VictB-Non-Poetry+Movements

By Tori Walker

=The Victorian Era= Things that influenced the writers of the Victorian Era the most was they environments that they lived in. Other things that may have had an effect on their works are the Industrial Revolution, the scientific and psychological writings of Darwin and Freud respectively, and the ideology of peace and prosperity.

He was one of the most influential writers of the Victorian Era. His works included the struggles of everyday life during the 19th century which is what appealed to readers the most. London was being affected by massive population increases and the industrial revolution including the invention of railroads. This large population increase contributed to the city's filth. In his work //Little Dorrit// Dickens describes a rain storm //"// In the country, the rain would have developed a thousand fresh scents, and every drop would have had its bright association with some beautiful form of growth or life. In the city, it developed only foul stale smells, and was a sickly, lukewarm, dirt- stained, wretched addition to the gutters". The streets of London contained an immense number of vehicles and they were all drawn by cattle which led to unsanitary conditions. Dickens describes one of these streets in //Oliver Twist// " It was market-morning. The ground was covered, nearly ankle-deep, with filth and mire; a thick steam, perpetually rising from the reeking bodies of the cattle, and mingling with the fog, which seemed to rest upon the chimney-tops, hung heavily above...and the unwashed, unshaven, squalid, and dirty figures constantly running to and fro, and bursting in and out of the throng; rendered it a stunning and bewildering scene, which quite confounded the senses". There is no doubt that Charles Dickens expressed the images of the era and city that he lived in within his works.
 * Charles Dickens**

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In a time when everyone was flocking to the cities of England, the Bronte sisters grew up in a rural area. Due to the nonacceptance of women authors they all published works under male pseudonyms. The setting of Emily Bronte's //Wuthering Heights// is influenced by her home. Another influence that shows up in her book comes from Yorkshire folklore. The frequency of death in Emily's day influences the characters in her book also. Two of the characters die of a similar disease that her sisters died from. Joseph, one of the characters in //Wuthering Heights,// is probably influenced by Emily's religious instructors. The novel was not actually widely accepted at the time and was seen to be of a more old fashioned style. Themes of social status also show up in her book. Social status in the Victorian Era was completely based off of the amount of property that was owned.This is just one specific example of how one of the Bronte sisters illustrated their time period in there works.
 * The Bronte Sisters**

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** One of his very well known short stories is //The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde// shows the growing interest in scientific studies. In the story Dr Jekyll finds a way to alter his two consciousness' into his moral side and his immoral side. In a way Dr Jekyll represents Freud's description of Superego and Mr Hyde represents his description of the Id. This is the exact time period that Freud was documenting these findings so it is not surprising that Stevenson would incorporate it into one of his stories. This story is also influenced by Darwinism. His first claim to fame was the adventure story //Treasure Island.//
 * Robert Louis Stevenson

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Citations "David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page." David Perdue. //CharlesDickensPage.//17 Nov. 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. . "Robert Louis Stevenson" Thesing William B. //People//. 1987. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. . "The Victorian Era." Ilana Miller. //Victoriaspast//. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. . "The Bronte Sisters." //Femaleancestors.// 2006. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. . "Wuthering Heights (Historical Context)." //Answers.// 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2009. .