Characteristics of the Victorian Period, Essay Example

Introduction

One of the most representative authors of depicting life in the Victorian age is Charles Dickens and, in particular, the novel ‘Great Expectations’. This is viewed as an autobiographical novel of Dickens through the character of ‘Pip’. The novel focuses on themes of guilt and punishment and how as a miserable child, ‘Pip’ endeavours to rise above his misery, having great expectations to become a gentlemen. This is a significant reference to the importance placed on a person’s class and position in society that was prevalent in Victorian Britain. The novel represents a complete reflection of Dickens life. (Greenblatt)

Characteristics of the Victorian era

The novel provides a true depiction of the harsh characteristics of the Victorian era. This includes how people were treated in accordance with the class system, the degree of poverty and the ease in which people became displaced by society and thrown into prison (such as debtors prison) or where children (often orphans) were placed into workhouses. Dickens describes the concept of the exploitation of children by placing them in harsh conditions in order to obtain cheap labour. It was a desperate time in which a lot of people moved from the countryside to the towns to look for work and better prospects. Britain also became overextended in trying to maintain the British Empire and the rate of unemployment was high. (Dickens)

Dickens also portrayed the severity of Victorian life in his novel ‘Oliver Twist’. Many of Dickens novels were written in the gothic style of writing and used this style to vividly illustrate how difficult life was for the lower classes and how these were exploited by the rich and upper classes.

The class struggle during Britain’s Victorian era created an environment of greed, selfishness, hatred, unemployment, violence, crime and poverty. Dickens describes this with great effect in ‘Great Expectations’ by grouping characters into their social categories or class structures within society.

Works Cited

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations . London: Bizarro Press, 2009.

Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993.