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
Results 1-5 of 69
Page 5
... possibilities of signification for meaning in any one - to - one relation . This affect - an affect given to lan- guage by the Other – troubles knowledge , whose relation to linguistic representation becomes essentially arbitrary but ...
... possibilities of signification for meaning in any one - to - one relation . This affect - an affect given to lan- guage by the Other – troubles knowledge , whose relation to linguistic representation becomes essentially arbitrary but ...
Page 7
... possibility of bridging the gap . The differend may well be " real " as an effect of how legal and political discourses approach justice , but at risk of sounding like a modern - day little Eva in Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin , affect may ...
... possibility of bridging the gap . The differend may well be " real " as an effect of how legal and political discourses approach justice , but at risk of sounding like a modern - day little Eva in Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin , affect may ...
Page 9
... possibilities for thinking about such key concepts as equality , sociality , and representation . Were it that all differences could be brought together and repre- sented equally in their discourses and practices , then pluralism and ...
... possibilities for thinking about such key concepts as equality , sociality , and representation . Were it that all differences could be brought together and repre- sented equally in their discourses and practices , then pluralism and ...
Page 13
... in a collective act of will , how- ever accomplished , however signified , entailed an affirmation of the la- tent right of insurrection . It suggested the possibility of endless and varied self - determination " ( 4 ) . But 13 ...
... in a collective act of will , how- ever accomplished , however signified , entailed an affirmation of the la- tent right of insurrection . It suggested the possibility of endless and varied self - determination " ( 4 ) . But 13 ...
Page 14
... possibility of public dissemination while providing a venue for diverse expression . Here " diverse expression " also indicates a dif- ferent relation to language in which writing signifies multiply and sometimes otherwise than in ways ...
... possibility of public dissemination while providing a venue for diverse expression . Here " diverse expression " also indicates a dif- ferent relation to language in which writing signifies multiply and sometimes otherwise than in ways ...
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