The letter and the spirit of nineteenth-century American literature : justice, politics, and theology / Thomas Loebel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Loebel, Thomas, 1965-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--19th century--History and criticism.

American literature.

Law and literature--United States--History--19th century.

Law and literature.

Justice in literature.

Theology in literature.

Politics and literature--United States--History--19th century.

Politics and literature.

Discourse analysis, Narrative.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (303 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Moving back to the trial of Anne Hutchinson in Puritan Massachusetts and the captivity narrative of Mary Rowlandson in order to analyse theo-political signification, Loebel provides a new context for examining the politically performative function of language in such texts as "The Scarlet Letter," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and "Waiting for the Verdict." He also argues, however, that a specific theo-logic manifests itself in the political rhetoric of the nation, such that the afterlife of the "New Jerusalem" resonates not just in the "Blessings of Liberty" enshrined in the Constitution but also in the shift from a religious understanding of union with Jesus to that of the Union of States as a nation. Loebel compares unionist and confederate discourse, opening up new ways of theorising representation as a political, theological, legal, and literary issue that has continued currency both in twentieth-century literature and in the political discourse of America's global vision, such as the "axis of evil" and the "new world order." Anyone interested in American literature and culture will view the relationship between ethics and justice differently after reading this book.

Contents:

The justice of sentencing, or how (not) to speak

"A" confession : how to avoid speaking the name of the father

Constituting justice : Unionist-Republican and Confederate-Democratic narratives

The feminine, the Judaic, the Pauline, and the political : Uncle Tom's Cabin and the ethical critique of justice

Exodus politics and the redemption of difference

Rendering justice in The Grandissimes : advocacy and others' voices

Conclusion : Confederate democracy and the non-in-different Constitution.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [271]-287) and index.

ISBN:

1-282-86299-5

9786612862991

0-7735-7231-7

OCLC:

213304539