Reading 19th-Century Fiction Flashcards
All 28 cards in this deck
How can you make sense of a very long 19th-century sentence?
Find the main clause (who did what), then treat each part separated by semicolons or dashes as its own idea. Read it in chunks rather than all at once.
Why do 19th-century writers use so many semicolons and dashes?
They build up long chains of related ideas, observations or lists in one sentence. Often the effect is of piling up detail, or of a thought unfolding as the writer goes.
What should you do with an unfamiliar older word in a 19th-century extract?
Check the glossary first. Otherwise use the context and the word's parts: male- means bad, so a "maledictory" exit involves cursing. You don't need every word to understand the passage.
Why should you watch out for words that have changed meaning since the 19th century?
Some familiar words meant something else then: gay meant lively or fashionable, pathetic meant moving or pitiful (not useless), and awful could mean awe-inspiring. Reading them in their modern sense can lead to a misreading.
Why shouldn't you always say a 19th-century writer uses a formal register "to sound authoritative"?
Formal language was normal then, so it isn't always a deliberate choice. Look instead at where the writer shifts register, or uses formal words ironically, which is a choice.
How should you use 19th-century context in Paper 1 Questions 3 and 4?
Only to explain the writer's choices, e.g. why a character's behaviour would shock a Victorian reader. Don't drift into history lessons: the marks are for analysis and evaluation, not for context.
Why do many 19th-century writers use biblical references, and what is their effect?
The Bible was the shared text most readers knew well. A biblical phrase brings enormous weight, e.g. comparing a volcano to the "bottomless pit" calls up the reader's deepest fears of hell.
What is a good way to read the 19th-century extract in the exam?
Read the italic introduction and the glossed words first. Read once quickly for the gist (who, where, what happens), then reread the lines for each question slowly, chunking the long sentences.
In "I was not a little alarmed", what does the writer mean, and what is the effect?
They were very alarmed. This is litotes: denying the opposite ("not a little") to mean "very". The understatement is a polite, controlled way of admitting fear, typical of the period, and it can sound wry.
In "Our watering-place was once a gay place", what does gay mean?
Lively, cheerful and fashionable. It is a word whose meaning has shifted, so the writer is saying the seaside resort used to be full of fun and visitors.
How can you comment on views in a 19th-century source that now seem old-fashioned or prejudiced?
Recognise them as the writer's perspective, shaped by their time, and comment on how the language reveals it. Don't ignore them or simply condemn the writer.
What should you know about social class in the 19th century?
Society was sharply divided: a wealthy upper class, a growing middle class, and a working class that was often poor, especially in the cities. Many writers are middle-class observers describing the poor, so watch for sympathy, curiosity or condescension in how they describe people "below" them.
What was the position of women in the 19th century?
Women couldn't vote in national elections, had few routes into university or the professions, and until the Married Women's Property Acts (1870 and 1882) a wife's property largely passed to her husband. Middle-class women were expected to stay at home. So a heroine who travels alone, earns her own living or defies her family is doing something her first readers would notice.
What were education and child labour like in the 19th century?
School wasn't compulsory for all young children in England until 1880, and many poor children worked in factories, in mines or on the streets. Wealthy families often employed a governess: an educated woman teaching their children at home, awkwardly placed between servant and family.
How did railways and steamships change 19th-century life?
From the 1840s railways spread fast, and steamships made sea crossings quicker and more regular. Seaside holidays, day trips and travel writing boomed. Writers are often thrilled, unsettled or sarcastic about the speed, noise and crowds.
Why do 19th-century writers often write about religion and science?
Christianity shaped daily life and morality, but new science, such as geology and Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859), challenged traditional beliefs. Writers often describe nature or danger in religious terms (Providence, the Creator), which can show awe, duty or certainty.
How can the British Empire shape a 19th-century source?
Britain ruled large parts of the world, and many characters and narrators judge other places and people by British standards. Spotting that assumption helps you explain a narrator's perspective. Comment on it; don't repeat it.
Which detail suggests a writer's class in "We breakfasted at nine, and the maid brought up the letters with the tea"?
The servant and the unhurried breakfast show a comfortable middle- or upper-class household. Noticing this helps you explain the writer's perspective, for example why they find a poor street "shocking" or "picturesque".
Why do some 19th-century narrators speak directly to the reader?
Lines like 'Reader, you may guess what followed' create intimacy and a storytelling voice, as if the narrator is confiding in us. They can build suspense by hinting at what's to come.
What is Gothic fiction, and what effects does it aim for?
Fiction that builds fear and suspense through dark settings, mysterious events, the supernatural and characters in danger. Look for isolation, darkness, strange sounds and a sense that something is hidden.
Why does the supernatural appear so often in 19th-century short stories?
Ghost stories were hugely popular, often published in magazines and around Christmas. The supernatural lets writers create terror, mystery and moral warnings, and many recent Edexcel Paper 1 extracts have had a supernatural or melodramatic turn.
What is melodrama, and how can you recognise it?
Writing with heightened emotion and dramatic events: exclamations, tears, sudden reversals, extreme feelings. Writers use it to make the reader feel strongly, though modern readers may find it exaggerated.
What is free indirect style?
Third-person narration that slips into a character's own thoughts and words, without 'she thought': 'He stopped. Was that a footstep? Surely not.' It brings the reader close to the character's mind while keeping the narrator's voice.
How should you read dialogue written in dialect in a 19th-century extract?
Read it aloud in your head and use the context; check any glossed words. Dialect can show a character's region, class or warmth, and contrast with a more educated narrator.
What is an intrusive narrator?
A narrator who comments on the characters or offers opinions and morals: 'Ah, how little she knew…' It guides the reader's feelings and can create dramatic irony.
How should you handle a long 19th-century sentence in a fiction extract?
Break it into its clauses and find the main action. Then think about its effect: long sentences can build tension, pile up detail or imitate a character's racing thoughts.
Why might a 19th-century story use the past tense and then switch into the present?
The historic present makes a remembered moment feel as if it is happening now, which heightens drama at a key point. It is a structural choice worth commenting on.
In 'Never shall I forget that night. The wind—but I run ahead of my story.', what kind of narrator is this and what is the effect?
A retrospective first-person narrator who addresses the reader and interrupts himself. The hint of an unforgettable night, then the delay, builds suspense.