Synopses & Reviews
In this interdisciplinary study of sentimental discourse of the late eighteenth century, David J. Denby sheds new light on Enlightenment thought and sensibility. He situates sentimental subliterature in its social and political context, analyzing how its formal structures are reflected in contemporary theories and texts concerning society, morality, politics, and history. Denby argues that sentimentalism is central to the culture of late-eighteenth-century France. Texts discussed include works by Rousseau and de Staël.
Synopsis
In this detailed study of popular sentimentalist literature of the late eighteenth century, David J. Denby sheds new light on Enlightenment thought and sensibility.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-276) and index.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements; Note on spelling; Introduction: the politics of tears; 1. Three sentimental writers; 2. Towards a model of the sentimental text; 3. Love and money: social hierarchy in the sentimental text; 4. Sentimentalism in the rhetoric of the Revolution; 5. Sentimentalism and idéologie; 6. Beyond sentimentalism? Madame de Staël; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.