Women and Gift Exchange in Eighteenth-Century Fiction

Richardson, Burney, Austen

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Women Authors, British
Cover of the book Women and Gift Exchange in Eighteenth-Century Fiction by Linda Zionkowski, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Linda Zionkowski ISBN: 9781317240471
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: May 26, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Linda Zionkowski
ISBN: 9781317240471
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: May 26, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

This book analyzes why the most influential novelists of the long eighteenth century centered their narratives on the theory and practice of gift exchange. Throughout this period, fundamental shifts in economic theories regarding the sources of individual and national wealth along with transformations in the practices of personal and institutional charity profoundly altered cultural understandings of the gift's rationale, purpose, and function. Drawing on materials such as sermons, conduct books, works of political philosophy, and tracts on social reform, Zionkowski challenges the idea that capitalist discourse was the dominant influence on the development of prose fiction. Instead, by shifting attention to the gift system as it was imagined and enacted in the formative years of the novel, the volume offers an innovative understanding of how the economy of obligation shaped writers' portrayals of class and gender identity, property, and community. Through theoretically-informed readings of Richardson's Clarissa and Sir Charles Grandison, Burney's Cecilia and The Wanderer, and Austen's Mansfield Park and Emma, the book foregrounds the issues of donation, reciprocity, indebtedness, and gratitude as it investigates the conflicts between the market and moral economies and analyzes women's position at the center of these conflicts. As this study reveals, the exchanges that eighteenth-century fiction prescribed for women confirm the continuing power and importance of gift transactions in the midst of an increasingly commercial culture. The volume will be essential reading for scholars of the eighteenth-century novel, economic literary criticism, women and gender studies, and book history.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book analyzes why the most influential novelists of the long eighteenth century centered their narratives on the theory and practice of gift exchange. Throughout this period, fundamental shifts in economic theories regarding the sources of individual and national wealth along with transformations in the practices of personal and institutional charity profoundly altered cultural understandings of the gift's rationale, purpose, and function. Drawing on materials such as sermons, conduct books, works of political philosophy, and tracts on social reform, Zionkowski challenges the idea that capitalist discourse was the dominant influence on the development of prose fiction. Instead, by shifting attention to the gift system as it was imagined and enacted in the formative years of the novel, the volume offers an innovative understanding of how the economy of obligation shaped writers' portrayals of class and gender identity, property, and community. Through theoretically-informed readings of Richardson's Clarissa and Sir Charles Grandison, Burney's Cecilia and The Wanderer, and Austen's Mansfield Park and Emma, the book foregrounds the issues of donation, reciprocity, indebtedness, and gratitude as it investigates the conflicts between the market and moral economies and analyzes women's position at the center of these conflicts. As this study reveals, the exchanges that eighteenth-century fiction prescribed for women confirm the continuing power and importance of gift transactions in the midst of an increasingly commercial culture. The volume will be essential reading for scholars of the eighteenth-century novel, economic literary criticism, women and gender studies, and book history.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Transcultural Architecture by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Higher Education and the Market by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Postmodernism And Social Inquiry by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Attachment, Place, and Otherness in Nineteenth-Century American Literature by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Museums and Restitution by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Making Knowledge Visible by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Experimental Psychology Its Scope and Method: Volume IV (Psychology Revivals) by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Progress in Self Psychology, V. 13 by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Road Freight and Privatisation by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Russia Moves into the Global Economy by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Class Stratification by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book A History of English Philanthropy by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Being and Becoming an Ex-Prisoner by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Introduction to Natural and Man-made Disasters and Their Effects on Buildings by Linda Zionkowski
Cover of the book Japan and the Enemies of Open Political Science by Linda Zionkowski
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy