The Use of the Anti-Hero Figure to Account for Social Degeneration in A Life Sentence Anonymous College

Late Victorian literature had often dealt with social issues and social evils with the intention of sketching the colossal role played by society itself in the making of its ills and immoralities. The student of literature can easily discern this very design in the midst of the hardships submerging the usually innocent and inherently good central characters. Another way to trace the genesis of evil back to the degenerating society of the age can be found among the figure of the anti-hero which had revolutionized the literature of that era. Such characters as Dorian Gray and Henry Jekyll feature among the most known and widely read examples of that technique. Given the lead among their fellow characters in spite of their questionable behaviors and wicked acts throws the light upon the role played by society in the making of such personalities. Florence Vane from A Life Sentence is another glaring example, and a perfect literary tool to show that degeneration of morals in late Victorian England was the end result of long years of hypocrisy and adherence to oppressing norms.

A Life Sentence is a thriller and mystery novel written and published by English authoress Adeline Sergeant in 1889. The story follows the progress of two...