Identity Explored Through Mystery and Discovery in Victorian Literature
The Victorian Era of literature was vast, and the evolution of ideas and stakes grew particularly towards the end of 19th century. The four novels, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (1938), Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847), Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (1861), and The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells (1896), while at first seem to have little in common, are all great representations of 'survival novels' and can be viewed chronologically by year published to account for an increase in risks and reward as each novel built off of the previous; though there were obviously far more novels than can be included here, these four are exemplary works that show the evolution of the ever-changing trends of society; they depict the troubles and concerns as well as the hopes and dreams of their times.
Each novel creates tension through themes of political and social intrigue, economic or literal mutation, and social and literal survival. Though there is a marked difference in publishing years, a difference of nearly sixty years from Oliver Twist to The Island of Doctor Moreau, it is still obvious how these intrinsic themes of Victorian literature are applied to the evolving culture. Instead of plots concerning changing one's standing in society, the new setting and the notion of 'environmental' and 'genetic' factors are introduced – or, in other words, The Island of Doctor Moreau itself mutates the genre into the direction of science fiction since there is an increasing shift towards scientific discovery and the ethics of such endeavours. The history of word meanings will be relevant to this paper.
In "Victorians and Mystery: Crises of Representation by W. David Shaw (Review)" by Robert O'Kell, the notion of 'Victorian Mystery' is divided into three parts: mysteries from the unconscious, mysteries concerning identity, and mysteries that arise from theories of knowledge (109). Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre and Great Expectations are certainly mysteries concerning 'identity' while The Island of Doctor Moreau is a mystery that arises from theories of knowledge, in this case, biological advancement through experimentation. It could be argued that The Island of Doctor Moreau is also a mystery of identity.
Concerning identity, it is clear how the former three fit into this trope: Oliver and Jane are orphans who want to find family and feel apart of something. Their stories are a matter of hidden lineage and discovering who they are in in a blood sense. Great Expectations, meanwhile, is a story about a boy named Pip discovering his place in the world of opportunity he has been dropped into. With The Island of Doctor Moreau, it seems clear how it is a mystery of theory, what with the genetic manipulation, but it's also a matter of identity, and it asks some very provoking questions: what makes humans 'humans'?
It brings up the anxieties similar to modern depictions of AI, and the worry that we will be overrun by what we create. What is our purpose, and how should we go about achieving it? In a world that was changing quickly, it makes sense that mystery would be a genre of importance. Mystery novels are always solved, and it's quite an optimistic way to view the concept of navigating world problems through fiction.
Intrigue (from "The Oxford English Dictionary" website)
1. a. Intricacy, complexity; a complicated contrivance; a maze, a labyrinth. Obsolete.
b. figurative. An intricate or complicated state of affairs; an involved mode of action. Obsolete.
2. a. The exertion of tortuous or underhand influence to accomplish some purpose; underhand plotting or scheming.
The sheer number of variations to the meaning and application of the word 'intrigue' is astounding. There were far more listings on the "Oxford English Dictionary" website, but the two definitions I selected serve to illustrate the points here. Victorian novels all seem to have Intrigue of some sort, and it presents mostly in political and social terms, though there are elements of environmental factors that take place in The Island of Doctor Moreau to increase the stakes of the problem.
Oliver Twist has several instances of 1.a. and of 1.b. in intricate and complex plots, and complicated state of affairs as well as 2.a. with scheming plots and underhand influence, mostly seen in a political capacity. Jane Eyre has 1.a. intricacy and complexity in a social capacity and instances of 'a maze, a labyrinth' in navigating the unfolding and evolving plots, and 1.b a complicated state of affairs in a political fashion; in addition, in the instance of her Aunt, there is a factor of 2.a.. Great Expectations has a number of applications of 1.b in a general overarching sense, much of the plot is concerned with 2.a. in being guided by "The Benefactor", Magwitch, politically and socially. Finally, in The Island of Doctor Moreau, there are elements of every single application, 1.a. in the mystery and maze-like structure of the island in an environmental sense, 1.b. in a social way with understanding the actions that take place on the island, and finally with 2.a. in how Doctor Moreau, and later, Edward, keep control of the beasts in a political way. Summed up this way, it is easy to see the parallels between the novels and how the conflicts are staged and shrouded in mystery.
Mutation: (from "The Oxford English Dictionary" website)
1. a. The action or process of changing; alteration or change in form, qualities, etc.
7. (Biology). c. An organism which has arisen by genetic mutation; a mutant
The notion of mutation itself has evolved (or mutated) incredibly since first applied in 1.a from the 14th century. To begin, it is obvious that the only novel that changes in the 7.c capacity is The Island of Doctor Moreau. The other novels, Oliver Twist, Jane Eyre, and Great Expectations are all examples of mutation in the 1.a. sense, where they have an economic mutation. What's less clear is how exactly the transformation from one economic state to another affects the other spheres of their realities because it all seems inextricably entangled. To be sure, their social circles change as a result, and their appearances change as Oliver, Jane, and Pip are no longer starving or in rags. Politically, they morph into influential members of society in one way or another, and their future prospects are brighter and fulfilling.
Survival: (from "The Oxford English Dictionary" website)
1. a. The continuing to live after some event (spec. of the soul after death); remaining alive, living on.
The final aspect of broad themes explored in the novels is that of survival. Unlike the other definitions I have included, this by far the most cut and dry. Each character has a potentially life-threatening experience at the outset of each prospective novel, and have subsequent run-ins that shape them in fundamental ways.
In the case of Oliver Twist, he is an orphan, yes, but he is malnourished in the church establishment that houses him, and then goes on to have another potentially life-threatening experience with the Jew and his gang; there is also then the question of how far his elder brother would have been willing to go to conceal Oliver's heritage. In Jane Eyre, she endures more than a couple life-threatening situations: her school and the outbreak of Typhoid, the possibility of being murdered by Mr. Rochester's mad wife, and finally narrowly escaping death by exposure in her environment. In Great Expectations, Pip has a run-in with an escaped prisoner, Magwitch, which could have gone very differently. Though there were several dangerous situations Pip found himself in, it's more of a 'survival' story in the symbolic sense of endurance. Finally, in The Island of Doctor Moreau, there is a very obvious application to 'survival'. In summary of the definition portion, these themes are both broadly and specifically applicable to these Victorian Novels and do much to explore the difficulties and aspirations of the people at the time the novels were released.
The earliest of the selections published in book form in 1838, Oliver Twist, unveils a plot of intrigue, mutation, and survival in a plethora of ways. The circumstances surrounding his hidden lineage and mysterious origins and the plots of is acquaintances account for the majority of intrigue. Mutation is employed, not through the biological interpretation of the word, but by the immense shifting of Oliver's circumstances in an economic and social capacity. His poor circumstances shift, and he is able to escape from poverty and climb the social ladder, at first without his lineage by making a good impression, and then with his good name. Finally, in terms of survival, he overcomes malnutrition, the slums, and threats to his life. Of all the novels, Oliver Twist has the least dire consequences. Oliver, to start, is a boy, and one with an inheritance at that.
Oliver Twist has three instances of Intrigue: Oliver's hidden family lineage, and then two complicated schemes, the first being the Fagin trying to prevent Oliver snitching on him and his crew and attempting to bring him into the criminal fold, and the second being Oliver's older brother attempting to conceal Oliver's true heritage with Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Mann. These mysteries, while perhaps convoluted, serve the purpose of showing what Oliver has to lose and how he could have lost it had the mysteries gone unsolved. As far as the other novels are concerned, these are the tamest of circumstances because even if his lineage had not been found out, he had been accepted as a part of society with Mrs. Maylie and Mr. Brownlow.
On a broad level, Oliver Twist is a story about the changing on one's fortune and utter transformation of status; this is shown physically, socially, and economically. From the opening of the novel, his prospects gradually increase to the point of being from an esteemed family with a small fortune to his name. He starts off being born in the middle of nowhere, gets taken in by the church, escapes from the church and heads to the city, and after a snag with some unsavoury folk (on a moral and ethical level), he finds himself among the company of Mr. Brownlow.
From there, despite the folly the transpires over the delivery of books and the short-term aside with the Fagin, he then finds himself with Mrs. Maylie and Ms. Rose. where his appearance changes, his social circles change, and that his parents truly left him an inheritance. His appearance changes in the sense that he finally has enough to eat, when before he had never been given enough, beginning with the infamous, "Please, sir. Can I have some more?". He fills out, grows, wears new clothes, and spends time in superior society. Finally, when you look at the overarching beginning to the end, the extent of the change in his standing is evident.
Where survival is concerned, the same events as previously mention could have been life or death. He could have been not taken in by the church; he could have died of malnutrition or sickness like Dicky while in the care of the church; he could have perished on his way to the city. He could have been the victim of a crime, or alternatively, taken up the life of crime and been caught and hung for it. There were many ways Oliver's life could have taken a turn down the wrong roads, but despite his upbringing and his life experience, he remains, by nature good and moral.
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, written in 1847, builds takes the plot of Oliver Twist a step further. Not only is it a matter of hidden lineage from orphanhood, but it's a female protagonist instead of a male protagonist; the abilities of women moving up in society were far scarcer. A woman of meager means could only marry up if she had no wealthy family or benefactor. The added stakes are not only due to her gender and hidden lineage, but the fact that Jane is a woman adds the anxiety of marriage, and the rush for young women to be engaged.
Jane has to uncover several imperative mysteries including that of her own family as well as understanding the social dynamics of the household where she is employed; there is intrigue and scheming from several parties. The mutation within the novel has several facets: she undergoes an economic mutation whereby she goes from poor to rich, and then there is the matter of her maturation, and Mr. Rochester's literal disfigurement. Finally, within the scope of 'survival', Jane has several life and death experiences including when she was at school during the outbreak, encounters with Mr. Rochester's mad wife, and finally when she leaves the household with no means to survive and leaves with no direction in mind. She nearly dies when exposed to the elements.
Intricacy and complexity are so engrained within Jane Eyre that it's difficult to find plot beats that aren't touched by 'intrigue'. Her lineage is veiled so much that there are five subplots alone to reveal the various aspects of the issue of her lineage. The other main issue of the story is the matter of Mr. Rochester. He hides his true identity when he pretends to be the old gypsy woman, and to Jane, there seems to be a conspiracy about that she is not allowed to know more about concerning the woman upstairs. Little does she know that Mr. Rochester is hiding his wife of fifteen years in the attic.
The first issue is her not knowing the status of her parents at all – this is to say, not knowing whether they were rich or not. The second issue is finding out she has an uncle that wanted to come and adopt her, but that for some reason, it didn't pan out. The interference, as in the other meaning of 'intrigue' was that her aunt meddled in the situation claiming Jane had actually died. The next issue of the uncle is that, when he finds out she's actually alive, that she in the process of ruining her name by attempting to marry a married man. The fourth phase is a matter of Jane having changed her name to Jane Eliot when staying with her cousins, unbeknownst to her, and not having heard her uncle had passed and left her a fortune, which is mentioned by her cousins because they were left out of the will. The finale to this long-winded mystery is that she realizes her cousins are her cousins and that their uncle is also her uncle. This isn't even the extent of the intrigue, however.
Quite like Oliver Twist, the plot of the novel is predominantly a 'rags-to-riches' narrative, and this drastic change in circumstance is how mutation is depicted. Like Oliver, Jane is an unwanted orphan who has a hidden lineage which settles her firmly into her new life by the end of the novel. She was abused in the home by her relatives, and the character development from Jane in first chapter to the last is incredible: every avenue of her life has been affected. Jane's experiences this shift in so many ways: politically, physically, socially, and economically; she grows from child to woman, and she goes from poor to rich. In a transformational sense, Mr. Rochester too has a shift in fortune, but in the opposite direction. He loses his home while Jane finds hers, loses his vision while Jane, in a way, gains sight – or insight – and is left utterly alone while Jane is surrounded by family.
Finally, Jane and Mr. Rochester have several encounters with death, and each instance shows the anxieties of the day: death from destitution, from sickness, from loss of reputation, and from fire. Jane, while in the school, experienced the death of her friend Helen Burns, and though she did not succumb herself, she watched many perish. Outbreaks of all sorts would have been a common occurrence, particularly in places in poor condition. If one does not eat sufficiently, or if one does not have suitable clothing, death was far more likely. An additional fear that women had was being jilted or left as a spinster, and the disingenuous advances of Mr. Rochester would have ruined Jane's reputation leaving her either with no suitable matches. When Jane leaves Mr. Rochester and her post as Governess and escapes with nothing, she has a close brush with death in terms of starvation and exposure.
Despite the 'modern' setting of urban life in the 19th century, it was still not a safe one. There were many dangers in the urban home, and fires were the most feared, and in places of industry, accidents were even more likely to occur. In "Introduction: The Victorians and Risk" by Daniel Martin, Martin describes the pitfalls of the sometimes 'one-dimensional image' of the Victorians, particularly the assertion that wealth could mitigate the risks of the quickly evolving world (47). Mr. Rochester losing his sight in the fire, being crippled, is another sort of death, and it's the death of his spirit until Jane revives it. Additionally, if he were not rich and if his only residence had burned down, he would have been left with very few options to survive. It is the rich character in Jane Eyre that is a victim of an accident. Wealth can do much, but it cannot save your life from natural disaster. Fires were such a risk that there was what was called "Fire season" and that despite preventative measures, the statistics from the Victorian era and from London suggest that they were rather unavoidable (Martin, 52.) They were seen as so normal, in fact, that there were frequent headlines such as "Twenty Thousand Fires". What is surprising is that there were not more accidents depicted in these novels.
Pip from Great Expectations, unlike Oliver and Jane, truly comes from a poor family. While Jane and Oliver had hidden lineage to back them up, Pip truly has to make something of himself, and as such, has elevated stakes because there is nothing to fall back on where inheritance is concerned. Instead, he has to prove himself with his benefactor, who he believes is Mrs. Havisham, because if he fell short, there would be nothing left for him.
Identity is a prolific theme in Victorian literature. While in Oliver Twist and Jane Eyre the matter of identity is in the form of inheritance through missing lineage and family links, the question of identity in Great Expectations becomes that of ascertaining who the benefactor is to Pip and finding his place in the world now that he has so many options. Too much choice can be as paralyzing as having none. The evolving world of the 19th century was swift, and though there were many positive changes, the many improvements did come with their own unique set of problems.
Much of the 'intrigue' is in the misdirection of Pip's expectations. For the majority of his time, he believes it is Mrs. Havisham that has been aiding him financially, and his actions toward her and towards Estella are manipulated from this false assertion. Believing himself to be groomed for Estella's hand, he is beside himself with grief when he realizes his assertions had been wrong and that not only was Estella utterly indifferent to him, but that he'd been aided by the criminal, Abel Magwitch, that had appeared to him as a boy. The final 'complicated' state of affairs is the coordination of Abel and Pip meeting in person. Abel is not allowed in the country, but he wants to risk it to see how he has benefitted Pip. They meet and Pip is fond of the man he'd helped as a boy, but they need to be low-profile to get Abel out of the country.
Like Oliver Twist and Jane Eyre before it, Great Expectations is a story about obtaining a better life and being lifted out of poverty into a state of possibility. Every aspect of their lives is changed when they are lifted out of poverty. For Pip, it's a little more significant than in the case of the previous two novels. Pip has no inheritance, and no claim to the wealth he possesses other than what can be called charity as a result of gratitude.
Pip, at the very beginning, has a run in with the escaped prisoner, Magwitch, which could have ended very differently had the nature of Magwitch's crimes been truly nefarious. There is not much of survival in the technical term of "remaining alive" because most of the issues stem from hidden lineage and shrouded identities, but Pip does fall ill, which could have been problematic, and he does put himself in significant danger in attempting to save Abel Magwitch's life in escorting him out of the country. In some ways, Pip's journey is more about a symbolic survival: choosing to keep moving on after things don't turn out as anticipated (ie: Magwitch, Mrs. Havisham, Estella etc.). It's a story about moving forward's, even if the destination remains unknown.
It is obvious to see how The Island of Doctor Moreau takes this survival trope further, and obvious how the wordplay of 'Mutation' comes into play. Instead of mutating circumstances, Wells employs a scientific aspect of mutation genetically. Edward is in a state of constant survival mode, from the boat, to the island, and in terms of socially, has to prove himself to be a leader among The Beasts to survive for months on his own. Comparatively to the previous novels, the risks of this novel far outweigh anything previously done. It is, in all honesty, not even the same genre. The Island of Doctor Moreau is clearly science fiction while the others could be called general fiction, or, in the case of Jane Eyre, a romance. However, as stated by Daniels, the Victorian's were concerned with Mystery and Discovery. They are all mystery novels at the core and are all concerned with discovering the truth of the matter.
Culturally, in the early 19th century, status was a far more prolific topic than in the latter end when wealth was beginning to truly be more evenly distributed. There seems to be a significant shift here, and the focus falls away from changing one's eternal world to changing the internal world. It is no longer about identity in where one fits in the community, but identity about the individual. Contextually, science fiction was not a genre named yet, and the biological definition of mutation was not yet coined in that way. The nineteenth century was one of great scientific discovery. The Origin of Species came out in 1859, and it is after this point that science fiction begins to emerge.
The shifting culture meant there had to be a shift on the focus in the literature. Where before people were concerned with social hierarchies, wealth, and social connections at the forefront in a material way, the emergence of The Island of Doctor Moreau suggests a shift in worldview since it is as story that shifts to Man vs. Nature as opposed to Man vs. Society. The intrigue is predominantly surrounding the island and the beasts, or, simply put, the new environment which maze like in appearance and structure. Mutation is employed both in a drastic change in circumstance where Edward is yanked from society and marooned for a year, but in the genetic tampering by Doctor Moreau to change animals at a molecular level into something human. There is also the matter of the micro society that has been engineered at a social level. Where survival is concerned, survival is necessary at almost every point in the play. However, for the sake of narrowing it down, the events will be limited to beginning, middle, and end: he is lost at sea exposed to the elements and could have died there, he finds himself in an unknown environment where he perceives nefarious elements and has to proceed with caution, and finally, when Montgomery and Doctor Moreau die, he has to offer up a ruse to live among the beasts until he can be rescued off the island. It is through fear and conditioning through pain that these are enforced and maintained. Failing to do so means that the structure would fall apart – which it does. While each novel has different means to indicate these themes, they all manage to use the same overarching rules to create a plot suited to the times. Summed up this way, it is easy to see the parallels between the novels and how the conflicts are staged and shrouded in mystery.
The modern application of mutation in the scientific and biological sense did not come about until 1941 according to the footnotes on the "Oxford English Dictionary" entry of Mutation: 7.c. In the case of The Island of Doctor Moreau, Wells was well and truly before his times. The word 'mutation' in the genetic sense had not even caught up to what he had done with the novel, and so despite our modern interpretation of the former three novels being outliers in the "mutation" department, at the time, it was the Wells' novel that was the outlier. In an obvious capacity it was already an outlier, but when we attribute "mutation" to the four novels presented, I imagine most in a modern capacity would point to The Island of Doctor Moreau as the obvious book concerning mutation. However, that might not always have been unanimously agreed upon when the word initially meant "change".
The first instance of 'survival' is that at the outset of the novel, Edward Prendick is lost at sea. He could have died of dehydration, starvation, or exposure had he not been swiftly found. The next instance is surviving the threat of the animals and the elements when he runs away from his room, since it is at this time that mutiny is occurring in the ranks in disobeying the rules of not eating meat, and Edward is distinctly aware of being stalked. After this, there is the threat he makes to his own life, and finally, there is the case of political and then literal survival when Doctor Moreau and Montgomery are killed – Edward has to maintain and sell the ruse that the Doctor would come back and sustain order for long enough to escape the island, which itself is another obstacle because had the boa not arrived, he would have ended where he started: lost at sea.
Finally, in The Island of Doctor Moreau, there is a very obvious application to 'survival'. The first is that at the outset of the novel, Edward Prendick is lost at sea, and the next instance is surviving the threat of the animals and the elements when he runs away from his room. After this, there is the case of political and literal survival when Doctor Moreau and Montgomery are killed – Edward has to maintain and sell the ruse that the Doctor would come back and maintain order for long enough to escape the island, which itself is another obstacle.
In "Beyond Human Boundaries: Variations of Human Transformation in Science Fiction," by Sayyed Ali Mirenayat, Mirenayat talks about the human desire to transform our lives beyond the scope of hope, to become 'superhuman' as an example (265). Science fiction is in a unique place to do this as it deals with transformation in the most literal of senses. Its genre can take themes like this to the next level in ways that general fiction, which is grounded in reality, cannot. The article then delves into "Transhumanism: Movement to Upgrade" which talks about gaining immortality and superiority as its primary goals (266).
What is incredible is how science fiction fits right beside general fiction in an overarching sense if not in plot kinship. If we compare Oliver and Edward, on opposite ends of the spectrum that I have laid out from least oppressed to most, their character beats are nearly identical: both are marooned, both have to navigate situations beyond their comprehension and depth, both have to adapt and overcome adversity and dangerous situations in their environment, and both manage to escape the trappings of their circumstances. Despite the fact that science fiction as a genre is set apart, the stories and characters themselves are not set apart because at the core, they all have the same purpose: discovering the truth.
Starting with Oliver, we see a young orphan wanting a family and who wants to just have enough to eat. His fortune morphs from dismal prospects to hefty inheritance. Shifting to Jane, we see all these things and more. As a woman, there is additional pressure as there were fewer ways for women to rise in society aside from marriage. Marriage was a stress on young women, because, unfortunately, in most cases, beauty was coveted, and so there is the stress of appearance and youth as well as the fear of being alone for one's entire life. Pip, yet again, pushes this further. Instead of having hidden inheritances, Pip is actually a poor person. He has little to no hope of moving out of his life and into a brighter future... except, that he, out of fear, helps out a prisoner. By conduct alone, Pip secures himself a future by acting decent, gaining charity.
While Oliver and Jane had wonderful dispositions, they ended up having inheritance to fall back on. Pip, meanwhile, had nothing but his wits and his own temperament to rely on. Finally, we see Edward Prendick take this a whole step further. No longer is the story about political and social intrigue through the scope of urban society. No, The Island of Doctor Moreau responds to travel in distant lands, and the consequences of messing with nature. Edward is in constant survival mode with his life being at risk at nearly every instance. He encounters human experimentation and sequestered science and has to grapple with the reality of the ethics of it all while doing his best to survive.
In conclusion, Victorian Literature responded to the hopes and fears of the people at the time of publication. As mysteries were solved, and as culture moved forward, new questions were asked, and all surrounding identity and our place in this world. These stories communicate and memorialize our human endeavors to 'belong' and to 'understand' ourselves and one another.
[WORKS CITED]
Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Paper Mill Press, 2018.
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Paper Mill Press, 2018.
Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. Paper Mill Press, 2018.
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Martin, Daniel. "Introduction: The Victorians and Risk." Victorian Review, vol. 40, no. 2, 2014, pp. 47-54. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/introduction-victorians-risk/docview/2447122175/se-2?accountid=14611.
Mirenayat, Sayyed A., et al. "Beyond Human Boundaries: Variations of Human Transformation in Science Fiction." Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 7, no. 4, 2017, pp. 264-272. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/beyond-human-boundaries-variations transformation/docview/1888910530/se-2?accountid=14611.
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O'Kell, Robert. "Victorians and Mystery: Crises of Representation by W. David Shaw (Review)." Victorian Review, vol. 17, no. 1, 1991, pp. 109-112. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/i-victorians-mystery-crises-representation-w/docview/2447125619/se-2?accountid=14611.
"survival, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2021, www.oed.com/view/Entry/195104. Accessed 5 December 2021.
Wells, H. G. The Island of Doctor Moreau. Oxford University Press, 2017.