Charles

“Charles” fits readily into the contextual lens of Literary Realism, in which common, everyday experiences are portrayed realistically and naturally. Beginning in 19th-century France as a part of the Realist art movement, Literary Realism represents a turn away from 18th-century Romanticism, in which human experience is dramatized and idealism wins out over reality.

Jackson, whom many consider a master of Realism, portrays the common American family through quotidian experiences like sitting together for meals in the kitchen and debriefing with children about school and the day’s activities. Her characters, too, are Realistic. None of them have a lofty destiny or tragic fate. They hold no clear archetypal resonance, and their dramas’ influence is limited to their personal, domestic sphere. Their speech patterns are casual, and their diction thoroughly prosaic. This quality of mundanity, however, is an effective literary element. Though Jackson’s Realist style mostly eschews immersive techniques like imagery, the story’s Realism is just that—realistic. This has a grounding effect on readers who, seeing the unadorned fictive world, recognize the ordinariness of their own lives.