Society in Victorian Literature

In all of the books that I have read or am currently reading, I have seen very similar views on the ideals of society and the pressure to fit within what is socially acceptable.

In the Picture of Dorian Gray we can see how Henry and Dorian learn to go against society and question its rules and boundaires. The book shows how society can destroy a person and how a person is formed by the people and changed by what society believes to be right. By going against the acceptable social behavior, Dorian is slowly destroying himself.

In the Adventures of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, we see Alice learning to question what madness is. There is an intense fear in the book of madness, that by being mad you are not socially acceptable or fit for society. The story shows how children are expected to be in society, and Alice goes against this common idea. She is a female heroine, an unusual idea for the time as women were viwed as the weaker people in society, especially children.

In Wuthering Heights we also see ideas of how people do not fit into society. Cathy is changed from being an unruly child into a young lady who is fit for society. But Heathcliff remains rugged and wild throughout the book, moreso in appearance than nature in childhood, but this develops into a malevolent trait that follows him into adulthood. Heathcliff is unable to accept that by the rules of society, Cathy is unable to marry him. She would be marrying under her class and it would be looked down upon. In the books we see the common ideas of society believing that marriage is for financial stability, not love. This is questioned by the charcater of Heathcliff in the novel as he is unable to accept this view of society.