Nineteenth Century

The Nineteenth Century is personified as a wary observer of the Twentieth Century in a cartoon invoked by a critic discussing Voltaire’s narrative speed. Its grave misgivings give the image a comic historical contrast: the supposedly faster age is watched by predecessors who doubt what its progress amounts to.

The Century as a Watcher

In Max Beerbohm’s cartoon, the young Twentieth Century moves at top speed while two earlier centuries watch. The Nineteenth Century’s part in the scene is defined by apprehension, set against the Eighteenth Century’s wicked amusement. The contrast turns the passage of time into a small drama of competing historical temperaments rather than a neutral sequence of dates.

Speed and Historical Irony

The cartoon introduces a comparison between modern speed mania and Voltaire’s prose. Although the Twentieth Century is imagined racing forward, the critic argues that no one in that century has approached the speed of Voltaire’s tale. The Nineteenth Century’s misgivings thus accompany a larger joke: modernity boasts of acceleration, yet an earlier writer’s narrative still outpaces it in effect.

Critical Significance

The Nineteenth Century functions here as part of a satirical frame for evaluating literary rapidity, not as a setting for events in the novel. Its uneasy gaze helps sharpen the contrast between visible, mechanical haste and the swift movement of prose animated by wit. The image also preserves uncertainty about the meaning of progress: the Twentieth Century races ahead, but even its predecessor seems unconvinced that speed alone constitutes advancement.