Victorian Autobiography

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Victorian Autobiography Criticism

Victorian autobiography, hailed as a golden age for the genre, reflects a deep engagement with personal growth and societal influences, expanding the legacy of Romantic introspection with a focus on progress and development. As noted in Introduction: The Hermeneutic Imperative, Victorian autobiography was interpretive, rooted in earlier spiritual autobiographies but distinct in its avoidance of the confessional style typified by St. Augustine's Confessions. Instead, works like John Henry Newman's Apologia pro vita sua and Charles Darwin's Autobiography showcase the period's preference for objective self-justification over introspective guilt.

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