Georg Lukács The Historical Novel continues to have a wide influence in Walter Scott criticism. However, Lukács theoretical insights into the role of genre in Scotts work remains underappreciated. This thesis takes for its departure Lukács summary that "the profound grasp of the historical factor in human life demands a dramatic concentration of the epic framework" (41). Lukács description of these two forms, dramatic and epic, is then applied in a reading of Scotts The Heart of Midlothian.
Lukács terms offer a way of describing how Scotts fiction works, as the interplay of dramatic and epic motifs provide the aesthetic mediation for Midlothians social and political concerns. The chief problem raised through this reading is the role of genre in establishing a sense of historical necessity. In The Heart of Midlothian, the role of genre is made concrete in the novels gradual transition. Opening with dramatic social unrest, the novel shifts attention to the epic journey of Jeanie Deans and how her intervention re-establishes domestic and political harmony within the world of the novel. The interplay of dramatic and epic forms establishes a sense of internal necessity, as each major character organically finds his or her role in the overall course of progress.
The thesis turns in its final chapter and conclusion to a resistance in Midlothian to the "dramatic concentration of the epic framework." Thus instead of solely applying Lukács categories to a Scott, the conclusion of the thesis turns Scott against Lukács. Midlothians conclusion evinces the resistance of Scott the storyteller to Scott the novelist of historical necessity, as the storyteller re-opens a sense of unforeseen possibility at the novels conclusion. The thesis concludes with a meditation on the ethical implications of Scotts competing narrative practices, that is, the dissonance between the historical novelist and the storyteller.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USASK/oai:usask.ca:etd-04102011-182311 |
| Date | 18 April 2011 |
| Creators | Schenk, Ole Andrew |
| Contributors | Thorpe, Doug, Findlay, Len, Vargo, Lisa, Poellet, Michael, Cooley, Ron |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | University of Saskatchewan Library |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-04102011-182311/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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