por We explain what literary realism is, its characteristics, historical origin, themes, works and representative authors
What is literary realism?
He literary realism It is a literary movement that emerged in the mid-19th century in France and quickly spread to other European countries as a reaction to romanticism; he is interested in reflecting in a more real and objective way the material, social and political conditions of modern society.
It is not that during romanticism reality was not reflected, but it served as a means to express ideas and feelings, and not as a real scenario, with real characters and situations.
Realist literature places greater emphasis on the historical context, the physical and social environment where the characters move, incorporating beings and situations hitherto absent from literature, or that were presented in an idealized way, such as peasants, artisans and workers.
The most prominent authors of this current were Gustave Flaubert, Émile Zola, William Thackeray, Charles Dickens, Gustav Freitag, Leopoldo Alas “Clarín”, Benito Pérez Galdós and Emilia Pardo Bazán, among others.
Origin and historical context
During the second half of the 19th century, the modernization of Europe accelerated: communications between the main cities improved thanks to the railways, there was a greater exchange of press, magazines and books, and in almost all countries the bourgeoisie grew and established itself.
Italy and Germany are unified, and the industrial revolution advances rapidly in England and France, and then in other countries, creating prosperity but also greater poverty and social discontent.
For some authors it is the moment in which the bourgeoisie becomes conservative and for this reason the intellectuals break with this class.
Before 1850, in literature, romanticism began to show interest in the social situation, to the point of speaking of a «socialist romanticism.» In the advances towards a realistic literature, the French writers Honoré de Balzac and Stendhal (Henri Beyle) are precursors.
Characteristics of literary realism
direct observation of reality
There is a greater concern on the part of the writers to document and reflect the facts with the greatest possible realism. As an example, Flaubert studied medical treatises to describe the death by poisoning of Madame Bovary.
Predominance of the description
In realistic novels, the surrounding landscape becomes one more character, the descriptions of urban (especially the poor areas of large cities) and rural environments are very detailed.
Objectivity vs. Subjectivity
The inner life of the characters does not disappear, but takes a backseat compared to the social interaction and external events. The realistic author tries to act, although he does not always succeed, as an impartial observer of the events he narrates. Psychology predominates over spirituality.
More sober, less literary style
Stendhal, one of the precursors of realism, recommended reading the civil code before starting to write. Realism tries to use a simple and little fancy language, a less “literary” language.
Philosophical and ideological influences
In the realist novel, also called the bourgeois novel, influences from the main philosophical and ideological currents of the time can be detected, such as positivism, scientism (in which various pseudoscientific theories are included), Darwinism and Marxism.
Absence of fantastic events and exoticisms
The realistic novel discards the stories of witches and ghosts, of fantasies and miracles, as well as the stories in exotic places. It favors urban or provincial landscapes, well described and contextualized.
However, realist authors also ventured into exotic or fantastic genres, such as Flaubert with his novels. salammbo (1862) or The temptations of San Antonio (1874).
Increased interest in social issues
There is less interest in intimate issues and more in social issues, focused on a critique of the negative aspects of industrial progress.
Concern for colloquial language
In realist literature there is a concern to reflect the language of the characters in the most realistic way possible, with its different dialectal forms.
Themes of literary realism
Social classes
Realism directs much of its attention to the stories and adventures of characters from the middle class and the petty bourgeoisie: employees, lawyers, provincial doctors, housewives, etc.
Even when he describes characters from the aristocracy, like Tolstoy in Anna Karenina (1877), contextualizes them in a world surrounded by serfs and peasants, and reflects the decline of the Russian aristocracy.
Political and social conditions
The realistic novel often focuses on the conditions of the popular social classes (Dickens, Zola, Pérez Galdós), or the political situation (Tolstoy, Flaubert, Pérez Galdós). Topics such as the Napoleonic wars, life in the neighborhoods of London or the revolution of 1848 (France), are part of realistic literature.
Reality versus romantic illusion
For some critics, the novel that prefigures realism is Don Quixote, by Cervantes, for the theme of the confrontation of fantasy with the real world; that comes to be the same, about love, in Madame Bovary (1857), by Gustave Flaubert: the confrontation of romantic love with real life.
Representatives of literary realism and their works
Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880)
French writer, considered the greatest representative of literary realism and one of the great storytellers of all time. His novels are considered realistic Madame Bovary (1857), sentimental education (1869) and Bouvard and Pecuchet (1881).
Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893)
French novelist and short story writer, author of six novels and more than three hundred short stories, and considered one of the great innovators of this narrative genre. Among his realistic texts, his novels stand out A life (1883) and Bel Ami (1885), and the story «Ball of Suet» (1880).
Emile Zola (1840-1902)
This outstanding French intellectual, famous for his participation in the Dreyfus case, in addition to writing realistic novels, created another literary current: naturalism. Among his first novels, of a realistic nature, stand out Therese Raquin (1868), The Rougon fortune (1871) and The pack (1871).
William M. Thackeray (1811-1863)
Narrator, journalist and English illustrator, born in India and considered the main literary rival of Dickens. The most outstanding realistic works of him are The luck of Barry Lyndon (1844), the vanity fair (1844) and The Henry Esmond Story (1852).
This English writer is considered by critics as the best novelist of the Victorian era. Among his realistic novels are: Oliver Twist (1839), Hard times (1854) and Big hopes (1861).
Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)
He is considered one of the greatest writers of Russian and universal literature, among his most representative realistic narratives are War and peace (1869), Anna Karenina (1877) and The death of Ivan Ilyich (1886).
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Writer, humorist, columnist and speaker, this North American author whose name was originally Samuel L. Clemens, is remembered above all for his novels Tom Sawyer’s adventures (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), and his memoirs Life on the Mississippi (1883).
Benito Perez Galdos (1843-1920)
Author of an extensive narrative work, he is considered one of the best representatives of realism and one of the greatest writers in the Spanish language. From his extensive work we can mention as an example the national episodes (46 novels published between 1873 and 1912), The disinherited (1881) and Fortunata and Jacinta (1887).
Leopoldo Alas «Clarin» (1852-1901)
Writer, lawyer and professor, he also stood out as a literary critic. He is the author of novels Downhill (1891), The Regent (1885) and his only son (1890).
Emilia Pardo Bazan (1851-1921)
This multifaceted Spanish writer (journalist, essayist, literary critic, poet and playwright, among other activities), is also considered a precursor of Spanish feminism. Among her novels we can mention the young lady (1885), The pazos of Ulloa (1887) and Memoirs of a bachelor (1896).