Victorian Era Synthesis Question - Asher Period 4 Team 7

The age of Romanticism was a reaction to the Enlightenment in that it refuted the over-rationalization of nature and emphasized visual and emotional aspects that could not be quantified. The literature of the period consisted of works like Wuthering Heights, which revolves around the intense but flawed relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff, and Frankenstein, the story of a man whose search for companionship backfires horribly. Both novels examined the imperfect nature of people and the importance of interpersonal relationships.

This philosophy did not continue in the Victorian era. It favored sexual restraint, did not tolerate crime, and perhaps most importantly, had a strict set of social rules. Whereas the Romantic period focused on the significance of the creativity of individuals and their interaction with nature, the subsequent era prioritized a stringent morality that individuals were supposed to adhere to.

The novels of Charles Dickens, probably the most famous author of the era, featured strong moral component in several of his novels. In A Christmas Carol, Dickens harshly criticizes those with means who are not charitable, and in Hard Times, he critiques the society brought about by the Industrial Revolution.

Hard Times also features a story line about education that implicitly criticizes the way teachers trained students to learn a series of facts but did not encourage them to think critically. The Enlightenment brought a long many of the facts those students are trying to learn, and the Victorian Period favoring the era that Romanticism was reacting to shows clearly the contrast between the two periods.