The Mental Anatomies of William Godwin and Mary ShelleyFairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2001 - 246 pages This book explores the influence of Enlightenment and Romantic-era theories of the mind on the writings of Godwin and Shelley and examines the ways in which these writers use their fiction to explore such psychological phenomena as ruling passions, madness, the therapeutic value of confessions (both spoken and written), and the significance of dreams. Unlike most studies of Godwin and Shelley, it does not privilege their masterworks -- for the most part, it focuses on their lesser-known writings. Brewer also considers the works of other Romantic-era writers, as well as the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophical and medical theories that informed Godwin's and Shelley's presentations of mental states and types of behavior. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 56
Page 113
... Mathilda's father , who has " the imagination of a poet " ( 189 ) , " passionately love [ s ] " her even before they meet ( 208 ) , Mathilda makes her absent parent " the idol of [ her ] imagination " and fantasizes about dis- guising ...
... Mathilda's father , who has " the imagination of a poet " ( 189 ) , " passionately love [ s ] " her even before they meet ( 208 ) , Mathilda makes her absent parent " the idol of [ her ] imagination " and fantasizes about dis- guising ...
Page 172
... Mathilda struggles with unutterable words , but , unlike Beatrice , Mathilda precipitates her own tragedy by beg- ging her father to speak " that dreadful word " ( 201 ) . While Be- atrice's mistake may be her refusal to give Cenci's ...
... Mathilda struggles with unutterable words , but , unlike Beatrice , Mathilda precipitates her own tragedy by beg- ging her father to speak " that dreadful word " ( 201 ) . While Be- atrice's mistake may be her refusal to give Cenci's ...
Page 173
... Mathilda makes the mental error that Percy Shelley , following Locke , describes in his notes to Queen Mab : " the vulgar mistake of [ confusing ] a meta- phor for a real being , ... a word for a thing . " 24 She has an almost ...
... Mathilda makes the mental error that Percy Shelley , following Locke , describes in his notes to Queen Mab : " the vulgar mistake of [ confusing ] a meta- phor for a real being , ... a word for a thing . " 24 She has an almost ...
Contents
Acknowledgments | 9 |
The Transparent Mind | 30 |
The Ruling Passions | 86 |
Copyright | |
5 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Alithea Beatrice Beatrice Cenci Beatrice's becomes believes Caleb Williams Castruccio Clemit Clifford Cloudesley Collected Novels Concerning Political Justice Damville Darwin death Deloraine Deloraine's describes dreams effect Elizabeth emotional Enquiry Concerning Political essay Euthanasia Falkland Falkner father feelings Fleetwood Frankenstein Geoffrey Chaucer Godwin and Shelley Godwin's and Shelley's Hartley hatred heart human mind husband ideas imagination insanity Joanna Baillie Journals of Mary language Leon Leon's Lionel Verney madness Madness and Civilization Mandeville Mandeville's Margaret Mary Shelley Reader Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Mathilda mental anatomies monster moral murder narrator never nightmare Novels and Memoirs Novels and Selected obsessional Oxford Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Shelley Perkin Warbeck Philosophical Writings Political and Philosophical protagonist psychological reveries Rousseau ruling passion sentiment Shel Shelley's fictional sincerity sion soul story sufferings suggests sympathy tale tell theory thoughts tion title character Univ University Press Valperga victim vols wife William Godwin woman words