Essay on Quest for Identity in the Victorian Era - 1880 Words

Quest for Identity in the Victorian Era Who are you? said the caterpillar to Alice (Carroll 60). This was a question she could not answer. Why doesnt Alice know what constitutes her being? Humans desire completeness, and a solid identity. Up to the age of Darwinism, that void was filled by religious faith. But with the emergence of Charles Darwins theories on natural selection and survival of the fittest, Victorians were reevaluating their paths to righteousness. Without God as a foundation, what were lifes rules? Peter Bowler argues in Charles Darwin: The Man and His Influence that the old road to salvation had been damaged by one of Darwins greatest triumphs - being the catalyst for the†¦show more content†¦Victorians, in the quest to find who they were, were faced with the difficulty of choosing an identity. Victorians knew they could play more than one personality and almost had to due to the strict social codes within their society. Even a child, Alice was very fond of pretending to be two people (Carroll 13) and throughout Lewis Carrolls Alices Adventures in Wonderland, she grapples with finding her true identity. As she speaks to the caterpillar, she says that she cannot explain herself because she has not been herself since falling through the rabbit hole (60). But if Im not the same, the next question is, who in the world am I? Ah, thats the great puzzle! (Carroll 19) Like Alice, other Victorians could not definitively be a personality and searched for an identity they conceived was the purest form. Such is the case in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Robert Louis Stevensons The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in which Dr. Jekyll attempts to flush every bit of his evil being into Mr. Hyde. As well, Dorian Gray wishes his portrait would acquire all the traits he desires not to attain. Both these men and Alice struggle with an identity crisis, questing for their ideal Victorian self. Seen as the answer to make the ideal self, drugs were becoming known as a cure and solid solution to problems in an unstable world. Even Alice travels toShow MoreRelatedAlice in Wonderland: A Curious Child1443 Words   |  6 Pagesis a representation of a middle class child in Victorian England. Victorian children were expected to be able to recite rules and lessons. Auerbach believed that Alice is a perfect example of the Victorian mindset and a way to see into ones psyche. Who dreamed it shows a part of the Victorian quest for the origins of the self that culminates in the controlled regression of Freudian analysis. It is quite funny how Carroll disagrees with the Victorian mindset yet he is part of the mindset. I agreeRead MoreEnglish Literature in the Victorian Era2737 Words   |  11 Pageslunatic man, Im a sane man fighting for his soul this quote from Bram Stoker’s- Dracula, illustrates and foreshadows that in the Victorian era, a quest for meaning was seen by the ma jority of society as ‘lunacy’, however the characters that Stoker uses, are represented ‘sane’, suggesting Stoker’s encouragement of a quest for meaning and purpose in the Victorian era of increasing uncertainty. Along with Stoker, Charles Dickens and Lord Alfred Tennyson also address the individual’s pursuit for meaningRead MoreJane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte2164 Words   |  9 Pagesequality were difficult for Victorian women, largely because of their gender, but also because they did not have any independent source of wealth. Published in 1847, Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Brontà « depicts the life of women during that time that were economically devalued and socially marginalized. 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Different characters throughout Wilde’s play establishRead MoreLiterary Review of Bram Stokers Dracula Essay1230 Words   |  5 PagesWorld of Bram Stoker,† by Jennifer Dorn, declares that Stokers vision of the setting of London’s Victorian upper-class society, derived from his station in the acclaimed Lyceum Theatre and from his memories of summer travels to the cliff side fishing village of Whitby. In the novel, the Westenra’s reside in the quaint seaside village and it is also the port in which the counts embarks on his quest for blood, ultimately claiming the life of Lucy Westenra. Many diary entries in the novel describeRead MoreVictorian Literature Essay2858 Words   |  12 PagesViktor E. Frankl, the Austrian psychologist, once stated that â€Å"When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves†. 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In modern times, marriage rates are declining and new family structures are becoming more common; however, in Victorian England, marriage was aRead MoreThe Exposure of Feminist Critique in 19th Century Literature: a Look at Charlotte Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Jane Eyre1749 Words   |  7 Pagesimplicit, physical, and even made humorous or satirical. Charlotte Brontà «, a 19th century Victorian feminist wrote her novel Jane Eyre as a means of exposing the confining environments, shameful lack of education, and pitiful dependence upon male relatives for survival (Brackett, 2000). 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