Class Struggles in Victorian Literature

Introduction 

One of the major characteristics of Victorian Literature is the propensity to put characters and themes beyond the text into real life. In this way, Victorian Literature portrays an image of real life struggles experienced by real people. Given this, this paper highlights class struggles as portrayed in Victorian Literature. Illustrations have been drawn from two texts. These are: Mary E. Braddon’s sensationally erotic story as detailed in Lady Audley’s Secret and Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. To understand the concept of class division from a Victorian Era perspective, it is paramount to highlight that class and morality are inseparable. Social class is not merely a division of the society based on economic status, but is a division based on morals. Furthermore, class division does not occur in isolation. It is characterised by other notions such as imperialism, sexuality, misogyny and character duality. These are analyzed vis-a-vis the texts mentioned herein and are illustrated as follows.

Victorian understanding of classism 

The occurrence of class division in Victorian Literature is self-evident but surprisingly problematic to pin down. To understand this, it is crucial to consider the concept of class from a Victorian perspective. The concept of class in Victorian England pervaded more than a good education, wealth, mannerism, and social stratus. It goes beyond a sequence of predetermined social groupings into which an individual is born; a process of shared identity foundation and awareness; somewhat determined using livelihood. It is more than a state of mind formed by cherished psychic experience; a rhetorical concept and customary social representations not limited by or a matter of material differences between wretchedness and affluence (Chesterton, 2016). Class was viewed as a moral status such that moving from one’s social class to a higher one was not only frowned upon but also seen as the greatest violation of society’s moral codes.   The class difference in Victorian England was almost equal to two distinctively separate worlds, with differing ethos, mannerism, and languages. The populous lower class was powerless and poor while the elite was seen as the real society. It was wealthy, powerful, and controlled all the means of production. It also set social codes and ethics (Tillotson, 1998).

The concept of class can be all of the things mentioned above, and is designed to allow space for the very notion of class consciousness and the development of diverse social identities. Yet the idea of class differentiation during Victorian times is catalyzed by other notions such as misogyny, the threat of feminism, sexuality, interclass mobility and character multiplicity, without which class differentiation would be seen as an obscure subject. The term class mobility is a dual purpose subject (Tatum, 2005). Literary, it refers to a movement of a class of people from place to place. Symbolically, it is equal to the change of social status, moving from one social sphere to another, preferably higher.  Interestingly, both form of movements causes social disorder and instability (Chesterton, 2016). This is explicitly portrayed in the two texts used in this paper. 

Catalysts of Classism 

In Lady Audley’s Secrets, class division is fueled by the presence of not only a strong female character but also a highly sexualized one. The story is centered on a strong woman who shrewdly uses her sexual prowess to engage in acts of bigamy. Such acts, while generally seen as morally justifiable, are perceived as immoral transgressions by the masculine reader and extend to portray Lady Audrey as the offender of acceptable social norms. LadAudrey’sey unlawful and irregular sexual behaviour crosses accepted feminine borders. Her crimes are worsened by her refusal to submit to her husband’s authority (Bernstein, 1997). It is her all powerful feminine nature that allows her to commit these wrongdoings in pursuit of her success as she endeavours to change the world for the fulfillment of her desires (Tucker, 2013). 

Lady Audley’s self-rediscovery only becomes possible once she decides to escape from her social class to another. This causes serious social disorders, which are triggered by the disappearance of George. The ensuing discourse on the various possibilities of his whereabouts unearths imminent social instability (Braddon, 1862). Numerous mysteries within the novel are instigated by geographic mobility because Robert is on the move constantly as he endeavors to unravel some of the mysteries. At the same time, other characters who are less privileged, namely Phoebe, Luc, and Lu,ke engage in economic activities aimed at advancing their social status, hoping to change their lives for the better. 

Tucker (2013) in her work alludes to sexualisation of the class separation by suggesting that Lady Audley’s heartless insolence to her condition is, from one standpoint, more than a habitual honest valuation of the nature of the alternatives available to the would-be refined woman. The notion of people trying to upscale their social positions was characteristically viewed with misgivings during the Victorian era, with writers such as Braddon viewing social mobility as an unsettling force that upsets social order. Similarly, while Stevenson fails to develop female characters in his novel, his story is by no means less sexual (Bernstein, 1997). The absence of female characters within the novella implies that they are relegated to the roles of maids and a harlot, whose presence in the text has a sexual connotation (Dellamora, 1999). Consequently, the novella is analyzed as misogynistic. The whore and the maid only exist to fulfill the sexual and subversive desires of men (Barreca, 1990). While it is a clear separation of classes along gender lines, it also shows how a highly imperial man hinders the climbing of the social ladder by the woman by restricting her to sexual and domestic chores (Dellamora, 1999).  Furthermore, Dr Jekyll’s – who is a representative of good – description is sexualized as he is described as a handsome man. This is contrasted with Mr. Hyde’s distasteful physical attributes. The portrayal of handsomeness vs distasteful physical attributes is a clear separation of classes. Handsome is equated to the good as exemplified by Dr. Jekyll while distasteful is perceived as the bad, evil and vice as exemplified by Mr. Hyde (Stevenson, 2008).

In the novel Lady Audley’s Secret, Lucy assumed the character of a mistress in a manner constant with Levine & Madden (1998) assertions.  Nevertheless, by the time she is betrothed to Sir Michael, she has already been involved in a few morally corrupt acts that are discordant with the conduct expected of a good Victorian woman. Lucy’s abandonment of her offspring, taking on a new identity, committing adultery, and staging her death upon the discovery of the imminent return of her real husband is tantamount to the perils of class separation. While these are some of the numerous short-cuts she crafts to safeguard her new class identity, they portend the threat of a powerful female character in the attempts to bridge social class differences. Levine & Madden (1998) refer to Lady Audley’s portrayal of identity change as fraudulent and further argue that such an identity change is compulsory duality that enables advancement of socioeconomic status.  Lady Audley’s outward “appearance and her actions seemingly embrace firmly grounded Victorian class and gender ideologies, yet underneath her newly created façade hides a woman who knows that dominant culture insists on female duplicity if she intends to immerse herself in her new role” (Braddon, 1862, p.37).

The role of dual character and how it characterizes class division is also evident in Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This story equates class division to the clear distinction between virtue and vice. In this story, the hero, Dr. Jekyll, is aware of his evil, which shows the character’s awareness of social disparities. Dr. Jekyll is sickened by the duplicity of his life and endeavors to free himself from such evil, the identity of Mr. Hyde so that the two personalities can live unencumbered by the stresses of each other. This is a clear division of class, an attempt at separating the good and the bad, since as Dr. Jekyll in his admission learns, his primitive duality allowed him to either be radically good and bad or wear the two identities at once. This is something that antagonizes his true character and drives him to seek ways to separate the two identities (Stevenson, 2008). Thus by creating Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson brings to existence two equipotent but eternally opposed characters that coexist to make up a normal individual (Engel, 2013). Yet, virtue and vice are two unrelated and independent entities with differing personalities, behaviors, mannerisms, and as such are in continual conflict with each other. 

While Dr. Jekyll’s duality poses a threat to the evil class, Lady Audley’s portrayal of duplicity threatens the middle class, more than her criminal acts do. Her dual character while it portrays the reality of the dual nature of man, is treacherous because she hazes the boundaries between the lower and middle classes.  As Langland (2002) argues, Braddon’s novel discloses consumerism that signifies the advancement of the middle class and that Lucy is a new consumer whose activities are a lurking danger that threatens to alter the face of the bourgeoisie eternally. Her rebellious acts further drive a wedge between the middle and the lower classes, much to the chagrin of the middle class, which feels that the lower class is a socioeconomic hazard to its existence. Eventually Lady Audley has to face the consequences of her ambition and passions not just for her criminal acts but because she attempts not only to jump class but also to alter the very nature of the bourgeoisie class. 

While Gilbert (2013) argues that Braddon’s novella is termed simply as a sensational novel devoid of substance that makes up recognized literary works of the Victorian Era, it nevertheless offers more than a simplistic approach to the idea of social stratification. Lady Audley’s Secrets offers valuable insight into misogyny and imperialistic attitudes and how they underlie the socio-economic disparities that isolate the proletariat and the bourgeoisie (Langland, 2002).  Misogyny and imperialism, other than encouraging class divisions, also fan the tensions that lie therein. For example, the two subthemes are simultaneously depicted in Robert’s intricate feelings about female characters. Robert’s hatred for women is fanned by the fact that most women are poor and as such are seen as immoral in his own eyes (Tatum, 2005). His imperial attitudes are further fueled by his increasing belief that the murder of his ally is committed by his foe, Lady Audley. He believes that Lady Audley is deceptive and connives everyone by concealing her true self and intentions. This leads to heightened hatred by Robert for all women who he now thinks are innately deceitful and untrustworthy. Her love affair with Clara does little to dissipate his misogynistic attitude. He develops a sense of concealed hatred for her when she pressures him to investigate George’s mysterious disappearance, which is not only frustrating but also an exhausting task. Robert dislikes the fact that women, especially Clara, enjoy unbridled power over men since they easily trick and manipulate them willfully, which is another example of how a powerful female figure influences men and obliterates borders that separate gender issues that underlie social divisions. Robert only takes a more positive view of women when Lady Audley is eventually overpowered and is punished (Braddon, 1862).  Such a change of attitude is an indication of how the rich deride the attempts of the poor to bridge class barriers. 

While the above assertions appear to portray misogyny and imperialism as personal attributes, Braddon employs imperialist discourse to show how the two subthemes climax the social structural inequalities. This is mainly illustrated by the suppression experienced by Lady Audley and others of the lower classes. Imperialism implies the acts and philosophies that lead to the domination of a class of people by the ruling elite. It’s a philosophy that allows not only domination but also colonization of sections of the society.   Lady Audley deliberately seeks to take shortcuts to socioeconomic empowerment and escape from colonization, which is the manifestation of the New Poor Law of the 1880s Victorian England that differentiated class based on economic activity. Besides the suppression of numerous female emotions, the 19th Century England required the female to be restricted within domestic chores, which was seen as her moral reproductive duty. Social norms were put in place to seriously restrict her involvement in viable economic activities, commerce and politics that would lead to her advancement (Gilbert, 2013).

This Law produced the idea of the proper female characterized by being domestic savvy, angelic homemaker, asexual, a woman of little to no ambitions and passions, incorruptible lady, subservient, submissive and willing to sacrifice her identity for the sake of her man and family (Clapp-Itnyre, 2002). Lady Audley is tired of these restrictions and knowingly pursues the idea of the improper woman, which is essential for her growth. The improper woman is defined as evil and wild, a pleasure seeking whore who seeks her sexual desires, a subversive force to the man, is all knowing slayer, predator and victimizer (Dellamora, 1999: Clapp-Itnyre, 2002).

These definitions of proper and improper feminine character are not only useful, but may have been useful in showing division of work, but also in highlighting femininity and sexuality (Dellamora, 1999). They also show how male imperial attitudes augment the very idea of class separation and how it’s a disservice to women. Lady Audley’s ability to take on both roles of a proper and an improper woman shows how Brandon gives characters’ lives outside the text of her work. While Braddon’s portrays imperialism as more of the battle of the sexes, Stevenson’s novella depicts an inextricably complicated reflection of the good and evil in the society, which, ass Grant & Tiner (2013) argue, is a reflection of conflict between civilization and unrestrained imperialism.  Dr. Jekyll desires to have the kind of unbridled but fatal freedom. While this shines light on England’s aggressive desire to overthrow other nations. Moreover, this is a fiery sense of superiority towards non-Western nations. Through this, Stevenson manages to give themes and characters life outside the text.

Conclusion 

Victorian Literary figures embody the groups of literary critics who feel that literature must not be void. It must depict the real happenings in the society. This is evidenced by Mary E. Braddon’s and Robert Louis Stevenson in their works, through which the concept of the division of the society along social structures is real. In their works, these two writers prove that social classes, while being separate entities, do not exist in isolation. They must coexist. However, co-existence of social classes is laced with conflicts and tensions.  This is because a social class is seen as a moral entity. Those who seek to swap class are seen as having ulterior motives. They are immoral. The moral depiction of social stratification creates clear social boundaries that are hard to unmark.

References

Barreca, R. (1990). Sex and death in Victorian literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Bernstein, S. D. (1997). Confessional subjects: Revelations of gender and power in Victorian literature and culture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Braddon, M. E. (1862). Lady Audley’s secret. Leipzig: s. n.

Chesterton, G. K. (2016). Victorian Age in Literature. Read Books Ltd

Clapp-Itnyre, A. (2002). Angelic airs, subversive songs: Music as social discourse in the Victorian novel. Athens: Ohio University Press.

Dellamora, R. (1999). Victorian sexual dissidence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Engel, B. (2013). The Jekyll and Hyde syndrome: What to do if someone in your life has a dual personality – or if you do. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Grant, J., & Tiner, R. (2013). Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. London: Usborne Publishing Ltd.

Gilbert, P. K. (2013). A companion to sensation fiction. Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell. 

Langland, E. (2002). Telling tales: Gender and narrative form in Victorian literature and culture. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.

Levine, G. L., & Madden, W. A. (1968). The art of Victorian prose. New York: Oxford University Press.

Stevenson, R. L. (2008). The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Waiheke Island: Floating Press.

Tatum, K. E. (2005). Explaining the depiction of violence against women in Victorian literature: Applying Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection to Dickens, Brontë, and Braddon. Lewiston: E. Mellen Press.

Tillotson, G. (1998). A view of Victorian literature. Oxford [England: Clarendon Press.

Tucker, H. F. (2013). A companion to Victorian literature & culture. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers.