A Comparative Analysis of the Reflection of the Victorian Era’s Socioeconomic Conditions through Social Realism in Middlemarch and David Copperfield

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Asrin Fakhr

Assistant professor English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Kosar University of Bojnourd, Bojnourd, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/lts.2026.97739.1419

Abstract

This article presents a comparative analysis of the representation of socio-economic conditions in the Victorian era as depicted in Middlemarch by Eliot and David Copperfield by Dickens. Drawing on the theoretical framework of social realism, the study examines how these two novels reflect class relations, economic structures, and social institutions shaped by the transformations of the Industrial Revolution. The research adopts a qualitative, text-centered analytical approach, relying on close reading of the primary texts, engagement with established literary criticism. The findings suggest that both novels employ the realist tradition as a means of critiquing socio-economic inequalities of Victorian society. However, while Dickens adopts a more emotionally charged and critical narrative stance, Eliot offers a reflective and analytically oriented perspective, emphasizes moral responsibility and social reform. The study demonstrates social realism provides an effective framework for understanding the role of the Victorian novel in representing the socio-economic realities of its time.

Keywords

Social Realism in the Victorian Era

Middlemarch

David Copperfield

George Eliot

Charles Dickens

Subjects

• English Language and Literature

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