I first read Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar in my eleventh year of school. As I shifted through the pages over my winter break, I began to self-identify with the main character of the story; she is as full of emotional damage and depressing thought as was my sixteen-year-old self. I discovered my own cynical tone through lines Plath offered: “If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the same time, then I'm neurotic as hell. I'll be flying back and forth between one mutually exclusive thing and another for the rest of my days.” This closeness I felt to the main character haunted me throughout the rest of my winter break. What bothered me the most was the proof, through the bent pages and scribbled margins, that my teenage woes and worries might not go away. The main character was well on her way through college and was still battling the same insecurities I dealt with on a daily basis. Would I ever be free of them? Or would I be stuck in the same bell jar as her? On the first day back to school, I asked my teacher why she assigned such a story for us to read. “Did you want me to become depressed?” I asked her. I will never forget her reply; from that day forward it has remained stationary in my mind while in my literature classes. “Just because it is art doesn’t mean it is always pretty.”
The ugly side of humanity has been exposed in literature and theater for as long as it has been produced. The play “Lysistrata” (411 BC) incorporates a hilarious view of manipulation and power; Shakespeare (late 16th Century) wrote of horrifically manipulative characters such as Iago in “Othello.” However, what was different in The Bell Jar than the previous works mention is that the main character is the nasty part of humanity, and yet is a sympathetic character. Today, writers create stories of the every-day man and the psychologically damaged girl, and it is still found in the same category of literature. The voice of the middle class is finally established in literature, largely because of the Realism movement.
Realism began in the nineteenth century, when Europe experienced a sense of upheaval from its former Romanticized culture. In the early 1800s, political changes occurred throughout Europe rapidly due to the movement of the Industrial revolution, which began in England in the eighteenth century. Traveling became easier, cities became more urbanized, and jobs were created which had not existed before. The shift from the agricultural state-of-life in Europe to one more urbanized culture implemented a greater need for the common man in order to stabilize an economy. Throughout Europe, the middle working class began to recognize their sheer importance for their country, and began to seek recognition for their efforts.
“’Liberty’ became the dominant political slogan of the century… here liberation from the rule of the foreigner, there they emancipation of the serf; here the removal of economic restrictions on trade and manufacturing, there the introduction of a constitution, free speech, parliamentary institutions, and agitation for the rights of women. Almost everywhere in Europe, the middle classes established their effective rule...” (Wellek, 509)
Through this large social, economical and political shift, a change occurred in the arts as well. While painting and architecture floundered in the new era, literature became very responsive to the environment. Literature explored the new methods to express the social changes of the time by modernizing the subject matter and techniques of writing styles (Wellek, 511). Following Romanticism in literature, Realism became the new writing style for the nineteenth century. Realism can be understood as “a theory or tendency in writing to depict events in human life in a matter-of-fact, straightforward manner. It is an attempt to reflect life "as it actually is… [Realism] involves careful description of everyday life, "warts and all," often the lives of middle and lower class characters,” (Wheeler). Realism was not a new, fresh idea to the literary field, for previous pieces of literature written centuries prior to the nineteenth century did have realistic elements. What was new and fresh to this modern realism was the “systematic description of contemporary society, with a serious purpose, often even with a tragic tone, with sympathy for heroes drawn from the middle and lower classes” (Wellek, 512). Simply put, Realism offered the reader an insight to the middle class’ psyche, and sought to highlight the negative aspects of life, rather than sweep them under the rug.
Henrik Ibsen was one of the authors in Europe who began constructing his work with the new, modern ties of literature. He addressed social issues and developed his middle class characters, all while satirizing the out-of-date bourgeoisie of the nineteenth century. He had a very realistic approach when it came to his writings, often retelling of the social situations as “the way they were.” One of the main critiques of Ibsen’s work was “Is this even art? How can we call it art if it is not beautiful?” Yet, that was his intention, for Ibsen did not seek to write literature which carried the same guidelines as Romanticism. The world around him, in the nineteenth century, had changed. Europe had changed. And thus, the content of literature needed to change.
Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” in the 19th century shook the core of the definition of beauty. Very different than its predecessors, Ibsen sought to bring to the forefront social issues which needed to be talked about. He incorporated nasty subjects, such as women’s roles in society, social classes entwining, and even venereal diseases into his plays. And although these topics aren’t beautiful, he wrote about them in such an artistic manner that his play cannot help but be revered. He brought complicated characters, such as Hedda, whom was full of malice and manipulation, and made them sympathetic to the audience. From Hedda’s mocking of Aunt Julie’s hat for shear humor, the manipulation of Mrs. Elvsted, to the encouragement of Lovborg’s downfall, Hedda proves herself quite genius. Hedda Gabler is sick and tired of being beautiful, of being wealthy, and of being bored. Everything in her life, she feels, is dictated by a will none of her own. And through this, and because she is obviously a very intelligent woman, she toys with people’s lives in order to feel in control. “The play is not, however, simply a character study… It is also an extremely effective, swiftly moving play of action, deftly plotted in its clashes and climaxes” (Simon, 652). Ibsen affectively portrayed middle class’ characters, emotions and societal injustices, and although his work was very different than traditional theater, it is very easily classified as art.
Because of authors like Ibsen in the Realism movement who sought to explore the middle class in a different light, our literary cannon of today has developed to highly personal content. Today we celebrate stories from different cultures that are (un)familiar to us. Fredrick Douglass’ slave narrative is highlighted and explored through literature classes; The Perks of Being a Wallflower is kept in most middle school lockers. Today, every reader can identify with a specific novel or short story because their class and culture is being published. Instead of readers seeking to find their identity through a metaphysical poet’s lines, one can simply walk into Barnes and Nobles and select a section they identify with.
Post the Realism movement in literature, writers now have a limitless canvas to explore. The middle class voice is expressed to the reader, acting as a strong indicator for the ideas of the time. Literature coincides with history, acting as a personal account of the movements shaping the eras. For example, without the Realism movement leading to a personal approach in literature, the documents of Anne Frank and horrific retellings of Tadeusz Borowski never would have been published. Thus, the first person account of the Holocaust would have been lost. Furthermore, the extremely personal poetry and fiction of Sylvia Plath never would have been exposed, thus never reaching the hands of the sixteen-year-old me, who was searching for something to relate to.
Realism extended what the ideas of entertainment and literature were to the every-day people. Today, even our popular culture represents the ideas and conventions of the Realism movement. Instead of reading about wealthy princes in moral dilemmas, young girls chose to rather read about common women like themselves, such as The Babysitter’s Club. Even our television programs contain elements of Realism. The highest ever grossing sitcom, “Friends,” was the story of everyday life for six middle class adults in New York City. Society does not like to be too fooled when it comes to our reality; we would rather be entertained by something we can relate to rather than being blindsided by something we cannot identify with.
Without the movement of Realism, our literary confinements of today would not be so limitless. As writers, we can explore different areas of grey matter and rest assured that some percentage of the population will relate to it. Whether our ideas manifest in the hardships of a poor economy of today, or the social injustices of women’s roles in a conflicting society (like Plath), we can write about them. People want to read something they can understand. And what is better to write about than every-day life?
Work Cited
Simon, Peter, ed. "Henrik Ibsen." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Shorter Second ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2009. 649-53. Print.
Wellek, Rene, and Sarah Lawall. "The Nineteenth Century: Realism and Symbolism." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Shorter Second ed. Vol. 2. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 509-15. Print.
Wheeler, L. K. "Literary Terms and Definitions R." Literary Terms and Definitions: R. 26 Aug. 2009. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_R.html.
