Rebellion against romanticism Essay Example for Free

Rebellion against romanticism Essay Realism can be seen as a rebellion against romanticism, which, according to realists, did not depict life accurately and was prone to over-sentimentality. Realists did not believe in the structure and symmetry common in romantic fiction. Realists viewed life as irregular, where individuals were always confronted with ethical dilemmas. The realists also valued the individual, and thus characterization was considered a central aspect of the novel. This also means that realists explored the psychology of a novels characters. The values of realism extended to and influenced Henry James. James also dealt with ethical issues and the complex working of the mind in his fiction, and even became considered the â€Å"father of the psychological novel. † James, however, unlike realists in general, did not write in an attitude of optimism. A theme that James explored deeply is the conflict of America (the New World), which for him represented innocence and optimist, and Europe (the Old World), which for him represented worldliness and decadence. He wrote of Americans visiting or living in Europe, where American and European customs were in conflict. Because he lived back and forth in America and Europe, he was able to observe firsthand the differences between the values and customs of the New World and the Old. James was also interested in spiritual phenomena, which was of much popular interest in his time. This also influenced him into writing ghost stories, such as The Turn of the Screw. James, as a writer, was primarily a realist, and much of his work can be categorized as psychological realism. He was a master of the psychological novel. Like other realists in his time, was interested in writing about â€Å"everyday things† and paid careful attention to detail in his writings. He strove for an accurate depiction of American life, often in the context of Old World, European society.