Consensual fictions : women, liberalism, and the English novel / / Wendy S. Jones

• Autore: Jones Wendy S.
• Pubblicazione: Toronto, [Ontario] ; ; Buffalo, [New York] ; ; London, [England] : , : University of Toronto Press, , 2005; ©2005
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (266 pages)
• Disciplina: 823/.8093522
• Soggetto topico: English fiction - 19th century - History and criticism; Marriage in literature; English fiction - Women authors - History and criticism; English fiction - 18th century - History and criticism; Feminist fiction, English - History and criticism; Feminism and literature - Great Britain; Women and literature - Great Britain; Consent (Law) - Great Britain; Married women in literature; Liberalism in literature; Women in literature
• Soggetto genere / forma: Electronic books.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Front matter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Married Love and Its Consequences -- 2. Virtuous Libertines and Liberated Virgins: Sir Charles Grandison -- 3. 'No small part of a woman's portion': Love, Duty, and Society in Persuasion -- 4. Feminism and Contract Theory in He Knew He Was Right -- 5. Margaret Oliphant's Women Who Want Too Much -- 6. Liberalism and Feminism: The End of the Line -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index
• Sommario/riassunto: In eighteenth and nineteenth-century England, consensual marriages became increasingly popular, according women a 'contractual subjectivity' in which the liberal ideal of individual choice was key. Representations of consensual marriage thus provide a firm grounding for the re-evaluation of women's place within society. Because this new progressive form of marriage was based on emotion rather than considerations of status or money, it challenged the hierarchical status quo of English society that the traditional patriarchal marriage had upheld. This phenomenon shows how necessary it is to historicize evaluations of political theory; while the relationship between liberalism and feminism is fiercely debated today, it was the foundation for radical feminism and social change from early modern times through much of the twentieth century. In Consensual Fictions, Wendy S. Jones focuses on the English novel of the period to explore the relationship between married love, classic liberal thought, and novelistic form. Jones argues that these works of fiction use the mulitplot form to explore the specific set of cultural problems associated with the ways in which liberalism reconceived marriage, love, and gender by exploring alternative resolutions to cultural problems through different narrative lines.
• Titolo autorizzato: Consensual fictions
• ISBN: 1-4426-2772-7
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910467933803321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II