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"The Golden Mean": Simplicity, Gender, and National Identity in Romantic-Period Women's Writing
Maison d'édition
Neuchâtel
Date de parution
2020
Mots-clés
Résumé
Se basant sur les récentes études critiques sur la question du nationalisme dans la littérature de la période romantique et de la fiction écrite par les femmes en particulier, la présente thèse explore les intersections entre la simplicité, le genre, et la construction de l’identité nationale britannique dans les romans de Jane Austen, Frances Burney et Maria Edgeworth. Elle argumente que la simplicité était fondamentale pour les femmes écrivains dans la conception de l’identité britannique, un terme controversé. A un moment où les frontières de l’état britannique étaient redessinées suite à l’Acte d’Union de 1801, la simplicité fut un important facteur de cohésion nationale. Comment les femmes écrivains concevaient-elles l’identité britannique, leurs représentations de la simplicité soutenaient-elles ou défiaient-elles les discours de leurs contemporains ? Si le concept abstrait de la nation, souvent symbolisé par les figures de Britannia ou Hibernia, était conçu comme féminin, le discours nationaliste insistait sur la masculinité de l’identité anglaise et la vertu patriotique se déclinait sous des valeurs masculines telles que le courage, la discipline et la force. Grâce à la notion de simplicité, les femmes écrivains défiaient cette conception masculine de la vertu. Le roman permettait aux femmes qui n’avaient pas de représentation politique directe de participer aux débats sur la nation et de devenir, comme le dit Anne Mellor, «les mères de la nation». En insistant sur la notion d’individu comme étant le fondement de la nation, les femmes écrivains de la période romantique déstabilisaient la distinction entre les sphères publique et privée, arguant du rôle public de la personne elle-même. De plus, Austen, Burney et Edgeworth, à travers leur examen de la simplicité, contribuèrent à la réputation du Royaume-Uni comme modèle de politesse.
Abstract:
Building on recent critical discussions of nationalism in literature of the Romantic period and in women’s fiction more specifically, this thesis explores the intersections between simplicity, gender and the construction of British national identity in the works of Jane Austen, Frances Burney, and Maria Edgeworth. It argues that simplicity was central to women writers’ conception of Britishness, a highly contested term. At a time when the borders of the British state were being redefined following the Act of Union of 1801, simplicity served as an important agent of national cohesion. How did female writers imagine Britishness, and did their representations of simplicity support or challenge contemporary views on national identity? If the abstract concept of the nation, often symbolized in figures such as Britannia or Hibernia, was understood as feminine, the discourse of nationalism insisted on the masculinity of Englishness, and patriotic virtue was articulated through ‘manly’ values such as courage, discipline, and strength. Through the notion of simplicity, women writers challenged this masculine conception of virtue. The novel allowed women, denied direct political participation, to engage with public debates on the nation and become, in Anne Mellor’s phrase, ‘mothers of the nation’. By insisting on the notion of character as the foundation of the nation, women writers of the Romantic period destabilised the distinction between the public and private spheres, arguing for the public significance of individual character. Through their examination of simplicity, moreover, Austen, Burney, and Edgeworth contributed to the reputation of the United Kingdom as a paragon of politeness.
Abstract:
Building on recent critical discussions of nationalism in literature of the Romantic period and in women’s fiction more specifically, this thesis explores the intersections between simplicity, gender and the construction of British national identity in the works of Jane Austen, Frances Burney, and Maria Edgeworth. It argues that simplicity was central to women writers’ conception of Britishness, a highly contested term. At a time when the borders of the British state were being redefined following the Act of Union of 1801, simplicity served as an important agent of national cohesion. How did female writers imagine Britishness, and did their representations of simplicity support or challenge contemporary views on national identity? If the abstract concept of the nation, often symbolized in figures such as Britannia or Hibernia, was understood as feminine, the discourse of nationalism insisted on the masculinity of Englishness, and patriotic virtue was articulated through ‘manly’ values such as courage, discipline, and strength. Through the notion of simplicity, women writers challenged this masculine conception of virtue. The novel allowed women, denied direct political participation, to engage with public debates on the nation and become, in Anne Mellor’s phrase, ‘mothers of the nation’. By insisting on the notion of character as the foundation of the nation, women writers of the Romantic period destabilised the distinction between the public and private spheres, arguing for the public significance of individual character. Through their examination of simplicity, moreover, Austen, Burney, and Edgeworth contributed to the reputation of the United Kingdom as a paragon of politeness.
Notes
Doctorat, Université de Neuchâtel, Faculté des lettres et sciences humaines, Institut de langues et littératures anglaises
Identifiants
Type de publication
doctoral thesis
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