scholarly journals Topic Modeling and Analysis: Comparing the Most Common Topics in 19th-Century Novels Written by Female Writers

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Rha ◽  
Sean Silver
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Topic Model ◽  
Social Critique ◽  
College Courses ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Women Authors ◽  
Modeling And Analysis ◽  
19Th Century Literature ◽  
Female Authors ◽  
The 19Th Century

Women authors from the 19th-century have had a profound impact on the literary world due to their critical approach to and inclusion of various so-cial phenomena within their work, such as women's rights, sexuality, and human psychology. This paper seeks to contribute to the discussion by quantifying thematic similarities in eight select novels by various female authors of the 19th-century. These novels were chosen due to their contribution to literature and their popularity, common use in college courses around the world, and the prominence of the female authors. This study included utilizing a programming environment known as R Studio to perform a topic model. Performing a topic model allowed for the discernment of ten main themes or topics that can be generally seen across all eight selected novels, and by extension, 19th-century literature by female authors. The research found initial evidence to sup-port the general understanding of said literature as an endeavor of the themes of social critique and in-dividual consciousness; however, the results were not absolute in conclusion because of the limited size of the corpus. A larger corpus of documents (novels) is necessary to reach further conclusions.

scholarly journals “The Escape in the Desert” in Book Culture and Literature of Pre-Peter Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-72
Author(s):  
Tatiana A. Isachenko
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
Western Literature ◽  
19Th Century Literature ◽  
Old Russian ◽  
World Outlook ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Century Literature

<p>&nbsp;The motif of &ldquo;the escape from paradise&rdquo; has recently become one more time the subject of historical poetics. This motif is opposed to &ldquo;the expulsion from paradise&rdquo; accepted in Western literature. In the perception of scholars the motif of &ldquo;the escape from paradise&rdquo; in 19th century literature took a paradoxical form of &ldquo;loneliness&rdquo; (Dmitriev, Pushkin, Ostrovsky and Batyushkov) and then was designated as a &ldquo;moving&rdquo; model of a Russian man&rsquo;s life who escapes from Paradise&nbsp;&mdash; a &ldquo;homeostatic&rdquo; society (L.&nbsp;N.&nbsp;Gumilev). The transformation of the motif from a &ldquo;stable&rdquo; model to a &ldquo;moving&rdquo; one led to formation of a new Russian character&nbsp;&mdash; a &ldquo;homeless wanderer&rdquo; mentioned by F.&nbsp;M.&nbsp;Dostoevsky in his &ldquo;Pushkin Speech&rdquo;. The article puts forward a thesis that under the influence of wandering a part of Russian society feel inclined for Old Russian forms of world outlook that incites person&rsquo;s searches for life paradise in his own soul. This trend appears in the pilgrimage and theological literature of the 19th century. The transformation of the ratio between the &ldquo;stable&rdquo; and the &ldquo;moving&rdquo; towards the Old Russian ideal of wandering brings man to the saving paths of evangelical commandments. The theme of &ldquo;escape in the desert&rdquo; is closely related to the theme of &ldquo;Mental Paradise&rdquo;. In this regard, the key plot of the popular collection &ldquo;Mental Paradise&rdquo; popular in the 17th century and released in Wallay Iversky Monastery in 1658&ndash;1659 is considered. Based on the manuscripts the article shows how the motives of &ldquo;Paradise&rdquo; and &ldquo;escape in the desert&rdquo; having preceded the trends and having been developed in the 19th century leading to the prosperity of pilgrimage literature, are presented in literature of pre-Peter Russia.</p>

scholarly journals The concept of bovarism illustrated by a postmodern prototype: Gheorghe Crăciun’s Pupa russa

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-86
Author(s):  
Bianca-Maria Bucur Tincu
Keyword(s):  
Social Environment ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Real World ◽  
Critical Angle ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Thematic Approach ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
The 19Th Century

This paper aims to illustrate the concept of bovarism as defined by Jules de Gaultier at the end of the 19th century, as illustrated by Pupa russa, a postmodernist novel written by Gheorghe Crăciun. The thematic approach evinced by the Romanian author is challenging its readership because it follows a rhizomatic literary narration that also encapsulates a historical dimension. The focus of the analysis is on the similarities and differences between Crăciun’s and Flaubert’s protagonists, Leontina Guran and Emma Bovary, and on the fascination and importance of the bovaristic trajectory, with its implications and dimensions. This critical angle unveils the novel’s message, as well as a heightened sense of awareness with regard to the realities of personal actions against the background of the communist regime.   The condition of the human being implies both outer and inner growth, yet there are several factors such as the societal conditions one is subjected to that can irrevocably change the future “I”. The episodes presenting LeonTina’s life are key elements, nodes of connections accessed by an objective and realistic eye. Therefore, all the observations are intended to clarify, to reveal the meanings and to outline the inner effects produced by a circular, closed social environment and how one can or cannot find one’s true way. The innate impulse of “becoming someone” can very easily be perceived as “becoming someone else”. Thus, the present critical approach is highly relevant to contemporary readers. The apparent freedom possessed by everyone in present times entails responsibility as well as danger. The present comparison is an example shedding light on some issues regarding bovaristic behaviour, which is more and more apparent in the real world.  

scholarly journals Russia an empire of the “form” in Cyprian Norwid’s writings

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 English Version ◽  
pp. 5-16
Author(s):  
Magdalena Karamucka-Marcinkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
The Body ◽  
Imperial Rome ◽  
19Th Century Literature ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Century Literature

The aim of the article is to analyse Norwid’s historiosophical reflections on Russia, in which the key role is played by metaphors based on the relationship between the “form” and the “content”. This metaphoricity is reflected in the popular motif in the poet’s works, which considered the relationships of the “word” – the “letter” and the “spirit” – the “body”. In the analysed fragments, mainly from the poem Niewola, tsarist, imperialist Russia appears as an empire of the “form”, which in this case is supposed to mean the dominance of formalism and broadly understood enslavement over the spiritual content. In Norwid’s eyes, Russia, similarly to imperial Rome, stands in a clear opposition to the spirit of freedom, nation or humanity. The poet’s vision reflects the popular trends in the 19th-century literature.

Folie a Famille: A Case Report

1972 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Goldney
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Family History ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Rare Variant ◽  
19Th Century Literature ◽  
Folie À Deux ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Folie A Deux ◽  
Century Literature

Folie à famille is a rare variant of the folie à deux situation. A family history is presented which demonstrates both folie communiquée and folie imposée, two of the four subgroups summarized by Gralnick (1942) from the 19th century literature. The fact that mere separation of affected persons may be inadequate is emphasized.

scholarly journals Aqyn agha? Abai Zholy as socialist realism and as literary history

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel McGuire
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Literary History ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Social Critique ◽  
Local Leader ◽  
Socialist Realist ◽  
Folk Literature ◽  
Generational Conflicts ◽  
The 19Th Century

In Mukhtar Auezov's 1942 novel Abai Zholy, socialism is an end anticipated not just by history but more specifically by Kazakh literary history. In his earlier scholarly writings, Auezov had presented Abai as a transformational figure in the emergence of written Kazakh literature. In the novel, Abai becomes not only a literary innovator but also a political reformist: Auezov's Abai is horrified by the harsh and feudalistic behavior of his father Qunanbai, a wealthy local leader, and finds companionship and inspiration in his encounters with a series of famous 19th century Kazakh aqyns (bards). Auezov thus used Abai Zholy to argue that Kazakh folk literature had always been animated by a spirit of social critique which, in its laments and desires, had anticipated the Soviet world. This paper compares these aqyns’ depiction in the novel first with Auezov's earlier scholarship on the 19th century and second with the content of the aqyns’ own surviving works. These ideas reflected both contemporaneous shifts in Soviet nationalities policy and the influence of socialist realist literary models, which commonly staged both literary history and generational conflicts as allegories of political change.

scholarly journals Identity at Intersection of Cross-National Relations (Ukrainian Issue in Polemics with Cultural Vision of S. Hurban-Vajanský)

2019 ◽  
pp. 64-73
Author(s):  
Ivana Taranenkova
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Cultural Center ◽  
National Movement ◽  
National Life ◽  
The One ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Cultural Movement

The paper focuses on the ways of interpreting the Ukrainian issue (manifestations of independent Ukrainian national identity) by representatives of the Slovak national movement. At the late 19th and early 20th century this issue became a part of polemics between two opposite strategies of contemporary Slovak culture. On the one hand, there were prominent figures of the national life whose activities were connected to Martin, contemporary Slovak cultural center. On the other hand, there were representatives of a young generation who proposed their own solutions for improving the Slovak political and cultural situation. The journal “Hlas” provided coverage of their activities. The periodical was launched with the help of Czech politic and philosopher Tomáš Garique Masaryk.  His ideas influenced the members of the Slovak cultural movement who called themselves ‘hlasisti’. Above all, they were opposed to the cultural and ideological views of Svetozár Hurban Vajanský who was the key figure of Slovak national movement in the last two decades of the 19th century. His vision was deeply influenced by the idea of Slavic unity and conservative rusophilia. Ukrainian issue questioned the legitimacy of the idea of a unified Slavonic world with accepted hegemony of Russia. It revealed contemporary antagonisms between Slavic nations that were ignored by the earlier generations of the Slovak national movement. The impulses from Czech cultural background, where emancipation of Ukrainian nation was discussed with more attention at the end of the 19th century, played a crucial role in this differentiation of the Slovak national life. The main point was the refusal to identify own national identity with a common Slavic one. The key figures of the Czech national movement had an uncertain and critical approach to social and political circumstances of contemporary Russia. In Slovak and Czech context, the reflection of Ukrainian efforts to reach national emancipation gave an opportunity to clarify questions connected to their own national and cultural identity.

scholarly journals American Slavery Through the Eyes of British Women Travelers in the First Half of the 19th Century

Ad Americam ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 113-121
Author(s):  
Justyna Fruzińska
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Travel Writing ◽  
Social Role ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Slavery ◽  
Female Authors ◽  
Frances Trollope ◽  
The One ◽  
The 19Th Century

My paper investigates 19th-century travel writing by British women visiting America: texts by such authors as Frances Trollope, Isabella Bird, or Frances Kemble. I analyze to what extent these travelers’ gender influences their view of race. On the one hand, as Tim Youngs stresses, there seems to be very little difference between male and female travel writing in the 19th century, as women, in order to be accepted by their audience, needed to mimic men’s style (135). On the other hand, women writers occasionally mention their gender, as for example Trollope, who explains that she is not competent enough to speak on political matters, which is why she wishes to limit herself only to domestic issues. This provision, however, may be seen as a mere performance of a conventional obligation, since it does not prevent Trollope from expressing her opinions on American democracy. Moreover, Jenny Sharpe shows how Victorian Englishwomen are trapped between a social role of superiority and inferiority, possessing “a dominant position of race and a subordinate one of gender” (11). This makes the female authors believe that as women they owe to the oppressed people more sympathy than their male compatriots. My paper discusses female writing about the United States in order to see how these writers navigate their position of superiority/inferiority.

scholarly journals Staggered transmissions

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Rye Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Popular Culture ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Digital Revolution ◽  
19Th Century Literature ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Serial Fiction ◽  
Century Literature

The final part of the recent anthology Serialization in Popular Culture (2014) is called ‘Digital serialization’ and is devoted to ‘the influence of digital technologies on serial form’. The chapters throughout the anthology focus on modern serial phenomena such as TV series and computer games, but apart from a chapter on serial fiction in the 19th century, literature is conspicuously absent. However, the digital revolution has also left its mark on literature and given rise to new publishing strategies, including a resurgence of different forms of serialization. Some of the most notable examples of digital serial fiction are published via Twitter, and through analyses of recent Twitter stories by Jennifer Egan and David Mitchell, the article discusses how the micro-serialization of Twitter fiction both differs from and draws on the pre-digital tradition of serial fiction. In order to address these differences and similarities, the analyses focus on two interrelated aspects of serialization, temporality and interaction. Furthermore, they discuss the promotional dimension of Twitter fiction that arises as the financial dictates of legacy publishing intersect with fiction distributed via digital social media.

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