Sentimentalism (literature)

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Sentimentalism (literally, appealing to the sentiments), as a literary and political discourse, has occurred much in the literary traditions of all regions in the world, and is central to the traditions of Indian literature, Chinese literature, and Vietnamese literature (such as Ho Xuan Huong).

The term sentimentalism is used in two senses: (1) An overindulgence in emotion, especially the conscious effort to induce emotion in order to enjoy it. (2) An optimistic overemphasis of the goodness of humanity (sensibility), representing in part a reaction against Calvinism, which regarded human nature as depraved. The novel of sensibility was developed from this 18th century notion, manifested in the Sentimental novel.

In reference to the historical movement of Sentimentalism within the United States of America during the 18th century, Sentimentalism was a European-spawned idea that emphasized feelings and emotions, a physical appreciation of God, nature, and other people, rather than logic and reason. The impact on the American people was that love became as important in marriage as financial considerations.

Contents

[edit] Literature

It is difficult to segregate sentimentalism in literature from sentimentalism as philosophy. The sentimentalist literary landscape largely mirrors the philosophical debate by realizing it into actual practice through the fictional narrative and characters. As a result however, attempting to provide an account of literary sentimentalism will naturally embark us on a philosophical debate. And it is from this perspective that we may observe the two (typically separate) studies blur under our microscopic inquiry.

Sentimentalism in literature can also be used as a meduim that the author uses to promote their own agendas.....imploring the reader to empathize with the problem they are dealing with in the book.

Philosophically, sensibility is a seeming antonym of its rival rationalism. While rationalism pervades the analytic mind, sentimentalism hinges truth upon an intrinsic human capacity to feel. For the sentimentalist this capacity is perhaps most important in morality. They contend that where the rationalists believe they can create a morality based upon logical principles (i.e. Immanuel Kant's "Categorical Imperative") these principles all differ. Thus we are left without a sound morality. However, by developing the intrinsic moral sensibility and fine tuning this capacity to feel, we may access a universal morality underscoring our very nature as humans.

For example, in Laurence Sterne's novel, A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, the narrator is using the sentimental character Yorick as a device to critique the obligation of morality, whether it is sentimental or rational. There is a particular scene where Yorick meets a monk early in the novel and refuses "to give him a single sous [a penny]," he feels discontent is by disregarding what he senses he ought to do. He appears to obey "better reason" (4). Rationally, he disregards his sentimental obligation because "there is no regular reasoning upon the ebbs and flows of our humours" (6) [i.e. our emotions]. While he argues against the authority of sense, ultimately this sense creates discontent in his conscience. After the monk leaves empty handed, it is Yorick's "heart" that "smote [him] the moment [the monk] shut the door" (7). Accordingly, Yorick has "behaved very ill" (7). He complies with his rational maxim, the justified action of his "great claims" argument (6). Yet, he senses from the conscience of his sentimental nature that he has done wrong.

There are plenty of similar literary examples throughout the sentimentalist movement in Europe in the early to mid eighteenth century. Even still we cannot be unimpressed by the title of one nineteenth century novel called Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Tugging at the driving forces of the Eighteenth Century, Austen again calls to light the tension between rationalism in the senses and sentimentalism in the human's sensibility.

[edit] See also

  • Sentimental poetry
  • Sentiment
  • Francis Hutcheson, Essay on the Nature and Conduct of the Passions and Affections and Illustrations upon the Moral Sense

[edit] Notes

  • Sterne, Laurence. A Sentimental Journey. New York :Oxford University Press, 2003.

[edit] Further reading

Brissenden, R.F. Virtue in Distress: Studies in the Novel of Sentiment from Richardson to Sade. London: Macmillan, 1974.
McGann, Jerome. The Poetics of Sensibility: a Revolution in Literary Style. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996.
Mullan, John. Sentiment and Sociability: The Language of Feeling in the Eighteenth Century. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988.
Nagle, Christopher. Sexuality and the Culture of Sensibility in the British Romantic Era. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Todd, Janet. Sensibility: an Introduction. London: Methuen, 1986.
Tompkins, Jane. Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860. New York: Oxford UP, 1986.