Contradictions in "The Adventures of Arabella"

950 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: History of english literature Victorian and romantic age

The majority of Charlotte Lennox’s 1752 novel The Female Quixote, or The Adventures of Arabella focuses on outward actions and appearances, particularly those of its eccentric heroine, Arabella, who conducts herself according to conventions of the romances she spent her life reading. A genre dating back to Ancient Greece and Rome, romance generally deals with the loves and adventures of the nobility, and within the world of The Female Quixote, this definition narrows to refer predominately to English translations of seventeenth-century French narratives, usually set in an idealized vision of the Classical World. Described by John J. Winkler as “an elaboration of the period between initial desire and final consummation,” allowing the potentially dangerous sexual passion (eros) to find containment within marriage (gamos) (28), the common plotlines for romance prefigures the conventions of eighteenth-century domestic fiction, following the tribulations of a pair of lovers until they are securely established within their society’s social hierarchy.

Central to romance’s narrative logic is the noble status of the central couple. Frequently their nobility is unrecognized by those surrounding them. Status is frequently treated as an innate quality that separates the lovers intellectually, morally and physically from the commoners around them. Each of their trials throughout the text rearticulates their superiority over their social inferiors as well as their fitness as companions to each other. The Female Quixote may focus less explicitly on the ‘right’ of one class to rule another, but as in many Georgian novels, focuses on those placed socially above the merchant classes. Lennox’s novel reinterprets the social divide of the romance in...

... middle of paper ...

...ol. 10. Geneva : Slatkin Reprints, 1972.

-------------------. The Story of Sapho (1649-1653). Trans. Karen Newman. The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2003.

Simpson, Antony. “The ‘Blackmail Myth’ and the Prosecution of Rape and its attempt in 18th-Century London: The Creation of a Legal Tradition,” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 77, No. 1. (Spring, 1986): 101-150.

Weiss, Judith. “Insular Beginnings: Anglo-Norman Romance.” A Companion to Romance from Classical to Contemporary. Ed. Corinne Saunders. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.26-44.

Watt, Ian P. The Rise of the Novel; Studies in Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1957.

Winkler, John J., "The Invention of Romance," in The Search for the Ancient Novel. J. Tatum, (ed.)Baltimore (John Hopkins UP) 1994. pp. 23-38.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Always Running By Max Rodriguez

    1299 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nonetheless, his self-consciousness still persisted and was notably revealed when it came to social intercourse with others outside his close group of friends, especially females, in the Tribe. Rodriguez tells about one incident were a group of Tribe members went to the beach. While others did very easy at approaching the girls in the group, Luis was too shy to talk the girl he liked. When the guys started to tease the girls by throwing them into the waves, Luis did not participate and just watched; even though he was respected as a member of the gang, he still had inner inhibitions that discouraged him from participating in the social activities.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Jumped In By Jorja Leap

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book emphasizes the idea of how difficult it is to leave the gang lifestyle. There are frequent cases of relapse by individuals in the book, who were once out to again return to gangs. This case is brought by what gangs represent to this in the book and what leaving entails them to give up. The definition of gangs presented to the class was, three or more members, share name, color, or affiliation, or must exist in a geopolitical context. To members associated with gangs, this definition can include your family members, neighborhood, everyone that they associate with. Take for example Ronnie from Jumped in by Jorja Leap it states,” Ronny’s role models are gangbangers. His family is a hood. His mentors are older homies in county jail.”(102). Ronnie and other gang members like him do not

    Read More

  • Female Education In The Coquette By Hannah Webster Wharton

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 18th century, reading novels served as a pass time and a diversion from household chores for the women. Though formal female education is not developed, the female characters are seen having a keen interest in books, something that was earlier frowned upon for the sentimental content of books might be destructive to societal values. At the time, books were meant to teach and reflect upon the socially acceptable ideas of romance, courtship, and marriage. We find Miss Wharton asking for books to read from her friend Mrs. Lucy Sumner, “Send me some new books; not such, however, as will require much attention. Let them be plays or novels, or anything else that will amuse and extort a smile.” (Foster, 192) Mrs. Sumner sends her novels which she considers “chaste and of a lighter reading” (Foster, 196). We can thus construe that books and novels in The Coquette though meant for reading pleasure, also play form part of the female

    Read More

  • Q&A: Studs Lonigan

    1653 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rochette-Crawley, S. (2004) James T. Farrell. The Literary Encyclopedia. April 2, 2004. Retrieved on May 13, 2009 from http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1487

    Read More

  • The Knight and the Cart

    1463 Words  | 3 Pages

    When all the courtly love elements that flow through The Knight of the Cart are composed, in addition to a tale of love affair between Queen Guinevere and Lancelot of the Lake, a document revealing the enchanting history of the Twelfth Century Renaissance is created. Troyes, our powerful storyteller, was able to do this by taking us on a journey with Lancelot, not only though his exciting battles to Guinevere but, through his passionate and enamored thoughts and behaviors that yearns for his beloved.

    Read More

  • The Possibility of Evil by Shirley Jackson

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.

    Read More

  • Obeyed Wifehood And Conceiving Womanhood In Othello And Oroonoko

    2129 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many readers feel the tendency to compare Aphra Behn's Oroonoko to William Shakespeare's Othello. Indeed they have many features in common, such as wives executed by husbands, conflicts between white and black characters, deceived heroes, the absolute vulnerability of women, etc. Both works stage male characters at both ends of their conflicts. In Othello, the tragic hero is Othello, and the villain is Iago. In Oroonoko, the hero is Oroonoko, the vice of the first part is the old king, and the second part white men in the colony. In contrast to their husbands, both heroines—Desdemona and Imoinda—seem more like "function characters" who are merely trapped in their husband's fates, occasionally becoming some motivation of their husbands (like Desdemona is Othello's motivation to rage, Imoinda's pregnancy drives Oroonoko restless to escape). While Shakespeare and Behn put much effort in moulding them, to many readers they are merely "perfect wives". This paper aims to argue that, Desdemona and Imoinda's perfect wifehood may be the product of compliance to male-dominated societies, where women are

    Read More

  • The Mighty Vice Lords: Book Review Of The Mighty Vice Lords

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    The kids became gang members for many reasons. Some needed to find what their place was in the world, and they needed to know who they were as human beings. Joining the gang gave them a feeling of being involved in something and made them feel better about themselves. They felt that as a gang member they received the attention, emotional support, and understanding that they couldn’t get from their actual family members at home.

    Read More

  • Solitude in Marie de France's Lanval

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marie de France’s “Lanval” is a Breton lai dominated by themes common to 12th century literature, which through its exploration of love, erotic desire, wealth, gender and community, tells the story of a young knight who finds himself caught between two worlds: his lover’s and his own. Forced to separate these societies by a warning in which his lover states, “do not let any man know about this…you would lose me for good if this love were known” (Lines 145-148), Lanval must keep his love a secret and exist apart from the Arthurian world into which he was born. Consequently, romantic love between Lanval and his fairie queen exists conditionally, that is upon Lanval’s physical and emotional isolation. This restriction suggests that romantic love, as described in terms of erotic desire and physical/emotional devotion throughout “Lanval,” is unsuited for existence in the mundanity of Arthurian society. Therefore, Lanval’s solitude is necessary for his maintaining his relationship with the fairie queen, a fact that suggests the incompatibility of romantic love with Arthurian society, as Marie depicts it.

    Read More

  • Gang Violence Among Teens

    1427 Words  | 3 Pages

    Researchers have long sought to understand the salience of gang involvement (Varano, Huebner and Bynum, 2011). Studies show that those involved in gang activity “begin their delinquent/criminal careers earlier, experience higher levels of violent victimizations, have accelerated levels of participation in the most serious forms of delinquency, experience great number of incarceration periods, and are generally more problematic when incarcerated” (Varano, Huebner and Bynum, 2011). Gang involvement typically leads to delinquent behavior in youth and it leads them down the wrong path of life. There is typically a higher rate of youth involved in gangs who come from broken homes, do not have jobs, are on drugs or come from families that do drugs, and school drop

    Read More

  • Contrasting Fortinbras and Laertes with Hamlet

    1951 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907-21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Sir Gawain and The Green Knight

    1606 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bloch, R. Howard. Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1991.

    Read More

  • A Feminist Perspective of The Lady of Shalott

    2170 Words  | 5 Pages

    Abrams, M.H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1993.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Samuel Beckett's "Play",

    2004 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ford, Boris, ed, The Pelican Guide to English Literature volume seven: The Modern Age, third edition, Penguin Books, Great Britain, 1973

    Read More

  • The Wife of Bath: Illustrating Courtly Love

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is written in an entertaining and adventurous spirit, but serves a higher purpose by illustrating the century’s view of courtly love. Hundreds, if not thousands, of other pieces of literature written in the same century prevail to commemorate the coupling of breathtaking princesses with lionhearted knights after going through unimaginable adventures, but only a slight few examine the viability of such courtly love and the related dilemmas that always succeed. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that women desire most their husband’s love, Overall, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that the meaning of true love does not stay consistent, whether between singular or separate communities and remains timeless as the depictions of love from this 14th century tale still hold true today.

    Read More

More about Contradictions in "The Adventures of Arabella"

Open Document