Qualitative Findings - Education In The Earliest Novels

QUALITATIVE FINDINGS: EDUCATION IN THE EARLIEST NOVELS The following sections discuss major British and Danish literary works and their bearing on contemporaneous educational innovations (or lack thereof). We begin in the early eighteenth century, when education and literacy expanded for the middle class in both countries. Churches had provided schooling for elite children throughout the Middle-Ages, and the Reformation prompted a secular classic curriculum and study of Latin (Simon, 1957, 48-9). Literacy rates among the middle classes soared in England in the wake of the Glorious Revolution, but no educational initiatives were taken as elites worried that mass literacy would threaten social stability (Stone 1969; Brantlinger). Unlike Britain, Denmark embraced mass education in 1739, when the King decreed that every town should have a Latin (grammar) school and all children should have Christian education (Dansk Skolehistorie; Christiansen et. al, 2010, 119). The king commissioned Ludvig Holberg to produce plays in the Danish language and sought schooling to build a national identity. A movement of intellectuals advocated for the study of Danish as well as foreign literature (Falster). Holberg sharply criticized universities focused on (often foreign) metaphysics and medieval logic, and favored educational opportunities for women (Campbell 1918, 98-100). A new literary genre emerged in eighteenth-century England with novels such as Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, and Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones. Novels had a first-person perspective, realistic character-driven plots and everyday-life themes; and were associated commercial capitalism, enlightenment-inspired individualism, and nascent liberalism (Watt, 1221, 60). Denmark produced true novels later than Britain; yet prose fiction developed. Ludvig Holberg’s Niels Klim’s Journey Under the Ground -- the earliest, Danish coming-of-age adventure story -- was inspired by Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver’s Travels, and was widely read (in Latin) (Fitting 1996, 99). Literary importance and adventure-story themes make Holberg’s Niels Klim an appropriate comparison to Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, yet the works demonstrate different views of liberalism, education, the individual in society, social group relations and political institutions. Robinson Crusoe pays homage to economic liberalism and growing individualism whereas Niels Klim demonstrates a greater appreciation for liberalism in social relations. Daniel Defoe devotes scant attention to education in Robinson Crusoe, and even his journalism largely neglects education, concentrating instead on religious freedom and moral conduct (Marshall, 2007, 556, 561). Robinson Crusoe readily admits that formal schooling held no allure for him, due to “something fatal in that propensity of nature” and a “wandering inclination” (1-2). Crusoe chooses not to learn a trade while at sea, where he “might have worked a bit harder…and in time might have qualified myself for a mate or lieutenant” (12). Only on the desert island does Crusoe learn to create products with preindustrial technology; his success depends entirely on technical cunning rather than formal education. Crusoe reads like an ode to individualism, as Robinson lives outside of society and defies social convention, by leaving home (on a whim) without saying goodbye. Despite initial guilt, Crusoe masters a complete “victory over conscience” (6) and amasses a sizable fortune, using his own initiative and capitalist opportunities. Regarding his lack of shame, Crusoe is more troubled about admitting personal failure than about hurting his family, noting that youths “are not ashamed to sin, and yet are ashamed to repent” (11). Robinson’s father celebrates the middle class – with “the fewest disasters…all kind of virtue and all kind of enjoyments” (3). Yet Robinson’s entrepreneurial spirit helps him to rise above that class, and he pursues the slave trade without regard for justice or equality. Non-economic political and social institutions are largely absent from the novel; instead, Defoe dwells on technological innovations and economic opportunities (his Brazilian sugar plantation and slave dealings) (28). Robinson’s reasoning is deeply economistic; thus, he masters despondence with reason by making a check list – like a debtor and creditor – itemizing his comforts versus miseries (53). Reason is foundational to all successes on the island, and Robinson becomes a master of mechanics (54). In sharp contrast, Holberg was deeply committed to education as the key to the wellordered society. Schools in Niels Klim emphasize real questions and students must contribute to society. “The students are employed in solving complicated and difficult questions...No one studies more than one science, and thus each gets a full knowledge of his peculiar subject” (491 out of 1846). Engagement in scholarly disputations is tolerated only as amusing spectacle, fit for the stage and subject to gambling (310). Holberg ridicules the “philosophical-land” outside of the utopian capital, where filthy and starving inhabitants have no time to attend to the necessities of life, due to “higher and nobler things in their heads.” “Intelligence resulting from methodical and practical study is preferable to the torpid insanity incident to much learning” (645-655). Holberg’s view of individual in society differs significantly from Defoe’s. Like Crusoe, Klim explores the world but at the behest of societal elders. He enters a cave that accidentally leads to an underground universe of Pontu. Whereas Robinson only finds his true self when left alone on a desert island, Niels is deeply shaped by the social values and anthropomorphic “treepeople” of Pontu. Initial “contempt was changed to admiration” for their profound insights into life (306). When tree-people doubt Klim’s “obtuse and miserable judgment,” Klim boasts of university success. He is told that degrees were important in Copenhagen because “the shadow was regarded more than the substance,” but in Pontu “the kernel was more important than aught else” (333). Requesting a change in station, tree-people tell Klim that merit does not confer rights: “Merit ought to be rewarded, but the reward should be adapted to the object, that the State may not suffer” (807). Societal needs triumph over individual desires and capacities. Social relations in Pontu are marked by significant respect for those who contribute most to society and are “noted for virtue and industry” (404). Laws partial to certain classes were rejected as not “conducive to the general interest” (446 to 457). Tree-people “elect those to take charge of affairs who are proved to be the most worthy” (277). Children represent the greatest societal contribution: A “generation law” accords “advantages of the people according to the number of children each one possess” (404). Niels Klim reflects extensively on political and social institutions, but ignores technology and economic exchange. All government offices, apart from the monarchy, are “subject to the will of the people, all of whom should be allowed to vote, who could read and write” (446 of 1848). The king “must be accurately acquainted with the opinions of his subjects, and must strive to keep union among them” (474). Both Robinson Crusoe and Niels Klim are initially willful and impressed with themselves; yet Crusoe’s social defiance pays off in earthly riches, whereas Klim swallows his pride and comes to appreciate societal advice. Crusoe enjoys individual, economic freedom; Klim’s freedom comes with exposure to socially and politically enlightened views. Defoe celebrates a self-taught education; Holberg celebrates education to help all contribute to society.1 MASS EDUCATION IN THE EARLY 1800S 1 Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones display a similar individualism and neglect of education. The most functional society in Gulliver’s travels has non-human inhabitants that are virtuous by nature and lack moral choice (Fitting, 1996). In Denmark, Erik Pontoppidan’s Menoza holds views similar to Niels Klim. Britain and Denmark expanded mass education in the early 1800s; yet Denmark created public schools whereas British schools remained voluntary and religious until 1870. Mass education was linked to social stability (after the French revolution), state-building, military service, and religious piety (Parielle). Religious conflict between Anglicans and Dissenters delayed public schools in Britain; Denmark had similar religious factions but little dissension over mass education. Romanticism emerged in late eighteenth-century literature, and poets, playwrights and novelists probed historical themes and legacies of tribal cultures that bolstered national identities (Leerssen 2004). Yet British and Danish romantic works demonstrate different conceptions of the individual and society, which contributed to divergent educational paths. Writers already linked education to self-discovery in Britain but to social investment in Denmark. Britain British primary schools for non-elites developed through two church-affiliated, charitable societies. Dissenters formed the British and Foreign School Society in 1808 to create schools based on Joseph Lancaster’s education model, with older students teaching younger ones, rote memorization, and few resources. Worried about workers becoming Dissenters, Anglicans formed the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in 1811, based on Andrew Bell’s model (resembling Lancaster’s) (Doheny 1991, 328-332; Kaestle). Writers and intellectuals from both religious groups campaigned for mass education and challenged fears of mass literacy (Stone 1969). Dissenters Jeremy Bentham and James Mill supported the Lancaster schools, sought secular public education, and criticized the Anglican schools for forcing people “to come within the pale of the church domination” (Bentham, 52; Mill; Taylor, 1979). Supporting Bell, Anglican Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s speech at the Royal Institution in 1808 was credited for launching the movement to educate the poor. Coleridge believed that education would “stimulate the heart to love” (Foakes,191,8; Pachori, 1983, 26-31). Diverged in religious affiliation, these authors converged in promoting education for selfdiscovery and social stability. Coleridge’s vision of the individualistic “self” influenced Emerson and other transcendentalists (Harvey 3). Coleridge and Wordsworth supported rote Bell schools for poor children for cost reasons, but preferred experiential education (Pachori, 1983, 26-31). In “The Tables Turned,” Wordsworth refers to books as “a dull and endless strife” and urged “Let Nature be your teacher” (Wordsworth; Cordner). Schools would ameliorate social problems because “a man utterly ignorant of the principles of law and...unblest with a liberal education, should act without attention to the habits, and feelings, of his fellow citizens” (Coleridge, 1796, #IV.) “National education and a concurring spread of the Gospel were the indispensable condition of any true political melioration” (Biographia Literaria, Chapter 10). Education could forge a “clerisy” of educated citizens to effect societal reforms (Harvey 2013, 18). Coleridge’s popular poetic play, Remorse, develops themes of growing individual selfawareness and political repression infringing on individual rights to religion. Desiring the fiancé (Teresa) of his brother (Alvar), Ordonio asks his associate to kill Alvar, who is away in battle. Alvar returns in disguise, but in lieu of revenge, he seeks to save Ordonio’s soul: “The more behoves it I should rouse within him Remorse! That I should save him from himself.” (I,I,15). The play depicts Ordonio’s awakening to guilt and Alvar’s mixed emotions. Coleridge’s primary foci are the individual psyche and violation of religious rights; one learns little about structures of governance or broader society. Alvar deplores the Moors’ loss of religious freedom, and recalls fighting “for the native liberty of faith” (II,II,5). Teresa is appalled by the “ghastly punishments” inflicted upon these people (III,II,25). Shocked by a dungeon, Alvar contemplates, “what if guilty? Is this the only cure?” (V,I,5). Social norms are despised, as dictates of those “most proud men, that loath mankind” (III,1,110). Denmark In contrast, Denmark developed a national school system in 1814, with elementary (common) schools controlled by local municipalities, improved grammar schools, and seven years of compulsory education. Common schools initially embraced Bell-Lancaster methods, but dissatisfaction with rote practices produced a plethora of alternative private schools thereafter (“Danske Skolehistorie”). A Great School Commission recommended school construction, better teacher training, and tax-financed free education in 1789 (Christiansen et. Al., 2010, 119; Knudsen 2000). Yet these recommendations were not enacted until military and economic crisis, the loss of Norway, inflation from the Napoleonic wars, and bankruptcy motivated state-building (Elrod 1981). Religious factions had limited impact on the evolution of public education. Writers promoted a collective societal identity, state-building and nationalism both before and after the crisis. The leading philosopher of the age, Henrik Steffens, lectured widely about organic social unity and the harmony of the natural world, and sought education to build a strong society (“Henrik Steffens”). In 1786, writers created a philanthropic society and gave lectures to fund a revolutionary Descendent School, with poet Edvard Storm as headmaster. Adam Oehlenschläger (father of Danish poetry and most important author since Holberg) studied Nordic mythology at the school (Salmonsens Konversationsleksikon). Self-taught until the age of twelve, Oehlenschläger favored experiential education (Schrøder). Deeply influenced by Steffens and by Nordic myths, Oehlenschläger created romantic poems and plays that celebrated the organic society. His “It is a beautiful land,” one of Denmark’s two national anthems, extols the virtues of society and learning: Denmark is strong as in the old Nordic myths; sciences and art are the hope of the future; slavery is now forbidden; and hearts beat for girl, country and king. Oehlenschläger depicts individuals embedded in a strong society in his most famous poetic play, Hakon Jarl, about a Nordic saga. Desperate to become king, Hakon Jarl violates all societal norms. Hakon cannot stand praise for others, unlike the ancient ruler, Harald Graafeld, who was humble and self-sacrificing: “He was a king!...who, labouring for his country’s weal, Threw off the purple mantle with its gold. And reign’d, in humble sheep-skins simply clad” (Oehlenschläger 10). Hakon Jarl seeks to steal the daughter of Bergthor, who decries that “One’s daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, Are all alike in danger of this Jarl” (38.) Hakon is “haughty and imperious” and “encroaching on the people’s rights, He seized their [farmers’] goods, their heritage” (51). Hakon’s cousin, Olaf, rightfully deserves the thrown and (unwillingly) becomes King to protect the people (54). Hakon Jarl’s view of society offends Scandinavian sensibilities. Hakon is “as afraid Of his own warriors as he is of” the enemy (93), and prefers to rely on slaves (105). Olaf wins with a peasant uprising (113); the farmers meet at the Thing to choose Olaf as king (170). Remorse and Hakon Jarl offer crucial clues into British and Danish views of individual self-development and state-building at the origins of mass education. Coleridge drew inspiration from the individualistic consciousness of classical Greek writings; Oehlenschläger, from the collective consciousness of the old Nordic myths (Payne 1900, 131-2). Individual redemption is the lesson of Coleridge’s penetrating psychological drama; Hakon Jarl has no psychological depth but offers a rich portrayal of social structures and political struggle. Self-reflection saves the soul of Ordonio, while a band of farmers protects the collective from Hakon Jarl. Given the perceived contribution of education to building a strong society, it is not surprising that Denmark moved forward with schools for the masses. SCHOOLS AND INDUSTRY IN THE MID 1800S Mid-century educational reformers expanded access to education and developed worker skills with technical schools. Britain finally created a public school system in 1870 (albeit with continuing private options), and private alternatives proliferated in Denmark. Industrialization and urbanization in Britain – and more haltingly in Denmark – heightened the urgency for social reforms. Children under age thirteen constituted about 15 percent of textile workers in 1835, and Britain passed factory acts prohibiting child labor law in 1833 and 1844 (Report from the Select Committee on the Bill for the Regulation of Factories in 1832; Nardinelli, 1980, 740-2). Denmark regulated child labor only in 1873, and the bill set off a heated debate over whether the law would harm youths by restricting work. An upper chamber MP remarked, “I fear that this risks making many young people into sleepyheads and loafers”; others feared that the law could permit the moral corruption of young people (Arbejdermuset). Victorian authors such as Charles Dickens and Hans Christian Andersen bolstered social reforms with their authentic depictions of real characters, aching social problems, and educational failures. Andersen and Dickens admired and visited one another (although the relationship soured late in life). Both suffered early childhood poverty, sympathized with children and held similar views on corporeal punishment. Yet their differences on individual rights, societal relations, and political institutions help us to grasp why British reformers sought regulations for more equal educational opportunity whereas Danish ones favored local control and plural school options. Britain Britain struggled to fix its patchwork system and finally passed a comprehensive reform in 1870, motivated by gaps in voluntary school coverage, discontent with Bell-Lancaster methods, industrial skills need, labor unrest after the Corn Law’s repeal, and electoral reform (Millgate, 2004, 52). The Manchester’s Education Aid Society found that the poorest children attended neither school nor work (Marcham 184). “Pupil-teacher” and “ragged schools” developed to serve uneducated children; the Mechanics’ Institutes offered technical education; and autodidacts engaged in self-education. Reformers sought school inspection to raise quality and funding linked to student performance on exams (Doheny 1991, 336-8; Schupf, 172; Allen, 147-8; Cordner; Shuman 12). The Education Act of 1870, spear-headed by W.E. Foster, created a comprehensive school system with compulsory attendance and governance by local school boards (Roper 1975, 185-202). Religious factions lobbied to protect church-based voluntary schools, but the act effectively ended the ragged schools and prohibited school boards from offering separate technical schools at the primary level. 1889 legislation temporarily allowed local school boards to create secondary vocational tracks (Marcham 1973; Schupf, 162). Writers deplored poor children’s limited access to schools and embraced education reform. As Forster’s brother-in-law, Matthew Arnold reviewed drafts and promoted rationalization, a minister of education, and linked primary/secondary institutions. Elizabeth Gaskell’s husband, William, lobbied Gladstone on education with Nonconformist ministers (Connell, 2003, p. 88-9, 112). Charles Dickens “was England’s greatest educational reformer,” strongly supported a comprehensive, national system of schools, and imparted his views “in the form of object lessons in the most entertaining of all stories” (Hughes, 1903, 1.) Dickens resented education’s class bias, Bell-Lancaster “cramming,” corporal punishment, and learning for capitalist ends. Championing children’s rights, he advocated for “individual selfhood” (Hughes, 1903, x, 6.) As President of the Chatham Mechanics’ Institution, Dickens’ readings raised funds for adult education (Collins, 1995, 117-22); yet he distrusted parliamentary solutions (Goldberg, 1972, 62-7). These reform positions reflected authors’ culturally-specific views of the individual in society. John Stuart Mill sought education for enlightened rationality, self-development and social order (Mill 1848). Mill embraced the individualistic self: education for the boy was the making of the man and individual autonomy. An educated, politically-enlightened meritocracy would sculpt public opinion and stabilize social relations (Mill 1867, 217; Capaldi 2004; Ryan 656.) Dickens sought education to nurture “individual selfhood,” help victims of industrialization struggle against structural forces (Hughes, 1903, x, 6), and reduce dangers of illiterate men to society (Collins, 124-6). David Copperfield reflects Dickens’ views of child welfare, individual self-determinism, hostile society and faulty political institutions. David is courageous and resourceful in coping with his murderous step-father, punishing school, and brutal factory work. The mature David applauds his youthful spirit: “I never could have done what I have done...without the determination to concentrate myself on one object at a time…whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well” (574). Dickens sympathizes with victims of industrialization and abuse, yet the boy must save himself. Social classes are fundamentally at odds, and social coordination has no role in redressing industrial ills. “Society” means social engagements between ladies and gentlemen rather than an organic union of citizens (833). Dickens lovingly portrays kind, working class people and despises the upper class who treat workers as subhuman. The odious Miss Dartle observes about the poor: “It’s such a delight to know that, when they suffer, they don’t feel” (279). Yet Dickens either ignores trade unions (David Copperfield) or attacks them (Hard Times) (Claussen). Dickens ridicules political institutions, apart from laws protecting individual rights. Courts provide a frequent arena for corruption: proctors play “all kinds of tricks with obsolete old monsters of acts of Parliament” (323-4). Mr. Spenlow remarks, “the best sort of professional business…[is] a good case of a disputed will” with its “very pretty pickings” (366). Dickens views schools with ambivalence. David suffers greatly at Salem House where Mr. Creakle warns “you won’t rub the marks out that I shall give you...Half the establishment was writhing and crying, before the day’s work began” (p. 88). David learned little, because the “boys were…too much troubled and knocked about to learn” (93). Yet Doctor Strong’s school is “as different from Mr. Creakle’s as good is from evil…with an appeal, in everything, to the honour and good faith of the boys” (225). Denmark Whereas Britain moved from volunteerism to consolidation, Denmark did the opposite, by increasing private schools (e.g. free worker schools) to fill gaps in coverage and improve upon Bell-Lancaster methods with learning from everyday experiences. Kristen Kold started the folk-high-school movement in 1844 for rural communities; and occupational trades expanded vocational schools in town. The state expanded secondary education, dividing grammar schools into linguistic and mathematic-scientific lines, but many Latin schools became privatized and all private schools received significant public funding by 1899 and 1901 (“Danske Skolehistorie”). Danish writers supported expanded schooling and plural educational experiences, depicting individuals as embedded in and responsible for contributing to the larger organic whole. Ditlev Monrad (author of the Danish constitution and prime minister) wrote, “‘The spirit does not exhaust its whole being in some single individuals, but in [their] totality’; because to ‘feel the pulse of the spirit’ the people must be organized as an organism” (Koch and Kornerup, 17). N.F.S. Grundtvig drew from ancient Nordic myths in treatises on nationalism and organic society: Peasants (“workmen of the sun”) should be literate and educated about Danish history to participate fully in society (Grundtvig 1968). Grundtvig favored learning through narrative (the “living word”) and opposed written assignments before eighth grade; the “Danish society” movement disseminated Grundtvig’s ideas (Grundtvig 1968; Fain 1971, 78-82; Bjerg et. Al, 1995, 31-2). HC Andersen held similar contempt for Bell-Lancaster methods and advocated for schools for the poor (Zipes 2006). Themes of dangerous individualism, obedience of youth to society and wisdom of elders are reflected in Hans Christian Andersen’s realist novel, Only a Fiddler (1837). The protagonist, Christian, seeks to be great artist, rejects the morals of Danish society (37), and follows in his father’s footsteps, who abandoned the family because “one must be free and alone, and then the whole world is open before one” (9). Christian’s consequent alienation brings him loneliness and despair, and he questions the utility of individualistic achievement: “What comfort would it afford him, what comfort to mankind…It is not all one how high we may be placed in life, if we are only firmly placed?” (37). Andersen disparages cruel, materialistic bourgeois individuals; for example, the grandfather of Christian’s rich friend, Naomi, dies in a fire, attempting to rescue his wealth (17). The rich do nothing for Christian, but he is helped to recognize his artistic potential by a music teacher from the community, who teaches that “Order must rule in everything” (117). Schools could be a palliative to Christian’s malaise: “School-life would have alone been able by its severe, rational discipline, to breathe a cool air into this sirocco of the imagination, which weakened his mind and body; but…there was no regulated school for poor children in the whole town” (38). A kind landlady asks, “Why should not poverty enjoy the advantage [of literature]?” (117-8). In a review, Søren Kierkegaard found Andersen’s tale to be overly bleak, emblematic of Andersen’s morose personality and narrowly focused on individual pathology instead of universal man (Kierkegaard, 1838, 30f). Yet Ewald’s “The story of Valdemar Krone’s youth” (1860), offers similar themes without Andersen’s tortured reflections. Valdemar Krone is raised in a rural parsonage, but upon completion of his studies, becomes engaged to a morally-suspect aristocrat (254). After misadventures, Valdemar finds happiness with a good rural Danish girl, reaffirms his commitment to country and community, and finds his bearing (252). Thus Dickens’ David Copperfield is a striver, who overcomes obstacles through boundless effort. Ambitions lead HC Andersen’s Christian to become a lonely outsider in a close-knit society. Valdemar Kroner is a striver who succeeds by accepting social bonds. SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE EARLY 1900S At century’s turn, Britain and Denmark enacted major secondary education acts, yet differed on centralization, regulation and secondary technical training. Britain legislated central control and scaled back vocational education; Denmark expanded funding for private schools, local control, vocational training, and diversity among secondary tracks. Realist and early modernist authors critiqued global systemic risks and traditional moral standards (Crosthwaite 2010, 331). Authors favored educational expansion, yet diverged on specific reforms. British authors advocated academic, classical secondary education to all youth opportunities for self-growth; Danish writers favored plural educational experiences to fit diverse societal needs and varied capacities of children. Britain Legislation in 1870 expanded access, but failed to regulate schools or expand technological skills. Multiple agencies monitored public and religious schools, and localities varied enormously (Gosden, 44). An 1895 Royal Commission proposed a centralized board of education, enacted in 1899 (Maclure 1965, 140). Other commissions advocated secondary vocational education. Urban school boards created post-primary technical classes; county councils were permitted to raise a rate for technical education; and Parliament passed various industrial acts to build skills (Devonshire Report; Gowing 1-12, ff 52, 58). In 1902 the Conservative government passed a major education act with broad bipartisan support. The 1902 Education Act strengthened central regulation with new Local Education Authorities (LEAs) monitored by the Board of Education and retained religious schools. Yet it largely eliminated technical secondary education and other local alternatives (pupil-teacher centers). The bill’s architect, Robert Morant, embraced grammar schools and humanism over technological studies. Regulations in 1904 developed national curricula guidelines and restricted math and science instruction (Eaglesham 1962, 156-7; Vaninskaya, 2010, 952.) The Fisher Act of 1918 revisited technical education, but the Labour Party distrusted “instrumental, materialistic and nationalist” motives for the vocational training of working class children (Ward 1973, 38). These initiatives revealed elite cultural predilections for liberal arts education, and ultimately limited educational attainment of the working class (Vlaeminke, 2000, 5). British authors joined the humanistic secondary education movement in protesting educational inequality; Thomas Hardy, D.H Lawrence, George Orwell and H.G. Wells attacked uneven private schools and substandard board schools. James Bryce (of the1895 Royal Commission) founded the National Liberal Club, which included education-critic George Bernard Shaw among its members (Wells I, 339, 341; Vaninskaya, p. 959; Mattisson 2013; Cordner). Wells, Shaw, and the Webbs praised the 1902 legislation for its efficiency and national regulation (Manzer, 2003, 104; Gullifer 1982). Authors espoused classical education and vocational education for lower-class children as an inferior alternative. Hardy passionately sought classical education for the poor, because (like Jude) he was denied entrance to Oxford and apprenticed as an architect. The April 1888 House of Commons debate on secondary education partially inspired Jude the Obscure, moving Hardy to write about a young man’s denial to Oxford (Millgate 2004, 318). When Oxford created the Ruskin College to train working class youth in engineering. Hardy quipped that Ruskin should be renamed “College of Jude the Obscure”(https://www.ruskin.ac.uk/perch/resources/the-ruskin-college-fellowship-and-the-firstworld-war.pdf.) Hardy’s Jude the Obscure embraces themes of individual self-actualization, societal hostility, and gaps in educational opportunities. Hardy’s biographer, Michael Millgate (2004, 889), describes Hardy’s long-term goals as “self-education, self-development and self-discovery”; Jude’s dreams of a self-actualization through classical education are Hardy’s own. Yet Jude lacks David Copperfield’s pluck and has a “weakness of character, as…the sort of man who was born to ache a good deal before the fall of the curtain upon his unnecessary life” (13-4). Jude experiences society as ignorant, hostile, and abusive; he feels fellowship only with the birds “in a world that does not want them” (11). Town folk consider Jude “very stuck up, and always reading” (35). They enjoy his fall from grace: “All his reading had only come to this, that he would have to sell his books to buy saucepans” (49). Jude recognizes dignity in a stonecutter’s manual work, but forgets this insight “under stress of his old idea” (74). Jude also suffers from middle-class moral strictures, after an unfortunate marriage to a mercenary barmaid (43). Learning is Jude’s great solace and imaginary escape from a desolate rural life. He longs to move to the “city of light” (19-20); but is told that “you will have a much better chance of success in life by remaining in your own sphere” (104). Working men’s sensibilities transcend their social class, yet education is beyond their reach (57). Jude realizes that aspirations for selfimprovement through education have only produced failure: “It would have been far better for him in every way if he had never come within sight and sound of the delusive precincts, had gone to some busy commercial town with the sole object of making money by his wits.” Denmark Denmark’s 1903 Act on General Secondary Education institutionalized secondary education with multiple learning institutions for diverse student needs and local control. The act created free, middle schools to link primary and secondary schools, gymnasiums (with three lines) for academically-oriented youth, and consolidated private school funding. It emphasized learning by doing and stopped written assignments before eighth grade (Bjerg 1991, 133-137). Danish authors associated with “The Modern Breakthrough” (led by Georg Brandes) endorsed educational pluralism with work celebrating the collectivist project of industrial development. Inspired by Darwin and Nietzsche, Modern Breakthrough writers sharply criticized traditional religion, sexual repression and middle-class morality; yet they also valued a strong society and expressed greater optimistic than British contemporaries about industrialization, coordination and class relations. Industrialization offered an opportunity to move beyond rural poverty; both state institutions and private associations for industrial coordination were portrayed favorably. For Brandes, economic emancipation was more vital than political suffrage, and British Victorian literature was overly wedded to parliamentary democracy (Skilton 1980, 3743). These writers participated in contemporary political reforms. Georg Brandes’ brother, Edvard Brandes, created the Radical Liberal Party advancing important welfare reforms; and Georg and Edvard together founded the major newspaper, Politikken (Den Store Grondal). Like Hardy, Henrik Pontoppidan supported education reform (Borup 1905) and worked in a folk high school. Themes of a strong society, benign views of industrialization/economic coordination, accessible education, and a strong developmental state are apparent in Pontoppidan’s Lucky Per. Like Jude the Obscure, Lucky Per tells the story of a young man who seeks success yet fails. But Per is the opposite of Jude: given every advantage and a wonderful woman, Per misuses his talents and opportunities. Per will not conform to society, take personal responsibility or follow through with his (initially-lauded) engineering plan. Like Jude, Per feels called to a higher purpose that exempts him from societal norms: “For men...called out for great work, the common, bourgeois law did not really count for much” (285). Yet unlike Hardy, Pontoppidan blames Per for ceaselessly offending society (344). J.G. Robertson (1920, 376) notes, “Lykkeper [Per] is one long tragedy of the lucky mortal that gets all he wants. It is the tragedy of the will.” Pontoppidan portrays industrialization and unions positively: manufacturing will improve Denmark’s economic fortunes (333-4), although impose collateral damage on workers. Jacobe (Per’s moral fiancé) shows interest in “labor movements that had such close ties with modern technical development” and feels “alliance with the sooty, subjugated army of workers craving light, air, and humane treatment” (199-200). Workers “did not quarrel with anyone and were held together by mutual respect” (480). Education and social protections are necessary to compensate for industrial risk. Jacobe founds a school in Copenhagen and sees societal intervention to replace family: “I see no solution other than that school should gradually step in to take the place of home….the children will also be given the capital for a bright and fruitful sense of life” (477-8). Per celebrates nationalism, saying “Dear old Denmark!” when “a wave of patriotism swept through him” (286). Hardy and Pontoppidan were criticized for their bleak, unrelenting stories, and their modernist anxieties about social risks made Jude and Per cautionary tales. The Guardian (November 13, 1895) called Jude “a shameful nightmare, which one only wishes to forget as quickly and as completely as possible.” Yet these novels hold different lessons; the protagonists had different opportunities. Jude cannot overcome class rigidities; but Per rejects societal aid. CONCLUSION This paper sheds light on the puzzle of British and Danish education systems. The earlyindustrializing Britain was a laggard in mass public education and vocational training, whereas rural Denmark lead in these educational developments. I argue that cultural attitudes about the role of the individual in society help us better to understand the puzzle of education system development: education became a vehicle for individualistic self-discovery in Britain but was a societal duty as in Denmark. British reformers espoused individual rights to and equality of educational opportunity; Danish ones endorsed multiple secondary tracks to meet societal needs. Authors played a role in the education projects, by supporting mass education and helping to shape its ultimate form. A close reading of major literary works suggests that the cross-national variation in educational purpose has deep cultural roots. British and Danish works reveal significant differences about educational mandates, the role of the individual in society, relations among social classes, and political institutions. English protagonists are often the architects of their own triumph and transcend class strictures, even as their less-talented brothers fail. Danish protagonists mature with the wisdom of societal elders and succeed when contributing to society. Fictional stories help to construct the individual struggle for selfdiscovery at the heart of the Anglo education system, and the participation in education for societal development and state-building in Denmark. These themes are incidental to plot lines, yet like the revealing backgrounds of paintings, set the context for action.