I love it when a plan comes together!
So far, I have found myself reading with excitement, then getting bored, and then excited again when novels are mentioned (single focused much? I know). I was particularly interested in Davidson's discussion of the choice writers made to even use the genre of the novel as their platform, and I wonder how the reality which novels perform in their fiction changed the ways readers thought about American culture. Did British readers read these novels and believe that America similar or different in their views about seduction, for example? What did they perceive or misconstrue about women's rights and slavery from reading these novels? Since we know Charlotte Temple was read on both sides of the pond, in what ways did the cultural identity of America and Britain differ, and how did it change British perception?
I am thinking specifically of two examples dealing with seduction that seem to respond to American identity:
Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders: Moll is seduced early in the novel, "ruined" and forced to marry for security. In the end of the novel, she finds redemption and wealth in America. Was Defoe using the American dream to promote an escape for fallen women? Or did he believe that the new country still had the opportunity to form itself as different (and better) than Britain when it came to opportunities for women?
A periodical article I discovered in a British ladies magazine in which a widowed American ex-patriot in Britain sues a gentleman for seducing her daughter with promises of marriage... and she wins 1000 lbs. The fact that she is an American and her husband was an American soldier is emphasized in the article. In what ways does the American identity of the victims and the unexpected outcome of seduction (trial and award of money vs. death of victim and mother) respond to the ways female seduction was presented in early American novels? What does it say about British perception of American cultural identity? If seduction in novels stands for the dissonance in the new republic, what does it stand for in British literature influenced by these works?
Just some thought I am playing with for now!
Shoot. I got distracted and forgot to talk about the "red man." Maybe in another post....
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So I tried to post this as a reply to Emilee, but for some reason I couldn't get it to post:
I must admit two things:
I highlighted a lot on page 18 as well.
And, I admit to calling someone un-American once. My ex requested a burger with no cheese, and because I think there is something terribly wrong with avoiding cheese on a burger without the excuse of lactose sensitivity, and because I personally love cheese on a burger, I took him not wanting cheese personally (or patriotically).
Oh the shame!
Anyway, Davidson has also made me think about the ways "our" flippant or pat responses to disagreements (or people with different or new ideas) as "un-American" has made me think about ways cultural identity is established in other countries as well. For those of you in the Victorian periodicals class, I'm thinking of Franklin Blake's competing cultural identities and the privileging of the British identity. So I suppose Americans aren't exceptional in this behavior either!
Sorry if their are typos in this response... I can't see the computer screen well from atop this soap box..
Hi Rachel, Cheeseburgers are the way to go, though I might not go as far as unAmerican, though. But maybe. I enjoyed your post, and don't think you're on a soapbox--nor did I find typos. I was not sure when the piece in the British ladies magazine was published, but it does seem surprising for the late 18th or early 19 centuries. Most Brits back then still thought Americans were uncivilized savages, and perhaps many still do. Thanks for the good post. dw
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