The Inheritance of the 19th Century in Us Fiction
TOPIC 1: The inheritance of the 19th Century in US fiction. Realism: from classical to psychological, from Howells to James. The novel as “a direct impression of life”. The new “American century” and the cultivated artist.
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC. HISTORICAL CONTEXT.
1. Historical and cultural context at the turn of the century
Modernization of America (1865-1914): from agrarian to industrial
A time of contrasts:
Inventions
Growth
Wealth
Nostalgic images
Poverty and discrimination
Scientific discoveries:
Darwins The Origin of Species, 1859
Second Law of Thermodynamics or Law of Entropy (Rudolph Julius Claudius), 1865
Change in values
Individualism, capitalism, survival of the fittest, self-made man…
Industrialization and economic transformation:
Technological progress after the Civil War
Change in landscape
The city
Social transformation
1860: 40 million; 1900: 80 million
27 million immigrants from 1840 to 1910
Social polarization
Terrible work conditions of the lower class
Reflection in literature
Changes in literary industry: mass production, commercialization, middle class reading public, new journals and presses…
U.S. literature in process of transformation
Regionalist literature: popular and mass culture from the West, Midwest, South, women and minorities; local themes, nostalgia (romance, domestic novels, frontier stories…).
New literary themes:
Self-made man,
The city
Controversy:
Popular vs. elitist culture,
East vs. West,
Imagination vs. the machine,
Pragmatism vs. idealism,
Material vs. spiritual progress,
U.S. vs. Europe,