The Victorian Era represents an age of rapid scientific and technological progress in Britain. The industrial revolution resulted in the first wave of intense urbanisation in the Modern Age, and brought about hazardous working conditions for those employed in the factories, as well as disastrous living conditions for the unemployed. The nouveaux riche arose alongside the growing industrial working class, while those unable to provide for themselves were confined to the pauper bastilles or workhouses.
The subjects of social class, inheritance and income are portrayed dominantly in the novels by Brontë, Gaskell and Eliot, interwoven with elements of religion, emancipation and Unilateralism. We will discuss the novels on basis of the social reforms of their time, with a particular focus on the legal status of women in Victorian Britain, and familiarise ourselves with different critical approaches.
This seminar relies heavily on non-fictional secondary sources in addition to the novels listed below, so students are required to keep up with weekly reading tasks.