Esther Summerson's Biblical Judgment: Queen Esther and the Fallen Woman in "Bleak House"
In literary criticism to date, intertextual invocation of the biblical Queen Esther in the Victorian novel has been explained as one that invokes "womanly virtue." By drawing on the meanings that had accumulated around the name "Esther" in the Victorian period, this article argue...
Κύριος συγγραφέας: | |
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Τύπος μέσου: | Ηλεκτρονική πηγή Άρθρο |
Γλώσσα: | Αγγλικά |
Έλεγχος διαθεσιμότητας: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Έκδοση: |
Dep.
2018
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Στο/Στη: |
Religion & literature
Έτος: 2018, Τόμος: 50, Τεύχος: 3, Σελίδες: 71-93 |
Τυποποιημένες (ακολουθίες) λέξεων-κλειδιών: | B
Großbritannien
/ Πολιτισμός <μοτίβο>
/ Ιστορία (μοτίβο) 1837-1901
/ Λογοτεχνία (μοτιβο)
/ Ester, Βιβλικό πρόσωπο (μοτίβο)
/ Dickens, Charles 1812-1870, Bleak House
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Σημειογραφίες IxTheo: | CD Χριστιανισμός και Πολιτισμός KAH Εκκλησιαστική Ιστορία 1648-1913, Νεότερη Εποχή KBF Βρετανικές Νήσοι |
Άλλες λέξεις-κλειδιά: | B
CARRUTHERS, Jo
B ESTHER (Book) B ESTHER, Queen of Persia B JUDGMENTS (Law) B PROTAGONISTS (Persons) B VICTORIAN Period, Great Britain, 1837-1901 B Illegitimacy |
Διαθέσιμο Online: |
Πιθανολογούμενα δωρεάν πρόσβαση Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Σύνοψη: | In literary criticism to date, intertextual invocation of the biblical Queen Esther in the Victorian novel has been explained as one that invokes "womanly virtue." By drawing on the meanings that had accumulated around the name "Esther" in the Victorian period, this article argues instead for Queen Esther's significance in her identity as a sexual transgressor. Drawing on a range of Victorian novels that include an Esther character, the argument is applied more precisely to Charles Dickens's Bleak House (1852-3). Manifested in the protagonist's illegitimacy, sexual transgression makes Esther Summerson a quilting point for layers of biblical allusion to the fallen woman and judgment within Bleak House. Linked to John 8's woman caught in adultery and the novel's repeated invocation of apocalyptic judgment, attention to Queen Esther reveals the novel's negotiation of different kinds of judgment to avert condemnation of the fallen woman whilst underlining the need for the denunciation of social ills. |
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ISSN: | 2328-6911 |
Περιλαμβάνει: | Enthalten in: Religion & literature
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/rel.2018.0023 |