Title The masochistic pleasures of sentimental literature / Marianne Noble

Published Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, ©2000

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Description 1 online resource (viii, 258 pages) Contents Introduction "Weird Curves": Masochism and Feminism -- Masochistic Discourses of Womanhood -- Sentimental Masochism -- The Parallel Structures of Sentimentalism and Masochism -- "The Lineaments of the Divine Master" -- "An Ecstasy of Apprehension": The Erotics, of Domination in The Wide, Wide World -- The Making of a Masochist -- Horsewhipping and the Exploration of Desire -- The Ecstasies of Sentimental Wounding in Uncle Tom's Cabin -- The Epistemology of Wounds -- A Raging, Burning Storm of Feeling -- The Revenge of Cato's Daughter: Emily Dickinson's Uses of Sentimental Masochism -- The Power of Sentimental Masochism -- The Erotics of Sentimental Masochism -- The Presence of Sentimental Masochism -- Conclusion The Possibility of Masochism Summary For generations, critics have noticed in nineteenth-century American women's sentimentality a streak of masochism, but their discussions of it have over-simplified its complex relationship to women's power. Marianne Noble argues that tropes of eroticized domination in sentimental literature must be recognized for what they were: a double-edged sword of both oppression and empowerment. She begins by exploring the cultural forces that came together to create this ideology of desire, particularly Protestant discourses relating suffering to love and middle-class discourses of "true womanhood." She goes on to demonstrate how sentimental literature takes advantage of the expressive power in the convergence of these two discourses to imagine women's romantic desire. Therefore, in sentimental literature, images of eroticized domination are not antithetical to female pleasure but rather can be constitutive of it. The book, however, does not simply celebrate that fact. In readings of Warner's The Wide Wide World, Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Dickinson's sentimental poetry, it addresses the complex benefits and costs of nineteenth-century women's literary masochism. Ultimately it shows how these authors both exploited and were shaped by this discursive practice. The Masochistic Pleasures of Sentimental Literature exemplifies new trends in "Third Wave" feminist scholarship, presenting cultural and historical research informed by clear, lucid discussions of psychoanalytic and literary theory. It demonstrates that contemporary theories of masochism--including those of Deleuze, Bataille, Kristeva, Benjamin, Bersani, Noyes, Mansfield--are more relevant and comprehensible when considered in relation to sentimental literature Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-250) and index Notes Print version record Subject Warner, Susan, 1819-1885. Wide, wide world Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896. Uncle Tom's cabin. Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886 -- Criticism and interpretation SUBJECT Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886 -- Criticism and interpretation Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896. Uncle Tom's cabin Warner, Susan, 1819-1885. Wide, wide world Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886 fast Uncle Tom's cabin (Stowe, Harriet Beecher) fast Subject American literature -- Women authors -- History and criticism Psychoanalysis and literature -- United States -- History -- 19th century Women and literature -- United States -- History -- 19th century American literature -- 19th century -- History and criticism Erotic literature, American -- History and criticism Sentimentalism in literature. Masochism in literature. Pleasure in literature. Sex in literature. American literature -- History and criticism. LITERARY CRITICISM -- American -- General. LITERARY CRITICISM -- Women Authors. American literature American literature -- Women authors Erotic literature, American Masochism in literature Pleasure in literature Psychoanalysis and literature Sentimentalism in literature Sex in literature Women and literature Frauenliteratur Masochismus Motiv Erotische Literatur United States USA Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc. History Form Electronic book ISBN 1400812801 9781400812806 9781400823659 140082365X

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