Human Connection Through Cultural Eras

Human Connection Through Cultural Eras

        Human connection is what keeps relationships steady, emotions positive, and people sane. However, what are the consequences when this vital component of our lives disappears? The presence and absence of, as well as the search for, human connection can be explored through four different cultural eras: romanticism, realism, modernism, and postmodernism. Each period consists of unique views of human rational, emotion, and everyday life. This theme is further discussed in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Herman Melville’s Bartleby, Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, and Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, uniting to fully exemplify how human connection develops throughout each era.

Romanticism is emotionally driven, fierce, and mysterious. It is heavily composed of the deep self and solitude, which leads to ideals of the countryside and nature. These concepts are present in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where scientist Victor Frankenstein creates life, realizing too late that he is not suitable to care for it. Throughout the novel, the creature Victor created strives to carry on his naturally good disposition in the face of society’s cruel conduct towards him. He has a “desire to claim [society’s] protection and kindness” (134). He wants to grasp onto those warm feelings of being cared and loved for, and most importantly, wants to be treated as a human. His thoughts depict it as if he literally wants to latch onto human’s benevolence, which emphasizes his longing for the sense of affection and security. He knows that humans can be caring, and this only extends his yearning for a meaningful connection. He wishes for this after being abandoned, and wants to experience that parental love from someone. Victor’s neglecting of the creature’s existence does not separate them, but rather brings them closer through the creature’s strong optimism. He wants some sort of good to happen to him, and believes that society, and ultimately Victor, can bring that, even after experiencing their brutal rejection of him. Even when Felix De Lacey violently hits him upon their initial encounter, the creature’s “heart sunk within [him] as with bitter sickness, and [he] refrained” (137) from hurting him. The creature cannot bear to hurt Felix even though he is violently mistreated by him. This selfless act shows the creature’s willingness to remain in his moral state. The “bitter sickness” he experiences illustrates how difficult it is for the creature to restrain himself from hurting Felix. He wants to defend himself from the brutality, but his naturally good character overpowers those violent thoughts. This decision exemplifies his thoughtful and caring mindset that he keeps even through rough situations. The creature understands how it feels to be treated harshly and rejected, feeling compassionate and understanding for how others would be in his miserable situation. This mindset reveals how his longing for human connection has a deep impact on his morality and character.  

In contrast with romanticism, realism rules society over the individual, focusing more on the working class and everyday life within the city. There is more interest in the mechanics of social forces, rather than the self. Life is ruled by work and the need for survival, strong ideas present in Herman Melville’s Bartleby. Bartleby searches for human connection and attempts to create it in an environment that provides a lack thereof. He starts this movement by passively resisting the lawyer’s requests through a repeated answering of “I would prefer not to.” Bartleby is attempting to show life and humanity outside of being a scrivener, a mundane job where he mindlessly copies documents. By saying the word “I,” he is rebelling against the realist world, which places society over the individual. Expressing individuality breaks the repetitive working atmosphere, providing harmony and gentleness to contrast with the grinding, stressful office. He wants more to life than just copying documents because he recognizes that all humans have a spiritual value and purpose. This mindset makes him a romantic character adrift in the realist world, something the lawyer also recognizes. The lawyer observes that Bartleby has a right to exist this way, but does not follow his footsteps because he is too consumed with realist ideals. His job makes him feel good about himself so he sticks with that route, providing Bartleby no hope of forming a meaningful human connection. In this extreme case, Bartleby dies from not only starvation, but also the culture of Wall Street and economic motivation, which fails to nourish his spiritual needs. The realist world is more focused on the rapid industrial advancements taking place, with people more oriented on working to provide. There is not much time for people to explore themselves or the nature around them, having a less romantic mindset. These ideals are also explored in Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich through Ivan’s relationships with his family and career, and how they shift during his illness. Ivan values his work more highly than his family, elaborating his law career in greater detail and in a more positive note. He marries Praskovya because it is “something pleasant for himself…and at the same time he did what highly placed people considered right” (13). Even in describing his love life, Ivan relates it back to social norms, suggesting that marriage is not fully about love in the aristocratic world. Social class and career intertwine, that one must have a certain type of job in order to be considered worthy. Ivan weds in order to protect not only his social appearance, but also his career. These two aspects must sync in terms of what society considers as proper. This displays a more social-minded outlook, that there is a materialistic worth in even human connections. Furthermore, during his illness, Ivan focuses less on his career and more towards individual character. When Praskovya visits him, he states that he “hated her with all the forces of his soul” (32), in contrast to Gerasim, the butler’s helper, whose “strength and vigor of life did not distress but [soothe] him” (37). This suggests that Ivan moves away from a social mindset, as Praskovya represents realist ideals. By rejecting her, he is focusing more on the individual, as he does with Gerasim. Ivan is more comfortable with him because he recognizes his kindness and good heart when he is taking care of him. This illustrates how the individual has a strong impact on his mindset, that simple interactions can have a positive change of heart.