This study presents five chapters for the discussion of five social problem novels: Coningsby (1844) and Sybil (1845), by Benjamin Disraeli; Mary Barton (1848) by Elizabeth Gaskell; and Alton Locke (1850) and Yeast (1851) by Charles Kingsley. As social problem novels they contain a social thesis which proposes to influence human relations in a general or particular way. / My purpose is to demonstrate to what extent the nineteenth century critics believe Disraeli, Gaskell, and Kingsley have effected successful social protests in these romans a these. / This study commences with an introduction to the condition of England and is followed by the first chapter which provides brief information about the writers, their novels, and their letters. / Chapter Two examines how the critics excoriate Disraeli's social protest in Coningsby. Disraeli's motives are self-serving; Young Englandism is of ephemeral interest and cannot regenerate England's national character. Sybil is a more successful social protest whereby its strengths balance against its weaknesses. / In Chapter Three the critics unanimously acclaim Gaskell's Mary Barton as the premier social problem novel of its time in purpose, content, and style. An exemplary life, bolstered by a lifetime of personal experience among the poor eminently qualify her to write such a novel in which her tragic scenes, characterization, and description summon the deepest pathos and lay bare the general social distress of this period. / In Chapter Four the critics contend that Kingsley's social protest in Alton Locke is hampered by his lack of first-hand experience with the poor, his violation of the properties of composition, and his demagogic tone. On the other hand Kingsley's explanation of the slop-shop practices in the tailoring business, his pictorial power, and some of his characterization re-establish a vivid social protest. They ascribe his social protest in Yeast a failure because the novel violates the properties of composition and contains so many themes which fragment its focus. / Chapter Five summarizes the social protest value of the novels surveyed in this study. It places in perspective the literary contribution of these authors to the social problem novel. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-11, Section: A, page: 3935. / Director: John J. Fenstermaker. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76538 |
| Contributors | Allera, Francis Charles., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 307 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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