Table Of ContentWorld Literature
and Its Times
4
V O L U ME I
British and Irish
Literature and Its
Times: The Victorian Era
to the Present
(1837-)
World Literature
and Its Times
Profiles of Notable Literary Works and the
Historical Events That Influenced Them
Joyce Moss
GALE GROUP
Detroit
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Boston
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Literature Michael L. LaBlanc, Production Editor
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and Its Times
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Works and the Historical Evi Seoud, Assistant Manager, Composition Purchasing and
Events That Influenced Them Electronic Prepress
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British and Irish Literature
and Its Times
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@rMThe paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American Na-
tional Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence Paper for Printed Library Ma-
terials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well
as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws. The
authors and editors of this work have added value to the underlying factual material herein
through one or more of the following: unique and original selection, coordination, ex-
pression, arrangement, and classification of the information.
All rights to this publication will be vigorously defended.
Copyright © 2001
Joyce Moss
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in
part in any form.
ISBN 0-7876-3729-7
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2001089390
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
Chronology of Relevant Events xvii
Contents by Title xxxv
Contents by Author xxxvii
Photo Credits xxxix
Entries 1
Index 561
V
General Preface
T
he world at the turn of the twenty-first ferred to above—exposes illuminating differ-
century is a shrinking sphere. Innovative ences, indeed related to the times and places in
modes of transmission make communica- which the respective works are set.
tion from one continent to another almost in- World Literature and Its Times regards both fic-
stantaneous, encouraging the development of an tion and nonfiction as rich mediums for under-
increasingly global society, heightening the ur- standing the differences, as well as the similari-
gency of the need for mutual understanding. At ties, among people and societies. In its view, full
the foundation of World Literature and Its Times understanding of a literary work demands atten-
is the belief that within a people's literature are tion to events and attitudes of the period in which
keys to their perspectives, their emotions, and a work takes place and of the one in which it is
the formative events that have brought them to written. The series therefore examines a wide
the present point. range of novels, short stories, biographies,
As manifested in their literary works, societies speeches, poems, and plays by contextualizing a
experience phenomena that are in some respects work in these two periods. Each volume covers
universal and in other respects tied to time and some 50 literary works that span a mix of cen-
place. T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land, for ex- turies and genres. The literary work itself takes
ample, is set in post-World War I London, when center stage, with its contents determining which
Europe was rife with disenchantment. Coinci- issues—social, political, psychological, eco-
dentally, Juan Rulfo's novel Pedro Paramo, set in nomic, or cultural—are covered in a given entry.
Latin America over a spread of decades that in- Every entry discusses the relevant issues apart
cludes the post-World War I era, features a pro- from the literary work, making connections to it
tagonist whose last name means "bleak plain" or when merited, and allowing for comparisons be-
"waste land." The two literary works, though tween the literary and the historical realities.
written oceans apart, conjure a remarkably sim- Close attention is given as well to the literary
ilar atmosphere. Likewise Aphra Behn's novel work itself, in the interest of extracting histori-
Oroonoko, set largely in the British colony of Suri- cal understandings from it.
nam in the early 1660s, and Miguel Barnet's Bi- Of course, the function of literature is not nec-
ography of a Runaway Slave, beginning in 1860 in essarily to represent history accurately. Never-
the Spanish colony of Cuba, both feature defiant theless, the images and ideas promoted by a pow-
slaves. The plots in this case take place two cen- erful literary work—be it Miguel de Cervantes's
turies apart, suggesting that time, as well as place, Don Quixote (Spain), Nadine Gordimer's
is of little consequence. A close look at the two Burgher's Daughter (South Africa), or Rudyard
slaves, however—and the two waste lands re- Kipling's Kim (Britain)—leave impressions that
vii
are commonly taken to be historical. In taking in the Western Sudan). In the first case, World
literature as fact, one risks acquiring a mistaken Literature and Its Times unscrambles the plot, pro-
notion of history. Kipling's Kim, for example, as- viding a linear rendering of events and associ-
I Preface
cribes a number of negative traits to Easterners, ated historical information. In the second, the se-
conveying a common perception in his day of ries profiles customs particular to the culture in
their being inferior to Westerners. To adjust for which the epic is set and written, arming the
such portrayals, this series ties such perceptions reader with details that inform the hero's adven-
to the era and distinguishes between historical tures. The approach sheds light on the relation-
facts and literary impressions. ship between fact and fiction, both of which are
On the other hand, literary works can broaden shown to provide insight into a people and their
our understanding of history. They are able to epics. As always, this approach is taken with a
convey more than the cut-and-dried record, by warm appreciation for the beauty of a literary
portraying events in a way that captures the fears work independent of historical facts, but also in
and challenges of a period or that draws atten- the belief that ultimate regard is shown for that
tion to groups of people who are generally left work by placing it in the context of pertinent
out of standard histories. This is well illustrated events.
with writings that concern the position of women Beyond this underlying belief, the series is
in different societies, such as Flora Nwapa's novel founded on the notion that a command of world
Efuru (Nigeria), Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre literature bolsters knowledge of the writings pro-
(Britain), or Edna O'Brien's Country Girls (Ire- duced by one's own society. Long before the pre-
land). As demonstrated by these works, literature sent century, fiction and nonfiction writers from
engages in a vigorous dialog with other forms of different locations influenced one another
communication. It often defies stereotypes by through trends and strategies in their literatures.
featuring characters or ideas that are contrary to In our postcolonial age, such cross-fertilization
preconceptions. In fact, many of the literary has quickened. Latin American literature, having
works covered in this series feature characters been influenced by French and Spanish trends
and ideas that attack or upset deeply engrained among others, itself influences Chinese writers of
stereotypes of their day, from Friar Bartolome de today. Likewise, Africa's literary tradition has af-
Las Casas's A Short Account of the Destruction of fected and been affected by France's, and the
the Indies (mid-1500s Latin America) to Thomas same relationship holds true for the writings of
Hardy's Jude the Obscure (late-1800s Britain), to India and Great Britain. The degree of such lit-
Mongo Beti's Mission to Kala (mid-1900s erary intermixture promises only to multiply
Cameroon Republic). given our increasingly global society. In the
Even nonfiction must be anchored in its place process, world literature and its landmark texts
and times to derive its full value. Octavio Paz's gain even greater significance, attaining the po-
essay The Labyrinth of Solitude explains the char- tential to promote understanding not only of oth-
acter of contemporary Mexicans as a product of ers, but also of ourselves.
historical experience; the entry on the essay am-
plifies this experience. A second entry, on Albert
The Selection of Literary Works
Memmi's Pillar of Salt, uses the less direct genre
of biography to describe the life of a Tunisian The works chosen for World Literature and Its
Jew during the Nazi occupation of North Africa. Times 4: British and Irish Literature and Its Times
A third entry relates Charles Darwin's On the Ori- have been carefully selected by professors in the
gin of Species to scientific and religious develop- field at the universities detailed in the Acknowl-
ments in Britain at the time, and to challenges to edgements. Keeping the literature-history con-
its empire abroad. nection in mind, the team made its selections
The task of reconstructing the historical con- based on a combination of factors: how fre-
text of a literary work can be problematic. An au- quently a literary work is studied, how closely it
thor may present events out of chronological or- is tied to pivotal events in the past or present,
der, as Carlos Fuentes does in The Death of how strong and enduring its appeal has been to
Artemio Cruz (Mexico), or may create works that readers in and out of the society that produced
feature legendary heroes who defy attempts to fit it, and how reflective it is of new developments
them neatly into a specific time slot (such as the in literature of the region. Attention has been
warrior Beowulf of Denmark, glorified in Eng- paid to literary works set from the Victorian era
land's epic poetry; or the emperor Sunjata of Mali to the present that have met with critical and/or
viii
popular acclaim. Those works by an author of 3. The Literary Work in Focus—summa-
this time span that are set in an earlier period rizes in detail the plot or contents of the
have been placed in World Literature and Its Times work, describes how it illuminates history,
Preface I
3: British and Irish Literature and Its Times (an ex- and identifies sources used by the author
ample is George Eliot's Middlemarcti). In both and the literary context in which the work
volumes, there has been a careful effort to in- was generated. After the summary of the
clude works from different reaches of Britain and work comes a subsection focusing on an as-
Ireland, to represent female as well as male au- pect of the literature that illuminates our
thors, and to cover a mix of genres, from poetry, understanding of events or attitudes of the
to the novel, to drama, and the essay. There are, period. This second subsection takes an in-
of course, many more integral works by pivotal ductive approach, starting with the literary
writers than could be included. Again, the se- work and broadening outward to events in
lection has been based on the above-delineated history. It is followed by a third subsection,
range of concerns. which specifies sources that inspired ele-
ments of the work and discusses its liter-
ary context, or relation to other works.
Format and Arrangement of Entries
4. Events in History at the Time the Liter-
The volumes in World Literature and Its Times are ary Work Was Written—describes social,
arranged geographically. World Literature and Its political, and/or literary events in the au-
Times 3 and World Literature and Its Times 4 are thor's lifetime that relate to the plot or con-
devoted to British and Irish literature and its tents of a work. Also discussed in this sec-
times. The volumes are divided chronologically tion are the reviews or reception accorded
according to when the literary works are set. the literary work.
Covered in the World Literature and Its Times 3
5. For More Information—provides a list of
are works set from the Celtic migrations into the
all sources that have been cited in the en-
region to the early nineteenth century Reform
try as well as sources for further reading
Bill. World Literature and Its Times 4 features
about the different issues or personalities
works set from the Victorian era to the present.
featured in the entry.
Within a volume, entries are arranged alpha-
If the literary work is set and written in the
betically by title of the literary work. Each entry
same time period, sections 2 and 4 of the entry
is organized as follows:
on that work ("Events in History at the Time the
1. Introduction—identifying information in Literary Work Takes Place" and "Events in His-
three parts: tory at the Time the Literary Work Was Writ-
The literary work—specifies the genre, the ten") are combined into the single section "Events
place and time period in which the work is in History at the Time of the Literary Work."
set, when it was written and/or first pub-
lished, and, if applicable, when it was first Additional Features
translated.
Whenever possible, primary source material is
Synopsis—summarizes the storyline or provided through quotations in the text and ma-
contents of the work. terial in sidebars. There are also sidebars with
Introductory paragraph—introduces the historical details that amplify issues raised in the
literary work in relation to the author's life. text, and with anecdotes that provide a fuller un-
derstanding of the temporal context. Timelines
2. Events in History at the Time the Liter-
appear in various entries to summarize intricate
ary Work Takes Place—describes social
periods of history. Finally, historically relevant
and political events that relate to the plot
illustrations enrich and further clarify informa-
or contents of the literary work. The sec-
tion in the entries.
tion may discuss background information
as well as relevant events during the period
Comments and Suggestions
in which the work is set. The subsections
in this section vary, depending on the par- Your comments on this series and suggestions for
ticular literary work. In general, the section future editions are welcome. Please write: Edi-
takes a deductive approach, starting with tors, World Literature and Its Times, The Gale
events in history and telescoping inward to Group, Inc., 27500 Drake Road, Farmington
events in the literary work. Hills, Michigan 48331-3535.
ix
Acknowledgments
W
orld Literature and Its Times 4: British The following professors carefully reviewed
and Irish Literature and Its Times is a the entries to insure accuracy and completeness
collaborative effort that evolved of information. Sincere gratitude is extended to
through several stages, each of which was mon- these professors:
itored by a team of experts in British and Irish Robert Aguirre, Wayne State University, De-
Literature. A special thank you goes to John partment of English
McLeod of University of Leeds, School of Eng- Roger Beck, Eastern Illinois University, De-
lish, in the United Kingdom and to Robert partment of History
Aguirre of Wayne State University, Department James Berg, Minnesota State Colleges and Uni-
of English, in the United States for their careful versities, Center for Teaching and Learn-
guidance at every stage of the development ing
process. Julia Brown, Boston University, Department
For their incisive participation in selecting the of English
literary works to cover in this volume, the edi- Sandra Donaldson, University of North
tors extend deep appreciation to the following Dakota, Department of English
professors:
Howard Eiland, Massachusetts Institute of
Robert Aguirre, Wayne State University, De- Technology, Department of English
partment of English Barri Gold, Muhlenberg College, Department
Julia Brown, Boston University, Department of English
of English William Hughes, Bath Spa University, De-
partment of English
Sandra Donaldson, University of North
Farhad Idris, Frostburg State University, De-
Dakota, Department of English
partment of English
Carol Jago, Santa Monica Public High School,
James Kincaid, University of Southern Cali-
English Department
fornia, Department of English
James Kincaid, University of Southern Cali-
Jack Kolb, University of California at Los An-
fornia, Department of English
geles, Department of English
John McLeod, University of Leeds, School of David Lloyd, Scripps College, Department of
English English
Indira Viswanathan Peterson, Mount Holyoke John McLeod, University of Leeds, Depart-
College, Chair, Asian Studies Department ment of English
xi
Martin McQuillan, University of Leeds, Ingrid Gunby, Ph.D. candidate, University of
Acknowledg- Department of Cultural Studies Leeds
Iments Barbara Moss, Clark Atlanta University, Tracy Hargreaves, Lecturer, University of
Department of History Leeds
Josna Rege, Dartmouth College, Department Albert Labriola, Professor, Duquesne Univer-
of English sity
Ross Roy, University of South Carolina, Emer- Susan Lonac, Instructor, Whatcom Commu-
itus, Department of English; Editor, Stud- nity College
ies in Scottish Literature Pamela S. Loy, Ph.D., University of California
Patricia Smith, Hofstra University, Depart- at Santa Barbara; professional writer
ment of English Mary McGlynn, Assistant Professor, Baruch
Asha Varadharajan, Queen's University, College, City University of New York
Department of English John McLeod, Lecturer, University of Leeds
Louise Yelin, State University of New York, Michelle Mimlitsch, Lecturer, University of
Purchase College, Department of Literature California at Los Angeles
Steven Young, Pomona College, Department Danielle Price, Ph.D., University of California
of English at Los Angeles
For their painstaking research and composi- Diane Renee, B.A., University of California at
tion, the editors thank the writers whose names Los Angeles; professional writer
appear at the close of the entries that they con-
Kathryn Stelmach, Ph.D candidate, University
tributed. A complete listing follows:
of California at Los Angeles
Kimberly Ball, M.A. candidate, University of
Erin Templeton, Ph.D. candidate, University
California at Berkeley
of California at Los Angeles
Anne Brannen, Associate Professor, Duquesne
Lawrence Warner, Executive Director, Aus-
University
tralian Academy of the Humanities, Aus-
Matthew Brosamer, Lecturer, Mount St. Mary's tralian National University
College
Colin Wells, M.A., Oxford University; profes-
Isaac Cates, Lecturer, Yale University sional writer
James Caufield, Ph.D. candidate, University of Alan Williamson, Professor, University of
California at Los Angeles California at Davis
Francesca Coppa, Assistant Professor, Muh- Deep appreciation is extended to Michael L.
lenberg College LaBlanc of the Gale Group for his careful editing
Laura Franey, Assistant Professor, Millsaps of the entries and to Joyce Nakamura of the Gale
College Group for her responsive and conscientious com-
pilation of illustrations. Anne Leach indexed the
Barri Gold, Assistant Professor, Muhlenberg
volume with great sensitivity to readers and sub-
College
ject matter. Lastly, the final expression of grati-
Martin Griffin, Ph.D. candidate, University of
tude goes to Monica Riordan for her deft copy
California at Los Angeles
editing, and to Lisa Blai for her proficient proof-
Elisabeth Rose Gruner, Associate Professor, reading, word processing, and organizational
University of Richmond management.
xii
