The main trend of European and American literature in the early 19th century was romanticism, and the main trend of European and American literature in the late 19th century was realism.
The French bourgeois revolution of 1789 completely destroyed the feudal autocratic system in France, established the dominance of the bourgeoisie, strongly shocked the feudal order of European countries, and brought the "ideal kingdom" to the people. hope.
But the ideal kingdom is just the idealization of the bourgeois kingdom. The reality after the revolution is war and poverty, and more acute class antagonism. "Compared with the beautiful promises of enlightenment scholars, it is based on 'rational The social and political systems established by the victory turned out to be an extremely disappointing caricature" (Engels' "Anti-Dühring").
In this historical background, the utopian socialist trend represented by Saint-Simon, Fourier and Owen spread rapidly, and the German socialism represented by Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel Classical philosophy raised the value of human subjective spirit to an unprecedented height, and romantic literature also emerged.
Generation
1. Social system
The French July Revolution in 1830 overthrew the Bourbon dynasty and established a regime representing the interests of the financial bourgeoisie. In 1832, the British Parliament passed a bill to reform the electoral system, and the industrial bourgeoisie joined the political power.
These two events marked the victory of the bourgeoisie on a European scale. Under the influence of British and French capitalist forces, European countries successively experienced a historic transition from feudalism to a capitalist system in the late 1940s. This specific socio-political and economic situation directly affects literature and becomes a decisive factor in the formation and development of realist literature.
2. Social Psychology
The drastic changes in the social political and economic structure have also caused profound changes in people's moral concepts and cultural values. The development of capitalism to varying degrees in various European countries has continuously strengthened the concept of material interests in people's minds. Money has become the main or only measure of people, and the relationship between people has also changed accordingly.
After people broke away from feudal shackles and gained a certain degree of personal freedom, they lost their spiritual, psychological and personality freedom in the face of material wealth. In a living environment that is keen on creating and relying on material wealth, the oppression and exploitation of people by people are manifested in new forms, and the relationships between people tend to deteriorate.