Page 207 - DENG402_HISTORY_OF_ENGLISH_LITERATURE

History of English Literature

Notes The term is also used to refer to works of art which, in revealing a truth, may emphasize the ugly
or sordid, such as works of social realism, regionalism or Kitchen sink realism.
Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-
century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors
in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society “as they were.” In the
spirit of general “realism,” Realist authors opted for depictions of everyday and banal activities
and experiences, instead of a romanticized or similarly stylized presentation.

Did u know? Jorge Luis Borges, in an essay entitled “The Scandinavian Destiny”, attributed
the earliest discovery of Realism in literature to the Northmen in the Icelandic
Sagas, although it was soon lost by them along with the continent of North
America.

27.2 Naturalism

Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed
realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in
shaping human character. It was depicted as a literary movement that seeks to replicate a
believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as Romanticism or Surrealism, in
which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic, or even supernatural treatment.
Naturalism is the outgrowth of literary realism, a prominent literary movement in mid-19th-
century France and elsewhere. Naturalistic writers were influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory
of evolution. They believed that one’s heredity and social environment determine one’s character.
Whereas realism seeks only to describe subjects as they really are, naturalism also attempts to
determine “scientifically” the underlying forces (e.g. the environment or heredity) influencing
the actions of its subjects. Naturalistic works often include uncouth or sordid subject matter; for
example, Emile Zola’s works had frankness about sexuality along with a pervasive pessimism.
Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of life, including poverty, racism, sex, violence,
prejudice, disease, corruption, prostitution, and filth. As a result, naturalistic writers were
frequently criticized for focusing too much on human vice and misery.
There are defining characteristics of literary naturalism. One of these is pessimism. Very often,
one or more characters will continue to repeat one line or phrase that tends to have a pessimistic
connotation, sometimes emphasizing the inevitability of death.
For example Bernard Bonnejean quotes this passage of Huysmans where the symbolism of death
is visible, such an allegory, in a portrait of old woman:
une vieille bique de cinquante ans, une longue efflanquee qui belait a la lune, campee sur ses
maigres tibias crevant les draps de ses os en pointe
Another characteristic of literary naturalism is detachment from the story. The author often tries
to maintain a tone that will be experienced as ‘objective.’ Also, an author will sometimes achieve
detachment by creating nameless characters (though, strictly speaking, this is more common
among modernists such as Ernest Hemingway). This puts the focus on the plot and what happens
to the character, rather than the characters themselves. Another characteristic of naturalism is
determinism. Determinism is basically the opposite of the notion of free will. For determinism,
the idea that individual characters have a direct influence on the course of their lives is supplanted
by a focus on nature or fate. Often, a naturalist author will lead the reader to believe a character’s
fate has been pre-determined, usually by environmental factors, and that he/she can do nothing
about it. Another common characteristic is a surprising twist at the end of the story. Equally,

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