Realism and naturalism

Do you remember the Romantic era? The era that was devoted to exotic worlds, nature and strong feelings. Now... most people are tired of this, because the world is changing. Lots of people move from the countryside to the cities to work in factories.

This period is the time of industrialism. A dirty, poverty stricken time for most people, only a few make big money. There are great injustices. Now, writers write about physical labour and the poverty that surrounds them. They also write about war.

These writers want to depict the world 'as it is'. The reality. They are called 'Realists'. Realism lasts approximately from 1830 to the end of the 19th century. One of the most famous Realist writers is Charles Dickens.

He describes the injustices in the England of his time. In Oliver Twist, Oliver is an orphan boy who runs away to London, where he lives on the street. He meets Fagin, who teaches young street kids to pick pockets. The story gets a happy ending when Oliver is adopted, and finds a home. But why a happy ending?

Isn't Dicken's point to criticise the injustices in his time? It's because Dickens, as well as many others in this time, publish their stories in newspapers. One chapter a week: serialised novels. And there are rules for how these serials should be written. For example every chapter should end in an exciting way, to make the reader long for the next part.

Like tv-series of today. Every story also needs to have a happy ending. Exactly like in Oliver Twist. Another rule is that the stories should not be political. But Dickens doesn't pay any attention to that rule.

His criticism of society is very political, and his stories break every record in reader numbers, perhaps thanks to this. But also thanks to his memorable characters. This is the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky is not satisfied with describing outer reality. He also wants to describe our interior world; what makes humans act the way they do.

Psychology that is. He shows this in his book Crime and Punishment. The main character in the book, Rodion Raskolnikov, is young and believes that he is something good for the world. He murders a mean woman who is a money-lender. A pawnbroker.

He commits the crime partly because he wants money, and partly because he is sure he has the right to do so; she is old, and evil, and the world would be better off without her. But the sister of the pawnbroker happens to witness the murder, so without having planned to, Raskolnikov murders her as well. And this gives him pain. He is tormented by his conscience. Not until he confesses his crime and gets his punishment is he free from this inner pain.

Towards the end of the 19th century something happens to Realism. The writers now become even more thorough in their detailed descriptions. They now describe the world, not only as it looks, but also how it feels, smells, and tastes. This new phase of Realism is called: Naturalism. The Frenchman Émile Zola is a master of this.

He knows how to describe a dead body in a morgue so that the reader can almost sense the stink of rotten, dead meat. This he describes in his novel: Thérèse Raquin. In this book, Thérèse is forced to marry her spoiled, sickly cousin Camille, even though she is disgusted by him. Thérèse meets the artist, Laurent, and they start a relationship. They kill Camille by drowning him.

But the murder changes Thérèse and Laurent's relationship. They never get over their deed, and start to torment each other in several ways. In the end they commit suicide together. So the difference between Realists and Naturalists is that while Realism describes reality as it looks, Naturalism goes even further. The Naturalists do not only wish to watch and listen, but also feel, taste, and smell the world.