Devils and rebels :: the making of Hawthorne's damned politics /: Larry J. Reynolds.

Reynolds, Larry J.

Devils and rebels : the making of Hawthorne's damned politics / Larry J. Reynolds.

Reynolds, Larry J. (Larry John), 1942-

2008

PS1892.P64 R49 2008 (Mapit)

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Title Devils and rebels : the making of Hawthorne's damned politics / Larry J. Reynolds.

Author Reynolds, Larry J. (Larry John), 1942-

Spine Title Devils & rebels

ISBN 9780472034338
0472034332
9780472116690 (cloth ; acid-free paper)
047211669X
9780472025947 ebook

Language English

Description xix, 313 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Call Number PS1892.P64 R49 2008

Alternate Call Number HT 5405

Dewey Decimal Classification 813/.3

Summary Widely condemned even in his own time, Nathaniel Hawthorne's views on abolitionism and slavery are today frequently characterized by scholars as morally reprehensible. Devils and Rebels explores the historical and biographical record to reveal striking evidence of the author's true political values--values grounded in pacifism and resistant to the kind of binary thinking that could lead to violence and war. The book offers fresh readings of not only Hawthorne's four major romances but also some of his less familiar works like "Legends of the Province House," The Whole History of Grandfather's Chair, Journal of an African Cruiser, The Life of Franklin Pierce, and "Septimius Felton." Reynolds argues that Hawthorne--whether in his politics or his art--drew upon racialized imagery from America's past revolution and war on witchcraft to create a politics of quiet imagination, alert to the ways in which New England righteousness could become totalitarian by imposing its narrow view of the world on others. Meticulously researched and cogently argued, this groundbreaking work demonstrates the need to examine perspectives and values from beyond the New England region when studying the literary history of the American Renaissance and illuminates the difficulties faced by public intellectuals during times of political strife--an issue as relevant today as it was some one hundred and fifty years ago.--(Source of description unspecified.)

Bibliography, etc. Note Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-304) and index.