This section contains 3,570 words (approx. 12 pages at 300 words per page) |
Do 19th Century Writers Regard Criminals as 'Irredeemably Other'?
Nineteenth century writers have indeed portrayed their criminals as socially marginal, congenitally deviant and irredeemably other, though all of these characteristics are rarely ever used in one character. Many writers have tended to cast their more socially minor criminals in a more redemptive light; one consequence of being socially marginal is, more often than not, the character is less intelligent. French historian, literary critic and philosopher Michel Foucault equated knowledge with power; nineteenth century writers in turn associated that power with corruption. D.A. Miller writes in The Novel and the Police, " Though power thus encompasses everything in the world of the novel, it is never embraced by the novel itself. On the contrary, the novel systematically...
This section contains 3,570 words (approx. 12 pages at 300 words per page) |