Servants and Paternalism in the Works of Maria Edgeworth and Elizabeth Gaskell (The Nineteenth Century Series) - Hardcover

Nash, Julie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 075465639X ISBN 13: 9780754656395

Publisher: Ashgate Pub Co, 2007

Synopsis

Writing during periods of dramatic social change, Maria Edgeworth and Elizabeth Gaskell were both attracted to the idea of radical societal transformation at the same time that their writings express nostalgia for a traditional, paternalistic ruling class. Julie Nash shows how this tension is played out especially through the characters of servants in short fiction and novels such as Edgeworth's "Castle Rackrent", "Belinda", and Helen and Gaskell's "North and South" and "Cranford". Servant characters, Nash contends, enable these writers to give voice to the contradictions inherent in the popular paternalistic philosophy of their times because the situation of domestic servitude itself embodies such inconsistencies. Servants, whose labor was essential to the economic and social function of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British society, made up the largest category of workers in England by the nineteenth century and yet were expected to be socially invisible. At the same time, they lived in the same houses as their masters and mistresses and were privy to the most intimate details of their lives. Both Edgeworth and Gaskell created servant characters who challenge the social hierarchy, thus exposing the potential for dehumanization and corruption inherent in the paternalistic philosophy. Nash's study opens up important avenues for future scholars of women's fiction in the nineteenth century.

About this title

About the Author:

Julie Nash is Professor in the Department of English at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, USA.

Review:

'Nash judiciously explores the ambiguities of "paternalism" - both in terms of gender and class politics - in the writings of Maria Edgeworth and Elizabeth Gaskell, literary figures rarely considered in tandem. As Nash cogently demonstrates, each writer comes to an uneasy equilibrium between conservative nostalgia and progressive critique in her work. This book will appeal to a wide array of scholars in nineteenth-century studies, from literary critics to social, labor, and feminist historians.'Deirdre d'Albertis, Bard College, USA`â ¦ this is a thoroughly worthwhile, thought-provoking book and one which can be enjoyed by general readers as well as academics.' Gaskell Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Ashgate Pub Co
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 075465639X
• ISBN 13: 9780754656395
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 130