Fictional literature has always been important to society.

It provides us with a way to spread culture, a way to express emotions, and of course, a source of entertainment. However, literature has evolved immensely over the centuries. In comparison to works of older eras, today’s literature is quite different due to drastic shifts in societal standards, ideas, living conditions, and morals. These shifts have altered both the content and characters found in important works, since current beliefs heavily influence the popular media of their specific time period.

We can track this evolution through what are considered some of the best novels of the 19th to the 21st centuries. A comparison of popular novels from these time periods displays the evolution of literature from the past to the present through historical development. The 19th century is divided into two literary periods, which are the Romantic and Victorian periods. The Romantic period lasted from roughly 1798 to 1837. Authors of this era were fascinated with the beautiful and the grotesque, and were also heavily influenced by political events, such as the French Revolution (Eastern Connecticut State University). The French Revolution was a rebellion against the French monarchy that was full of passion, anger, and was driven by a demand for change (specifically for a demand related to an elimination of tyranny). Romantics were also especially interested in human emotion and a sense of excitement related to the natural world and an artists’ creativity. In addition to this, the Romantic period was preceded by the Age of Reason, also known as the Enlightenment, which began in the late 17th century and ended in the early 19th century. During the Enlightenment a new wave of knowledge had spread around Europe, and ideas related to rationalism and progressivism were considered to be new ways of thinking at the time (Khan Academy). New principles are often incorporated into the media of their time period, and so popular literature usually reflects the ideas of the time period it was written in.

One example of Romantic ideals in literature can be observed in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In this novel, Victor Frankenstein, a young and passionate scientist who is curious about the principles of life, crafts a creation out of various dead body parts and brings it to life. Victor’s creation is hideous, but it has the capacity to think as well as any human can. As soon as he completes his experiment, however, Victor finds himself disgusted with what he has made. The reader learns that the creation only wants love, but understands that it will never be loved because of the way it looks. Out of spite and frustration, the creation kills Victor’s brother and the rest of his family over the course of the novel. While the creation is painted as a monster, Shelley masterfully crafts her characters so that it is impossible to decide who really is the villain: a creation who kills out of frustration, or a creator who is cruel and refuses to give his creation love. This relates to the Romantic period and its principles: a fascination with beauty and ugliness. Victor’s initial obsession with nature and the fundamentals of life are also related to common themes of interest of this era (Sparknotes). Finally, Shelley’s novel can be linked to current world events during the 19th century, since a variety of rebellions emerged during this era and the novel explores a rebellion against one’s creator.

The Romantic period lasted until the mid-19th century, and its conclusion marked the beginning of the Victorian era of literature. This period of time correlates with Queen Victoria’s rule of England. During this time, industrialism flourished and was a competitive new market, and many countries were transitioning from agricultural societies into rapidly expanding industrial powerhouses. Additionally, ideas from the Age of Reason, such as equality for all and individualism, grew increasingly popular. According to Eastern Connecticut State University, a major difference between Victorian and Romantic literature is that during the Victorian era, the steam printing press was developed and helped make the production of texts far cheaper than before. Because of this, all civilians could access literature, and authors had a wider audience to appeal to.

An example of the wide appeal of Victorian literature is A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens. This novel depicts the life of Ebenezer Scrooge, an old man who despises the idea of Christmas and happiness. During the novel, Scrooge is visited in the night by ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, and each of these presences provides Scrooge with a new perspective. Suddenly, after numerous strange encounters with these ghosts he returns to his bed safely, and decides to take advantage of a new opportunity to redeem himself by finally participating in Christmas festivities (Sparknotes). Since an increase in book production due to mass-market steam printing allowed lower classes to afford books, Victorian authors were encouraged to include a more diverse array of socio-economic classes in their stories to appeal to a larger pool of readers. Dickens’ work focuses on the lower class, since many of the supporting characters in the story live in poverty.

While Frankenstein and A Christmas Carol clearly reflect the societal norms of their respective eras, we can still observe how contemporary literature clearly represents the values of the 21st century as well. For instance, The Hunger Games, a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins, was inspired by contemporary events like the war in Iraq, as well as historical figures such as the Roman gladiators (Murty). In the first book of this series, Collins describes protagonist Katniss Everdeen as a girl who lives in a dystopian world with her sister and mother. Katniss’s world is divided into twelve districts, and every year two children from each district are selected to participate in the Hunger Games (a fight to the death). When her sister Primrose is selected as a tribute, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. Peeta Mellark, a boy from Katniss’s district is also selected as a tribute, and the reader watches a romantic relationship surrounded by tragedy unfold between Katniss and Peeta. Betrayals and sacrifices often occur in this novel, which demonstrates both the selfishness of mankind and the human instinct to fight when forced to. This novel’s fictional setting reflects the experimentalism of Contemporary literature

As demonstrated, the thematic evolution of popular literature clearly reflects the evolution of societal values. The societal norms of the Romantic, Victorian, and current literary periods are displayed evidently throughout novels written during each time period. As time continues onward, literature will continue to change as the values of society evolve.

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Works Cited

• The British Library. “The Romantics.” https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-romantics.
• Eastern Connecticut State University. “The Romantic Period.” https://www.easternct.edu/speichera/understanding-literary-history-all/the-romantic-period.html.
• Eastern Connecticut State University. “The Victorian Period.” https://www.easternct.edu/speichera/understanding-literary-history-all/the-victorian- period.html#:~:text=The%20Victorian%20period%20of%20literature,into%20an%20urban% 2C%20industrial%20one.
• Khan Academy. “The Enlightenment.” https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/colonial-america/colonial-north- america/a/the-enlightenment.
• MasterClass. “Modernist Literature Guide: Understanding Literary Modernism.” https://www.masterclass.com/articles/modernist-literature-guide.
• Murty, Govindini. “Decoding the Influences in ‘Hunger Games,’ From ‘Spartacus’ to ‘Survivor.’” Caldwell Schools. https://www.caldwellschools.com/cms/lib/NC01811136/Centricity/Domain/261/The_Hung er_Games_and_Mythology.docx#:~:text=Author%20Suzanne%20Collins%20has%20sai d,footage%20of%20the%20Iraq%20War.
• SparkNotes. “A Christmas Carol: Full Book Summary.” https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/christmascarol/summary/.
• SparkNotes. “Frankenstein: Literary Context Essay: Mary Shelley & Romanticism.” https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/context/literary/mary-shelley-and-%20romanticism/.