A Literary History of Reconciliation: Power, Remorse and the Limits of Forgiveness

Author:   Professor Jan Frans van Dijkhuizen (University of Leiden, The Netherlands)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN:  

9781350154841


Pages:   248
Publication Date:   19 March 2020
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
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A Literary History of Reconciliation: Power, Remorse and the Limits of Forgiveness


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Overview

From William Shakespeare to Marilynne Robinson, this book examines representations of interpersonal reconciliation in works of literature, focusing on how these representations draw on the language of divine forgiveness. Christian theology sees divine forgiveness as conditional upon a sinner’s remorse and self-abasement before God, but also as a form of grace – unconditional and rooted only in divine love. Van Dijkhuizen explores what happens when this paradoxical forgiveness paradigm comes to serve as a template for interpersonal reconciliation. As A Literary History of Reconciliation shows, literary writers imagine interpersonal reconciliation as being centrally about power and hierarchy, and present forgiveness without power as longed for but ever elusive. Drawing on major works of literature from the early modern era to the present day, this book explores works by John Milton, Virginia Woolf, J.M. Coetzee, Ian McEwan and others to craft a literary history that will appeal to readers interested in literature, religion and philosophy.

Full Product Details

Author:   Professor Jan Frans van Dijkhuizen (University of Leiden, The Netherlands)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Academic
Weight:   0.354kg
ISBN:  

9781350154841


ISBN 10:   1350154849
Pages:   248
Publication Date:   19 March 2020
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

List of Figures Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. 'None Left But By Submission': Paradise Lost and the Genesis of Reconciiliation 3. 'Ask Her Forgiveness?': Reconciiliation, Power and Grace in Shakespeare 4. 'Pray Your Honour Forgive Me!': Hierarchical Forgiveness from Pamela to Bleak House 5. 'The Apathy of the Stars': Impersonal Reconciliation in To the Lighthouse and Ulysses 6. 'Not Quite Not Yet': History, Forgiveness and the Literary Imagination in Disgrace and Atonement 7. 'The Prairie Still Shines like Transfiguration': Forgiveness, Theology and Politics in Marilynne Robinson's Gilead Novels Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

A thoughtful overview of reconciliation in modern literature ... Dijkhuizen traces reconciliation's history through novels such as Samuel Richardson's Pamela, William Godwin's Caleb Williams, and Charles Dickens's Dombey and Son, thus also sketching the emergence of the modern subject. These valuable readings provide valuable insights ... Modernists-Virginia Woolf, James Joyce-are read in such a way as to show not only that reconciliation is an important theme but also that their plots are as important as their style. Summing Up: Recommended. * Choice *


Author Information

Jan Frans van Dijkhuizen is Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. His previous books include Pain and Compassion in Early Modern English Literature and Culture (2012) and Devil Theatre: Demonic Possession and Exorcism in English Renaissance Drama (2007).

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