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Drawing fictional lines: dialect and narrative in the Victorian novel.

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From: Style
Date: 19980322
Author:Ferguson, Susan L.

Dialect is inconsistently portrayed in Victorian novels. The speech in a dialogue may be different from what readers expect based on the presentation of the narrator. In Thomas Hardy's 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles,' it is explained that Mrs Durbeyfield spoke the dialect, but her daughter in addition to speaking the dialect, also spoke ordinary English abroad and to persons of quality. However, Tess' speech resembles her mother's speech in a few brief passages only. When she is speaking to persons of quality, her speech is often mixed with the dialect.

The presentation of dialect in novels ...

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