This study examines the content and rhetorical strategies of Charles Dickens's letters to the philanthropist Angela Burdett Coutts, focusing on a series of letters concerning Urania Cottage, a small institution devoted to the reclamation of prostitutes that Dickens and Coutts opened in 1847. The purpose of this study is to use new historicist methods to show that Dickens's letters to Coutts prove there is a link between his work with Urania Cottage and the fallen women characters in David Copperfield, Emily and Martha. To date most critics who have examined the letters have argued that there is no connection. In my view, to understand this link we must (1) analyze all the letters on Urania; (2) analyze the cultural context of the letters and the novels; and (3) analyze the rhetorical strategies of the letters. Chapter Two provides information on prostitution in Victorian society and an overview of the rules and philosophy of Urania Cottage. Dickens's work with Urania enforces cultural boundaries positively and suggests new models for redemption. Chapter Three discusses Dickens's letters as written discourse, focusing on the rhetorical strategies I call the rhetoric of negotiation. I contend that to appreciate fully the complexities of Dickens's ideas about fallen women and the impact of his philanthropic work one must first understand the rhetoric of negotiation. Chapter Four shows that the rhetoric of negotiation is the key to understanding the fallen women characters in Copperfield. There Dickens uses the strategies of embedding values within a melodramatic narrative and of modifying his beliefs in an attempt to bring his readers closer to his true position. Finally, Chapter Five discusses the implications of this study for Dickens's criticism and teaching. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2590. / Major Professor: John J. Fenstermaker. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76954 |
| Creators | Moneysmith, Jayne A. |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 301 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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