How Novels Think: The Limits of Individualism from 1719-1900

204 Pages·2005·1.62 MB·English

by  Nancy Armstrong

how novels think
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How Novels Th ink
The Limits of British Individualism from 1719–1900
nancy armst ron g
columbia university press
new york
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columbia university press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2005 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Armstrong, Nancy, 1938–
How novels think : the limits of British individualism from 1719–1900 /
Nancy Armstrong.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0–231–13058–9 (cloth : alk. paper) —
isbn 0–231–13059–7 (pbk. : alk. paper) — isbn 0–231–50387–3 (e-book)
1. English fiction—19th century—History and criticism. 2. Individualism in
literature. 3. Literature and society—Great Britain—History—19th century.
4. Literature and society—Great Britain—History—18th century. 5. English
fiction—18th century. 6. Didactic fiction, English—History and criticism.
7. Ethics in literature. i. Title.
pr868.i615a76 2006
823'.809—dc22
2005053782
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
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p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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In memory of Homer Obed Brown
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction. How Novels Think 1
1. How the Misfit Became a Moral Protagonist 27
2. When Novels Made Nations 53
3. Why a Good Man Is Hard to Find in Victorian Fiction 79
4. The Polygenetic Imagination 105
5. The Necessary Gothic 137
Notes 155
Index 187
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Acknowledgments
My lifelong skepticism about the truth of individualism no doubt in-
spired this book, and writing it was far from an individual venture. It
could not have happened without the generosity of Rey Chow, who
sent me to Jennifer Crewe, the very best of editors. She in turn per-
suaded me to make a book-length argument out of a series of talks
on the novel I was delivering at a number of universities during the
period from 1999 to 2004.
These being precisely the years I served as chair of English at
Brown University, I relied on conversations with my graduate stu-
dents to figure out most of what I wanted to say. That I did come
to understand the overarching argument of my research during this
period is owing to the remarkable group of new scholars with whom I
worked closely, including Carolyn Berman, Frank Christianson, Lois
Cucullu, Nick Daly, Amanda Emerson, Jen Fleissner, Jonathan Gold-
man, Jared Green, Avak Hasratian, Cole Heinowitz, Ivan Kreilkamp,
John Marx, Lisa O’Connell, Caroline Reitz, Jen Ruth, Jason Solinger,
Ezra Tawil, Cynthia Tolentino, Annette Van, and Eugenia Zuroski.
Without the persistent ingenuity of my research assistant, Sian Silyn
Roberts, I would still be lost in the library, looking for the edition of
a novel I cited or tracking down the exact title of an article I read a
year or two ago.
I am equally indebted to the junior faculty hired and in three cases
tenured during my years as chair: Timothy Bewes, Stuart Burrows, Jean
ix
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