Realism
Ah, everyday life. Goodbye feelings of Romanticism, hello shoddy minutiae of the daily grind. Welcome to the land of Realism. If you've come looking for beauty and dignity, well, you've come to the wrong place—characters in realist novels have the odds stacked against them. And since in Maggie, we're actually hanging out in a subgenre of Realism—a.k.a. Naturalism—characters have it even worse.
How do we know we're in the land of Realism? The characters aren't from the upper class, but instead are ordinary folks leading ordinary, terrible lives. This isn't a story with a happy ending, but instead one that explores the grim reality—and accompanying demise—of life as a poor person. So don't come around looking a for rags-to-riches tale. When you open Maggie, you're going to see poverty, immigrants, industrialization, and urban filth. For reals.