VI. Literature of the last Decades of the 19th century

A new stage of social development began during the last two decades of the 19th century Great Britain had become a highly developed capitalist country and a great colonial power The merging of individual firms into mono­ polies began. With it Britain passed to a higher form of capitalism, known as imperialism.

A violent economic crisis that occurred in the early 80s deepened the social contradictions in the country. On the one hand, the workers' movement became stronger A so­ cialist democratic league was created in 1885 by the poet and writer William Morris and Marx's daughter Eleonore Marx-Aveling. Socialist ideas began to influence the wor­ kers' movement and many important strikes took place. On the other hand, reaction intensified. The bourgeoisie looked for ways of imperialist expansion in search of new markets. The monopolies demanded still larger profits and plundered colonial peoples robbing them of raw material. In 1899 the Boer war was unleashed by Britain against the Transvaal in South Africa. This was a shameful example of its colonial brutality Puritanical hypocrisy now became the accepted form of behaviour in society A complete degradation of moral and cultural values followed.

New literary trends- Decadence, Neoromanticism and

Socialist literature- reflected the political and economic situation in Britain.

DECADENCE

The general crisis of bourgeois ideology and culture was reflected in literature and fine arts by the trend that was given the name of Decadence. This French word means "decline" (of art or of literature). M. Gorky, who made a thorough study of Decadence, considered it an unhealthy phenomenon. Decadence manifested itself in various trends that came into being at the end of the 19th century: sym­ bolism, impressionism, imagism, futurism and others.

The most widely known manifestation of Decadence in the social life of bourgeois England was Aestheticism (a movement in search of beauty).

The roots of Aestheticism can be traced back to the

beginning of the 19th century, to some of the romanticists. It was governed by the principle of "Art for Art's Sake", that is to say of pure Art. Like the neoromanticists, the aestheticists protested against the severe and vulgar reality, against bourgeois pragmatism. However, while the neoromanticists chose the world of adventure and the cult of the strong man, opposing these to the routine of life, the aestheticists concentrated their art on pure form.

The aestheticists rejected both the social and the moral function of art. One of the leaders of the aesthetic move­ ment expressed its main idea in the phrase: "Art is indif­

ferent to what is moral and what is immoral" The aestheticists tried to lead the readers away from the problems of the day into the world of dreams and beauty.

 

OSCAR WILDE

(1854- 1900)

Oscar Wilde was the most outstanding representative of

0<?-:adence. He was the son of a well-known Irish physi­ cian. In his youth he was very much influenced by his mother, who was a highly educated woman. She wrote poetry and was an ardent Irish patriot. Her scornful at­ titude towards the hypocrisy of British bourgeois morals was probably responsible for the disrespect that charac­ terized Wilde's approach towards bourgeois customs and habits.

Wilde's youth was a time of increasing crisis in bour­ geois culture and the heyday of Aestheticism. The vulgarity of bourgeois life in general, the money-making fever of the bourgeoisie, its hypocritical approach to moral standards, all this made the young man turn to the movement of the day- aestheticism. Attracted by its search for beauty and its motto "Art for Art's Sake", Wilde became an avowed aesthete and was very soon considered the leading figure of the movement.

He studied at Oxford. After the publication of his first volume of poetry in 1881 he went on a lecture tour to Ameri­ ca. Between the years 1881 and 1895 he wrote two volumes of fairy tales- The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888) and A House of Pomegranates (1891)/, the novel The

Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) and several plays.

Oscar Wilde's work, like his outlook on life, is very

contradictory. His tales, probably his most popular works, were undoubtedly, much deeper in their approach to the problem of Good and Evil than most of the decadent litera-

fure. The writer laid great stress on the good qualities of the poor, and the vices of those who had power and money. Thus in the tale The Devoted Friend, for example, Wilde produced a very bitter satirical portrait of a money-grab­ bing and hypocritical man of property The Miller was Hans' "devoted friend" in summer, when he took flowers and fruit from him. Little Hans was always happy to give them to his "devoted friend". But when winter came the Miller would not give little Hans any flour, to help him during the hungry months. Wilde achieved artistic heights

of symbolic generalization in the story of little Hans, robbed in summer and sent to his death in winter by the rich Miller who called himself his "devoted friend"

The tales do not, perhaps, have great depth of critical judgment on all aspects of the society of Wilde's time. However, his par.adoxical form of expression is at times bitterly satirical (The Devoted Friend). It is his originality in this genre, and it brings out the hypocrisy in human relations that so disgusted him. The endings in his tales are usually tragic- Good cannot triumph in a world of Evil. It is in these tales and in his comedies that the tradi­ tions of critical realism may be best seen.

When Oscar Wilde turned to writing plays, he took up a new theme. He criticised the upper classes and gave satirical pictures of their members who were ruled by the love of power and money. The most outstanding of those plays is An Ideal Husband (1895),· in which the author discloses the sordid intrigues in!he business and political circles of England. The figure of Sir Robert Chiltern is very convincing. He is an outstanding statesman, who enjoys the Jove of his wife and everybody's respect, because he is good, honest, and correct in his political activities. It turns out that this impeccable statesman began his career of

a politician and started to make his fortune by selling

a state secret. Wilde brands the corruption that exists in the world of business. However, his criticism is mild, every­ thing is settled in favour of the main character.

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

This is Wilde's most important work; in it he conveys his central belief, the aesthetical principle of "Art for Art's Sake"

Dorian Gray, a beautiful young boy, dreams of pre­

serving for ever his youth and beauty Basil Hallward,

a fine artist, paints a portrait of the boy. The portrait has an extraordinary quality It reflects all the changes in the apFJea,rfnce of the youth, br<;>).lght about by time and the at's:i,P.ptlon in which he in11llf s':'' t the same time the appearance of Dorian Gray himself remains unali.ered. He lives throughout his life as youthful and as beautiful as he was when the portait was painted.

Bazil Hallward, defending Dorian, whom he loves dear­

ly, struggles with all his might against the destructive influence of Lord Henry, who has found his way to the boy's soul. Lord Henry is a refined aesthete, whose only feelings are for beauty which shields him from the ugliness of everyday life. He considers that life must be lived in such a way as to bring a person all the pleasure he desires.

These two men, who represent Good and Evil, struggle

for Dorian and finally Lore! Henry wins. Dorian begins to live a life nHr,eTy devoid of morals; he gives in to all his fancies and commits a number of crimes.

'The picture, hidden away by Dorian in a small room

that he keeps locked, reflects the terrible degradation of a man who stops at nothing in pursuit of pleasure. Howe­ ver there comes a moment when this terrible picture causes misgivings in Dorian's soul. He wants it to regain its former youth and beauty; he wants to efface all signs of degradation from the portrait that has turned out to be his soul. Finally, he attacks the portrait with a knife.

When people enter the room they see the portait of

a lovely youth and a horrible old man, wrinkled and dis­ gusting in appearance, lying dead on the floor with a knife in his heart.

Thus Wilde discloses his idea of Art being superior to

life, it was in this work of art that the repulsive nature of the man was to be seen, while those who knew him in life noticed no change in his appearance.

Here is the end of the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray in which the author describes the death oi his main charac­ ter

There was only one bit of evidence left against him. The picture itself- that was evidence. He would destroy it. Why had he kepl it so long? Once it had given him pleasure to watch it changing and growing

old. or late he had!elt no such pleasure. It had kept him awake at night.

When he had been away, he had been filled with terror lest other eyes should look upon it. It had brought melancholy across his passions. Its mere memory had marred many moments of joy. It had been like con-

science lo him. Yes, il had been conscience. He would destroy il.

He looked round, and saw the knife that had slabbed Bazil Hallward. He had cleaned it many times, till there was no stain left upon it. It was bright, and glistened. As it had killed the painter, so il would kill the painter's work, and all that that meant. It would kill the past, and when that was dead he would be free. It would kill this monstrous soul-life, and without its hideous warnings he would be at peace. He seized the thing, and slabbed the picture with it.

There was a cry heard, and a crash. The cry was so horrible in its agony thai the frightened servants woke, and crept out of their rooms. Two gentlemen, who were passing in the Square below, slopped and looked up at the great house. They walked on till they mel a policeman, and brought him back. The man rang the bell several limes, but there was no answer. Except for a light in one of the lop windows, the house was all dark. After a lime, he went away, and stood in an adjoining portico and watched.

"Whose house it that, constable" asked the elder of the two genUe- men.

"Mr Dorian Gray's, sir" answered the policeman.

They looked at each other, as they walked away, and sneered. Inside, in the servants' pari of the house, the halfclad domestics

were talking in low whispers to each other. Old Mrs. Leaf was crying, and wringing her hands. Francis was as pale as death.

After about a quarter of an hour, he got the coachman and one of the footmen and crept upstairs. They knocked, but there was no reply They called out. Everything was still. Finally, after vainly trying to force the door, ihey got on the roof, and dropped down on the balcony. The windows yielded easily: their bolts were old.

When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youlh and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, in eve­ ning dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loath­ some of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognised who it was...

Notwithstanding all the complicated contradictions of Oscar Wilde's art there are many positive sides to his talent. His great gifi as a writer lies in his ability to ex­ press the contradictions of life in accurate paradoxes, that is, in affirming things that seem absurd at first sight. This, as well as Wilde's outstanding knowledge of language and a gift for dialogue, make his works sparkle with wit.

The peculiar charm of his style and language, even in his most decadent work, is due to the brilliant form he gives to his thoughts. His masterly approach to the choice

of words, the classic simplicity of his sentences, all this has placed him among the great writers of his country.

1. What new trends arose in English lilerature a\ the end of \he

19th century and what caused their appearance2. What brought about

\he trend known as Decadence in literatureWhat was one of the English manifestations of this trend3. In what work of Oscar Wilde does the reader lind lhe mosl defined traditions of crilical realism? 4. Whal views on li!e and art does Wilde express in his novel The Picture of Do­ rinn Gray? 5. What can be said of Wilde's style and language

NEOROMANT/C/SM

Together with the Decadents another group of writers took up the protest against bourgeois rule. They also searched for an escape from a life without either beauty or interest. One of those writers was Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). He was the son of a Scotch engineer His great love for the English language made him turn to writing, but he refused to follow the realistic method of reflecting life. The life that surrounded people, according to Stevenson, could give no pleasure to anyone; he believed that the writer should create beautiful or extraordinary pictures for the benefit of the reader, for the reader's pleasure. He expressed his belief in the following way: "Art in contemporary society is only necessary for entertainment"

Stevenson became a recognized story-teller. His first novel, Treasure Island, was a great success. The story of the search for the treasure is well told and has its dramatic moments. His characters- strong, brave men- go through great difficulties to achieve their aim. However, Stevenson pays more attention to the story than to his characters.

His other novels, K.idnapped, The Black Arrow, Cat­ riona and The Master of Ballantrae were written along the same lines: they had a historical setting and were full of adventure and mystery. The Master of Ba/lantrae, with a historical setting too, came last. Its main theme is the struggle of two brothers for an inheritance.

Stevenson's outstanding prose work is his short novel

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which has at times been compared with the darkest fantasies of the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. Stevenson raises the

age-old problem of the struggle between Good and Evil that exists in every man.

Dr Jekyll, who is aware that he has in him both Good and Evil, experiences a terrible urge to create his own double that would possess the darker side of his nature. He is able to make a medicine, which transforms him into another person, whom he calls Mr Hyde. Hyde possesses all of Jekyll's hidden, evil traits. While Dr Jekyll appears to people in the daytime as a good and highly respected man, loved by all his acquaintances, Hyde appears in the dark of night, and carries out all kind of evil deeds. He is frightfully ugly, bearing on his face and body the mark of sin and evil.

However, this experiment leads to a terrible misfortune: the mixture created by Jekyll begins to lose its strength and while he can become Hyde easily every time he drinks it, it is more and more difficult for him to turn back into Jekyll, to his normal self. When about to be captured for a murder committed by Hyde, Dr Jekyll commits suicide.

A parallel may be drawn between this novel and Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, written in 1890, two years after Stevenson's novel. The difference, however, lies in Wilde's purely aesthetical approach to the problem, while Stevenson's is a purely ethical one.

Stevenson's hero is strong-willed and the author tries to show in him the better qualities of man: his energy, his thirst for knowledge. Stevenson stresses these qualities in order to keep them alive in the bourgeois world, from which they are in danger of disappearing. The fantastic and the extraordinary that he opposes to everyday life make his romanticism somewhat more objective than the approach of the romanticists of the early 19th century.

Stevenson's love of beauty, his outstanding mastery of

the language, made him a very good poet; among his best poetical works there is a book of poems for little children, published under the collective title of A Child's Garden of Verse, as well as one of the loveliest poems of the period, the ballad Heather Ale, (translated into Russian by S. Mar­ shak).

Here arc two stanzas of one of the poems, from a

Child's Garden of Verse, entitled Picture Books in Winter:

Summer fading, winter comes­ Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs, Window robins, winter rooks,

And the picture story-books.

Water now is turned to stone

Nurse and I can walk upon;

Still we lind the flowing brooks

In the picture story-books.

Stevenson's romantic return to childhood in A Child's

Garden of Verse as well as the return to the historical past

of Scotland in Heather Ale, are ways of looking for beauty

outside the terrible monotony of the money-g-rabbing

world, which the author conquers through his creative

art.

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), the son of a Polish

rebel, whose real name was Juseph Teodor Konrad Kor­

zieniewski, made his mark in English letters as a master of

the sea-novel. Just as Stevenson did, Conrad rebelled against the dull, selfish existence that the bourgeoisie led. A man of the sea, who rose from sailor to captain in the

British merchant navy, Conrad found what he looked for in

the vivid life of adventure, in the romance of the sea and

distant voyages.

The characteristics of his hero are those of a strong, energitic man, who opposes bourgeois society and looks for

a happy life elsewhere. Conrad was much influenced by

Russian literature which he knew well, especially by Dos­

toyevski and this influence can be well seen in the psycho­

logical analysis of his characters, which went much deeper than Stevenson's.

Among his many works Lord Jim is considered outstanding. It is the story of a young officer who is guilty of leaving his ship in danger, with passengers on board. He spends his life trying to pay for this crime, far away from his country.

The romance of strong, energetic characters, either dedicated to science or to adventure, that we find in the works of the ncoromanticists of the period had a strongly defined humanist approach. However, there were other writers of the period, whose praise of individual strength became a direct form of imperialist propaganda. Such was Rudyard Kip I in g (1865-1936). Kipling was the son of well-to-do parents, born and brought up in India; his first impressions were those of India's countryside and people.

He introduced a new theme into English literature­

that of the life of British people in the colonies. Kipling

asserted the white man's, the Englishman's, right to rule over the native population.

In his books, however, the iuea of colonial expansion was concealed by descriptions of beautiful exotic things. Admiration for strength and activity sounded as a call to submit the weaker peoples; it was heard in the songs of the British soldiers, who were sent by their government to conquer India. At the very beginning of his work as a writer Kipling created his famous poems dedicated to the soldier of the British empire. His best ones, from the point of view of their poetical value, were the Barrack Room Ballads, addressed to Tommy Atkins. (Tommy At­ kins is a generalized name for the British soldier) These poems were written in the form of songs that could be sung to popular music: they have catchy, rhythmical refrains and their form is the traditional one of English folklore songs. But the content is entirely new; it is clearly military and racial, which is quite alien to English folklore.

Among Kipling's best works are the Jungle Books, a collection of stories of the Jungle, in most of which Mowgli, a child brought up by a pack of wolves, plays the major role. By means of a logical system of images, in very simple but carefully selected words, he constructs his stories of man's mastery over the alien forces of nature. He gives the Jungle beasts Indian names that make the stories sound mysterious and exotic (Sheer Khan, Bag­ heera, Baloo, Kaa).

Kipling was the first writer to get the Nobel prize for short stories.

I. What were the peculiar trails of Neoromanlicism? 2. What were Robert L. Stevenson's aesthetic principles' 3. What problem dues the novel Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde deal with' 4. What were Joseph Conrad's heroes like? 5. What was the difference between Kipling's main charac· lcrs and those of Slcvcnson and Conrad) 6. What are the Jungle Books

about'

SOCIALIST LITERATURE

Socialist culture made its first appearance in the works of some of the writers of the end of the 19th century. The most outstanding name among those writers was th<Jt of W i 11 i am Morris (1834-1896), who continued the best traditions of the revolutionary poetry of the romanticists and the Chartists, and also looked for new ways of writing

Morris came from a rich family who lived in a very

ancient and picturesque part of England, the County of

Essex. His creative work is usually divided in,o two pe­ riods. The second period, that begins with his publicistic work, presents most interest. It is very closely connected with his fight for peace, against the possibility of Britain declaring war on Russia in 1877-1878. (Russia was at war with Turkey at lhal lime). He addressed the workers in an article entitled Unfair War and made it quite clear that the only progressive, healthy social force of his country can be found among the ranks of the working people. His most important literary works of this period, the works of Morris the socialist, marked a new stage in the history of English democratic I etters.

Through his work Morris defended the idea of socialist revolution. In his novels he reminded the people of England of their revolutionary traditions, that began with Wat Tyler's Peas< nts' Revolt. He spoke highlv of Chartism, which, in his opinion, maintained the fire of discontent throughout the 19th century. Morris's utopian novel "News from Nowhere" (1891) is his dream of a future classless society attained through a revolution. His charac­ ters are happy people engaged in creative labour which brings them moral satisfaction. His inspiration lies in the future whose bright rays seem to touch the days he lives in.

Poetry is no longer a dream, but a weapon, a means of

approaching the future. His creative method brings him very near the revolutionary romanticists. The new con­

ditions surrounding him, however, make it possible to reflect elements of a new democratic culture.

In his mature years Morris turns to the lyrical-epic genre. The best known of these poems is Chants for So­ cialists in which the hero is the working people, struggling for social justice. The images of nature's elements are near to being cosmic; however, they are no longer romantic

symbols. They are used to underline the historical deve­

lopment, the meaning of the revolutionary struggle.

In the March of the Workers, one of the Chants for

Socialists, Morris reaches the heights of his lyric powers.

Here he shows the social revolution as a powerful, clean­

sing storm, sweeping away the old, giving way to the new.

"What is this, the sound and rumour?

What is this that all men hear.

Like the wind in hollow valleys

when the storm is drawing near,

94

Like the rolling on of ocean in the evenlide of fear?

'"Tis the peoole mar hing on"

I. What faders gave b:rth to Socialist literature(For the answer see the introduction to chapter VI). 2. In what works dill W Morris defend the illca of socialist revolution?

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