Sternness as a Source of Levity in Joseph Conrad, James M. Barrie, and Charles Dickens

Anne Keithline

Sternness as a Source of Levity in Joseph Conrad, James M. Barrie, and Charles Dickens

Data publikacji: 17.05.2018

Yearbook of Conrad Studies, 2017, Vol. 12, s. 173 - 182

https://doi.org/10.4467/20843941YC.17.013.8670

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Tytuły

Sternness as a Source of Levity in Joseph Conrad, James M. Barrie, and Charles Dickens

Abstrakt

It is a small but important feature of Conrad’s work that “sternness” as a character trait is almost never used to build the atmosphere that its definition of strictness and severity suggests. Instead, acting sternly tends to undercut the authority and sense of personal awareness of characters who attempt it, often contributing to moments of levity or outright comic relief. Conrad was not alone in this use of sternness but, like his contemporary Barrie, he absorbed it from Victorian writers, including Dickens, whose work he read and admired. This paper traces the uses of sternness through Conrad’s canon, showing how its manifestations help to create Conrad’s singular sense of humor. Special attention is paid to the use of the word “sternly” in the last line of “The Tale,” where its interpretation is critical to readerly projections of the story’s future action. Selections from Dickens and Barrie are also discussed in order to contextualize and illuminate Conrad’s own uses of sternness.

Słowa kluczowe

Joseph Conrad, Charles Dickens, James M. Barrie, “The Tale”, sternness, characterization, irony, humor

Bibliografia

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Barrie, J. M., The Little White Bird, or Adventures in Kensington Garden [1902], Project Gutenberg, 2008, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1376/1376-h/1376-h.htm.

Conrad, J., “A Smile of Fortune” [1910] [in:] idem, ’Twixt Land and Sea, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1925.

Conrad, J., Almayer’s Folly [1895], Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1924.

Conrad, J., An Outcast of the Islands [1895], Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1924.

Conrad, J., Chance [1913], Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page and Company, 1924.

Conrad, J., “Opowieści”, transl. H. Carroll-Najder [in:] idem, Dzieła, vol. XXIV, ed. Z. Najder, Warszawa: PIW, 1974.

Conrad, J., “Opowieści”, transl. S. Wyrzykowski [in:] idem, Opowieści zasłyszane, Warszawa: Instytut Wydawniczy “Biblioteka Polska”, 1938.

Conrad, J., The Mirror of the Sea [1906], Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1924.

Conrad, J., “The Tale” [1917] [in:] idem, Tales of Hearsay, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1925.

Dickens, Ch., Oliver Twist [1839], London: Penguin Books Ltd., 1985.

Dickens, Ch., The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby [1839], Project Gutenberg, 2006, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/967/967-h/967-h.htm.

Hawthorn, J., Joseph Conrad: Narrative Technique and Ideological Commitment, London: Edward Arnold, 1990.

Peters, J., The Cambridge Introduction to Joseph Conrad, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2006.

The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad, vol. 3, eds. F. R. Karl, L. Davies, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1988.

Informacje

Informacje: Yearbook of Conrad Studies, 2017, Vol. 12, s. 173 - 182

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4467/20843941YC.17.013.8670

Typ artykułu: Oryginalny artykuł naukowy

Autorzy

Anne Keithline

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA

Publikacja: 17.05.2018

Status artykułu: Otwarte

Licencja: CC BY-NC-ND

Udział procentowy autorów:

Anne Keithline (Autor) - 100%

Korekty artykułu:

Języki publikacji:

Angielski

Liczba wyświetleń: 1480

Liczba pobrań: 865

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