Originally published in 1985, this book traces the development of
an ideal of work in English writing which runs parallel to that of
the Protestant work ethic. The author has called this the myth of
vocation: work is seen as the primary source of self-definition,
psychic integration and fulfilment. The root, and the purest form,
of the idea is to be found in Robinson Crusoe. This work, so
seminal in many ways, presents a prototypical middle-class hero,
caught in a conflict between the impulse to adventure and that to
create and make profits. The conflicts articulated in this work are
picked up more or less explicitly by more than one of the great
Victorian novelists. This book treats in detail several
paradigmatic examples, deriving its terms of reference from modern
sociological treatments of work and its effects on persons. The
gospel of work need not result in capitalistic or protestant
attitudes, but is compatible also with communistic ideas. This
study serves to revalue the concept of work as a humanistic
activity as well as offering a subtle reading of major works of
literature.
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