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Narratives of Feeling: the Function of Sympathy in Modern Literary Forms Frederick Owens

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Narratives of Feeling: the Function of Sympathy in Modern Literary Forms Frederick Owens Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2011 Narratives of Feeling: The Function of Sympathy in Modern Literary Forms Frederick Owens Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES NARRATIVES OF FEELING: THE FUNCTION OF SYMPATHY IN MODERN LITERARY FORMS By FREDERICK OWENS A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011 The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Frederick Owens defended on March 18, 2011 ______________________________ James O’Rourke Professor Directing Dissertation ______________________________ Maxine Jones University Representative ______________________________ Barry Faulk Committee Member ______________________________ Meegan Kennedy Committee Member ______________________________ Candace Ward Committee Member Approved: ___________________________________________________ John Kelsay, Chair, Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities ___________________________________________________ Joseph Travis, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members ii I dedicate this dissertation to my parents Albert and Yvonne Owens who have influenced me beyond words. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………...……….v 1. INTRODUCTION……….……………………………………………………………..1 2. CHAPTER ONE – NOVELISTIC SYMPATHY AND THE HUMAN BODY….…....4 3. CHAPTER TWO – THE SYMPATHETIC IMPACT OF RACE AND TRAUMA IN BELOVED………………………………………………………………………...…27 4. CHAPTER THREE – THE LIMITS OF SYMPATHY: THE CREATION OF MONSTERS IN FRANKENSTEIN…………………………………………………..…62 5. CHAPTER FOUR – THE UNSEEN SYMPATHY: THE ROLE OF THE OCCULT IN JANE EYRE…………………………………………………………..…..83 6. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………100 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY……………….…………………………….………….103 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH…………………..…………………………………...…..108 iv ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the modes and functions of sympathy as they are represented in three forms of modern literature. By assessing the sympathetic aspects of these three popular narratives, I clarify the process by which modern authors have sought to communicate such emotion at the level of the body. The texts studied in this dissertation reflect forms of narrative sympathy as they are presented and communicated through different historical literary periods. These periods include Romanticism, reflected in the novel Frankenstein; the Victorian period, illustrated by the novel Jane Eyre, and Postmodernism, demonstrated in the novel Beloved. The major strategies used to examine the sympathetic import of these novels are character analysis, scene analysis, textual symbolism, and an assessment of the feelings associated with reading. Numerous philosophical texts and articles have been used to enhance commentary on the primary literary works. This dissertation challenges the notion of sympathy that is naturally born of an individual. Some view the feeling as a sensation which manifests purely from the individual consciousness, but more accurately, sympathies conform to one’s history, society and environment. Each of these influences compels either the maintenance or dismissal of emotions that one might hold in the perception of an object, or the confrontation of an idea. Each of the texts examined in this dissertation moves beyond the conventional forms of literary sympathy to display how the forces of history, society, and environment physically interact with both readers and characters to produce their sympathetic feelings and behaviors. v INTRODUCTION This project will examine the functions of sympathy as presented in three modern novels: Beloved, Frankenstein, and Jane Eyre. Sympathy shall be defined through its existence as a feeling of the body; a point that will be broadened to also examine its influence as a social tool. These objectives are appropriate for the books involved, for each greatly incorporates sympathy as a thrust to its story. Each text in fact is presented as a measure of sympathy itself, to affect particular sensations within the reader. These writings sought to forge their larger meanings through the creation of feelings associated with reading. This objective shall be maintained as a consideration throughout this examination. The modes by which human sympathy is triggered and regularized, are important to understanding its role in the novels. The investigation of subjects such as the politics of feeling, the influence of habit, and the function of emotion in the body, will all clarify the illustration of sympathetic operation within the writings. The body understood as a conductor and receptor of emotion will assist in extracting meaning from sympathetic moments within the narrative, as well as of sensations which arise from reading them. This explanation will precede the investigation of the text themselves to better reveal how emotion is created in the characters and readers alike. Each of the novels utilize feeling in numerous ways to convey a particular message. In Beloved, the affective currency is framed in the context of slavery, thus the definition of terms within the institution, such as race and family, are conspicuously present as sympathetic stimulants. The investigation of this novel will deal primarily with the emotional repercussions of trauma within the slave society. The passionate effects of servitude are shown to uniquely affect different slave characters by influencing their habitual actions. This analysis then will greatly observe the growth of habit in sympathizing. The characters of the novel have endured such fear and pain through slavery, that sympathy among them becomes a feeling debased by the force of habit. Through their memories, an evolution toward emotional stoicism is maintained by the display of their consistent behaviors. Despite this however, the prospect of re-engaging with sympathy is shown to be possible through the affirming influence of the imagination. Through its characters and storyline the novel ultimately presents a 1 message which implores the reader to find sympathy with the harsh conditions and lasting effects of slavery, but also to become liberated from its widely negative influences. While the traumatic effects of bondage are revealed in the investigation of the initial text, the examination of Frankenstein will more generally address the causes of sympathetic limitations. The boundaries of this novel are erected by the politics of judging beauty. It suggests an aesthetic extent beyond which sympathy cannot reach according to traditions popularized in western society. The denial of sympathy in the text creates monstrous difference, in which a character’s attributes are transformed to reflect the devalued and the unfamiliar. In a statement of irony though, Shelley shows how the intensive embrace of another through sympathy can produce the same monstrous deviation. The novel has a definite intention to reveal these boundaries on each side. The politics of the image alludes directly to the politics of feeling, a reference quite important to the creation of monsters. For the feelings experienced upon the perception of a character’s form triggers the emotions which cast their acceptability to others. Amid the circumstance of social rejection, alternate means of gaining sympathy will be observed to reveal the obstacle of unfamiliarity. The isolation of the image as a measure of justifying one’s emotion marks the text as a valid reference to associationism, both in the context of the novel and the influence upon its reader. The novel is presented as a means to urge the reader to question the political influences upon their own beliefs and judgments, thereby seeking to prevent the creation of monsters in the real world. The investigation of sympathy in the Gothic novel Jane Eyre will conclude the project’s examination. This text will be assessed to portray the characteristics of emotional connections as they manifest in occult forms. The interaction of the characters with the forces of the supernatural will be analyzed to reveal the operation of sympathy as it pertains to numerous ideas. The quest of ascension from immaturity to divine enlightenment is a lynchpin to this investigation, for the characters are shown to progress and evolve at different levels. Through their beliefs and behaviors, they gain different degrees of sympathetic sensitivity with the occult. The role of sympathy as a determination of Christian righteousness also is central to the examination. The forms of religious embrace which the novel presents are either catalysts or obstacles to achieving 2 emotional unity with the God through nature. The text will also be assessed as a tale which reveals the proper necessity of sympathy in the growth of romantic love. The connection which binds lovers in passionate union is shown to be incomplete without the sympathetic favor of the divine. The means by which this determination occurs shall be an important aspect of this chapter. Finally, the prospect of becoming a sympathetic agent will be highlighted as a central objective of the novel. To become a stimulant for another’s sympathy results from achieving personal ascendancy through a union with supernatural righteousness. This objective is laid not only upon the characters but also
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