|
Showing 1 - 5 of
5 matches in All Departments
Friendship has always been a universal category of human
relationships and an influential motif in literature, but it is
rarely discussed as a theme in its own right. In her study of how
friendship gives direction and shape to new ideas and novel
strategies of plot, character formation, and style in the British
novel from the 1760s to the 1830s, Katrin Berndt argues that
friendship functions as a literary expression of philosophical
values in a genre that explores the psychology and the interactions
of the individual in modern society. In the literary historical
period in which the novel became established as a modern genre,
friend characters were omnipresent, reflecting enlightenment
philosophy's definition of friendship as a bond that civilized
public and private interactions and was considered essential for
the attainment of happiness. Berndt's analyses of genre-defining
novels by Frances Brooke, Mary Shelley, Sarah Scott, Helen Maria
Williams, Charlotte Lennox, Walter Scott, Jane Austen, and Maria
Edgeworth show that the significance of friendship and the
increasing variety of novelistic forms and topics represent an
overlooked dynamic in the novel's literary history. Contributing to
our understanding of the complex interplay of philosophical,
socio-cultural and literary discourses that shaped British fiction
in the later Hanoverian decades, Berndt's book demonstrates that
novels have conceived the modern individual not in opposition to,
but in interaction with society, continuing Enlightenment debates
about how to share the lives and the experiences of others.
Taking up the various conceptions of heroism that are conjured in
the Harry Potter series, this collection examines the ways
fictional heroism in the twenty-first century challenges the
idealized forms of a somewhat simplistic masculinity associated
with genres like the epic, romance and classic adventure story. The
collection's three sections address broad issues related to genre,
Harry Potter's development as the central heroic character and the
question of who qualifies as a hero in the Harry Potter series.
Among the topics are Harry Potter as both epic and postmodern hero,
the series as a modern-day example of psychomachia, the series'
indebtedness to the Gothic tradition, Harry's development in the
first six film adaptations, Harry Potter and the idea of the
English gentleman, Hermione Granger's explicitly female version of
heroism, adult role models in Harry Potter, and the complex
depictions of heroism exhibited by the series' minor characters.
Together, the essays suggest that the Harry Potter novels rely on
established generic, moral and popular codes to develop new and
genuine ways of expressing what a globalized world has applauded as
ethically exemplary models of heroism based on responsibility,
courage, humility and kindness.
Taking up the various conceptions of heroism that are conjured in
the Harry Potter series, this collection examines the ways
fictional heroism in the twenty-first century challenges the
idealized forms of a somewhat simplistic masculinity associated
with genres like the epic, romance and classic adventure story. The
collection's three sections address broad issues related to genre,
Harry Potter's development as the central heroic character and the
question of who qualifies as a hero in the Harry Potter series.
Among the topics are Harry Potter as both epic and postmodern hero,
the series as a modern-day example of psychomachia, the series'
indebtedness to the Gothic tradition, Harry's development in the
first six film adaptations, Harry Potter and the idea of the
English gentleman, Hermione Granger's explicitly female version of
heroism, adult role models in Harry Potter, and the complex
depictions of heroism exhibited by the series' minor characters.
Together, the essays suggest that the Harry Potter novels rely on
established generic, moral and popular codes to develop new and
genuine ways of expressing what a globalized world has applauded as
ethically exemplary models of heroism based on responsibility,
courage, humility and kindness.
Friendship has always been a universal category of human
relationships and an influential motif in literature, but it is
rarely discussed as a theme in its own right. In her study of how
friendship gives direction and shape to new ideas and novel
strategies of plot, character formation, and style in the British
novel from the 1760s to the 1830s, Katrin Berndt argues that
friendship functions as a literary expression of philosophical
values in a genre that explores the psychology and the interactions
of the individual in modern society. In the literary historical
period in which the novel became established as a modern genre,
friend characters were omnipresent, reflecting enlightenment
philosophy's definition of friendship as a bond that civilized
public and private interactions and was considered essential for
the attainment of happiness. Berndt's analyses of genre-defining
novels by Frances Brooke, Mary Shelley, Sarah Scott, Helen Maria
Williams, Charlotte Lennox, Walter Scott, Jane Austen, and Maria
Edgeworth show that the significance of friendship and the
increasing variety of novelistic forms and topics represent an
overlooked dynamic in the novel's literary history. Contributing to
our understanding of the complex interplay of philosophical,
socio-cultural and literary discourses that shaped British fiction
in the later Hanoverian decades, Berndt's book demonstrates that
novels have conceived the modern individual not in opposition to,
but in interaction with society, continuing Enlightenment debates
about how to share the lives and the experiences of others.
The handbook offers a comprehensive introduction to the British
novel in the long eighteenth century, when this genre emerged to
develop into the period's most versatile and popular literary form.
Part I features six systematic chapters that discuss literary,
intellectual, socio-economic, and political contexts, providing
innovative approaches to issues such as sense and sentiment, gender
considerations, formal characteristics, economic history,
enlightened and radical concepts of citizenship and human rights,
ecological ramifications, and Britain's growing global involvement.
Part II presents twenty-five analytical chapters that attend to
individual novels, some canonical and others recently recovered.
These analyses engage the debates outlined in the systematic
chapters, undertaking in-depth readings that both contextualize the
works and draw on relevant criticism, literary theory, and cultural
perspectives. The handbook's breadth and depth, clear presentation,
and lucid language make it attractive and accessible to scholar and
student alike.
|
|