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Augustinian virtue in the Dickensian world
Title
Augustinian virtue in the Dickensian world: the role of Christian friendship in the conversion of souls and the move toward the Heavenly City.
Creator
Kriegel, Jill A., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
Abstract/Description
The novels of Charles Dickens resonate with ancient and Christian moral messages: From plots and characters representative of Victorian ideals and concerns emerge themes that reflect centuries of moral, and, as I argue, specifically Augustinian, teaching. While the Christian overtones of Charles Dickens's novels are seldom denied, their Augustinian nature, their purpose, and Dickens's hopes for their effect are rarely given their proper due. In opposition to the postmodern idea of an...
Show moreThe novels of Charles Dickens resonate with ancient and Christian moral messages: From plots and characters representative of Victorian ideals and concerns emerge themes that reflect centuries of moral, and, as I argue, specifically Augustinian, teaching. While the Christian overtones of Charles Dickens's novels are seldom denied, their Augustinian nature, their purpose, and Dickens's hopes for their effect are rarely given their proper due. In opposition to the postmodern idea of an increasing nihilism and despair in Dickens's message, I examine instead his steadfast fascination with and joy in the power of charitable friendships-friendships that embody goodness and the possibility for conversion, friendships that are especially noteworthy amid the societal darkness ushered in by the crises of faith that accompanied nineteenth-century industrialization, commercialization, and de-moralization. Preparing to highlight the undeniable moral value in both the rejected and realized friendships and conversions of Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit, Bleak House, and Great Expectations, first I focus on true friendship as a necessary part of a soul's ascent developed in Plato's Symposium and Phaedrus, as well as in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, illustrating how these classical texts anticipate the Augustinian notion of a soul's transformation from the earthly city to the city of God. With this literary continuum thus established, I contend that the Heavenly City as it is reflected in the Dickensian world relies on its virtuous citizens, those true friends who consistently manifest Christian charity, humility, and forgiveness.
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Date Issued
2010
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2683142
Subject Headings
Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Christianity in literature, Criticism and interpretation, Religion in literature, Criticism and interpretation, Friendship in literature, Criticism and interpretation, Soul, Christianity
Format
Document (PDF)
use of the bastard identity
Title
The use of the bastard identity: from Victorian subverters to superheroes in the twenty-first century and beyond.
Creator
Dessler, Ryan., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Department of English
Abstract/Description
This project explores the use if illegitimacy within Western discourse over the last three centuries. Illegitimacy was used in Victorian literature as a literary device to drive plot but evolved into a touchstone for Western discourse to explore the bounds of what is considered respectable society. Over time, as illegitimacy has become more mainstream, I contend illegitimate identities have been utilized to serve as a mirror for Western hegemony. In the first chapter, I explore the origins of...
Show moreThis project explores the use if illegitimacy within Western discourse over the last three centuries. Illegitimacy was used in Victorian literature as a literary device to drive plot but evolved into a touchstone for Western discourse to explore the bounds of what is considered respectable society. Over time, as illegitimacy has become more mainstream, I contend illegitimate identities have been utilized to serve as a mirror for Western hegemony. In the first chapter, I explore the origins of illegitimacy being used as a literary device in novels by Victorian authors Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. In the second chapter, I examine the role illegitimacy plays in the origin stories of canonical comic book superheroes Batman and Superman. Lastly, in the third chapter, I scrutinize the role illegitimacy plays in defining the human condition within science fiction as human culture continues to advance technologically towards a post human world.
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Date Issued
2012
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3355567
Subject Headings
Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Literature and society, History, Literature and society, History, Comic books, strips, etc, Criticism and interpretation, Illegitimacy in literature, Sex role in literature, Sensationalism in literature
Format
Document (PDF)