Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
"My book sets out to explore three crucial stages in Dickens' ongoing voyage of discovery into what has been called the "hidden springs" of his fiction. The three novels under examination are Oliver Twist, Dombey and Son, and Bleak House. (Other Dickens writings are considered when pertinent.) I argue that in all three we can witness Dickens responding to some identifiable force represented as coming from underneath the ground plan (plot, character interaction, development of themes, stylistic effects) of the book in question. In Oliver Twist, it is the ancient story of the blood libel; in Dombey and Son, it is the power of language as an independent agent; in Bleak House, it is a pre-verbal array of desires and interdicts. I also explore the question of Dickens' self-awareness, at these different stages: to what extent did he see himself as a medium of forces beyond his conscious control, and what did he think the psychological mechanisms at work might be? The issues raised have certainly been considered before but have not gone in the directions taken here. Many critics, for instance, have commented on anti-Semitism in Oliver Twist, and some have mentioned the blood libel; no one has argued that Oliver Twist is a blood libel. Previous considerations of ideas of the subconscious have been overwhelmingly Freudian and have concentrated on Dickens' biography; mine, by contrast, relies on pre-Freudian concepts common in Dickens' time and concentrates on the evidence of the writings"--Provided by publisher.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
Previews available in: English
Subjects
Criticism and interpretation, Sublimation (Psychology) in literature, Senses and sensation in literature, Dickens, charles, 1812-1870, English fiction, history and criticism, 19th century, LITERARY CRITICISM / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, LITERARY CRITICISM / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Books & ReadingPeople
Charles Dickens (1812-1870)Showing 1 featured edition. View all 1 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
Sensation and sublimation in Charles Dickens
2011, Palgrave Macmillan
in English
- 1st ed.
0230110886 9780230110885
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?History
- Created October 23, 2011
- 10 revisions
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?
1 day ago | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
December 23, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
November 14, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
October 9, 2020 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
October 23, 2011 | Created by LC Bot | Imported from Library of Congress MARC record |