Short Story in the Romantic Age: Characterization and Style

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Short Story in the Romantic Age: Characterization and Style
The Romantic era (Romanticism) originated in Europe towards the end of the eighteenth century. It marked a period whereby authors used artistic, feelings, and a vivid description of characters’ personalities in their writings. Romanticism had its greatest influence in the literature between 1800 to 1870 being earlier adopted by poets before its effects were observed in novels and short stories. The Victorian era, on the other hand, is associated with Queen Victoria’s reign, between the period of 1837 to 1901. The Victorian era was characterized by scientific inventions and breakthroughs. Some of the most analyzed literature works and famous classic literature novels were produced during these two eras. This essay analyses the literary styles and characterization in short stories in the Romantic era as compared to the Victorian era by focusing on the distinguishing characteristics and literary devices used in the two eras. In order to demonstrate the difference between the two eras, this essay will analyze the characterization and styles used in two short stories from the Romantic era.
Characteristics of Romantic Age Literature
According to Stephen Bygrave Romanticism was used to describe a group of writers from around the turn of the eighteenth century to mid-nineteenth century whose work demonstrated a similarity to each other. Stephen Bygrave in his book, notes how Romantic writings focus on the thoughts and feelings of the characters (Bygrave ix).

The Romantic era was marked by the admiration of the natural world and its mysteries. During this period, writers did not try to explain or understand the mysteries of the world but rather reveled in its mysteries and magnificence. This fascination with nature and its mysteries led to its infatuation by writers as viewed nature to be more powerful than the limited knowledge that humans possessed. It also led authors to develop an interest towards how nature depicted life and people (Casey 8).
Originality was also crucial during the Romantic era. Borrowing from other works and models during this era was viewed as a hindrance to the author’s imagination and creativity. This idea of originality is often referred to as Romantic originality (Millen 92). As much as the Romantics writers were interested in preserving the past and historical events, they were also concerned with the occurrence of limitations and repetition between the works of different authors (Millen 94). Some of the literature works in this period that were developed from similar concepts incorporated the author’s imagination in order to highlight the differences in terms of which author wrote them and the literary styles they used.
Characteristics of Victorian Age Literature
Novels and other literature works in the Victorian era had a similar attraction to the theme of realism, focusing more on real life problems and the nature of life led by most people in the society. The Victorian era was also characterized by a deep fascination of science and scientific innovations. The Victorian era was also bent on exploring morality issues rather than fiction. Their focus on morality was meant to instruct their societies on what was considered morally right and what was morally wrong. This era emphasized ideas such as justice, love, truth, gender-based roles in the society, power and wealth (materialism).
This period was characterized developmental changes in almost all aspects, from medicine, technology, and scientific advances. Development of infrastructure such as hospital buildings and asylums for the mentally challenged in the society began during this period. Prosperity, hard work, religious conformity and an improvement in Britain’s economy were some of the changes that can be associated with this era. Men during this period were considered superior to women as they were the breadwinners of their families and were also educated while women were considered Madonna(s) or whores. This era also showed the birth of political movements as they considered politics important to them (Shepherd n.p).
Characterization in the Romantic Era Short Stories
Characterization refers to the method the author uses to presents the characters to the readers and how the author employs behaviors and the actions of characters in the book to develop them. The Oxford dictionary of literary terms defines characterization as a literary device used by authors to create fictional characters and provide a description of their distinctive features (Baldick n.p). Short stories employ two times of characterization, direct characterization whereby the writer narrates or uses the narrator of the story, the character himself or another character to tell the reader about the qualities and traits of the character and indirect characterization whereby the writer uses the characters’ thoughts, moods, actions, and reactions to reveal their personalities.
In Nathaniel Hawthorn’s short story The Birthmark, he uses a narrator at the beginning of the story to present the character traits of Aylmer as an intellectual man who has made various discoveries in natural philosophy. Hawthorne also incorporates Aylmer’s thought in the story which enables readers to view him as an intellectual and analytical man as he considers removing the birthmark from his wife’s face. “Aylmer sat gazing at his wife with trouble in his countenance that grew stronger until he spoke.” (Hawthorne 5). His facial expression, while he was processing his thoughts, gives his wife the idea that he was seriously considering removing her birthmark.
The use of dialogue between Aylmer and his wife, Georgiana, reveals his wife’s character as a naïve and submissive woman who lives solely to please her husband. “Danger is nothing to me; for life, while this hateful mark makes me the object of your horror and disgust, —life is a burden which I would fling down with joy.” (Hawthorne 8). She is willing to risk her life to remove the birthmark on her cheek to please her husband despite the fact that her admirer considers it to be the epitome of her beauty.
The presentation of the appearance of Aylmer’s wife, Georgiana, also helps the reader to form a basic personality for the character. The birthmark that appears Georgiana’s cheek portrays her as unique and a symbol of mortality. The reaction of other characters in the short story also reveal the traits of Georgiana as a cheerful, loving person. “To tell you the truth it has been so often called a charm that I was simple enough to imagine it might be so.” (Hawthorne 5). Her admirers praise her because of her birthmark, and those who are jealous of her criticize her for it though she does not give much thought to her critics except her husband. The mark is linked directly to Georgiana. When she blushes, or smiles the mark turns red. Georgiana’s sexuality can be seen using the mark on her face which could explain her husband’s irrational reaction towards it (Zanger n.p).
The presentation of the characters in this short story mimics other literature works produced during the Romantic era. The character, Alymer, is presented as one who is fascinated by natural philosophies and the mysteries of nature and continuously involves himself in experiments to make newer discoveries about nature. His reference to his wife’s birthmark as an earthly imperfection shows Hawthorne’s interest in nature and its grandeurs. After Georgiana’s recovery from her unconscious state, to cheer her up Alymer give her a fast-growing plant that dies before she touches it. Her fascination by this plant reveals how Hawthorne and other authors during this period were fascinated with nature. Dialogues between Aylmer and Georgiana also reveal the deep affection that they hold for each other. When Aylmer seeks out his wife before removing her birthmark so that she may sing for him and her complete trust in him to remove the birthmark despite the dangers accompanied by the process bring out the theme of love and affection in the short story.
Another famous writer from the Romantic era was Poe Edgar Allan who was renowned for his poetry and short stories, one of them being The Tell-Tale Heart published in 1843. Just like in the case of Hawthorne, Poe Edgar also uses a narrator in his short stories. The narrator is used to explain and form the personalities and traits of the characters in the novel. Poe uses the narrator to bring out the thoughts of the main characters and in so doing reveals the traits of the main character. As the story is told from the main character’s point of view, readers are able to discern the traits of both the main character and the other minor characters.
The fact that the story follows the ideas and thoughts presented by the main character shows a similarity between this story and other literature works written during the Romantic era. The story starts with the main character declaring that he is not mad and that his disease has only made him better, he is obsessed with an old man and declares that he loves him but wants to kill him because of his pale blue eye. The narrator’s thoughts at the beginning of the story reveal that the narrator has a mental condition though he proclaims that he is not mad.
Characterization in this story is also brought out through the actions of the main character. His actions prove that he is mad although in the first chapter of the story he claims to be perfectly sane. “I found the eye always closed; and so, it was impossible to do the work. For it was not the old man who vexed me but his evil eye.” (Poe 92-93). The narrator claims that he wanted to free the old man of his evil eye. He loved the old man but was irritated by his pale blue eye which leads him to kill the old man. When the old man sprung up on his bed after suspecting that there was someone in his bedroom, the narrator stands still for an entire hour pondering his next move while the old man lay on his bed, he later opens a small crevice on the door which focuses on the old man’s eye. His concentration on the old man’s eye robs him of any consideration for the old man’s life. He considers his awareness of the old man’s eye as an acuteness of his senses. “And now have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the senses?” (Poe 94).
The reactions of other characters also help in developing the personality of the characters. In this story, the reactions of the old man have helped in forming the main character’s personality as a psychopath mentally disturbed individual who seeks to kill someone he considers to love because he despises the old man’s eye. When the narrator opens the old man’s door, and the light is directed towards the dull blue eye, the narrator grows furious and angry at the old man. His reaction towards the old man’s eye portrays him as a madman.
The old man’s eye is the center of attention in this story as it leads to the narrator to killing the old man. His appearance, therefore, is used to bring out the personality of the narrator. Exclusion of the old man’s eye from the story deprives this story of its uniqueness and its main theme and focus. Through the old man’s eye, the reader is able to learn of the narrator’s mental illness and how it obsession leads him to kill the old man. “One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture…whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold…” (Poe 92). After this, the narrator resolves to kill the old man. The story develops around the old man’s eye as even when the narrator goes to kill the old man; he is still haunted by those eyes which infuriate him.
The Tell-Tale Heart story’s focus on the thoughts of the main character shows a characteristic of Romantic period literature. Romantic period literature was also characterized by a unique individualism and originality as presented in this story. This ensured that similarities between stories from the same period were avoided and also enabled authors to be creative and imaginative.
Styles used in the Romantic Era Short Stories
In The Birthmark, Hawthorne uses symbolism to bring out the themes of the story. The birthmark symbolizes mortality as everything earthly has a flaw. Aylmer refers to his wife’s birthmark as an earthly imperfection. After removing the birthmark from his wife’s face, Georgiana dies. “The fatal hand had grappled with the mystery of life, and was the bond by which an angelic spirit kept itself in union with a mortal frame.” (Hawthorne 19). Somehow the hand was linked to Georgiana’s life, and its removal brought with it paleness and death. Poe Edgar also utilizes this style in The Tell-Tale Heart. Eyes are a reflection of humans and their nature. The eye symbolizes the evil within the narrator, whenever he looks at the old man he sees a reflection of his dark nature which motivates him to kill him (Turker n.p).
The lantern that the narrator uses also symbolizes the lack of insight. As lanterns provide light, in this case, the lantern acts as an extension of the narrator’s view. It allows him to see things clearly based on his perception and mind-setting. The lantern helps the narrator to see the old man as the evil eye that the narrator believes him to be. Another form of symbolism in the story is the heart, the pounding heart of the old man. It symbolizes guilt and the human nature of the narrator. The story presents him as a mentally ill individual incapable of conceptualizing his actions, but at the end of the story after maintaining a calm posture during his interview with the police, he is haunted by his actions and starts hearing the pounding heart of the old man. This leads him to confess his crimes and reveal to the policemen the body of the old man.
Another literary style used by Hawthorne in this story that is common to the Romantic era is the use of a narrator in the story. Hawthorne’s use of a narrator in the short story draws attention to the thoughts of the narrator and how the narrator perceives the characters. This style enables the readers to create a judgment upon the characters based on the narrator’s views. Allan Edgar Poe also utilizes this style in his writings when he presents the main character as the narrator of the story in The Tell-Tale Heart. The main character narrates his thoughts and actions which in turn inform the reader of his plans and motives. The use of a narrator in stories was a major concept in the eighteenth-century literature writings and was used by most of the authors in the Romantic era.
Foreshadowing is also common to the Romantic era literature. In the story of the birthmark, the dream that Aylmer had was a prediction of what was going to happen shortly. Aylmer dreamt that while removing the birthmark from his wife’s cheek he had found it to run deeper and was connected to her heart. This dream foreshadows how removing the birthmark leads to Georgiana’s death as the birthmark was connected to her mortality. When Georgiana looks at herself using the metal plate that Aylmer gives her she sees the birthmark on her cheek which angers Aylmer. He throughs the metal plate in acid which destroys it. This is a foreshadow of the events to take place. Just like the metal plate that Aylmer created, the elixir that he uses on his wife fails to work leading to her untimely death (Hawthorne 19).
The use of irony in The Tell-Tale Heart is shown when the narrator at the beginning of the books says that he is going to tell a story that will defend his sanity yet ends up telling a story of how he killed the old man. It is also ironical that the narrator killed the old man as he confesses to loving him at the beginning of the story (Poe 92). It is ironic that the narrator thinks that his precaution in hiding the old man’s body would make the reader see him as an intellectual sane man and not a mad man. When the narrator was spying on the old man, on the eighth night he notices the old man’s worry and frightened states and chuckles (Poe 93). It is ironical that he speaks freely of murder and yet considers himself a perfectly sane individual with a hypersensitivity unlike that of any other person.
Sounds were also used by Poe to present the reactions and traits of his characters. The sounds also enabled readers to create mental pictures of the events taking place in the novel. The narrator’s guilt is manifested in the form of the old man’s heart beats. Due to this sounds the narrator confesses his crimes to the policemen who were investigating the crime (Lowell n.p).
The styles and characterization used in the Romantic period emphasize its difference from the Victorian period. Whereas the Victorian period focused on technological developments, the morality and the society and political issues, the Romantic period was more focused on nature and its magnificence.
The uniqueness of the Romantic era provided a huge variety of literature works focused on nature and its grandeur. The Romantic era focused on originality, nature and intellectual compositions of the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Short stories that were written during this period show a similarity in the styles and characterization in their works; there is also a familiarity of themes across these short stories. This essay has analyzed the literary styles and characterization in short stories in the Romantic era as compared to the Victorian era by focusing on the distinguishing characteristics and literary devices used in the two eras and how this was portrayed in short stories set during this period.
Works Cited
Baldick, Chris. “The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms.” New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
Bygrave, “Stephen. Romantic Writings.” New York: Psychology Press, 1996. Print.
Casey, Christopher “Grecian Grandeurs and the Rude Wasting of Old Time”: Britain, the Elgin Marbles, and Post-Revolutionary Hellenism” Foundations. Volume III, Number 1.30 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20090513053304/http://ww2.jhu.edu/foundations/?p=8 Accessed 24 December 2016. Web.
Lowell, Rusell, J. “The Tell-Tale Heart” Omics International Journal.Vol 1, No.1, 1843. http://research.omicsgroup.org/index.php/The_Tell-Tale_Heart Accessed 24 December 2016.
Millen, Jessica. “Romantic Creativity and the Ideal of Originality: A Contextual Analysis,” The Bruce Hall Academic Journal – Volume VI, 2010 pp. 91-104 http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n1696/pdf/book.pdf?referer=1696 Accessed 24 December 2016. Web.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Birthmark” New York: Penguin, 1843. Print.
Poe, Edgar. A. “The Tell-Tale Heart: Carol Oates, Joyce, Ed. The Oxford Book of American Short Stories.” Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Shepherd, Anne. “Overview of the Victorian Era: The Victorian Era.” Institution of Historical Research. Iss. 1, 2001. https://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Victorians/article.html Accessed 24 December 2016.
Turker, B.D. “The Tell-Tale Heart” and the “Evil Eye.” The Southern Literary Journal. Vol 13, No. 2, 1981. https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-131896815/the-tell-tale-heart-and-the-evil-eye Accessed 24 December 2016.
Zanger, Jules. “Speaking of the Unspeakable: Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark”” JSTOR. Vol. 80, No. 4. 1983, pp. 364-371 https://chss2.montclair.edu/media/montclairedu/chss/departments/english/enwr106/AR_Zanger_Hawthorne_The_Birthmark_106.pdf Accessed 24 December 2016