Health and Sickness in the Early American Novel

Social Affection and Eighteenth-Century Medicine

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American
Cover of the book Health and Sickness in the Early American Novel by Maureen Tuthill, Palgrave Macmillan UK
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Maureen Tuthill ISBN: 9781137597151
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK Publication: September 26, 2016
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan Language: English
Author: Maureen Tuthill
ISBN: 9781137597151
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication: September 26, 2016
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Language: English

This book is a study of depictions of health and sickness in the early American novel, 1787-1808. These texts reveal a troubling tension between the impulse toward social affection that built cohesion in the nation and the pursuit of self-interest that was considered central to the emerging liberalism of the new Republic. Good health is depicted as an extremely positive social value, almost an a priori condition of membership in the community. Characters who have the “glow of health” tend to enjoy wealth and prestige; those who become sick are burdened by poverty and debt or have made bad decisions that have jeopardized their status. Bodies that waste away, faint, or literally disappear off of the pages of America’s first fiction are resisting the conditions that ail them; as they plead for their right to exist, they draw attention to the injustice, apathy, and greed that afflict them.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book is a study of depictions of health and sickness in the early American novel, 1787-1808. These texts reveal a troubling tension between the impulse toward social affection that built cohesion in the nation and the pursuit of self-interest that was considered central to the emerging liberalism of the new Republic. Good health is depicted as an extremely positive social value, almost an a priori condition of membership in the community. Characters who have the “glow of health” tend to enjoy wealth and prestige; those who become sick are burdened by poverty and debt or have made bad decisions that have jeopardized their status. Bodies that waste away, faint, or literally disappear off of the pages of America’s first fiction are resisting the conditions that ail them; as they plead for their right to exist, they draw attention to the injustice, apathy, and greed that afflict them.

More books from Palgrave Macmillan UK

Cover of the book Health Care Systems in Europe under Austerity by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book Developmental Local Governance by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book The Political Role of Corporate Citizens by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book Bank Performance, Risk and Firm Financing by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book The Linguistic Landscape of the Mediterranean by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book The Contemporary Novel and the City by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book Models of Balance of Payments Constrained Growth by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book Exploring the 'Socio' of Socio-Legal Studies by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book Why People (Don’t) Buy by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book The Fool in European Theatre by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book Transgressive Imaginations by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book Critical Discourse Analysis and Cognitive Science by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book Performance and the Global City by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book Social Entrepreneurship in the Middle East by Maureen Tuthill
Cover of the book The Ethics of Risk by Maureen Tuthill
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy