The chain of becoming : the philosophical tale, the novel, and a neglected realism of the Enlightenment : Swift, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Johnson, and Austen / Frederick M. Keener
pt. 1. The chain of becoming The philosophical tale and the novel -- The chain of being, the chain of events, and the chain of becoming -- Self-assessment: two heads or one -- The rub of self-love -- pt. 2. The major philosophical tales Gulliver's habits and prejudices -- The spirit of the Lettres persanes, and of enlightened characterization -- The generation and progress of Usbek's ideas in Lettres persanes -- Candide: structure and motivation -- Conflict, declamation,and self-assessment in Rasselas -- pt. 3. The philosophical tale, Jane Austen, and the novel Self-assessment in Les Liaisons dangereuses and Northanger Abbey -- "Delicious consciousness" in Persuasion, via Mansfield Park
