Literary realism is not just about accuracy; it is a rejection of romanticized ideals.
In short: Literary realism emerged in the mid-nineteenth century as a direct challenge to the grandiose, supernatural, and exotic tropes of Romanticism. By focusing on the mundane, quotidian lives of ordinary people, this movement sought to represent reality as it truly exists, independent of human interpretation, through a lens of objective observation.
The movement gained momentum after the 1848 Revolution in France, with theorists like Jules-Français Champfleury advocating for a focus on objective reality. Unlike Romanticism, which prioritized emotional and idealistic portrayals, realism aimed to depict life among the middle and lower classes using empirical, secular rules. This approach was deeply influenced by the scientific spirit of the era; Honoré de Balzac, for instance, viewed literary creation as a process akin to scientific inquiry, utilizing precision and the 'cult of the fact' to analyze social and moral phenomena.
As the movement evolved, it branched into distinct sub-genres. Naturalism, an outgrowth of realism influenced by Charles Darwin, sought to scientifically determine how heredity and environment shape human character, often focusing on the darker aspects of life like poverty and vice. Meanwhile, Italian Verismo emphasized objective, non-intrusive narration, avoiding authorial commentary to let the characters' social conditions and regional language speak for themselves. In Britain, the 'kitchen sink' movement of the 1950s and 60s applied these principles to the cramped, gritty domestic realities of the working class in the North of England.
The philosophy behind realism suggests that truth is discoverable through the senses, a concept traced back to thinkers like Descartes, Locke, and Thomas Reid. However, the movement was not without its critics or contradictions. Socialist realism, institutionalized by Joseph Stalin in 1934, attempted to reconcile realistic presentation with ideological transformation, a framework that scholars like Peter Kenez have noted as inherently impossible to balance. Whether through the colonial-era Australian bush narratives or the urban grit of modern 'grunge lit,' the enduring legacy of realism lies in its persistent attempt to strip away artifice and confront the raw, unvarnished conditions of human existence.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Literary realism
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