The impulse towards realism is generally seen as a dominant feature of Victorian fiction as it was a movement that deviated from idealistic romantic fiction and portrayed real-life events and situations accurately. In this essay, I will analyze how realism is a dominant feature to a certain extent in Charles Dicken's “Great Expectations” and compare it to the minor realism illustrations in the “Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. Furthermore, I will argue that psychological realism is depicted in the realistic portrayal of morality and gentility in both main protagonists, “Pip” and “Dorian’s” social superiority which was an important societal issue in Victorian Era society. Realistic gentility depictions are echoed in the way Dorian is consumed by his superiority in “aestheticism-beauty” and Pip in his behavior and newly discovered gentleman’s wealth and status. However, both of the novels deviate from the traditional attributes of a realism text by intertwining various subgenres into the narrative.
Realism was created in response to romanticism in which the writers were concerned with the “moral decisions of individuals in a complex” Victorian society (Wheeler, Michael, pg9) One of the primary purposes of a realism novel was to be a “vehicle for moral teaching “(pg10 Wheeler, Michael) in which the individuals learn from their own experience whether for the good or bad which is evident in “Great Expectations” and in “The picture of Dorian Gray”. The protagonists shape their own fate through their actions and suffer the consequences at a later stage.
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“Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens is a realism-dominated text as it “attempts to portray all the varieties of human experience” by illustrating the real life and struggles of Pip who is the narrator and main protagonist in the novel (http://www.ricorso.net/tx/Courses/LEM2014/Critics/Watt_Ian/Rise_Chap-1.pdf (pg2)
However, the novel deviates from traditional realism novel by intertwining gothic and romantic elements into the narrative. The novel is adhering to realistic principles and attributes by writing about a common working-class character Pip. Thus it becomes a Bildungsroman as it portrays realism in Pip’s growth through life lessons and experiences from childhood to adulthood and presents real-life events through a series of firsts and eventually comes to a reassuring conclusion that there is more to happiness than money, such as friends, family, and integrity. Thus, unlike previous romanticism writers Dickens depicts realism by accommodating “new ideas about the individual’s growth and development” in which the reader is witness to Pip’s development throughout the novel ( pg 204) https://books.google.ie/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GKofBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=realism+in+great+expecations+dickens&ots=jLoObhquWR&sig=hd6W6RJP0eldJdTuHT4dSKb0k4k&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=realism&f=false.
Pip realistically struggles to gain self-fulfilment and states his deepest desire to change his circumstance “I wish Joe had been more genteelly brought up and then I should have been so too” (pg86) which ultimately determines the rest of his life due to his actions of pursuing this idea of “nobility/wealthy status “while sacrificing his morality. Dickenson used omniscient narration in a chronological narrative of Pip’s development which adheres to realism through the credibility of the plot thus the reader can sympathize with the character when his morality has returned to him through his lessons and he illustrates his regret for his choices “all those wretched hankerings after money and gentility that had disturbed my boyhood’ (p.233). The title of the novel itself “Great Expectations” foreshadows Pip’s development and pursuit of his high expectations in his aspirational desires to belong in an upper-class society and be suitable to Estella.
The novel adheres to realism by depicting the society’s morality and realistic tiers of wealth through the portrayal of the divide between the rich and the poor, for example, the sub-class is represented by the generous escaped convict Magwitch who is warm-hearted by giving his money to Pip to make him a gentleman “ I’ve put away money, only for you to spend” ( )) In the stark contrast to the representation of the selfish upper class “rich and grim” Miss Havisham who lived in a “large and dismal house, barricaded against robbers” and ironically lived in isolation. The “barricades” furthermore emphasize the lower-class and upper-class divide. The reader learns that money does not buy happiness which is evident in the case of Miss Havisham who is rich and yet rotten to the core both internally and externally ( quotes), in contrast to Joe who is poor and is kind (quotes), in result we learn that the richer and no better than the poor and therefore no more moral or generous.
Thus, Dickinson depicts a realism in the social and moral issues of 19th-century society through a “scaring critique of the Victorian socioeconomic system” which the reader notices through Pip’s developed social consciousness and experiences in which he succumbs to greed and commits sins through his feelings of social inferiority (pg205)https://books.google.ie/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GKofBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=realism+in+great+expecations+dickens&ots=jLoObhquWR&sig=hd6W6RJP0eldJdTuHT4dSKb0k4k&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=realism&f=falseWhich furthermore emphasizes the idea that with money comes greater expectations which was a recurring concept in a judgemental high-class society. Furthermore, Dickenson pays close attention to the setting and time in order to illustrate a sense of realism as London is portrayed as a “most dismal place, the skylight eccentrically patched like a broken head, and the distorted houses as if they have twisted themselves to peep down at me through it ( pg ) and the reader can relate to the realistic setting and the …
In contrast, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde is primarily concerned with the aestheticism movement in beauty and art. Nonetheless, the novel depicts elements of realism in the conflict of morality, which is evident in the portrayal of Dorian who is motivated by real-life urges such as greed, lust, and confusion between being morally good or bad which were common problems of contemporary society life Wilde adheres to realism by his “central concern with the moral decisions” of Dorian in a “complex” Victorian society. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.taylorfrancis.com%2Fbooks%2Fdownload%3Fdac%3DC2013-0-22246-4%26isbn%3D9781317896098%26format%3DgooglePreviewPdf&hl=en&sa=T&ct=res&cd=6&d=3709317909792055193&ei=tQe3XOe_MIewmwGZirvYAw&scisig=AAGBfm2vTTEoiF95ify9BAYfWCBGspZt2w&nossl=1&ws=657x887&at=English%20fiction%20of%20the%20Victorian%20period
The realistic portrayal of the decay in Dorian’s morality is represented in the “portrait” as it bears the consequences of his evil actions and the burden of age “But here was a visible symbol of the degradation of sin. Here was an ever-present sign of the ruin men brought upon their souls” (pg). Realism writers did not let their characters worry about the consequences of their actions and instead followed their urges and did as they pleased in the present moment which is evident in Dorian who succumbs to Henry’s influence in the idea that the “only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it…Live. Live the wonderful life that is in you. Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new temptations. Be afraid of nothing ( ). Dorian surrenders to decadent pleasures and as a result, degrades his inner self and morality throughout the novel which is evident in the portrait of Dorian which degrades the character. Dorian Gray deviates and isolates himself from the ideals and expectations of a superficial society and further sinks into sin with no regard for conventional standards of morality or the consequences of his actions until it’s too late. Thus, Wilde attempts to “weaken the pillars of conventions in the Victorian society”. http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol04/07/18.pdf Furthermore, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” criticizes
There are realistic societal issues portrayed in Dorian’s struggle with aging and his decaying moral conscience, however the “largely unexplained alteration in Dorian‘s portrait indicates that Wilde‘s novel is outside the Victorian realist tradition” (http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol04/07/18.pdf Thus, Wilde can be argued to be contradictory and it can be a struggle to confine him to realism alone as he stated in the preface that he “implied a distinction between decoration and realism” and that he has not “clearly defined” it (Wilde). Furthermore, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” reacts to the idea of realism in mortality and that youth and beauty will not last forever and portrays Dorian’s deviation in his attempts to have eternal youth which shows “Wilde’s supreme ideal was not to be devoted to the factual life but mostly to the spaces of imagination”( http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol04/07/18.pdf) which is evident in the mixed sub-genres and the theme of the supernatural in the novel. Dorian is portrayed as the “other” having been already distinguished from a society based on his beauty and youth being different, he is furthermore isolated when under the influence of Lord Henry’s ideas of hedonism. Thus, he showcases resistance and breaks the norm and the societal conventions of the time.
In both novels, the two main protagonists “Pip” and “Dorian” state their superficial desires which shape the rest of their lives, and in an attempt to change their circumstances of pursuit, they become victims of their self-imposed cruel fate. Thus, realism is depicted in the realistic portrayal of gentility and sacrifice in both of the main protagonists' pursuit for social superiority for example in Pip who is willing to sacrifice his morality in his desire to be wealthier and of a noble status (Dickenson, 86) and Dorian who wishes that he remained his youthful and beautiful self in exchange for his soul and morality (Wilde, 42). In the superficial society of the 19th century there is a sense of realism in the fact that actions shape the world around them whether for the greater good or the bad, it enhances the importance of having morality.
However, although there are realism elements evident to a certain extent, both novels deviate from traditional realism novels by incorporating various subgenres into the narrative. This is evident in “Great Expectations” as the gothic element of the story allowed Dickenson to illustrate a grim setting and atmosphere that can make the reader be sympathetic towards the characters in particular to Pip who wonders through the graveyard of his family. In similarity to Wilde who employed elements of the aestheticism movement, supernatural and gothic in the portrayal of Dorian and his immortal youth in the narrative.
To conclude, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “Great Expectations” illustrate realism to a certain extent in the portrayal of realism through the depiction of the gentility in the main protagonists and their realistic desires for wealth, beauty, and status which can arguably be traits of psychological realism. However, upon a deeper glance, both of these novels deviate from the traditional roles/features/attributes of realism by intertwining
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