The Novel

1
The Novel

• Floriana Camarda IV B

2
The novel an expression of the society
3
The augustan age

• The first half of 18th is best known as the
  Augustan Age . This indicates its classical
  outlook related to the golden age of Roman Empire
  , under the emperor Augustus . The British ruling
  class looked upon themselves as the true heir of
  the Roman Empire, for this reason Neoclassicism
  became a style of life and it was reflected in
  poetry , painting and architecture .

4

• This period was mainly characterized by
• A belief in Reason as able of imposing order on
  an otherwise chaotic world and considered as an
  instrument to free man from fears and
  prejudices.
• Augustans represented Nature as a balanced
  composition of objects . Nature was civilized by
  man.
• Upper-class women acquired importance(they took
  part in debates)
• The 18th century was also the age of the Grand
  Tour , the journey across Europe that well
  educated young men and women used to take for
  pleasure and instruction.
• The Augustan Age saw the diffusion of newspapers
  and magazines and the rise of novel ,considered
  instruments of knowledge for middle-class people.

• DAVID ALLAN
  

5
The middle class

• The middle class had been increasing in
  importance since the 16th century , and after the
  Glorious Revolution it merged into aristocracy.
  There was no violent conflict between the two
  classes. Rich tradesmen bought estates and , with
  them , seats in Parliament , while their sons and
  daughters married into aristocracy . In the 18th
  century this class , made up of traders ,
  merchants , bankers, grew up in power and
  prestige thanks to the development of foreign and
  colonial trade. The great Augustan artists such
  as Alexander Pope and William Hogarth were
  critical about the rise of the middle class, with
  its bad taste and cult of money . For this new
  class was important improving their manners and
  language, being elegant and learning the strict
  rules of behaviour . In fact , lacked a cultural
  background , they tried to acquire it from the
  pages of newspapers and magazines and attending
  clubs and coffee- houses where they discussed
  current events. An other important instrument of
  knowledge was the novel.

6
The novel

• The most innovative genre in 18th century was the
  novel , for this reason this period was also
  called The Age of Prose . A novel is a fictitious
  prose narrative presenting a picture of real life
  . The need of realism represents the greatest
  difference between 18th century novels and the
  prose romances of Middle Ages and Renaissances
  romances . The novel satisfied the need of middle
  class which demanded original stories related to
  ordinary experiences . The new reading public
  wanted to read stories which reflected their own
  interests and problems with characters they could
  more or less identify with.

7
The characters were people who lived in a world
they shared with their readers Robinson Crusoe
(Daniel Defoe)is a middle-class hero , full of
commercial wisdom and able to survive using only
his physical and mental resources. He is the
example of modern tradesman.
The idea of travelling is also central in
Jonathan Swifts utopian fiction , Gullivers
travels .Though his travels are through a
surrealistic world, this book reflects the desire
of 18th century British men an women travelling
physically and mentally.
Women were often the heroines of novels(Pamela by
Samuel Richardson) and also avid readers of them
. In fact they had more spare time to spend in
reading . The novel was considered a brief
escape from the prison of domesticity.
8
The importance of the novel nowadays

• After the 18th century , the novel continued to
  satisfy the societys needs and at the same time
  to represent a sort of its portrait .The novel ,
  in fact , has always adapted itself to the
  several necessities of a society in continuous
  evolution . We often affirm that nowadays the
  writing has been gradually substituted by images
  . I dont think so . I think that the novel
  still covers an important role , not only for
  our instruction . For example , the wide
  diffusion of fantasy and of magical realism(in
  which magical elements or illogical scenarios
  appear in an otherwise realistic or even "normal"
  setting ) genre , testifies the need to escape
  from the problems of our world and the desire to
  discover a better and more exciting life , right
  what was searched by middle-class women in 18th
  century . So in the end the novel was . is and
  will always be the better expression of the
  society.

9

• Images
• 2nd slide Will James monument , William
  Hogarth-Marriage à la Mode (the Marriage
  Contract),Jean-Honoré Fragonard A Young Girl
  Reading
• 3rd slide Will James monument
• 4th slide painting by David Allan
• 5th slide William Hogarth- The Rakes Progress
  (1-2)
• 6th slide A portable Bookstall (from a print )
• 7th slide Joseph Highmore (Pamela)