
The Literary Evolution of Mary Elizabeth Braddon
A Study of the Darwinian Vision in The Doctor's Wife and Other Novels
Ruth Morris(Author)
Academica Press
Published on 1. November 2017
Book
Hardback
252 pages
978-1-68053-052-0 (ISBN)
Description
This work is a comparative reading of Mary Elizabeth Braddon's The Doctor's Wife (1864) with its source text, Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary (1857). The study argues that the geotheories prevalent in England and France at the time each of the respective novels was written offer compelling reasons to understand why the two novels diverge so dramatically. There is a consideration of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species and Georges Cuvier's work in catastrophism. The focus of the discussion is on Braddon's work, with Flaubert's novel being used to show the points of contrast.
The study considers how Braddon's novel is an anglicized adaptation of the French novel and how Braddon changes her work in order to make it appealing to an English audience. This is examined by reading the novel through a variety of different contexts, including the political, the legal, and the medical, as science is only one of the strands through which the novel reflects English notions of geotheory. In addition to studying The Doctor's Wife, there are also references from 51 of Braddon's other novels and collections to consider the evolutionary strand throughout her works.
The study considers how Braddon's novel is an anglicized adaptation of the French novel and how Braddon changes her work in order to make it appealing to an English audience. This is examined by reading the novel through a variety of different contexts, including the political, the legal, and the medical, as science is only one of the strands through which the novel reflects English notions of geotheory. In addition to studying The Doctor's Wife, there are also references from 51 of Braddon's other novels and collections to consider the evolutionary strand throughout her works.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Bethesda
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-68053-052-0 (9781680530520)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ruth Morris is author of Mary Elizabeth Braddon and the Jewish Question and Mary Elizabeth Braddon and Yorkshire.