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Parallax Perspectives on the Industrial Novel in Victorian Fiction

Citation

Hamrin, Thomas H.. (2014). Parallax Perspectives on the Industrial Novel in Victorian Fiction. Theses and Dissertations Collection, University of Idaho Library Digital Collections. https://www.lib.uidaho.edu/digital/etd/items/hamrin_idaho_0089m_10231.html

Title:
Parallax Perspectives on the Industrial Novel in Victorian Fiction
Author:
Hamrin, Thomas H.
Date:
2014
Keywords:
Condition of England Industrial Novel Marxism Parallax View Political Economy Socialism
Program:
English
Subject Category:
Literature; British and Irish literature
Abstract:

This thesis analyzes three industrial novels written during the Victorian period in England, specifically 1844 to 1854. The three novels investigated are the most widely read of the industrial novel genre: Benjamin Disraeli's Sybil, Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South, and Charles Dickens's Hard Times. Using Slavoj iek's concept of the parallax--ontological, scientific, and political--to analyze these novels, this thesis argues that their solutions for England's disparity, while materially feasible, are not socially compatible with the period. Disraeli's support of the aristocracy hinders the progression of democracy. Gaskell's corporate socialism promotes transparency that still progresses slowly in the twenty-first century. Dickens's totalitarian fiction, while offering intellectual stimulation for people with access to literacy via education and literate story tellers, does not offer a practical solution, only Dickens's cynical view of Victorian society.

Description:
masters, M.A., English -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2014
Major Professor:
Sigler, David
Committee:
Flores, Stephan; Benz, Terressa
Defense Date:
2014
Identifier:
Hamrin_idaho_0089M_10231
Type:
Text
Format Original:
PDF
Format:
application/pdf

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