Date of Award

Spring 4-24-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Professor Barbara Black

Second Advisor

Doctor Catherine Golden

Abstract

The nineteenth century marks the height of Great Britain’s success in industrialization and global prosperity. What is often not discussed is the dark side of the nineteenth century and England’s involvement in colonialism and imperialism to fund their victories in technological advances and bolster their nationalistic pride. Ideas that were sparked by Charles Darwin through “survival of the fittest” often justified colonization and eugenics. This thesis will elaborate on where race making came from; how race was used as a weapon by British colonizers against many ethnic groups; and how those colonizers used race to economically benefit their country through racial capitalism. Another component of this thesis is analyzing class structures that evolved due to race, gender, disability, nationality, and political thought. Class structures fueled racial and gender constructs, causing a social hierarchy which affected the job opportunities men and women had, and the standard of living in each class.

Many nineteenth century British novels establish a clear “outsider,” representing a person who challenges England’s usage of “the other” to advance their status. In all cases, the outsider is depicted as the villain, or anti-hero, who calls into question British societal norms. The challenge could be through making women and children seem “impure,” by taking jobs away from British citizens, defying gender-based expectations, or by emasculating men. These possibilities evoked fear amongst British society, exemplifying a sort of cautionary tale of what would happen if an outsider was allowed in. These instances further exacerbated the nation-based bias in British society and made it difficult for outsiders to assimilate. There are many texts that comment upon and address this issue in nineteenth-century British literature, but the three texts in this thesis represent outsiders based on gender and class (Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre), class and political thought (Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure), and race and nationality (Bram Stoker's Dracula). All three texts grapple with the question of how British society perceives outsiders based on their differences from the British status quo, and how their efforts to assimilate or spread their ideas through British society are delivered. In all three novels, the outsider never finds acceptance and instead must return to their country of origin as Dracula does, find their own place where they are accepted as in Jane Eyre, or must die, as Jude Fawley unfortunately must do. Charlotte Brontë, Thomas Hardy, and Bram Stoker explore how outsiders demonstrate clear flaws with England’s exclusions and reservations about those who challenged their superiority.

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