UNDERSTANDING FICTION: UNIT 1- SOCIAL

NOVEL

 What Do You Mean by ‘Social'?

Social means relating to society or to the way society is organized.

 What is Social Novel?

The social novel, also known as the social problem (or social protest) novel, is a
"work of fiction in which a prevailing social problem, such as gender, race, or class
prejudice, is dramatized through its effect on the characters of a novel”. More
specific examples of social problems that are addressed in such works include
poverty, conditions in factories and mines, the plight of child labor, violence
against women, rising criminality, and epidemics because of over-crowding, and
poor sanitation in cities.

Social novels, also known as social problem novels or realist fiction, originated in
the 18th century but gained a popular following in the 19th century with the rise of
the Victorian Era and in many ways was a reaction to industrialization, social,
political and economic issues and movements. 

The word social has to do with society, its organisation, customs, practices,
distribution, and the treatment of the individuals in that society. A social novel
thus dissects, analyses, and comments on the various aspects of a society, such as
gender, class, etc.

 Its Origin/Rise of the Social Novel

Although this subgenre of the novel is usually seen as having its origins in the 19th
century, there were precursors in the 18th century, like Amelia by Henry Fielding
(1751), Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams (1794) by
William Godwin, The Adventures of Hugh Trevor (1794–1797) by Thomas
Holcroft, and Nature and Art (1796) by Elizabeth Inchbald.
  Its Place in the World of Literature
Since literature at large in itself is reflection of the society, a social novel in
particular is important with respect to the history of a place, as well as people’s
tendencies in a certain region. Its utility lies in the effect it has on the reader, both
in imparting knowledge and inspiring change. Charles Dickens’ Hard Times, for
example, is a reflection of the English society, its social and economic conditions.

 Purpose Behind Writing a Social Novel

The purposes behind writing a social novel can be-
1. Satirical purpose- Satirical novels bring out the hypocrisy in society, and thus
social novels that are written as satires reflect the various complicated hierarchies
and hypocrisies in the society.
2. To impart knowledge about the society we live in, in an aesthetically pleasing
and understandable way.
3. To make readers reflect and question the rules and roles of individuals in
society. A social novel author may write a piece of work with the intention of
arousing curiosity and a desire for change in the readers.
4. To drive a kind of change in the society. Literature by and large is a wheel of
change and reform, and a Social Novel does the job of making the reader want to
change the society they live in for the better.

 Features
The social novel emphasizes the influence of the social and economic
conditions of an era on shaping characters and determining events; often it also
embodies an implicit or explicit thesis recommending political and social reform.

Social novel, aka: problem novel or social problem novel is a work of fiction in
which a prevailing social problem, such is dramatized through its effect on the
characters of a novel.
These works are frequently directed to help create sympathy and promote
change and encourage understanding of prevailing issues. May emphasize and
focus on the idea of social change or revolution.

 Development
Social novels, also known as social problem novels or realist fiction, originated in
the 18th century but gained a popular following in the 19th century with the rise
of the Victorian Era and in many ways was a reaction to industrialization, social,
political and economic issues and movements. In the 1830s the social novel saw
resurgence as emphasis on widespread reforms of government and society
emerged, and acted as a literary means of protest and awareness of abuses of
government, industry and other repercussions suffered by those who did not
profit from England's economic prosperity.

 Explanation
“Social-problem novels” (also known as “industrial,” “social,” or “condition-of-
England” novels) are a group of mid-19th-century fictions concerned with the
condition of the working classes in the new industrial age. “The condition of
England” was a phrase used by Thomas Carlyle in his essay Chartism (1839) about
the “condition and disposition” of working people; it combined sympathy for
deprivation with fear of the “madness” of Chartism. Largely written by middle-
class writers, the novels highlight poverty, dirt, disease, and industrial abuses such
as sweated labor, child workers, and factory accidents; however, they also exhibit
anxiety about working-class irreligion and a fear of (potentially violent) collective
action, such as Chartism and trade unionism. The genre roughly spans the period
between the Reform Acts of 1832 and 1867, and the backdrop includes the
“Hungry Forties,” debates over the franchise, Chartist demonstrations, the
exponential growth of the new cities, and campaigns around sanitation and
factory conditions. No consensus exists on the works that should be included in
the genre. Harriet Martineau’s “A Manchester Strike” in her Illustrations of
Political Economy (1832) is regarded as either the first true social-problem novel
or an influential forerunner. Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist (1838) is sometimes
considered a social-problem novel due to its critique of the 1834 New Poor Law.
Frances Trollope’s Michael Armstrong, the Factory Boy (1839) followed, arguably
inspired both by Dickens’s tale and (in reaction against) Martineau. Trollope’s
“fallen woman” novel, Jessie Phillips, a Tale of the Present Day (1843), is also
generally included in the genre. Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna is another female
social-problem author writing about factory workers and seamstresses (Helen
Fleetwood (1841) and The Wrongs of Woman (1843–1844)).

 Writers/Followers
Famous writers include:

1. Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, Hard Times)

2. Charlotte Brontë (Shirley)

3. George Eliot (Felix Holt, The Radical)

4. Elizabeth Gaskell’s (Mary Barton)

 Its Connection With Other Types of Novels

In England during the 1830s and 1840s the social novel "arose out of

the social and political upheavals which followed the Reform Act of 1832". ... A
significant early example of this genre is Sybil, or The Two Nations, a novel by
Benjamin Disraeli.

A Marxist version of the social novel, representing the hardships suffered by the
oppressed working class and usually written to incite the reader to radical political
action, is called a proletarian novel.