The Characteristics Of Trollope's Novelettes And Short Stories

Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) is an outstanding realistic writer in Victoria era. He produced not only large numbers of excellent saga novels, but was good at novelettes and short stories. With the critic's revaluation to Trollope and his works, with the rise of Trollope's status in literature history and the depth to his study, his biography and the monograph of his study are published more and more overseas; while in home there are few introduction and translation of his works, so there is nothing of the discussion of his study. This article is based on the idiographic texts and will discuss around the background the sort and the theme and the artistic characteristic of Trollope's novelettes and short stories in order to offer some references to the study of Trollope's novelettes and short stories.A. The background and the sortThe industrialization course was swift and violent in Victoria period in nineteenth century. With the society's great transformation in economy and culture, the traditional origin notion was abandoned while the value of money was praised, so the two notions were coordinate and conflicted. Most of Trollope's saga novels reflect the social problems, while correspondingly the novelettes and short stories are humorous and are accustomed to discussing the value notion of moral and love and marriage and life from amount of stories.Roughly Trollope's novelettes and short stories are classified into five: the first is the stories about writers and editors; the second is the stories about love and marriage; the third is the stories about Christmas; the fourth is adventurous and suspicious stories; the last one is other stories, including tour information and humorous sketch.In the themes above although most rhythm is brisk, the author doesn't limit his description in landscape and expression of emotion, and at the same time animadverts on the social which induce the diversification of theme and come into being the thoughts from an extensive angle.B. The themeThe theme of Trollope's novelettes and short stories is about not only the social criticism but also the discussion on moral notion, and to some degree, it expresses the author's contradiction in mentality which induces to the deeper analysis that is the word duty the author refers time and again in many novelettes and short stories.From the analysis of many novelettes and short stories, Trollope's discussion about duty is the research on ethic notion ultimately. The author's aim is to convey the lineal notion of moral and life through the character's quandary and firmness.C. The artistic characteristicTrollope's style of writing is meaningful and humorous, the quip is incisive, the character is visual, the development is fluent, and the narration is bright and clean. The author's observation is quite acuminous which not only includes the vivid portraits and the psychoanalysis of character especially the heroine but also the research on human nature and the ethic education through which expresses his special opinion.Except for the young ladies'youth, blandness and shiness, the author doesn't neglect the women's heaviness complexity and struggle in mentality.Initially Trollope tried to write comedy, so the dramatic expression is attached importance to the novel by the author. In another word, it is the dramatic expression and humorous comments that form the author's special artistic characteristic. While as an artistic method, the dramatic irony is often adopted in his novelettes and short stories.Trollope's novelettes and short stories are simple and easy, full of fun and readability, but its construction doesn't achieve the preciseness and refinement. As to the related way, the narration aside affects the unification of all. But after of all, these shortcomings couldn't covert in the artistic gloss of Trollope's novels and won't affect the novelettes and short stories'special influence and value in the literature history in England.