Scenes of Sympathy: Identity and Representation in Victorian Fiction

In Scenes of Sympathy, Audrey Jaffe argues that representations of sympathy in Victorian fiction both reveal and unsettle Victorian ideologies of identity. Situating these representations within the context of Victorian visual culture, and offering new readings of key works by Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Ellen Wood, George Eliot, Oscar...

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 15 August 2018
Publisher: Cornell University Press

In her groundbreaking work "Scenes of Sympathy," Audrey Jaffe delves into the intricate tapestry of representations of sympathy in Victorian fiction, unveiling both their explicit manifestations and their unsettling implications. By situating these representations within the rich context of Victorian visual culture, Jaffe offers fresh and insightful interpretations of pivotal works by renowned authors such as Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Ellen Wood, George Eliot, Oscar Wilde, and Arthur Conan Doyle. Through her meticulous analysis, Jaffe demonstrates how mid-Victorian spectacles of social difference shaped the construction of the middle-class self, while also paving the way for the sympathetic affinities that resonate in contemporary identity politics. This profound and meticulously researched study is a groundbreaking exploration of the role of sympathy in Victorian fiction and ideology, challenging prevailing critical perspectives and reorienting discussions of late-Victorian fictions of identity.

In her groundbreaking work "Scenes of Sympathy," Audrey Jaffe delves into the intricate tapestry of representations of sympathy in Victorian fiction, unveiling both their explicit manifestations and their unsettling implications. By situating these representations within the rich context of Victorian visual culture, Jaffe offers fresh and insightful interpretations of pivotal works by renowned authors such as Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Ellen Wood, George Eliot, Oscar Wilde, and Arthur Conan Doyle. Through her meticulous analysis, Jaffe demonstrates how mid-Victorian spectacles of social difference shaped the construction of the middle-class self, while also paving the way for the sympathetic affinities that resonate in contemporary identity politics. This profound and meticulously researched study is a groundbreaking exploration of the role of sympathy in Victorian fiction and ideology, challenging prevailing critical perspectives and reorienting discussions of late-Victorian fictions of identity.

Weight: 308g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501719899