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英语论文:19世纪美国小说中的贵格主义思考

论文堡 日期:2023-09-19 22:11:34 点击:99

本文是一篇英语论文,本文从文学社会学的角度,探讨了百年来贵格会小说的总体特征,揭示了小说中所表现出的独特而精彩的贵格主义信仰和实践,总结出了典型的贵格会形象。

chapter one literature review
1.1 studies on quakerism
the initial research on quakerism was mainly confined to the fields of theology,religioushistory and early american history.in 1712,william sewel,a quaker,published history of therise,increase,and progress of the christian people called quakers in 1712,which wasconsidered a classic work for quaker studies before the 20th century.it was in the early 20thcenturies that william charles braithwaite’s two books replaced it as the new masterpieces.braithwaite,a quaker historian,published the beginning of quakerism in 1912 and the secondperiod of quakerism in 1919,introducing respectively quakerism that existed before 1660 andbetween 1660 and the beginning of the 18th century.both books provide detailed accounts of thereligious experiences of the early quakers,with the term“quakerism”appearing for the firsttime in the former.however,braithwaite’s deep admiration for quakerism made him overlookits certain shortcomings,making his evaluation subjective.in 1911,rufus jones,documentedquakerism’s development and preliminarily summarized quaker beliefs in the quakers in theamerican colonies.it was recognized generally as the earliest treatise on quaker history and isstill cited in quaker studies today.nevertheless,as jones was a quaker himself,his book is alsomarred by adulation and glorification.however,it still had enduring value as a classic work onthe general history of quaker in colonial america.

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1.2 studies on quakerism and american literature
few studies have been conducted abroad concerning the influence of quakerism onamerican literature,and domestic research on this subject is scarce.
caroline crew is one of the first scholars who recognize the need for such a study.crew(1903)predicts that quakers will“gain in charm and poetic quality as to offer rich??material tothe future romancer”in“the quaker in fiction”(253).as early as 1926,doctor henry seidelcanby remarked that quakers“have been neglected as a shaping force”(quakers and puritans457).five years later,dr.canby(1931)carefully examined the influence of quakerism on someeminent american writers,such as irving,cooper and whitman,and asserted that its influenceon american mind,“though diffuse and mingled,is far greater than critics and historians have letus suppose”in his famous book classic americans(29).in the quaker influence in americanliterature,howard hintz(1940)emphasizes the need for further study of quaker fiction:“theprominence and the importance of the quaker-strain in american letters is a subject which up tothe present time has not been fully recognized or adequately treated”(5).the book sketches theinfluence of quakerism on certain writers,such as thomas penn,emerson,charles brockdenbrown,walt whitman,and james fenimore cooper,pointing out the prominent position andsignificance of quakerism in american literature.however,frederick b.tolles(1940)reviewsthe book and finds out numerous errors,such as false associations of certain writers like brownwith quaker backgrounds and imprecision in citations that might fail to lead readers who areinterested in quakerism toward further reading.
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chapter two overview of quakerism in the 19th-century americanfiction
2.1 origin and development of quakerism
to achieve a thorough comprehension of quakerism,it is vital to examine the evolution ofquakerism in the long course of history.this section will first display the social context fromwhich quakerism originated.then,considering the more significant impact of quakerism onamerica compared to england,the development of quakerism in america will be carefullypresented.
2.1.1 origin of quakerism in england
quakers originally claimed to be“children of the light”,and later“friends in the truth”and“society of friends”.the name“quaker”,which is more commonly used today,is derivedfrom an interrogation between justice bennett and the founder of the quaker sect,george fox,in derby in 1650.when fox bid bennett to“tremble in the fear of the god”,bennett retorted bysaying“and quake,thou quaker,before the majesty of the law”(qtd.in hamm 25).from then on,the term“quaker”was adopted by the public as a nickname and subsequently as the official name of the friends.
the mid-seventeenth century witnessed the religious unrest in the wake of a political crisis.at the beginning of tudor’s rule,the church of england was controlled by roman catholics to alarge degree.responding to the reformation sweeping across europe,henry viii establishedthe anglican church as the church of england,breaking away from roman catholic control.however,his reformation was“more political than theological”,and did not fully satisfy thosewho pursued spiritual needs,among whom puritans pressed for a more radical reformation(dandelion 8).with the civil war ending,cromwell established a new puritan republic,allowing puritans to“move to impose their vision of reform”(hamm 14).the religious freedomadvocated by the puritans made possible the emergence of various protestant sects.
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2.2 novelists bearing the quaker stamp
during the nineteenth century,the increasingly important quakerism drew the attention ofmany eminent novelists.they vividly depicted quaker themes in their novels.this section willgive a comprehensive introduction to the quaker-related novelists as a group to reveal theinfluence of quakerism on their literary output,thus helping readers better understand thequakerism themes portrayed in their works.“quaker novelists”are defined in the present studyas novelists who are influenced by quakerism in their lives and literary works.
the study gathers the information of fourteen american novelists with quaker backgroundsincluding james fenimore cooper,john neal,eliza buckminster lee,lydia maria child,nathaniel hawthorne,robert montgomery bird,margaret fuller,harriet beecher stowe,herman melville,bayard taylor,john townsend trowbridge,silas weir mitchell,rebeccaharding davis and louisa may alcott(see appendix).though some lesser-known novelists arepresented,the literary significance of their quaker novels cannot be disregarded.
the novelists bearing the quaker stamp will be analyzed from four perspectives:location,gender,social identity and religious identity.the novelists’location is shown in table 2-1:

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chapter three quaker beliefs and practices in the 19th-century american fiction 
3.1 mysticism 
3.1.1 quaker mysticism

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3.1.2 quaker mysticism in the fiction 

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chapter four quaker images in the 19th-century american fiction

4.1 loneliness:indifference of the family relations
most of the quaker characters portrayed in the fictions are lonely,which is mainly reflectedin the indifferent relationships in a quaker family.
although stowe endows the quaker halliday’s family with many amiable qualities,barrylevy argues that“quakers were ambivalent about domesticity itself”(17).this paradox has itsroots in the philosophy of fox.fox initially redefined quakers as a holy tribe,a“royalhousehold of god”(qtd.in levy 53),thus advocating a thorough spiritualization of all familyemotions.one of the important measures was to refine parenting.to quaker parents,spiritualsafety was the top priority,so they were eager to pass on quaker’s thoughts to the nextgenerations.however,this resulted in some weaknesses in quaker families,such as a lack ofemotional expression between parents and their kids.lord jeffrey once ridiculed quakerchildren,saying they were“inwardly chilled into a sort of chinese apathy by the restraints in which they are continually subjected”(10).in addition,quaker families’adamant sobriety canbe traced back to the 18th-century quaker reforms that aimed to create a highly purified andmore introspection-focused church.according to levy,during the american quaker reformfrom 1750 to 1790,pennsylvania quakers disowned almost half of the rising generation ofquaker children for improper behavior(16).perhaps as hamm notes,for quakers,the purposeof parenting is“rearing young friends who will self-consciously be apart from‘the world’”(199).while spiritualization of family relations also results in emotional restraint betweenquaker spouses,the commoner theme displayed in novels is the indifferent relationship betweenquaker parents and their children,highlighting the negative impact of quakerism on familyconnections.


4.2 eccentricity: socially marginalized groups 

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4.3 idealism: no more than “a lily amongst thorns” 

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conclusion
since its establishment in north america in 1656,quakerism has been developing in thenew world despite its tortuous experiences.its unique and abundant beliefs and practices exerteda profound influence on the american value system and national character.
in the nineteenth century,although quakerism was still not fully recognized by mainstreamamerican society,it had already grown into a subtle powerful force,influencing various aspectsof american society.the inadequate recognition was basically attributed to its heterogeneousreligious beliefs and practices,and small population.even so,quakerism had already left muchprecious heritage in american literature.some novelists directed their attention to the uniquesect,especially its values like the inner light and pacifism,and created many excellentquakerism-related novels.
the novelists,represented by mrs.stowe,hawthorne,mitchell and trowbridge,wereinfluenced dramatically by the increasingly growing quakerism.they had much in common.asfor location,most of them lived in pennsylvania and new england,both of which offeredfreedom and tolerance for the rooting and growing of quakerism.as far as gender is concerned,among them there were a relatively large proportion of females,which seemed to be a result ofgender equality advocated by quakerism.in terms of social identity,it can be found that quite afew of them were activists in the abolitionist movements and women’s rights movements,whichwas the socialization of quaker’s values of abolitionism and gender equality.from theperspective of religious identity,it was a surprise that the majority of them were not quakersthemselves,which might be attributed to quaker’s small populations,their refusal of art andtheir simplicity philosophy.yet,all of them bore the imprint of quakerism in their lives andthoughts,which made reliable their literary observations and descriptions of quakerism
reference(omitted)

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