1st Edition
Eighteenth-Century Women Writers and the Gentleman's Liberation Movement Independence, War, Masculinity, and the Novel, 1778�1818
By Megan A. Woodworth
Copyright 2011
242 Pages
by
Routledge
242 Pages
by
Routledge
242 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
In the late eighteenth-century English novel, the question of feminism has usually been explored with respect to how women writers treat their heroines and how they engage with contemporary political debates, particularly those relating to the French Revolution. Megan Woodworth argues that women writers' ideas about their own liberty are also present in their treatment of male characters. In... Read more
Preface; Introduction: Creating “the MAN”: Re(de)fining Masculinity, 1660–1775; Part 1 Frances Burney, the American Revolutionary War, and the Cultural Revolution, 1778–1782; Chapter 1 “Un Jeune Homme comme il y en a peu”: Evelina and the Masculine Empire; Chapter 2 “If a man dared act for himself”: Cecilia and the Family Romance of the American Revolution; Part 2 Charlotte Smith, Jane West, and the War of Ideals, 1789–1802; Chapter 3 “The best were only men of theory”: Masculinity, Revolution, and Reform, 1789–1793; Chapter 4 From “men of theory” to Theoretical Men: Smith, West, and Masculinity at War, 1793–1802; Part 3 From Ennui to Meritocracy: Jane Austen, Maria Edgeworth, and the Redefinition of ‘Gentleman’; Chapter 5 “A really respectable, enlightened and useful country gentleman”: Men of Fashion, Men of Merit, and the Rehabilitation of the Landed Gentleman; Chapter 6 “Gentleman-like manner”: Gentlemanly Professionals, Merit, and the End of Patronage; Chapter 7 “You misled me by the term gentleman”: A Final Farewell to “foppery and nonsense”; conclusion Conclusion: The National Importance of Domestic Virtue;
Biography
A Visiting Scholar at the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society, University of New Brunswick, Megan Woodworth also teaches at UNB and St. Thomas University.
'... carefully argued, eloquently written, beautifully conceived, and skillfully executed, this is one of the most exciting critical treatments of the eighteenth-century novel to appear in years.' Elizabeth Kraft, University of Georgia, USA '... a worthwhile contribution to the growing field of the history of masculinity, while also adding significantly to the history of women’s writing.' Review of English Studies '... a very impressive and historically grounded survey of changing ideals for masculinity, as viewed through the lens of women writers of the eighteenth century.' Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies
