Middlemarch

Realism is a literary genre that attempts to represent reality in all its ugliness and all its glory. The genre was particularly popular during the Victorian era in which Middlemarch was written. Prior to the 19th century, the novel as a medium was still being defined. Rather than novels, poetry was a much more popular form of literary entertainment. The rise of the novel can be traced to the expansion of the middle class and the rise in literacy rates in countries such as Great Britain. The rise of the printing press, the Industrial Revolution, and the increased availability of resources meant that printing books, newspapers, and serialized fiction became much easier. Writers such as Charles Dickens emerged as the foremost authors of the era. Dickens delved frequently into realism as a genre. Novels such as Oliver Twist and Great Expectations depict the reality of life in Victorian Britain, including the many characters, professions, institutions, and other parts of society from that time. Dickens especially portrayed the lives of working-class people, particularly those in London. His realistic portrayals of poverty and suffering, as well as more middle-class concerns such as respectability and social mobility, made his realist novels very popular.

Victorian Realism has a number of key characteristics. It has a tendency to focus on the immediate present, meaning that stories and narratives are set during the Victorian period. Similarly, many works focus on how specific actions result in demonstrable consequences. Characters make decisions or have decisions thrust upon them and then the narrative explores the consequences of these decisions. The emphasis on social etiquette and respectability is a common theme. An abundance of characters is also a common motif, especially as the serialization of novels in newspapers and periodicals meant that new characters were introduced on a regular basis. All of these genre traits are present in Middlemarch. Eliot's characters speak and act in realistic ways, with Eliot even occasionally employing vernacular speech (especially in the portrayal of working-class characters). The plot is situated at a specific time and date in the Victorian era, as identified by the constant focus on the passing of the Reform Act. Actions and consequences are essential: The imprudent marriages made in Book 1 lead to results which are still being felt in Book 8. Lastly, the length of the novel, the scope of the novel, and the huge cast of characters are indicative of a genre which strived to explore reality.

Like Victorian Realism, George Eliot was a product of the Victorian era. She was born ten years before the coronation of Queen Victoria, came of age as the Victorian era came into effect, and died in 1880, twenty years before Victoria's own death brought the era to an end. While writing literary reviews, Eliot praised the realism of other novels and criticized female writers of the past for their ridiculous, trivial plots. Eliot herself wrote under a pen name (her real name was Mary Ann Evans) to avoid the stereotypical view of the time that women only wrote romantic novels or unserious works. She also wrote political opinion articles which advocated for reform while sympathizing with revolutionary movements across Europe and the abolitionist cause in the American Civil War. Eliot's views and her deep entwinement in contemporary culture can be found throughout Middlemarch.