"(Re)generation and Reform in the 19th Century British Novel" (NeMLA)
Pittsburgh
Event: NeMLA
(Re)generation – from the Latin ‘to create again’ – is a prominent theme in 19th-century British novels. From Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Persuasion (1817), which sees the regeneration of romantic relationships, to George Eliot’s Romola (1863), Middlemarch (1871-72), and Daniel Deronda (1876), which see individual characters trying to create again meaningful opportunities for themselves, (re)generation often connotes correction of past wrongs as much as it involves new opportunities among so-called canonical writers, for example. In novels such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), the term has a more literal meaning, suggesting something closer to revival.
Responding to political, social, economic, and cultural challenges of Victorian culture, many British writers – canonical and otherwise –explore and frame the concept of (re)generation in relation to the idea of reform – from the Latin ‘back’ and ‘to form or shape.’ Sometimes presenting (re)generation as equivalent to reform, sometimes presenting it as an obstacle to progress, 19th-century British writers demonstrate an enduring interest in the concept, approaching it from various angles.
This panel invites proposals for in-person presentations that explore the relationship between (re)generation and reform within the 19th-century British novel.
https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/21864
Dr. Charlotte Fiehn