Science, Technology and the Supernatural

in the World of Victorian Literature

Kevin Frazelis

Clémence Oréal

Michael Filoramo

ENGL 345 – English Novel II

From Frankenstein and The Invisible Man to Jane Eyre and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the Victorian era has produced a plethora of

literature that dares to explore science, technology and even the supernatural.

The purpose of this timeline is to explore and better understand the literature of this era that

incorporates these themes in its works.

Enjoy!

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818)Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, firstpublished in 1818 under anonymousauthorship and again in 1823 underMary Shelley’s name, is a Britishnovel whose themes explicitly dealwith the ethical dilemma of themisuse of science, as well as theexistence of human life.

It is often considered one of the firstworks of science-fiction, as theprotagonist exclusively focuses hisendeavors on scientificexperimentation to create hisbrainchild, the grotesque monsterthat we have all come to know as“Frankenstein” (though there is nospecific reference in the novel to thecreature being called“Frankenstein”).

Not only is the very premise ofthe novel based on thesupernatural—Victor creatingartificial life through homebrewscientific experimentation—butits themes have been borrowedupon and recreated since itsinception. In fact, the genre ofhorror (in literature, films,shows, etc.) owesits veryexistence tothe novel, asit is also oftenconsidered oneof the first worksin horror.

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847)In Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, there is apart in the novel where Jane hears Mr.

voice calling her. Few days after,Mr. Rochester tells her been calling hername and heard Jane answering him. Thenarrator writing about this kind of telepathyechoes the invention of telegraph. The electrictelegraph was invented ten years before JaneEyre was published, and improvements havebeen made for 20 years. The scienceof new telecommunications

marked a turning point in thespeed of dialogue transmission,and Jane Eyre wondering abouthow fast her thoughts can betransmitted to Mr. Rochesteris undoubtedly a reference to the

electric telegraph.

The Electrical Telegraph, a machine that sends

electrical signals through telecommunication

lines (thus allowing communication via encoded

messages known as Morse Code), was first

invented in 1809.

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (1861)1861: Charles Dickens publishes Great Expectations, a novel in which the supernatural sometimes takes the upper hand on the story, particularly within the characters (Mrs. Havisham and her daughter Estella), with who the line between natural and supernatural is intentionally blurred. They can be compared to vampires, a trope used several times during the Victorian era, the most famous reference to it being Dracula, by Bram Stoker. Two years before Great expectations waspublished, Darwin released the Origins of species, a shake up in

the knowledge of the human being. In his novel, Dickens plays with the human notion, Mrs Havisham being between a human and a vampire or a sort of supernatural character. Only the hero, Pip,

themselves behind the human codes and customs.

Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone (1868)

1868: Wilkie Collins publishes one of the first detective novel, The Moonstone.

This very modern genre, for this time, doesn’t acknowledge nonetheless every

modern progress made during the Victorian era. Indeed, in chapter VIII, the

narrator openly criticizes young people dissecting insects and small animals.

This passage reflects the changes concerning science and

anatomy in the 19th century, and particularly the work of

Georges Cuvier, a French anatomist. His innovative work (often

made thanks to dissection) marked a decisive moment in

natural sciences that was not accepted by all. Dissection was

sometimes despised and seen as challenging religion.

Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) In Robert Louis Stevenson; The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The role of the outsider is a central part of

the character arc in the story. The important characters in this novel have different qualities which separate them

from the common man in society. Mr. Hyde in the beginning is differentiated from society in the first chapter of the

novel by the narrator of the tale on first glance. Unbeknownst to the reader at the time of

publishing, is that the vile Mr. Hyde is actually the missing Dr. Jekyll who has

undergone a scientific transformation thorough use of a questionable potion. In

the time building up to the publishing of the novel, various scientific and

technological breakthroughs were made during the Victorian period. Robert Koch

was a leading scientist in biological studies and chemistry in the era. Jekyll is fine

upstanding citizen who is beloved but Hyde represents issues regarding urban

terror that is a continual problem in England at the point in time. The duality of

both characters also show reflect a society that is so perpetually bogged down by

ideals of civility and behavior; that Hyde is merely symbol for the anger and

defiance that some members of the Victorian era may have had pent up according to

Stevenson.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1887)Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective who appears in four novels and 56 short stories, all written

between 1887 and 1927, and are narrated mostly through Holmes’s personal friend, Dr. John H. Watson. The stories are all about mysteries

that Holmes must solve, typically grounded on very few leads and clues to work with. Holmes, then, must rely on his own intuition and instinct

to solve these mysteries—along with the help of Watson. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes also stands at the forefront of the

mystery genre of literature.

One of the most noteworthy and prominent aspects of Sherlock Holmes is his unfettered mental

clarity and almost supernatural ability to deductively reason probable (if factual) outcomes in

countless highly difficult cases. He is also able to mimic

nearly any disguise, and seems to possess a mysteriously high amount

of physical strength (in The Adventure of the Speckled Band we see

Holmes effortlessly unbend a fireplace poker someone of brute strength

has bent beforehand)

Since its creation, Sherlock Holmes has been recreated and

reinterpreted in countless adaptations in literature, TV

shows and film. Today a TV series on BBC One titled

Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman) is

being produced.

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey (1891)

bourgeois and overly decadent. One the opposite the side of England the glitz and glamour were drowned out by morbidity and disparity. This was a major societal conflict during the time which is greatly depicted throughout the novel. The lead character Dorian is originally a highly foppish character who behaves like a modern day socialite and behaves in a very uncaring manner towards those who do not meet his specific standards. This highbrow aristocratic behavior is reflection of the upper class attitude during the era. Wilde eventually humbles his title character and exposes him as well as us to the other side of England. The downtrodden and ignored part of town, where the lower class keeps itself occupied. The lower class reside in dank bars and shacks that in the beginning surprised Mr. Gray who is accustomed to better confinement but because of the hideousness of his soul is forced to inhabit. In one scene a carriage driver refuses to even deliver Dorian from the bourgeois side of town to the other side of town. This truly demonstrates the societal gap between both sides of Victorian England.

H.G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895)

H.G. Wells wrote “Time Machine” functions as a negative assessment of Victorian England and a morbid view of is projection of the country in the future. He was extremely critical of capitalism and viewed as a scourge on society altogether; this is not surprising given Well’s socialist leanings. With the rise of the Industrial revolution coming on, ideas of evolution emanating from Charles Darwin at this interesting time in England. The stage had been set for a novel such as “The Time Machine,” that encompasses issues relating to class warfare and the advancement of technology that the late Victorians were nowhere close to achieving in real time. The influence of the industrial revolution on the novel is easily demonstrated through the time machine itself; which allows the time traveler the ability to travelthrough space and time. The main conflict of the novel is the issues between the class system which predominantly features the “Eloi’ as the upper class, with the “Morlocks” being featured as the lower class as well as savages. This novel is a product of anera dealing with class conflict and the rapid effects of booming fascination with technology and brilliantly magnifies that.

H. G. Wells, The Invisible Man (1897)

English author H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man is a science-fiction novella about a scientist

named Griffin—also the aforementioned “Invisible Man”—who creates a way for the

human body to neither reflect nor absorb light, physically rendering it invisible. Though he

is successful in his scientific experimentation, particularly on himself, he thereafter

cannot find a way to reverse the process.

The Invisible Man undoubtedly incorporates elements of the supernatural, and arguably

borrows science-fictional elements as seen in its predecessors, particularly Shelley’s

Frankenstein: Griffin’s mysterious and homebrew experiments go awry when he discovers

he is incapable of rendering himself visible again—though becomes it after he is seized

and beaten by a mob.

The novella plays on the themes of isolation, particularly for Griffin himself who excludes

all others from his scientific endeavors (save for a cat he tries his formula on), as well as

science—Griffin discovers his successful formula through trial and error. It also

incorporates elements of horror as Griffin, once invisible, wreaks havoc on the small

southern English town of Iping, West Sussex.

Since its inception, The Invisible Man has been adapted into several films and TV series,

including a 1933 film directed by James Whale, and a 1992 modern adaptation of the

story, Memoirs of an Invisible Man (starring Chevy Chase).

Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897)The Victorian popularity of trains at the time has a very big impact on this novel. In this novel Dracula is in his manor in

Transylvania being hunted down Dr. Van Helsing and his band of merry men; whom are bent on ending Dracula’s reign

of terror. The characters have to use the railway in order to find their way to Dracula’s estate in order to stop him. The

first line of the novel is ironically a complaint about a train arriving late to the station. This is a sign that traveling and

the railways are going to be a very important part of this novel. The leading lady of the novel “Mina” is also a self-

proclaimed train fiend, who memorizes different train schedules of the off chance that she may

need to know train information in the future. During this time in the Victorian era the

railways were expanding dramatically and were becoming a massive public attraction in England.

For instance Queen Victoria was a regular user of the train because of its swiftness and the ability

to keep up with the regular everyday people, this allowed her and the royal family to have a presence

in everyday society. In 1900, 18,680 miles were in use and over 1100 million passengers were

travelling via the railways as well as various precious cargo. The impact of the railway system

clearly had a major impact on Victorian life as well as on Dracula.

SourcesBronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Margaret Smith. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.

Collins, Wilkie. The Moonstone. 1868. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1982. Print.

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. London: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Doyle, A.C. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. London. 1892. England: George Newnes Ltd, 1984. Print.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: A Norton Critical Edition. ed. J. Paul Hunter. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996. Print.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 1886. NY: Signet, 1994. Print.

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. 1897. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Print.

Wells, H.G. The Invisible Man. Bartleby.com, 2000. www.bartleby.com/1003/, 2000. Website.

Wells, H.G. The Time Machine. London: Dent; Rutland: Tuttle, 1992. Print.

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Michael Patrick Gillespie, Editor. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W.

Norton & Company, Inc., 2007. Print.