The movement

• Naturalism spans from about 1865 to the year 1900.
• It is seen as an extension of Realism, and said to give an even more accurate vision of the world.
• There are no supernatural elements, everything is based on plausible factors, even the speech that is used represents everydayness.
• Naturalists believe a human being exists solely in a natural state, they do not have a soul or any other state to participate in a religious or spiritual world.

Characteristics

• A character’s personality, temperament, and behaviour are founded on two elements: heredity and environment. All humans inherit compulsive behaviours such as hunger and sexuality, and are also subjected to social and economic factors.
• It emphasizes the importance of external forces on a character’s destiny, and how these factors, which are beyond an individual’s control, can shape them.
• Fate, heredity, and nature count for a character’s outcome.
• The outlook tends to be pessimistic, and the endings are often unhappy. Characters are shown in situations destined for ruin as they end up giving into their compulsions.
• Many times, Naturalism shows characters of low economic means, in order to show the harsh realities of life.
• There are usually larger, more uncontrollable forces present.
• Sometimes animalistic imagery is present to show instinctual and primal behaviour in humans.
• Animalistic imagery also represents the narrow gap between the laws that preside over human and animal nature. Darwin’s theory of evolution influences the Naturalist idea that humans are subject to the same laws as all living things.

Writing style

• Characters tend to be portrayed with great attention to detail.
• The author tends to have a detached and impersonal tone.
• Descriptions tend to be objective.

Themes

• A common theme is how science and technology affect society.
• In keeping with Darwinism, survival was a common theme, showing how only the most adaptable people will survive in this harsh world.
• Violence was often present.
• Additionally, there are the themes already mentioned above: heredity and external factors on an individual’s character and fate; Darwin’s laws that preside over all animals; and the pessimism that looms over life and society.