The Crisis in Nineteenth Century American Mythology: An Examination of the Authentic American in Popular Literature (1792-1852)
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Date
1986
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Abstract
The paper is an examination of the concept of the American as it was expressed in the enduring popular literature of the period. A brief discussion of the fundamental principles of American mythology is followed by an examination of the development of national identity in eight significant works of fiction. The works discussed are: Modern Chivalry (Brackenridge), A History of New York and "Rip Van Winkle" (Irving), The Spy and The Pioneers (Cooper), The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables (Hawthorne), and Uncle Tom' s Cabin (Stowe).
The thesis of the paper is that an image of the American emerged in the works prior to Uncle Tom's Cabin which was of a strongly individualistic nature. The emphasis on self-reliance resulted in an individual ethical standard as a characteristic of the national identity. An unfortunate result of this standard is the seeming lack of a workable social ethic. The existence of this flaw in the national identity was revealed with the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852.
Finally, some suggestions are offered for examining the course of the cultural dialogue, with its corresponding developments in literature, after the Civil War.
Description
Program year: 1985/1986
Digitized from print original stored in HDR
Digitized from print original stored in HDR
Keywords
popular literature, American mythology, Modern Chivalry, A History of New York, Rip Van Winkle, The Spy, The Pioneers, The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, Uncle Tom' s Cabin, individualism, self-reliance, cultural dialogue