Landscape and Ideology in American Renaissance Literature: Topographies of Skepticism [Hardcover]

Abrams argues that in mid-nineteenth-century American writing, new concepts of space and landscape emerge.Robert E. Abrams argues that in mid-nineteenth-century American writing, new concepts of space and landscape emerge that marked a linguistic and interpretative limit to American expansion. Abrams argues for the radicalness of antebellum writing, the ways in which figures from Hawthorne to Rebecca Harding Davis disputed the naturalizing discourses of mid-nineteenth century society. Whereas previous critics find in antebellum writing a will-towards-closure, a desire to convert chaos into an affirmative, liberal agenda. Abrams contends that authors of the 1840's and 50's deconstructed more than they constructed.Robert E. Abrams argues that in mid-nineteenth-century American writing, new concepts of space and landscape emerge that marked a linguistic and interpretative limit to American expansion. Abrams argues for the radicalness of antebellum writing, the ways in which figures from Hawthorne to Rebecca Harding Davis disputed the naturalizing discourses of mid-nineteenth century society. Whereas previous critics find in antebellum writing a will-towards-closure, a desire to convert chaos into an affirmative, liberal agenda. Abrams contends that authors of the 1840's and 50's deconstructed more than they constructed.Robert Abrams argues that new concepts of space and landscape emerged in mid-nineteenth-century American writing, marking a linguistic and interpretative limit to American expansion. Abrams supports the radical elements of antebellum writing, where writers from Hawthorne to Rebecca Harding Davis disputed the naturalizing discourses of mid-nineteenth century society. Whereas previous critics find in antebellum writing a desire to convert chaos into an affirmative, liberal agenda, Abrams contends that authors of the 1840s and 50s deconstructed more than they constructed.Illustrations; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I. Hawthorne, Thoreau and MelvillC7