Development of fiction

THE VICTORIAN AGE 1837-1901 THE DEVELOPMENT OF FICTION The period of the Victoria Age was above all the age of FICTION, because of the immense popularity the genre gained in the period. Many outstanding writers turned to novel writing and the number of novel published increased enormously. Novels were also serialized in magazines and his required that each single episode contain an element of suspense to keep the reader's interest and curiosity alive. The quantity of fiction produced increased the difference between good and bad fiction. Bad fiction was based on the repetition of melodramatic clichés. The novelists of the first part of the age accepted its structure, values and convention as did the majority of their readers. Novelist saw and denounced the evils of their time and the inadequate educational system but, like the reading public, they did not question the fundamental idea that the system was right or that progress was inevitable. Life was seen and judged from the same point of view by novelists and readers. FEATURES OF EARLY V.A.: More and more authors took to novel writing. The first part of the Victorian age is characterized by the triumph of the REALISTIC NOVEL. The aim of realistic fiction is to represent life as really it is, that is, to create a fictional world which the reader accepts as real. Characters in early Victorian age novels conformed to the rules that were generally accepted. Both characters and events were interpreted and judge by an omniscient narrator who expresses the dominant moral views of the time. The story generally ended happily. CHARLES DICKENS :The novelist who best represent Victorian age both in his life and novels. In his novel he frequently expressed the social coscience of the time, denouncing abuses in education, in the law and in employment. The misfortunes of oliver give dickens the opportunity to portray the criminal world. The reading public responded warmly to the way Dickens treated his themes because they recognised in the novels what they themselves thought, felt and experienced. They were also attracted by the plots in which he Often made concessions to the predominant taste for sensationalism and sentimentality. His comic and linguistic gifts and his ability to create memorable characters are greatly admired. . WILLIAM M. THACKERAY: Another novelist of the period who is highly representative of the Victorian fiction. He concentrates on satirasing the upper-middle class. in Vanity Fair he recreates the upper class of early 19th century society with true-to-life, memorable and round characters. Lust for money and social status, selfishness and corruption are the principal objects of his criticism. He use a very obtrusive omniscient narrator who comments, digresses and directs reader's reactions to the events narrated. ELIZABETH GASKELL_ she conveys a lively picture of the society of his time through her novels. She has a great ability to portray everyday life with sympathy and humour. The e