Speaking of dread : the law, sensibility and the sublime in eighteenth-century fiction

Chaplin, S

Abstract

This thesis examines the relationship between the discourses of law, aesthetics and
sensibility during the eighteenth century and argues in favour of a strong conceptual link
between them. This nexus will be shown to be central to an understanding of
constructions of femininity in eighteenth-century English fiction and within the wider
social and cultural domain.
Central to the work theoretically is a theory of the sublime which draws upon Lyotard's
'The Sublime and the Avant-Garde', but which reworks its insights in the light of Luce
Irigaray's analysis of the role of the feminine within Western culture. From this will
emerge the central theoretical tenet of this work: that within Western culture woman is an
object of dread, or a 'sublime object'. From this theoretical perspective, the historical
situation of the eighteenth-century woman and her representation in fiction will be
considered. It will be argued that a certain form of 'improper' feminine subjectivity
developed during this period due in no small measure to the operation of aspects of
English law and the discourse of sensibility. The term 'improper' as it is meant to be
understood in this work will be rigorously defined in the early chapters and the position
of woman as an improper subject, it will be shown, is never far removed from her status
as sublime object.

Citation

Chaplin, S. Speaking of dread : the law, sensibility and the sublime in eighteenth-century fiction. (Thesis). Salford : University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2001