Concetti Chiave
- The 19th century saw significant social reforms, including acts regulating work hours, banning women and children from mines, providing primary education, and improving public health.
- Literacy rates rose notably, with periodicals and serialized novels becoming popular publishing formats.
- Philosophical movements such as liberalism and utilitarianism gained traction, focusing on practicality and societal respectability.
- The era was marked by British imperialism, with Britain controlling a quarter of the world by 1914, driven by a mission to spread Christianity.
- Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" features an omniscient narrator and multiple perspectives, blending epistolary elements with rich character dialogue and description.
Social Differences and Reforms
There was a big different between rich and poor people. So there were many class conflicts and the main social reforms of the age were:
• 1834 factory act that said how many hours people had to work;
• 1864 mines act that said that children and women couldn’t work in mines;
• 1870 elementary education act that guaranteed primary education level to everyone;
• 1875 public health act that improved public health.
Literacy increased significantly in the period. The most significant development in publishing was the growth of the periodical. Novels and long works were in fact published in serial form.
Philosophical Movements and Imperialism
In this period there were many philosopical movements:
• respectabilty, charity, philantropy;
• liberalism, utilitarism (only things usefull had to be considered).
This was also the period of imperialism. Britain was the greatest empire ever, in fact in 1914 ¼ of the world belonged to Britain. [Imperialism became a mission because British people wanted to spread christianity.]
Jane Austen and Her Style
Jane Austen in Pride and prejudice used a 3th personal narrator, who is omniscient. There’s also a shifting point of view, because there are more than one points of view. Furthermore Austen used letters, the work in fact a sort of epistolary novel, mixed with descriptions and dialogues, used to characterize characters. The novel was publishied in 1830, in a full romantic period. It was also the period of the industrial revolution, but Austen set the novel in the countrygentry, without mentioning the real contest of the age.
Domande da interrogazione
- What were the key social reforms during the period of significant class differences?
- How did philosophical movements and imperialism shape the era?
- How did Jane Austen's narrative style in "Pride and Prejudice" reflect the literary trends of her time?
The period saw several important social reforms aimed at addressing class conflicts, including the 1834 Factory Act regulating work hours, the 1864 Mines Act prohibiting children and women from working in mines, the 1870 Elementary Education Act ensuring primary education for all, and the 1875 Public Health Act improving public health.
The era was influenced by philosophical movements such as respectability, charity, philanthropy, liberalism, and utilitarianism, which emphasized usefulness. Additionally, it was marked by British imperialism, with Britain controlling a quarter of the world by 1914, driven by a mission to spread Christianity.
Jane Austen employed a third-person omniscient narrator with shifting points of view in "Pride and Prejudice," incorporating letters, descriptions, and dialogues to develop characters. Although published in 1830 during the Romantic period and the Industrial Revolution, the novel is set in the country gentry, avoiding the contemporary industrial context.
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