"Puzzled which to choose": Conservative reform tendencies in the works of Captain Frederick Marryat.
Item
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Title
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"Puzzled which to choose": Conservative reform tendencies in the works of Captain Frederick Marryat.
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Identifier
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AAI9009767
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identifier
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9009767
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Creator
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Parascandola, Louis John.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Michael Timko
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Date
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1989
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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, English | Biography
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Abstract
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Captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848) has almost become lost for modern readers. He is seldom read or studied, and in the brief space accorded him in many literary histories, he is often dismissed as being merely a children's writer or a naval novelist. However, he was a man driven by many often ambivalent impulses. He felt great pride in the navy, yet he advocated reforms even if they inhibited his own career. He believed in the need for a hierarchical social system, but many of his heroes, and he himself, strove for advancement. He feared the democratic spirit, especially as practiced in America, yet he admired the energies of the American people. He was filled with racial prejudices, but he had a knowledge (and often an understanding) of minorities which few authors of his time could match.;This study deals with Marryat's ambivalent conservative reform tendencies on such seemingly diverse topics as naval matters, the English social hierarchy, America, and racial minorities. On these subjects Marryat mirrors the uneasiness and vacillations of many people in the 1830s and 1840s. Marryat had a first-hand knowledge of the globe, and his novels, whether set in England or in some exotic locale, can provide us with insights into pre-Victorian society and England's role in world affairs.
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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.
