Definition of Literary Realism

In some artistic manifestations there is a tendency to represent reality as it is. In literary creation, realism as a current had its maximum expression in the second half of the 19th century in Europe and at the end of the 19th century in Latin America. The literature realistic was a reaction to romanticism from the previous stage. It was in France where the term réalisme was first coined to refer to the new literary trend. The realistic style of nineteenth-century novels has some precedents, such as the Spanish picaresque novel or medieval chronicles.

Among the masterpieces of this movement we can highlight the following: "The human comedy" by Balzac, "Difficult times" by Dickens "and" Fortunata and Jacinta "by Galdós. In Latin America this current presented some notable manifestations, such as the gaucho novels, the novel "La arithmetic en el amor "by the Chilean Alberto Blest or the works of theater of the Uruguayan Florencio Sánchez.

General features of realism

The gender predominant is the narrative and, to a lesser extent, the theater. A direct language is used and very close to everyday reality. In this sense the characters express themselves with popular jargon.

In the stories, stories of the poorest and most disadvantaged classes are told and behind these stories there is a clear intention of social denunciation. The characters in the novels are ordinary men and women. The reader of realistic novels is easily identified with literary characters.

Novelists flee from any description fantastic, exotic or lyrical. Stories are told in which individuals are conditioned by social rules and economic circumstances.

The plausibility of the arguments, the detailed description and the preference for an omniscient narrator are other of its main characteristics.

The revolutionary ideals of communism and the work of Darwin were the main ideological axes of the second half of the 19th century.

Any literary creation arises at a certain historical moment. The trend can be understood from two historical and ideological axes. In the first place, the emergence of revolutionary socialist ideals that denounced the misery of the European proletariat. Second, Darwin's ideas about the origin of man brought a new framework for the intellectuals of the nineteenth century.

It must be taken into account that the idea of ​​adaptation to the environment of the Darwinian approach was very valid to explain the struggle for the survival of the most disadvantaged classes of the society.