In each era there are significant changes in the boundaries of selfhood defined by a society. In 19th century England, a new interiorized notion of selfhood developed and new techniques were designed to explore the inner workings of this hidden sphere, the self. Psychiatry and phrenology rose as sciences and endeavoured to decode physical appearance as signs of “the concealed inner play of forces which construct individual subjectivity” (Shuttleworth 3). These developments are reflected by the changes in the conventions governing the representation of character in the 19th century British novel. For example, while in the 18th century there was more emphasis on the description of a character’s exterior and qualities, in the 19th century, a gradual shift occurred to the psychological urges of a protagonist, as many writers began to be preoccupied with self and identity... (Introduction)