PROGRESS AND INDIVIDUAL DESIRE: BALZAC, FLAUBERT, ZOLA AND HARDY (FRANCE, ENGLAND).
Item
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Title
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PROGRESS AND INDIVIDUAL DESIRE: BALZAC, FLAUBERT, ZOLA AND HARDY (FRANCE, ENGLAND).
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Identifier
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AAI8508703
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identifier
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8508703
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Creator
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HIGGINS, CLARE HELENA.
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Contributor
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Burton Pike
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Date
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1985
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, Comparative
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Abstract
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This essay is a study of the contrast between the optimistic, projections of some late eighteenth-century and early to mid-nineteenth century sociologists of France and England regarding the future of man and civilization, and the themes of social decline in some major mid to late nineteenth century realistic novelists. During an age of social upheaval and material progress, man's relation of man to his world was re-evaluated by Burke, Paine, Saint-Simon, Comte and many others, who viewed man as essentially gregarious, altruistic, and always willing to subordinate his individual desires to the general well-being. Among the works discussed are Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France, Paine's Rights of Man, Bentham's Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation and Godwin's Essay Concerning Political Justice, as well as Saint-Simon's works in general and Comte's Cours de philosophie positive.;Several novels of Balzac's La comedie humaine, as well as Flaubert's L'education sentimentale, and Zola's L'assomoir present challenges to the ideal of progress as they question the oversimplified image of man projected by nineteenth-century sociology. I have also concentrated on their portrayals of how the characters' desires and wills affect the progress of human life. The discussion of Balzac draws upon the theories of Mesmer and Swedenborg, and Darwinian theory is examined in the section on Zola.;The chapter on Thomas Hardy examines Mill's On Liberty, Arnold's Culture and Anarchy, and the impact of Darwin and Schopenhauer in England. The Return of the Native, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Jude the Obscure are discussed. Other sources are The Origin of Species and The World as Will and Idea.;I hope to achieve significant insights into the realistic novel's vision of man, regarding the limits imposed by his world on his individual will and desire, and how he may deal with those limits in order to achieve control over the "progress" of his life. I have also dealt with the realistic novel's portrayal of the persistence of human desire and its prognosis of the human condition.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Comparative Literature
