Sybil (novel)
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Sybil, or The Two Nations is an 1845 novel by Benjamin Disraeli. Published in the same year as Friedrich Engels
's The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844
, Sybil traces the plight of the working class
es of England
. As the title suggests, Disraeli is interested in dealing with the horrific conditions in which the majority of England's working classes lived — or, what is generally called the Condition of England question
.
The book is a roman à thèse, or a novel with a thesis — which was meant to create a propagandistic
furor over the squalor that was plaguing England's working class cities.
Disraeli's novel was made into a silent film called Sybil in 1921, starring Evelyn Brent
and Cowley Wright
.
The subtitle, "The Two Nations", has five main sources:
Disraeli's interest in this subject stemmed from his involvement in the Chartist movement, a working-class political reformist movement sometimes referred to as the most successful failure of Victorian
England. Thomas Carlyle
sums up the movement in his 1839 essay "Chartism". The essay begins by stating, "A feeling very generally exists that the condition and disposition of the Working Classes is a rather ominous matter at present; that something ought to be said, something ought to be done, in regard to it." Chartism failed as a parliamentary movement (bills in Parliament were twice struck down); however, five of the six central tenets of Chartism would become a reality during the 19th century. The only one never to become a reality would be Annual Parliaments.
Chartism demanded:
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
's The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844
The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844
The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 is one of the best-known works of Friedrich Engels.Originally written in German as Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England, it is a study of the working class in Victorian England. It was also Engels' first book, written during his stay in...
, Sybil traces the plight of the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
es of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. As the title suggests, Disraeli is interested in dealing with the horrific conditions in which the majority of England's working classes lived — or, what is generally called the Condition of England question
Condition of England question
The "Condition of England Question" was a phrase coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1839 to describe the conditions of the English working-class during the Industrial Revolution.See: Thomas Carlyle's ...
.
The book is a roman à thèse, or a novel with a thesis — which was meant to create a propagandistic
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
furor over the squalor that was plaguing England's working class cities.
Disraeli's novel was made into a silent film called Sybil in 1921, starring Evelyn Brent
Evelyn Brent
Evelyn Brent was an American film and stage actress.-Early life:Born Mary Elizabeth Riggs in Tampa, Florida and known as Betty, she was a child of 10 when her mother Eleanor died, leaving her father Arthur to raise her alone...
and Cowley Wright
Cowley Wright
-Filmography:* The Rocks of Valpre * The Channings * Ernest Maltravers * Sybil -External links:...
.
The subtitle, "The Two Nations", has five main sources:
- PlatoPlatoPlato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
writes in The RepublicRepublic (Plato)The Republic is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato around 380 BC concerning the definition of justice and the order and character of the just city-state and the just man...
that each city contains two cities "warring with each other, one of the poor, the other of the rich." - 1805: Charles HallCharles Hall (economist)Charles Hall was a British physician, social critic and Ricardian socialist who published The Effects of Civilization on the People in European States in 1805, condemning capitalism for its inability to provide for the poor. In the book, Hall argued that inequalities in wealth and the production...
writes, "The people in a civilised state may be divided into different orders; but for the purpose of investigating the manner in which they enjoy or are deprived of the requisites to support the health of their bodies and minds, they need only be divided into two classes, viz., the rich and the poor." - 1835: Alexis de TocquevilleAlexis de TocquevilleAlexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution . In both of these works, he explored the effects of the rising equality of social conditions on the individual and the state in...
writes of "two rival nations" (the rich and the poor). - 1841: William ChanningWilliam Henry ChanningWilliam Henry Channing was an American Unitarian clergyman, writer and philosopher.-Biography:William Henry Channing was born in Boston, Massachusetts...
writes, "In most large cities there may be said to be two nations, understanding as little of one another, having as little intercourse as if they lived in different lands." - 1845: Engels writes that the working class and the bourgeoisieBourgeoisieIn sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
are like "two radically dissimilar nations, as unlike as difference of race could make them."
Disraeli's interest in this subject stemmed from his involvement in the Chartist movement, a working-class political reformist movement sometimes referred to as the most successful failure of Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
England. Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
sums up the movement in his 1839 essay "Chartism". The essay begins by stating, "A feeling very generally exists that the condition and disposition of the Working Classes is a rather ominous matter at present; that something ought to be said, something ought to be done, in regard to it." Chartism failed as a parliamentary movement (bills in Parliament were twice struck down); however, five of the six central tenets of Chartism would become a reality during the 19th century. The only one never to become a reality would be Annual Parliaments.
Chartism demanded:
- Universal suffrageUniversal suffrageUniversal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
for men - Secret BallotSecret ballotThe secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
- Removal of property requirements for Parliament
- Salaries for Members of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs) - Electoral districts
- Annually elected ParliamentParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
Characters
- Sybil Gerard
- Charles Egremont
- Lord Marney
- Lord Henry Sydney
- Lord de Mowbray
- Rigby
- Taper
- Tadpole
- Lady St. Julians
- Marchioness of Deloraine
- Baptist Hatton
- Aubrey St. Lys
- Sidonia
- Devilsdust
- Dandy Mick
- Walter Gerard (Sybil's father)
- Stephen Morley
- Mr. Mountchesney
See also
- One Nation ConservatismOne Nation ConservatismOne nation, one nation conservatism, and Tory democracy are terms used in political debate in the United Kingdom to refer to a certain wing of the Conservative Party...
- Coningsby (novel)Coningsby (novel)Coningsby, or The New Generation, is an English political novel by Benjamin Disraeli published in 1844.-Background:The book is set against a background of the real political events of the 1830s in England that followed the enactment of the Reform Bill of 1832...
- Tancred (novel)Tancred (novel)Tancred; or, The New Crusade is a novel by Benjamin Disraeli, first published by Henry Colburn in three volumes. Together with Coningsby and Sybil it forms a sequence sometimes called the Young England trilogy...
- The Difference EngineThe Difference EngineThe Difference Engine is an alternate history novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling.It posits a Victorian Britain in which great technological and social change has occurred after entrepreneurial inventor Charles Babbage succeeded in his ambition to build a mechanical computer .The novel was...
, a steampunkSteampunkSteampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
novel containing alternate versions of several characters from Sybil