19th Century Realist Project Paper

Words: 681
Pages: 3
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Sariah Maden
HUM 2233
Dr. Erika Johnson-Lewis
23/2/2015
Word Count: 533

The Nineteenth Century Realist Project

The nineteenth century Realist project was to depict scenes of the everyday life inequities between class and gender. This project spoke out against industrial capitalism and was social criticism at its finest. According to Fiero, “Realist novels portrayed men and women in actual, every day, and often demoralizing situations that examined the social consequences of middle-class materialism, the plight of the working class, and the subjugation of women” (289). In Realist art however, it took a different approach. Fiero states, that Realist art abandoned the nostalgic landscapes and heroic themes of the Romantic Period to promote a …show more content…
Courbet was a farmer’s son, a self-taught artist, an outspoken socialist, a defender of the Realist cause (302). Courbet’s The Stone-Breakers depicts two rural laborers performing the most menial of physical tasks. This painting outraged critics because its subject matter did not follow “traditional” academic rules and the subjects were lower class individuals and idealized, but the painting spoke to the endless masses. This painting spoke to the masses because at the time in France, nearly two thirds of the population was still rural inhabitants and poverty-stricken and the dignity of hard work was well known to these individuals. Courbet proclaimed, “A painter should only paint what he can see” and this is exactly what Realist art was …show more content…
Ibsen attacked the fake social norms that caused people to lead self-deluding and hypocritical lives (299). Ibsen’s most well-known work, A Doll’s House dealt with the themes that included conflict between an individual and society, between love and duty, and between husband and wife. A Doll’s House is a classic drama that discusses a woman’s liberation from her overbearing husband and societies view of what a woman is to do. For example, Torvald is a small-minded man who deals with society’s norms and treats Nora as such. Nora is under the impression that how Torvald restricts her is proper because of the social norms at the time demonstrated that women were inferior to men. Nora eventually turns to introspection and realizes that her life has been meaningless and she is literally a doll living in a dolls house because Torvald is treating her as such. She realizes that her first obligation is to herself and her dignity as a person. This means that before marriage or societal demands that all women should know, who they truly are and what they are capable of doing. Nora ends her marriage upon her self-discovery, shuts the door on the past, and heads into the future for another adventure. Many artists or the Realist Period would follow Nora’s example and shut out the world of Romantic
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