128,742 research outputs found
Sarah Fielding: Satire and Subversion in the Eighteenth-Century Novel
No full textThis study of Sarah Fielding (1710―68) is an original contribution to Fielding scholarship that has a dual purpose: to support those who are striving to re-introduce her to the modern literary landscape in an effort to restore her eighteenth-century literary standing, and to firmly establish Fielding as an early feminist writer. It is argued here that throughout her oeuvre Fielding challenged prevailing traditions that denied women a choice, particularly in education, employment and marriage. These themes are also considered in the political treatises of Mary Astell (1666―1731) and Mary Wollstonecraft (1759―97), who are now widely recognised as feminist writers.
It is further argued that Fielding’s subversion in fiction of the English patriarchal system is underscored by her unorthodox performance in the literary arena. This is fully explored alongside her use of sentimentalism as a literary tool with which she challenges her seemingly inhumane society. Fielding’s interest in ‘the Labyrinths of the Mind’ (in modern terms, human psychology) will also be addressed as will her placement in the history of feminism and her placement in the sentimental novel tradition. Fielding’s performance as a literary critic will be compared with the few female authors who, like her, dared to publish literary criticism during her writing career. Accordingly, extracts from Fielding’s novels and her two critical pamphlets will be thoroughly examined.
An updated biography of Fielding that is also included here will provide evidence for a further claim, that her fiction is autobiographical in part. A comprehensive account of Fielding’s performance as a literary critic forms the final chapter of this work. It is the first full-length examination of her contribution to the genre and includes an appraisal of her recently unearthed critical pamphlet entitled A Comparison Between the Horace of Corneille and The Roman Father of Mr. Whitehead (1750) that is yet to be formerly attributed to her. Ultimately this study of Fielding will go far beyond what has previously been written about this remarkable eighteenth-century author, particularly regarding her feminist activity
The 'true use of reading' : Sarah Fielding and mid eighteenth-century literary strategies.
No full textPhDThe aim of this thesis is to explore, by examining her life and
works, how Sarah Fielding (1710-68) established her identity as an author.
The definition of her role involves her notions of the functions of
writing and reading.
Sarah Fielding attempts to invite readers to form a sense of ties
by tacit understanding of her messages. As she believes that a work
of literature is produced through collaboration between the writer and
the reader, it is an important task in her view to show her attentiveness
toward reading practice. In her consideration of reading, she has two
distinct, even opposite views of her audience: on the one hand a familiar
and limited circle of readers with shared moral and cultural values and
on the other potential readers among the unknown mass of people. The
dual targets direct her to devise various strategies. She tries to
appeal to those who can endorse and appreciate her moral values as well
as her learning. Her writings and letters testify that she is sensitive
to the demands of the literary market, trying to lead the taste of readers
by inventing new forms.
The thesis opens with an overview of Sarah Fielding's career,
followed by a consideration of her critical attention to the roles of
reading. I go on to examine the narrative structures and strategies
she deploys, with a particular emphasis on her use of the epistolary
method. The following chapter deals with her attention to the reading
of the moral message tangibly embodied in her educational writing. It
is followed by an analysis of the activity which earned her a reputation
as a learned woman. Various as the forms of her works are, they invariably
reflect her attempt to balance herself between the two demands of
inventiveness and familiarity
Poetic theory and practice in the novels of Henry Fielding
No full textThe significance and appropriateness of the interpolated tale in Henry Fielding’s novels, Jonathan Wild, Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones and Amelia, is the subject of much discussion. Despite the attention devoted to the interpolated tale, there is no unanimity of opinion concerning what should be censured nor why it should be condemned. The lack of agreement over what constitutes an interpolated tale has given rise to conflicting opinions and statements.The interpolated tale, as Fielding develops it, has a retrospective quality and generally relates a character's experience or life history. The narration of the tale provides the listener with a contrasting standard to which he can compare his own values. Moreover, Fielding's utilization of the interpolated tale incorporates it into the structure of the novel.As a result of its incorporation into the structure of the novel, the interpolated tale has a thematic and structural relationship to the main narrative. Fielding uses the interpolated tale to expand his comments on the themes of appearance and reality, greatness and goodness, prudence and affectation. Affectation, Fielding believes, is a universal shortcoming of mankind that appears either as vanity or hypocrisy. Vanity is a consequence of an individual falling short of his desired reputation. But hypocrisy arises from an individual's attempts to project an image that is the reverse of his true nature. The latter form is found most frequently in the city where men attempt to impress others more often. The former variety occurs more frequently in a rural setting because men can be more honest in the country. Just as the tale has a thematic purpose, so it also becomes part of the structure of the novel. The tales narrated by characters in the novel are amalgamated into the basic narrative itself and thus contribute to the development of the plot. Whether the interpolated tales have an autobiographical element or not, they become an integral part of the novel.The interpolated tale, in Fielding's novels, functions much as the rehearsal or scene-within-a-scene does in his dramas. Fielding employs the rehearsal scene to expand the range of his comment upon society and its problems and refines the technique to meet his needs in developing the novel. In Jonathan, Wild, Mrs. Heartfree's tale unifies the narrative by relating Fielding's development of the Wild and Heartfree episodes to the theme of affectation. "The History of Leonora" and "The History of Two Friends" in Joseph Andrews provide examples of affectation for the edification of the characters, and Mr. Wilson's history recounts the consequences of inadequate training. The three interpolated tales in Tom Jones, the Quaker's the Man of the Hill's, and Mrs. Fitzpatrick.'s, are related for the benefit of the listeners and specify the results of affectation. The tales in Amelia, Miss Matthews', Captain Booth's, Mrs. Bennet's, and Captain Trent's, provide a further commentary on affectation and its consequences. A further refinement of the rehearsal scene developed by Fielding centers around his development of the rehearsal scene as a precursor to the flashback. In Amelia, Fielding begins the novel in media res and employs the interpolated tale to provide background information.Fielding's adaptation of the rehearsal scene to fit the needs of his novels constitutes an example of his keen perception of the applicability of the device to another genre. Through his skillful development of the interpolated tale, Fielding has contributed significantly to the evolution of the novel.Thesis (D. Ed.
Letter from John H. Fielding to James B. Finley
No full textFielding informs Finley that the semi-annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of Augusta College is scheduled for Feb. 5, 1834. He indicates that Brother (Joseph S.) Tomlinson has resigned the presidency and Dr. (Nathan) Bangs, whom the Board appointed to take his place, has declined acceptance. They are therefore without a head. Due to Tomlinson\u27s poor health, the faculty was weak before his resignation. The added duties made life very difficult for them. Fielding says that they need Finley\u27s advice and would like him to come a week before the Board meets. Fielding invites Finley to be a guest at his house. Abstract Number - 633https://digitalcommons.owu.edu/finley-letters/1729/thumbnail.jp
Letter from John H. Fielding to James B. Finley
No full textFielding writes to Finley saying that he will not be able to attend the Ohio Conference because of his duties at St. Charles College in St. Louis, Missouri. He is in the process of forming a Board of Trustees, raising an endowment, creating a charter, etc. He is hopeful that he will be transferred from the Ohio Conference to the Missouri Conference without a problem. However, he seems concerned about rumors concerning his work at Augusta College. Abstract Number - 1209https://digitalcommons.owu.edu/finley-letters/2189/thumbnail.jp
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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