Description
Book SynopsisBetween Self and Society explores the psychosocial dramas that galvanize six major British novels written between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. The book challenges an influential misconception that has for too long hindered appreciation of the psychological novel. John Rodden argues that there should be no simplifying antithesis between psychological, “inner” conflicts (within the mind or “soul”) and institutional, “outer” conflicts (within family, class, community). Instead, it is the overarching, dramatic—yet often tortuous—relations between self and society that demand our attention. Rodden presents fresh interpretations of an eclectic group of prose fiction classics, including Tobias Smollett’s The Adventures of Roderick Random, William Godwin’s Caleb Williams, Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge, Ford Madox Ford’s The Good Soldier, Wyndham Lewis’s T
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One. Smollett's Roderick Random: In Love with Narcissa
Chapter Two. Godwin'sCaleb Williams:"A Half-Told and Mangled Tale"
Chapter Three. Hardy'sThe Mayor of Casterbridge: The Infernal Triangle
Chapter Four. Ford's The Good Soldier: Movements of the Heart
Chapter Five. Lewis'sTarr: Portraits of the Failed Artist
Chapter Six. Lawrence'sWomen in Love: The Role of Miss "Dawington"
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
