Dickens and the Broken Scripture

Janet L. Larson

ISBN 10: 0820331937 / ISBN 13: 9780820331935

Published by Longleaf On Behalf Of Univ Of Georgia Press Dez 2008, 2008

About this Item

Neuware - In Dickens and the Broken Scripture, Janet Larson examines the paradoxical role of the Bible in Dickens' novels, from such early works as Oliver Twist and Dombey and Son, in which the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer were drawn upon for the most part as stable sources of reassurance and order, to the far more complex novels of Dickens' maturity, such as Bleak House, Little Dorrit, and Our Mutual Friend. In these later works, biblical allusion performs an increasingly contradictory and dissonant role that brings into question not only the moral character of Victorian society but also the sanctity of received religious traditions. Critics have tended to view Dickens' extensive use of the Bible as a not particularly complex or admirable aspect of his artistry--as a device he used primarily as a means of reassuring and building solidarity with his Victorian public. But as Larson demonstrates, Dickens' use of biblical allusion was as sophisticated and multifaceted as his use of character, narrative, description, and plot. In Dickens' novels, the Bible is a broken book, in need of revitalization and reinterpretation for his time, but also desperately vulnerable to attack from the tempestuous Victorian society of his day.

Seller Inventory # 9780820331935

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dickens and the Broken Scripture
• Publisher: Longleaf On Behalf Of Univ Of Georgia Press Dez 2008
• Publication Date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0820331937
• ISBN 13: 9780820331935
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 229W x 152H x 22D millimeters 229 millimeters width by 152 millimeters height by 22 millimeters depth
• Weight: 563 grams

About this title

Synopsis

In Dickens and the Broken Scripture, Janet Larson examines the paradoxical role of the Bible in Dickens' novels, from such early works as Oliver Twist and Dombey and Son, in which the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer were drawn upon for the most part as stable sources of reassurance and order, to the far more complex novels of Dickens' maturity, such as Bleak House, Little Dorrit, and Our Mutual Friend. In these later works, biblical allusion performs an increasingly contradictory and dissonant role that brings into question not only the moral character of Victorian society but also the sanctity of received religious traditions.

Critics have tended to view Dickens' extensive use of the Bible as a not particularly complex or admirable aspect of his artistry―as a device he used primarily as a means of reassuring and building solidarity with his Victorian public. But as Larson demonstrates, Dickens' use of biblical allusion was as sophisticated and multifaceted as his use of character, narrative, description, and plot. In Dickens' novels, the Bible is a broken book, in need of revitalization and reinterpretation for his time, but also desperately vulnerable to attack from the tempestuous Victorian society of his day.

About the Author

JANET L. LARSON is an associate professor of English at Rutgers University at Newark. She is the author of several articles on Dickens and on other aspects of nineteenth-century British literature.