The dialectic solution of capitalist and feminist problematic in Charlotte Brontë's Shirley

In the 19th century Victorian Era, while the Industrial Revolution develops and affects the socio-economic life of people, the situation of women who are oppressed under the male domination attracts the attention. These situations are reflected in the literature of the 19th century. Among the works about the Industrial Revolution and the position of women, Charlotte Brontë?s Shirley (1849) attaches importance to the matter in terms of dealing together with two important current issues of the period. Shirley deals not only with the subjects of capitalism and feminism but also with their opponents and their opposite situations. As an author Brontë bears the characteristics of romantic school in the context of her attitude, aesthetic understanding and style; however, Shirley includes important findings of realism in terms of both dealing with current issues and the style of handling with them. While the author tries to find a solution to the problematic which she has faced by applying Karl Marx?s (1818-1883) dialectic, she falls within the boundaries of ?sociolist realism?. Heroes? selecting forms of lives proposed by the author show clearly that she has never broken with romantic perception and tradition. Briefly, Brontë demarcates a tidal line between realism and romanticism in this novel.One of the basic aims of the thesis is to try to find answers to the questions such as how the author evaluates capitalism and feminism in the first half of the 19th century of her period, whether she deals with them in accordance to the periodic characteristics or not, on which parameters she criticizes capitalism and why she turns to feminism. As for the method, the novel Shirley is resolve on the basis of Marx?s dialectic approach consisting of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. In other words, capitalism and anti-capitalism, and feminism and anti-feminism are dealt together in the novel and are resolved as a synthesis at the end of the novel. It has to be said that as a method Marx?s dialectic approach comes to the fore literally by itself in the analysis of the novel because Brontë has applied intentionally or unintentionally in the novel much the same dialectic method of Marx who used it to explain that all societies would meet in ?socialism? at the end while describing the historical development of societies.The introductory explicates the emergence of novels based on the realities of life as a result of the reflection of the Industrial Revolution and feminism on literature in Victorian Era. The novel Shirley by Charlotte Brontë, one of the important writers of the 19th century, does not deal with very different issues than many other novels of the period do. Generally, as it involves the common features of the novels of the period, it informs us historically about the structure of the novel.The first chapter includes a general, historical evaluation about how the Industrial Revolution, capitalism and feminism develop in England and how the society is affected socio-economically in order to get a better understanding of capitalism and feminism which are the two basic themes of the novel. Thus, it is tried to help in understanding both the author?s intention and success in the novel through shedding light on the bachground of the novel and revealing the periodical, historical, social, economic and literary atmosphere.In the second chapter, as it is mentioned above, it can be said that elements such as Brontë?s attitude in the novel, giving together the opposite situations, employing the faltering and struggling heroes, witnessing the struggle of heroes with opposite thoughts at the both ends of antagonism necessitate to apply Marx?s dialectic method for the analysis of the novel. Thus, the phases of the dialectic such as thesis, antithesis and synthesis have become an appropriate means of analysis as a proposed solution and a method for the plot and problematic scheme in the novel.The conclusion part shows that it is impossible in real life to reach the solution achieved in the novel within the context of the method applied in the thesis. However, the author, anyway, emphasizes that through the changing of people the society can also change. This situation becomes meaningful in terms of showing the tides of the mentioned author between ideals and reality, in other words, between romanticism and realism.Keywords: The Industrial Revolution, Capitalism, Feminism, Dialectic Solution, Brontë, Shirley.