Liberalism, theology, and the performative in antebellum American literature /

The 1850s United States witnessed a far-reaching political, social and economic crisis. Symptomatic of this, a wide-range of narrative fiction from sentimental novels to sensational drama identifies a foundational link between liberal institutions and performative utterances. Auctions, trials, marri...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	McDonald, Patrick (College teacher) (Author)
Format:	Book
Language:	English
Published:	New York : Routledge, [2024].
Series:	Routledge studies in nineteenth-century literature.
Subjects:	American literature > 19th century > History and criticism. Christianity and literature > United States > History > 19th century. Politics and literature > United States > History > 19th century. Authority in literature.

Table of Contents:

"Sometimes a real one!": mock marriage, performative utterances, and liberal politics in antebellum city mysteries fiction
Auction goers or lynch mobs?: authority and representation in The Quadroon and The Octoroon
Republican simplicity on trial: courtrooms, aesthetics, and the law
Contracts without covenants?: political authority in Moby-Dick and The confidence man
Political theology in crisis: Orestes Brownson between Hobbes and Schmitt.