How Does St. Elmo Compare To Other 19th-Century Novels?

2025-11-26 13:29:25 169

4 Answers

Daniel
Daniel
2025-11-27 11:14:59
As a longtime lover of Victorian literature, I’ve always found 'St. Elmo' to be the underdog of the era. It’s got the moral fervor of 'Uncle Tom’s Cabin' but wrapped in a romance that’s downright operatic. Compared to Dickens’ social critiques, Evans focuses more on personal redemption—St. Elmo’s transformation from rake to repentant man feels like a sermon in novel form. The pacing drags at times (way too many philosophical tangents), but the emotional payoff is huge. It’s like if 'Pride and Prejudice' traded wit for soul-searching.
Mila
Mila
2025-11-27 12:08:43
What fascinates me about 'St. Elmo' is how unapologetically didactic it is—a stark contrast to the ambiguity in Melville or Hawthorne. Evans wants to teach virtue, not just tell a story. The heroine’s purity is so relentless it almost parodies itself, yet the book’s popularity back then makes sense. It’s a cultural artifact: 19th-century readers craved that moral clarity. Modern audiences might roll their eyes at Edna’s perfection, but the novel’s earnestness is oddly refreshing in today’s cynical world. Plus, the romantic tension? Chefs kiss.
Blake
Blake
2025-11-27 13:11:26
'St. Elmo' is like the 'Riverdale' of 19th-century novels—over-the-top, morally charged, and impossible to put down. Stacked against quieter works like 'Persuasion,' it’s all fireworks and soliloquies. Evans’ prose isn’t as polished as Austen’s, but her passion jumps off the page. The book’s flaws (repetition, preachiness) are part of its charm—it’s a time capsule of what readers once adored.
Piper
Piper
2025-11-28 19:38:10
Reading 'St. Elmo' after diving into classics like 'Jane Eyre' and 'Wuthering Heights' feels like stepping into a salon where the drama is cranked up to eleven. Augusta Evans’ writing has this lush, almost theatrical quality—her characters monologue like they’re on stage, and the moral dilemmas are so intense they’d make Brontë’s heroines blush. But where Brontë sisters lean into gothic ambiguity, Evans delivers moral certitude with a side of melodrama. Edna Earl’s piety versus St. Elmo’s cynicism is a battle of extremes, and the prose revels in it.

That said, it lacks the subtle psychological depth of George Eliot’s work. 'Middlemarch' explores moral growth through quiet moments; 'St. Elmo' prefers grand gestures. Yet there’s something addictive about its earnestness—like a soap opera in corsets. It’s not subtle, but it’s unforgettable.
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