Conscience and Purpose: Fiction and Social Consciousness in Howells, Jewett, Chesnutt, and Cather

by Paul R. Petrie

Explores literature's social mission at the turn of the century as defined by William Dean Howells and practiced by him and others.
In a series of influential essays that appeared in Harper's, W. D. Howells argued for literature as a vehicle for social change. Literature could and should, Howells suggested, mediate across divisions of class and region, fostering cross-cultural sympathies that would lead to comprehensive social and ethical...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0817314849
• ISBN13: 9780817314842
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: University Alabama Press
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.4"