic, satiric, or matter-of-fact
• Class is important; the novel has traditionally served
the interests and aspirations of the middle class
Naturalism (Similar to Realism, but with
additional characteristics)
• A bias exists in this form—usually pessimistic,
depressing
• Hardship influenced these writers
• Belief that forces larger than the individual
shape his/her destiny: nature, fate, heredity
(Jack London’s To Build a Fire)
The Angel of the House
• The “angel” was the ideal woman of the time
• She had no desires of her own, no ambitions or
careers except taking care of her family and home
• These women were very happy and content
• They were pregnant frequently due to the
restrictions on birth control
• They cared for their homes, husbands, and
children, played music, sang, or drew to enhance
the charm of their homes and to reflect well on
their husbands.
• Wives were possessions, cared for and displayed,
who often brought a dowry or inherited wealth
to a marriage
Equality and Independence
• Kate Chopin stories were written during a time of great
change—rebellion against the “Angel.”
• In the early- to mid-nineteenth century, a woman's place was in
the private domain of the home, in the roles of wife and mother.
• Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton held the first
women's right convention in July of 1848 (two years before
Chopin was born) in Seneca Falls New York.
• The suffrage movement and the abolitionist movement grew
rapidly during the Civil War.
• Suffragists pushed on until 1870 when the 15th Amendment
allowed the right to vote regardless of color or creed but not
gender (that would not come until 1920).
•
The concept of "The New Woman" began to circulate in the
1890s-1910s as women pushed for broader roles outside their
home based on intelligence and non-domestic skills and talents.