Ideology Language and Subjectivity in the Victorian Novel

This book beckons readers to embark on a literary journey through the Victorian Era with the in-depth exploration of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton, George Eliot’s Silas Marner, and Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Framed within the thought-provoking analyses of Althusser, Foucault, and Bourdieu, this study unveils the roots and diverse interpretations of ideology and subjectivity. Each novel chronicles the pulse of its respective era in nineteenth-century England, offering a unique perspective into the complexities of subjectivity amidst evolving ideologies. The study skilfully weaves together the narratives, drawing connections between the characters’ responses and the prevailing ideological currents shaping their lives and unravelling the characters’ agency within the tapestry of Victorian society.

As readers traverse the Victorian landscape across its ‘early,’ ‘middle,’ and ‘late’ periods, the echoes of political and economic upheavals in Gaskell’s Mary Barton, the transition towards a science-driven perspective in Eliot’s Silas Marner, and the critical re-evaluation of Victorian values in Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles are carefully traced. In each novel, characters emerge not merely as figures on a page but as embodiments of their era, grappling with the ideologies that shape their destinies. This book encourages readers to question, reflect, and ultimately, discover the timeless relevance of these Victorian tales in understanding the relationship between the ideologies, subjectivity, and the characters’ potential to exercise agency.