Allegories of Union in Irish and English Writing, 1790-1870: Politics, History, and the Family from Edgeworth to Arnold

240 Pages·2000·0.96 MB·English

by  Mary Jean Corbett

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ALLEGORIES OF UNION
IN IRISH AND
ENGLISH WRITING,
–
In this book, Mary Jean Corbett explores fictional and non-
fictional representations of Ireland’s relationship with England
throughout the nineteenth century. Through postcolonial and
feministtheory,sheconsidershowcross-culturalcontactisnegoti-
ated using tropes of marriage and family, and demonstrates how
familialrhetoricsometimesworkstosustain,sometimestocontest,
the structures of colonial inequality. Analyzing novels by
Edgeworth,Owenson,Gaskell, Kingsley,andTrollopeas wellas
writings by Burke, Carlyle, Engels, Arnold, and Mill, Corbett
arguesthatthecolonizingimperativefor‘‘reforming’’theIrishin
anageofimperialexpansionconstitutesalargelyunrecognizedbut
crucialelementinthe rhetoricalprojectofEnglishnation-forma-
tion. By situating her readings within the varying historical and
ideologicalcontextsthatshapethem,sherevisesthecriticalortho-
doxiessurroundingcolonialdiscoursethatcurrentlyprevailinIrish
and English studies, and offers a fresh perspective on important
aspectsofVictorianculture.
   is Associate Professor of English and
AffiliateofWomen’sStudiesatMiamiUniversityinOxford,Ohio.
HerpublicationsincludeRepresentingFemininity:Middle-ClassSubjec-
tivity in Victorian and Edwardian Women’s Autobiographies (). Her
work has also appeared in Criticism, Eighteenth-Century Life, ELH,
StudiesintheNovel,andWomen’sStudies.
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ALLEGORIES OF UNION
IN IRISH AND
ENGLISH WRITING,
 
–
Politics, History, and the Family from Edgeworth to Arnold
MARY JEAN CORBETT
         
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom
  
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia
Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain
Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa
http://www.cambridge.org
©Mary Jean Corbett 2004
First published in printed format 2000
ISBN 0-511-03346-X eBook(Adobe Reader)
ISBN 0-521-66132-3 hardback
My family on both sides belonged to the toiling and dying types
whomadeitovertoAmerica.
AndonceinAmerica,peopledividedonceagain:youcouldsay
theybecamethe poorand therich. The losersand winners.The
artistsandscientists.Iftheywerecountries,they’dbeIrelandand
England.
CarolynSee,Dreaming:GoodLuckandHardTimesinAmerica
Ofthenumberswhostudy,oratleastwhoreadhistory,howfew
deriveanyadvantagefromtheirlabours!
MariaEdgeworth,PrefacetoCastleRackrent
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Contents
Acknowledgments pageix
Introduction 
 Publicaffectionsandfamilialpolitics:Burke,Edgeworth,
andIrelandinthes 
 Allegoriesofprescription:engenderingUnionin
OwensonandEdgeworth 
 Troublingothers:representingtheimmigrantIrishin
urbanEnglandaroundmid-century 
 Plottingcolonialauthority:Trollope’sIreland,– 
 England’sopportunity,England’scharacter:Arnold,Mill,
andtheUnioninthes 
Afterword 
Notes 
Bibliography 
Index 
vii
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