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Literary Criticism General

Letter and the Spirit of Nineteenth-Century American Literature

Justice, Politics, Theology

by (author) Thomas Loebel

Publisher
McGill-Queen's University Press
Initial publish date
Jan 2005
Category
General
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780773572317
    Publish Date
    Jan 2005
    List Price
    $95.00

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Description

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.

About the author

York University.

Thomas Loebel's profile page