Letter and the Spirit of Nineteenth-Century American Literature: Justice, Politics, TheologyMoving 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. |
From inside the book
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Page 4
... functions otherwise than or beyond representative communication . A theological concep- tion of language argues for ethics as the fundamental constitution 4 The Letter and the Spirit of 19th - Century American Literature.
... functions otherwise than or beyond representative communication . A theological concep- tion of language argues for ethics as the fundamental constitution 4 The Letter and the Spirit of 19th - Century American Literature.
Page 5
... function that differs from the descriptive referential function of ordinary language ” ( 9 ) . I push the question further to say that the referential function designated by a poetics differs from how we conceive of language as such ...
... function that differs from the descriptive referential function of ordinary language ” ( 9 ) . I push the question further to say that the referential function designated by a poetics differs from how we conceive of language as such ...
Page 6
... function . The concept of recognition of the other as an other of responsibility for the self de- mands representation ( justice as language ) to call for materially sub- stantive justice in the state . Literary authors ' facility with ...
... function . The concept of recognition of the other as an other of responsibility for the self de- mands representation ( justice as language ) to call for materially sub- stantive justice in the state . Literary authors ' facility with ...
Page 11
... functions . THEOLOGICAL POLITICS Researching a time long before the Revolutionary or Civil Wars , for in- stance , Perry Miller focused on the structure of the jeremiad , written and performed , as the guise under which " the Puritans ...
... functions . THEOLOGICAL POLITICS Researching a time long before the Revolutionary or Civil Wars , for in- stance , Perry Miller focused on the structure of the jeremiad , written and performed , as the guise under which " the Puritans ...
Page 12
... function of representa- tion shows how the relation between the real and the ideal of America is highly unstable . Politics has constructed its own hegemony by attempt- ing to fix how the language of the United States of America is read ...
... function of representa- tion shows how the relation between the real and the ideal of America is highly unstable . Politics has constructed its own hegemony by attempt- ing to fix how the language of the United States of America is read ...
Contents
3 | |
26 | |
How to Avoid Speaking the Name of the Father | 62 |
UnionistRepublican and ConfederateDemocratic Narratives | 99 |
Uncle Toms Cabin and the Ethical Critique of Justice | 127 |
5 Exodus Politics and the Redemption of Difference | 172 |
Advocacy and Others Voices | 217 |
Confederate Democracy and the NonInDifferent Constitution | 245 |
Notes | 257 |
Works Cited | 273 |
Index | 289 |
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Letter and the Spirit of Nineteenth-Century American Literature: Justice ... Thomas Loebel No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
according African American alterity Anne Hutchinson annunciation Antinomian argue articulated becomes biblical body Cable Calvin Ellis Stowe captivity Christ Christian confederate confederate-democratic congregationalism Constitution construction context conversion covenant Creoles cultural democracy difference Dimmesdale discourse divine emancipation enables equality ethical Exodus faith father feminine figure Frowenfeld function God's Grandissimes H.B. Stowe Harriet Beecher Stowe Hebrew Bible Hester human language identity individual interpretation issues Jesus Jews judgment justice Levinas Liberia liberty logic magistrates male Mary Rowlandson masculinity material meaning ment ministers narrative nation one's particular performance persons plurality political position possibility promote Puritan question racial radical reading Reconstruction redemption relation rendered represent representation revelation rhetoric Rowlandson Scarlet Letter sense sentiment signifies slavery slaves social Sojourner Truth soul speak speech spirit Stowe's structure suggests temporal theological thing tion translation Uncle Tom's Cabin understanding union unionist unionist-republican voice woman women word writing