Regional Fictions : Culture and Identity in Nineteenth-Century American Literature

Out of many, one—e pluribus unum—is the motto of the American nation, and it sums up neatly the paradox that Stephanie Foote so deftly identifies in Regional Fictions. Regionalism, the genre that ostensibly challenges or offers an alternative to nationalism, in fact characterizes and perhaps even defines the American sense of nationhood. In particular, Foote argues that the colorful local characters, dialects, and accents that marked regionalist novels and short stories of the late nineteenth century were key to the genre’s conversion of seemingly dangerous political differences—such as those posed by disaffected Midwestern farmers or recalcitrant foreign nationals—into appealing cultural differences. She asserts that many of the most treasured beliefs about the value of local identities still held in the United States today are traceable to the discourses of this regional fiction, and she illustrates her contentions with insightful examinations of the work of Sarah Orne Jewett, Hamlin Garland, Gertrude Atherton, George Washington Cable, Jacob Riis, and others. Broadening the definitions of regional writing and its imaginative territory, Regional Fictions moves beyond literary criticism to comment on the ideology of national, local, ethnic, and racial identity. Contents 6 Acknowledgments 7 Introduction: What Difference Does Regional Writing Make? 10 1. “I Feared to Find Myself a Foreigner”: Sarah Orne Jewett’s The Country of the Pointed Firs 24 2. The Region of the Repressed and the Return of the Region: Hamlin Garland and Harold Frederic 45 3. The History of a Historyless People: Gertrude Atherton’s The Californians 80 4. “The Shadow of the Ethiopian”: George Washington Cable’s The Grandissimes 105 5. Disorienting Regionalism: Jacob Riis, the City, and the Chinese Question 131 6. Representation and Tammany Hall: Locating the Body Politic 161 Notes 190 Works Cited 205 Index 213 I Feared To Find Myself A Foreigner : Sarah Orne Jewett's The Country Of The Pointed Firs -- The Region Of The Repressed And The Return Of The Region : Hamlin Garland And Harold Frederic -- The History Of A Historyless People : Gertrude Atherton's The Californians -- The Shadow Of The Ethiopian : George Washington Cable's The Grandissimes -- Disorienting Regionalism : Jacob Riis, The City, And The Chinese Question -- Representation And Tammany Hall : Locating The Body Politic. Stephanie Foote. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 198-205) And Index. This study examines American regionalism, arguing that the colourful local characters, dialects and accents that marked regionalist novels and short stories of the 19th century, were the key to the genre's conversion of seemingly dangerous political differences into appealing cultural quirks.