Realism, naturalism and manners
The main difference between realism, naturalism and customs is that the first aims to represent real life, the second aims to represent life in a more scientific and clinical way, and the third, through art, seeks to show the customs of a society in a certain time and place. Below we will detail a greater number of differences between both terms.\
Index Realism | Naturalism | Costumbrismo | |
| Definition | It is a literary movement in which ordinary people are represented in everyday situations, that is, realistic events that could happen to anyone during the course of their life. | It can be considered as an exaggerated form of realism. He often portrays middle-class or lower-class characters in particularly pessimistic situations. | Artistic movement in which an attempt is made to express the uses and customs of a society with a bit of humor or sarcasm. |
| Emergence | Second half of the 19th century | End of the 19th century (from 1880) and the middle of the 20th century (mainly until 1940) | Early 19th century |
| Function | It serves to criticize and mock society | As a social protest, he expressed the desperate situation of the Indian | Almost pictorial description of the most external of everyday life. |
| Purpose | It pretends to reproduce reality | He intends to study his characters as laboratory specimens | Highlights the regionalism present in a country |
| Examples | Henrik Ibsen’s Dollhouse and Gustave Flaubert’s Infinite Master | Manuel Zeno Gandía and Emilia Pardo Bazán | The pilgrimage of San Isidro de Ramón de Mesonero Romanos and the Spaniards of Hogaño (1872) |
What is realism
Realism is a literary movement that began in the mid-19th century in France and spread throughout Europe. This movement is defined as a reaction against romanticism. Realism represents ordinary people in everyday situations, that is, realistic events that could happen to anyone during the course of their life. It portrays the realistic life without any falsehood, idealizing, flattering or romanticizing. This movement broke the convention by portraying characters that belong to the working classes and introduced a style of writing where there were no great heroes. The protagonist was common characters with whom the public can identify and relate. Realism paid great attention to detail, as it was necessary to create a realistic effect and feel. The language used in literature during the realist period was ordinary and common to make the texts more believable and realistic.
Realism was an attempt to describe situations as they could occur. It is a response to romanticism, which had previously been the dominant literary aesthetic. Literary realism coincided with great cultural changes in Europe and America, such as industrialization and the rise of the middle class.
What is naturalism
Naturalism is a logical consequence of realism and can be considered as an exaggerated form of the latter . Detailed realism was used to propose that social conditions, heredity, and the environment were the three main forces shaping human character. Naturalism was greatly influenced by the theories of Charles Darwin and naturalistic authors who tried to apply scientific theories to literature. Therefore, they took a detached and clinical tone. Naturalism often portrays middle-class or lower-class characters . The main themes of naturalism involved activities of violence and taboo. Naturalistic novels are particularly pessimistic .
The literal work of the French novelist Emile Zola is considered the origin of the naturalistic movement. Naturalism focused on determinism, or the inability of human beings to resist the biological, social, and economic forces that control their behavior and destiny.
What is manners
The name of Constumbrismo is given to the artistic movement in which it is tried to express the uses and customs of a society . It emerged from Romanticism and developed largely in Spain during the 19th century, where it took an important place in works of literature and in paintings.
Its purpose was to describe situations of customs (hence the name) but giving it a bit of humor or sarcasm . That is, it sought to show how people lived in a place and at a certain time through art.
Here the comparative article between naturalism, realism and manners has ended . If you have any questions, ask a question below, we will answer you as soon as possible.
About Author
JessicaTempest
Bachelor in Technological and Industrial Chemistry from the Federal University of Alagoas in 2018 and a Technical in Chemistry from the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Pernambuco in 2011. Completed complementary courses involving information management, intellectual property, laboratory techniques, and operation of chemical processes. I have been working since 2016 with online content production. I also held positions in the administrative, educational, laboratory, and industrial areas.