Social and Ethnic sensibility in Benjamin Disraelis Novels

Introduction

The Victorian period is considered to be an important period in history that led to the start of the modern society as we see today . The changes in the society to a large extent were due to the many social and economic changes occurring in that period . A powerful new class - the middle class , was born which affected the entire layout and interactions between the various social classes existing during the period . The effects of these changes had a deep impact on the literary works of the period too . The writings

of the period reflected the socio-economic conditions of the period , in addition to the thoughts of the people Some chief literary figures of the period were Charles Dickens , Alfred Tennyson , Bronte sisters , Robert Browning , George Eliot and William Thackeray

Benjamin Disraeli , the only Jewish Prime Minister of England is one of the most interesting figures of the Victorian Period . In addition to having a very successful and illustrious political career , he is also known for his literary works . His trilogy is considered to be one of the major literary works of the period depicting the social conditions in the Victorian era . His Jewish background is also responsible for a distinctive flavor in his books

This report analyzes the works of Benjamin Disraeli , who was a major Victorian figure . The intention is to understand his thoughts on various issues prevalent in the Victorian period . The effect of conflicting religions - Judaism and Christianity , in his life and works is also a part of the analysis

1 . Victorian Age-Political , Social , Economical , Cultural aspects

Victorian Age - The general starting point of start of the Victorian age , as defined by the literary historians , is either in the year 1832 with the passage of the First Reform Bill or in the year 1837 when Queen Victoria ascended the throne . The year of end is generally put at the time of her death in the year 1901 (Cheng , 2006 ,

.1 . While it is clear that the complexity of the era cannot be confined within the rigid span of about seventy years , Queen Victoria 's reign and lifetime was long enough to impart to this age of unprecedented change the epithet `Victorian . The adjective became filled out , stretched , and kept on being continuously reinvented in meaning to describe all manner of things that occurred during this time span (Gardiner , 2002 ,

. 4

Due to the complexity and magnitude of the changes taken place during these years , time span is divided into early , mid and late Victorian phases , a division which was started out by the Victorians themselves Presently , the historians put the early Victorian period from 1837 to about 1850 , usually seen as a turbulent time of adapting to the industrial life . The mid Victorian period is placed during the period from 1851 to about 1870 , which was a time for relative prosperity . The late Victorian period is placed from 1871 onwards till the death of Queen Victoria , which is again seen as a period...