The approach of this dissertation is based on New Historicism and Cultural Materialism, and examines the processes of social change in the novel. It contextualises the industrial plot of “Shirley” on two time levels, on the level of the setting (1811-12) and on the level of the novel’s production and publication (1848-49).The study first elaborates on "Shirley" as a condition of England novel before shedding light on the historical conditions and their representation in the novel’s setting. Subsequently, it describes Luddism and Chartism as historical working-class movements, to show that Charlotte Brontë’s choice of Luddism was partly motivated by fears of political reprisals, by institutional constraints of the publishing sector, as well as by the power of public opinion. Furthermore, this paper deals with the author’s technique of backdating as a strategy to indirectly comment on Chartism. The examination then turns to the novel’s representation of the Luddites, and discusses whether the portrayal of the machine wreckers is just a “lurid travesty”, as Terry Eagleton contends (cf. Eagleton, 49). It demonstrates that the novel is based on thoroughly researched historical facts and exhibits an ambivalent attitude towards the weavers, which suggests a Tory and middle-class view on the Luddites. By suggesting paternalism as a solution to the plight of the working classes “Shirley” not only criticizes prevailing philosophical and economic currents, like liberalism and utilitarianism, but also resembles the cultural criticism of the Scottish historian and essayist Thomas Carlyle. The study also discusses further possible explanations for the peculiar portrayal of the Luddites. By referring to the relationships between the upper and middle classes in the 19th century it demonstrates that the novel can be read as an advocacy of a class-consolidation between the gentry and the industrial middle classes in order to counter Chartism. The religious affiliations of the novel’s Luddites and the clergy’s demeanour towards the weavers allow another interpretation which foregrounds rivalries between the Anglican Church and dissenting denominations. A third approach relates Shirley to the liberal-progressive Whig-interpretation of history and suggests that the historical setting and the industrial events repudiate this notion by a cyclical idea of history based on suffering and resistance. [...]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Theory and Methodology
2.1. New Historicism
2.1.1. Theoretical Assumptions
2.1.2. Methodology
2.1.3. Possible Foci
2.2. Cultural Materialism
2.3. Approach and Methodology of this Study
2.4. Social Change
3. Main Part
3.1. Shirley as a Victorian Multi-Plot Novel
3.2. The Industrial Plot
3.2.1. Shirley – A Condition of England Novel
3.2.2. The Setting - The Historical Socio-Economic Situation of 1811/12 and Its Representation
3.2.2.1. The Historical Socio-Economic Situation of 1811/12 – Napoleonic Wars and Orders in Council
3.2.2.2. The Representation of 1811/12 in Shirley
3.2.3. Luddism and Chartist Movement - The Technique of Backdating
3.2.3.1. The Luddite Movement
3.2.3.2. The Chartist Movement
3.2.3.3. Reasons for Backdating
3.2.3.3.1. Personal and Political Factors
3.2.3.3.2. Institutional Factors – The Victorian Publishing Sector
3.2.3.3.3. Backdating as a Technique for a Subtle Comment on Chartism
3.2.3.4. Results
3.2.4. The Portrayal of the Luddites – “A Lurid Travesty”?
3.2.4.1 Sound Research
3.2.4.2. Tory Views and the Myth of the Luddites - A Paternalist Solution
3.2.4.1.1. Ambivalent Attitude towards the Working Classes
3.2.4.1.2. Tory Partiality and the Middle-class Myth of the Luddites
3.2.4.1.3. Paternalism as a Solution for the Condition of England Question
3.2.4.1.4. Results
3.2.4.3. Relationship between Gentry and Middle-Class as the Main Focus
3.2.4.4. Links to Other Discourses
3.2.4.4.1. Luddism and Victorian Denominations
3.2.4.4.2.1. Victorian Denominations
3.2.4.4.2.2. Shirley’s Attack on Methodism and Antinomianism as the Driving Force Behind Working-Class Militancy
3.2.4.4.2.3. The Anglican Church in Need of an Evangelical Reform
3.2.4.4.2. Critique of the Whig-Interpretation of History and of Nostalgic Currents
3.2.4.4.2.1. History as the Leading Discipline in the Age of Science
3.2.4.4.2.2. Nostalgia and Victorian Medievalism
3.2.4.4.2.3. Shirley’s Cyclic Notion of History and Its Critique of Nostalgia
3.2.4.4.3. Belief in the Advantageous Effects of Industrialism on the Condition of Victorian Women
3.2.4.4.3.1. Playing Down of Child Labour
3.2.4.4.3.2. The Women’s Question
3.2.4.4.3.3. Feminists’ Belief in the Self-Supporting Factory Girl and in a Practical Republicanism of Trade
4. Conclusion and Outlook
Objectives and Core Themes
This work aims to examine the processes of social change represented in Charlotte Brontë’s novel Shirley, specifically investigating how the historical setting of the 1811-12 Luddite riots functions as an indirect commentary on the Chartist movement of the 1840s. The central research objective is to analyze how the novel’s industrial plot reflects contemporary socio-economic tensions, power constellations, and ideological discourses of the Victorian era.
- Analysis of the socio-economic conditions during the Napoleonic Wars and the rise of industrialization.
- Examination of the literary genre "Condition of England" novels and their reflection of class tensions.
- Critical investigation of the "technique of backdating" as a strategic narrative choice to circumvent political censorship and public controversy.
- Exploration of paternalism as the author's proposed solution to mitigate social unrest and class conflict.
- Assessment of the novel's depiction of women's roles and the intersection between industrialism and the "Women’s Question."
Excerpt from the Book
3.2.3.1. The Luddite Movement
The Luddites were organized groups of early 19th-century working men, who attacked textile mills which introduced and use shearing frames or other machinery. They destroyed machines which they regarded symbols of the Industrial Revolution (cf. Collins Dictionary of British History, 282; Fröhlich, 97; Maurer, 325; Thaden, 86). They originated in 1811 in the Nottingham area at the heyday of the abrogation of paternalist legislation, when the economy of laissez-faire was imposed upon the working people against their will and conscience.
Luddites mainly operated in the Midlands and in Yorkshire, but Luddite activity occurred in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lancashire and West-Yorkshire in 1811-12 and 1816 (cf. Bodenheimer, 45 with reference to E.P. Thompson; Hook & Hook, Introduction 26; Fröhlich, 97; Collins Dictionary of the British History, 282; Maurer, 295, 325; Frawley, 462). The movement’s name derives from the signature “Ned Ludd” which was used on a workmen’s manifesto, and reputedly belonged to a Leicestershire youth who broke some machinery in 1799 (cf. Collins Dictionary of British History, 282; Maurer, 325).
Since government feared a revolutionary conspiracy, it repressed the Luddites harshly. Machine breaking was punished by death penalty, and the authorities deployed 12,000 troops against the rioters, considerably more than the number of British soldiers who Wellington had under his command in the Peninsular. In 1813 seventeen Luddites were executed in York and the movement was more or less suppressed (cf. Collins Dictionary of English History, 282; Hook & Hook, Introduction 26; Fröhlich, 105).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter contextualizes Shirley within Charlotte Brontë's body of work, identifying it as a socio-economic portrayal of historical conflict rather than a strictly biographical novel.
2. Theory and Methodology: This section establishes the research framework by employing New Historicism and Cultural Materialism to analyze the interrelation between literary texts, historical contexts, and power discourses.
3. Main Part: This primary section investigates the multi-plot structure of the novel, focusing on the industrial and feminist plots as manifestations of Victorian social change, class consolidation, and ideological debates.
4. Conclusion and Outlook: The final chapter synthesizes the research findings, confirming that the novel's historical backdating serves as a subtle, strategic commentary on the contemporary issues of Chartism and industrial modernity.
Keywords
Charlotte Brontë, Shirley, Luddism, Chartism, Condition of England, New Historicism, Cultural Materialism, Paternalism, Social Change, Victorian Novel, Industrial Revolution, Women's Question, Class Consciousness, Political Reform, Historical Context
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this dissertation?
The work focuses on the representation of social change in Charlotte Brontë's novel Shirley, analyzing the interplay between the industrial events of 1811-12 and the political climate of the 1840s.
What are the primary thematic fields covered in this study?
The study covers Luddism, the Chartist movement, the Women's Question, industrial-era labor relations, and the influence of contemporary political and religious discourses on Victorian literature.
What is the primary research goal of this paper?
The goal is to demonstrate that Brontë deliberately used backdating as a sophisticated narrative technique to critique Chartism and propose paternalism as an alternative solution to class conflict without facing censorship.
Which scientific methodology is utilized?
The author utilizes New Historicism and Cultural Materialism to contextualize the text within its historical, political, and socio-economic frameworks.
What does the main part of the work cover?
The main part delves into the multi-plot nature of the novel, the historical reality of the Luddite riots, the representation of various social classes, and the influence of religious and economic ideologies.
Which keywords best characterize this academic work?
Key terms include Charlotte Brontë, Luddism, Chartism, Condition of England, New Historicism, Paternalism, and Social Change.
How does the author characterize the Luddite portrayals in Shirley?
The work argues that while the portrayal is historically researched, it is also ambivalent, often colored by a middle-class perspective and a Tory bias that frames Luddite unrest as "misguided" while simultaneously sympathizing with the individual suffering of the workers.
Why does the study emphasize the role of paternalism?
Paternalism is identified as the author's idealized solution to class struggle, advocating for the moral responsibility and benevolence of the ruling classes to guide and protect the working classes as a way to avert revolution.
- Quote paper
- Dipl. Jurist Marco Sievers (Author), 2008, Social Change in the 19th Century Novel, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/132464
