The life and death of Harriet frean - a marxist perspective

‘Marxism tries to offer a critique of the ideological distortion of human interests, recognising the relation between civilisation and barbarity in literature, but without simply mirroring the current system of production.’

Therefore, the conceptions within literary and fundamental Marxism can easily be directed towards inequality and the complex economic relations within families. It criticises the oppressive determinist social values and norms in society that govern the individual by common-held morals, expectations and the undermining of free will. A text that can easily be acquainted with this approach is May Sinclair’s (1863-1946) novel: The Life and D

eath of Harriett Frean, as it concentrates upon the Victorian English class system and the willing oppression of the named protagonist. Although May Sinclair’s focus in the novel is upon Psychoanalysis and the repression of sexuality, the actions, virtues and social systems within this text are relevant to Marxist literary criticism. The Victorian family in this text are portrayed severely and are seen to be subjected to values that essentially cause the disintegration of both family life and human relationships. The protagonist’s life, Harriett Frean, is highlighted by self-inflicted self-sacrifice and by the chant-like repetition of ‘behaving beautifully’. This ‘chant’ (which appears no less than fifteen times throughout the novel) is seen by Harriett as the moral embodiment of all what her parents thought and did. These typical bourgeoisie values that constrain Harriet’s individuality as a child increase as she gets older and her whole life is documented in fifteen short chapters. The tone that Sinclair uses, at times, borders upon a satire of Victorian Middle England and this can be expressed through some main examples: Economic factors, the social hierarchy, patriarchal authority and lastly through social rank and differences.

Her father’s job as a stockbroker is affirmative of the Victorian and modern capitalist system and especially the free market that he describes as ‘… pure mathematics…the higher mathematics of the game. If you can afford them; if you haven’t got a wife and family…” (Pg.38) His profession is indicative of the class in which they occupy and also who is included and excluded. It is a purely materialist occupation that essentially bankrupts him and his family and it can be agued that it shows May Sinclair’s dissatisfaction with the essential elements of his employment. However, Hilton Frean is an enlightened and liberal thinker that was unusual for the Victorian period. He is not a typical Victorian ogre - he refuses to physically punish Harriett for her digression of walking up Black’s Lane, instead resorting to adding to the mental constraints that bound Harriet to her parents. This bond is both mental (as she cannot form an opinion for herself – it is her father’s ideals and by mimicking her mother’s physicality) and physical, as she cannot be drawn away from her parents, either by marriage or by love. The descriptions seen above are a short analysis of the symbols and actions within the text that might equate to Marxist Literary criticism. However, as the text was originally based upo

Some topics in this essay:
Hilton Frean’s, Hilton Frean, Harriett Frean, Drew Milne, Bourgeoisie Proletariat, Middle England, Priscilla Heaven, Freans Frean, Victorian English, , frean family, hilton frean, patriarchal authority, throughout novel, economic factors, harriett frean, marxist literary, throughout novel seen, literary criticism, tone sinclair, social hierarchy, marxist literary criticism,