A CRITICAL STUDY of CHARLES DICKENS' REPRESENTATION of the SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED by Pamela Makati Submitted in Fulfillment O
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A CRITICAL STUDY OF CHARLES DICKENS’ REPRESENTATION OF THE SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED By Pamela Makati Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in English in the Department of English at University of Fort Hare (East London Campus) Supervisor: Dianne Shober December 2008 Dedication I dedicate this research to God for granting me the strength and the endurance to carry out this project and overcoming the challenges I encountered. Page | i Acknowledgements Firstly, I express my gratitude to my supervisor Dianne Shober who has been of great help throughout the course of my research. I appreciate her generosity and eagerness in providing me with adequate and appropriate research material, and for the diligent and thorough examination of my thesis. Above all, I greatly admire Dianne for her commitment to my research as a supervisor, which she expressed by welcoming me into her home even on weekends and holidays to discuss my work. I also thank the English Department for the support and encouragement. To Khanyisile and Teneille whose companionship and sharing of ideas have been of great assistance. To my family, even though they are miles away, they have supported me all the way. Lastly, to my fiancé, Mike, who encouraged and supported me when I felt demotivated. Page | ii Declaration I declare that A Critical Study of Charles Dickens’ Representation of the Socially Disadvantaged is my own work and all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. …………………………… Miss Pamela Makati Page | iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER ONE: HISTORY IN THE MAKING OF AN ARTIST ..................................................................................... 7 1.1 CHARLES DICKENS’ BIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................7 1.2 THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND DICKENS’ WORKS ....................................................................................................17 1.3 THE VICTORIAN SOCIETY ..........................................................................................................................................25 1.4 THE VICTORIAN NOVEL............................................................................................................................................29 CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .....................................................................................................37 2.1. THE REALIST SCHOOL OF THOUGHT............................................................................................................................37 2.2 FEMINISM AND DICKENS’ NOVELS ..............................................................................................................................50 2.3 PERSPECTIVES ON DICKENS’ WORKS ...........................................................................................................................59 CHAPTER THREE: THE POOR IN PERSPECTIVE.....................................................................................................66 3.1. THE POOR LAW ACT .............................................................................................................................................66 3.2 THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF THE POOR ........................................................................................................................75 3.3 THE POOR IN DICKENS’ WORKS..................................................................................................................................80 CHAPTER FOUR: CHILDREN IN MISERY...............................................................................................................88 4.1 CHILD LABOUR.......................................................................................................................................................88 4.2 DEPRIVATION OF EDUCATION TO THE POOR CHILD .........................................................................................................96 4.3 EXAMINATION OF THE PLIGHT OF CHILDREN IN DICKENS’ NOVELS ...................................................................................101 CHAPTER FIVE: TOLERATED AND UNACCEPTED WOMEN..................................................................................108 5.1 THE VICTORIAN “ANGEL IN THE HOUSE”...................................................................................................................108 5.2 THE REBELLIOUS WOMAN......................................................................................................................................115 5.3 A COMPARISON OF DICKENS’ FEMALE CHARACTERS AND THOSE CREATED BY FEMINIST WRITERS...........................................122 CHAPTER SIX...................................................................................................................................................126 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................................137 APPENDIX 1.......................................................................................................................................................145 APPENDIX 2.......................................................................................................................................................147 APPENDIX 3.......................................................................................................................................................148 APPENDIX 4.......................................................................................................................................................149 APPENDIX 5.......................................................................................................................................................152 APPENDIX 6.......................................................................................................................................................154 APPENDIX 7.......................................................................................................................................................157 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................................................163 Page | iv Abstract This research is an examination of Charles Dickens’ representation of the underprivileged in the Victorian society. The socially disadvantaged members that will be under discussion are the poor, women and children, who are of major concern in Dickens’ selected texts namely Bleak House, Great Expectations, Hard Times and Oliver Twist. It is evident that Dickens noted the impact of industrialisation on the Victorian society as it created a massive urban development, leading to a higher class division. Initially, the English society consisted of the aristocracy, the landed gentry and the servants who belonged to the lower class. The influx of industrialisation created a further division of these classes in which there emerged the capitalists or bourgeoisie, who were the industrialists like Mr. Bounderby in Hard Times, and the working class, who were the industrial workers. Although the Industrial Revolution fostered urban growth, it is unfortunate that the number of the poor also increased. Many of them lived under squalid conditions with poor sanitation leading to fatal diseases and even death. Being a socially conscious writer, Dickens depicts the world in which he lives, as a strategy to raise awareness in his readers of what was really happening, and hopefully, to bring social reforms. Apart from the poor, Dickens also portrays the brutal treatment of children at the workhouses. This research will show that Dickens was an obstinate critique of the Poor Law and its administration. Furthermore, it will be proven that Dickens also abhorred child labour because of his own childhood experience. Moreover, his repugnance is also noted in the way he creates child characters like Oliver Twist who are mistreated and exploited as child workers. Page | 1 Dickens representation of women is largely influenced by the Victorian ideology surrounding the role of women in society. It is evident that the English society was very patriarchal and strongly confined women to domesticity. Women were also expected to uphold virtue and purity and if they lost both, they were despised and not tolerated at all by society. Although Dickens creates both the Victorian stereotypical woman who is the “angel in the house,” and the antitypical women who comprise of the prostitutes, those who bear children out of wedlock and the larger than life characters like Mrs. Joe Gargery and Molly in Great Expectations, he is revealing the different types of women one can find in society. Moreover, the juxtaposition of the stereotype and the antitype is also a suggestion of the latter’s struggle to fight against patriarchy by assuming the unexpected. Therefore, this research will prove that Dickens is not a patriarchal writer but he actually sympathizes with the plight of women. A realist and naturalist reading of Dickens’ selected texts will provide literary theory for this research. Writing during the time that