Outlandish English Subjects in the Victorian Domestic Novel

Victorian domestic novels routinely detect a savage otherness lurking within the English state and subject. Outlandish English Subjects in the Victorian Domestic Novel charts the development of this irony within evangelical and anthropological discourses and studies its emergence in the major works of Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, Wilkie Collins, and George Meredith. Each of these writers disrupts the certitudes of imperial ideology by appropriating the language of ethnography and using it to describe the social domestic field. Providing fresh readings of both canonical and neglected novels, this original volume will be of interest to students and scholars of Nineteenth-Century literature and Postcolonial studies. In Literature Written In The Latter Half Of The Nineteenth-century, During The Great Age Of The British Empire, Savage Antagonists Crop Up In Unexpected Places. The Notion That Savagery Existed At A Far Remove Was Ironically Counterbalanced By A Suspicion That Savagery Lurked Within The English State And Subject. Outlandish English Subjects In The Victorian Domestic Novel Traces The Development Of This Suspicion In Nineteenth-century Evangelicism And Anthropology. Both Disciplines Promoted The Idea Of A Universal Human Family, Establishing A Theoretical Context In Which Estranged 'relatives', Those Beliefs And Practises Disparagingly Associated With Colonial Otherness, Might Reappear Within The English Family Home Victorian Writers Such As Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins And George Meredith Enact The Distressing Return Of Colonial Otherness By Using Ethnographic Descriptions Of Africa And India To Satirize The Social Scene At Home. In Their Domestic Novels, Varieties Of Colonial Otherness Ironically Infiltrate Figures, Institutions, And Ideas Perceived As Bulwarks Of Englishness. Bridging The Divide -- Strange Relations: Evangelical And Anthropological Roots Of Imperial Anxiety -- The Juggernaut Roles In England: The Idol Of Patriarchal Authority In Jane Eyre And The Egoist -- Failed Colonies In Africa And England: Civilizing Despair In Bleak House -- Mutinous Outbreaks In The Moonstone -- Portions Wholly Savage: Ongoing Reforms At Home And Abroad. Timothy L. Carens. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 183-193) And Index. In literature written in the latter half of the nineteenth century, during the great age of the British Empire, savage antagonists crop up in unexpected places. The notion that savagery existed at a far remove was counter-balanced by a suspicion that it lurked within the English state and subject.Outlandish English Subjects in the Victorian Domestic Novel traces the development of this suspicion in nineteenth-century evangelicism and anthropology. Both disciplines promoted the idea of a universal human family, establishing a theoretical context in which estranged "relatives," those beliefs and practices disparagingly associated with colonial otherness, might reappear within the English family home.Victorian writers such as Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and George Meredith enact the distressing return of colonial otherness by using ethnographic descriptions of Africa and India to satirize the social scene at home. In their domestic novels, varieties of colonial otherness ironically infiltrate figures, institutions, and ideas perceived as bulwarks of Englishness. "In literature written in the latter half of the nineteenth century, during the great age of the British Empire, savage antagonists crop up in unexpected places. The notion that savagery existed at a far remove was counter-balanced by a suspicion that it lurked within the English state and subject." "Outlandish English Subjects in the Victorian Domestic Novel traces the development of this suspicion in nineteenth-century evangelicism and anthropology. Both disciplines promoted the idea of a universal human family, establishing a theoretical context in which estranged "relatives," those beliefs and practices disparagingly associated with colonial otherness, might reappear within the English family home."--Jacket Front Matter....Pages i-x Crossing the Divide....Pages 1-20 Strange Relations: The Evangelical and Anthropological Roots of Imperial Anxiety....Pages 21-47 The Juggernaut Roles in England: The Idol of Patriarchal Authority in Jane Eyre and The Egoist....Pages 48-81 Failed Colonies in Africa and England: Civilizing Despair in Bleak House....Pages 82-116 Mutinous Outbreaks in The Moonstone....Pages 117-141 Portions Wholly Savage: Ongoing Reforms at Home and Abroad....Pages 142-161 Back Matter....Pages 162-198 Victorian domestic novels routinely detect a savage otherness lurking within the English state and subject. This book charts the development of this irony within evangelical and anthropological discourses, and studies its emergence in the major works of Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Wilkie Collins, and George Meredith