Subject to individuality: Sex, religion and the politics of identity in the early Romantic novel
Description
My study of the early Romantic novel explores the model of identity presented through the the mal du siecle theme. The analysis of five texts--Chateaubriands Rene, Stendhal's Armance, Constant's Adolphe, Stael's Corinne, and Sand's Lelia--supports my argument that while the events of the Revolution effectively removed Christian institutions from direct participation in the political sphere, this by no means weakened the power Christian dogma held over the individual. On the contrary, the ensuing perception of religion as a matter of individual choice only strengthened the influence of such dogma as the authority previously held by the clergy was adopted by the private individual. The self-development of early Romantic heroes and heroines depends upon the Christian institution of Confession as well as on paradigmatic models of Christian Conversion. Thus, when deconstructed, the Romantic individual reveals himself to be more aptly associated with the modern concept of the subject The model of identity based upon Christian dogma is particularly problematic when posited as a universal. The notion that sexual desire must be overcome is essential to Christian thought and fully incorporated into the Confessional and Conversional processes to which the heroes and heroines adhere in their quest for self-definition. A double standard is ingrained in this model of self, for religious ideals of spirituality demand the shedding of corporality and thus the binds imposed by a sexed state, yet societal existence is ruled by a discourse promoting ideals of male nobility. The self constructed according to this model is an impossibility: the very sexuality upon which it is dependent must paradoxically be disavowed in order to achieve full selfhood. With this dissertation, I hope not only to offer an alternative criticism of the Romantic hero, but also to contribute to our current understanding of identity by acknowledging the Christian origins of self-definition in the early Romantic novel