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Voice of society"
Title
"The Voice of society": Dickens' surprising lesson in diplomacy spoken by the "innocent" table in Our Mutual Friend.
Creator
Hernandez, Patricia., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description
In Our Mutual Friend Dickens plays with the idea of people becoming things and things becoming people. One such person, who is initially introduced as a table, is Melvin Twemlow. This member of the aristocracy plays an almost comical, minor role within one sub-plot of the novel, but over the course of the novel progresses from a "feeble" character into a strong, morally authoritative voice. Dickens concludes his novel with a debate concerning who is, or should be, "the voice of society" and...
Show moreIn Our Mutual Friend Dickens plays with the idea of people becoming things and things becoming people. One such person, who is initially introduced as a table, is Melvin Twemlow. This member of the aristocracy plays an almost comical, minor role within one sub-plot of the novel, but over the course of the novel progresses from a "feeble" character into a strong, morally authoritative voice. Dickens concludes his novel with a debate concerning who is, or should be, "the voice of society" and the last word of the debate is given to the mysterious table-man character. Rather than allowing a central protagonist to champion his thoughts, Dickens surprises his readers by making an exemplary moral figure of a mild, minor character from among the ranks of the pompous aristocracy. Twemlow's speech makes a familiar Dickensian point about the need for social reform in a strange, politically incorrect way.
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Date Issued
2007
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/40950
Subject Headings
Criticism and interpretation, English fiction, Criticism and interpretation, Literature and society, History, Class consciousness in literature
Format
Document (PDF)
celebration of uncertainty through gothic moments in Emily Brontèe's Wuthering Heights
Title
The celebration of uncertainty through gothic moments in Emily Brontèe's Wuthering Heights.
Creator
Copeland, Kimberly., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description
While critics have argued that the Gothic moments in Emily Brontèe's Wuthering Heights merely illuminate the psyches of her characters, I show that these moments allow Brontèe to reveal a unique tension and overflow of emotion that arises between her two main protagonists. Blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, these displays --scenes of ghostly hauntings, bloody violence, and excessive emotion--create a desirable uncertainty about the limits of life and love in this novel. This...
Show moreWhile critics have argued that the Gothic moments in Emily Brontèe's Wuthering Heights merely illuminate the psyches of her characters, I show that these moments allow Brontèe to reveal a unique tension and overflow of emotion that arises between her two main protagonists. Blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, these displays --scenes of ghostly hauntings, bloody violence, and excessive emotion--create a desirable uncertainty about the limits of life and love in this novel. This uncertainty constitutes an escape from and an alternative to the conventional romantic relationship prescribed by social and narrative standards in which two people fall in love, get married, have children and die. In my thesis, I argue that the revelation of this desired uncertainty is made possible by Brontèe's use of Gothic devices and could not have been as successfully achieved by any other literary mode.
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Date Issued
2009
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/209987
Subject Headings
Criticism and interpretation, Symbolism in literature, Gothic revival (Literature), English fiction, History and criticism
Format
Document (PDF)
Inviting but frustrating over-simplification
Title
Inviting but frustrating over-simplification: (re)reading Tess of the d'Urbervilles.
Creator
Smith, Kathryn M., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description
Many critics and readers assume that Tess of the d'Urbervilles is simply the tragedy of a ruined country maiden and that the sexually-driven scenes are the most important aspects of the novel. In my thesis, however, I argue that Thomas Hardy created a novel centered on his complex heroine, Tess, not on simplistic notions of sexual ruination and sensational plot developments. In other words, Tess is an autonomous, detailed character who cannot be relegated to the usual stereotypes of Virgin,...
Show moreMany critics and readers assume that Tess of the d'Urbervilles is simply the tragedy of a ruined country maiden and that the sexually-driven scenes are the most important aspects of the novel. In my thesis, however, I argue that Thomas Hardy created a novel centered on his complex heroine, Tess, not on simplistic notions of sexual ruination and sensational plot developments. In other words, Tess is an autonomous, detailed character who cannot be relegated to the usual stereotypes of Virgin, Whore, Mother, etc. Through my reading, we gain a greater understanding of the novel as a whole, instead of as a fractured, deterministic, and plot-driven tragedy. I begin my argument by examining Hardy's subtitle, "A Pure Woman," asserting that our focus should be on the word "Woman" and Tess's subjectivity, not reductive concepts of "purity" or chastity. In Chapter Two, I examine two significant scenes that occur in Alec's carriage, showing how many critics' readings underestimate Tess as helpless, and arguing that she fights against her oppressor in covert ways. My third chapter continues this defense of Tess by critiquing the critical debate surrounding the sexual encounter in "The Chase". I posit that the entire debate is flawed and that Tess should be defined based upon her actions and not simply her sexuality. Lastly, in my conclusion I present a broader defense of Tess of the d'Urbervilles, in which I assert that the ambiguous plot scenes in Tess are conscious attempts by Hardy to subvert traditional assumptions about what is important in a novel. My goal in this thesis is to critique popular but simplistic interpretations of Tess of the d'Urbervilles which diminish Tess's role; instead, I emphasize the way her character, in the words of critic Kathleen Blake, "invites but frustrates oversimplification."
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Date Issued
2007
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11601
Subject Headings
Criticism and interpretation, Social change in literature, Literature and society
Format
Document (PDF)