The Brontës and the Idea of the Human: Science, Ethics, and the Victorian Imagination

Cambridge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture

by Alexandra Lewis (Editor)

What does it mean to be human? The Brontë novels and poetry are fascinated by what lies at the core - and limits - of the human. The Brontës and the Idea of the Human presents a significant re-evaluation of how Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë each responded to scientific, legal, political, theological, literary, and cultural concerns in ways that redraw the boundaries of the human for the nineteenth century. Proposing innovative modes of approach for the twenty-first century, leading scholars shed light on the relationship between the role of the imagination and new definitions of the human subject. This important interdisciplinary study scrutinises the notion of the embodied human and moves beyond it to explore the force and potential of the mental and imaginative powers for constructions of selfhood, community, spirituality, degradation, cruelty, and ethical behaviour in the nineteenth century and its fictional worlds.

310 pages, Hardcover

Published June 27, 2019

Reviews

[Scribh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a welcome book on both the Brontë sisters and the developing conception of "the human" in 19th century studies. It builds on old research and takes extremely innovative and creative approaches to the subject - there's something for everyone!