📖Restoration Literature Unit 12 – Age of Sensibility: Literary Transition

Key Characteristics of the Age of Sensibility

• Emphasized emotion, sentiment, and feeling over reason and intellect
• Valued empathy, compassion, and the ability to feel deeply
• Celebrated the individual's inner life and subjective experiences
• Focused on the cultivation of refined sensibilities and moral virtues
• Explored the power of sympathy to create social bonds and promote benevolence
• Sought to evoke strong emotional responses in readers through sentimental scenes and characters
• Challenged the prevailing norms of restraint and decorum in favor of authentic self-expression

Historical and Cultural Context

• Emerged in the mid-18th century as a reaction against the rationalism of the Enlightenment
• Influenced by philosophical ideas of moral sense theory and the importance of feeling (David Hume, Adam Smith)
• Reflected changing social attitudes towards gender roles and the status of women
  • Women writers gained prominence and challenged traditional expectations of femininity
  • Sentimental novels often featured female protagonists and explored women's experiences
• Coincided with the rise of the middle class and the expansion of print culture
  • Increased literacy rates and the popularity of circulating libraries
  • Growth of the novel as a genre catering to a wider readership
• Shaped by the cultural ideals of politeness, sensibility, and refined taste

Major Literary Figures and Works

• Samuel Richardson (Pamela, Clarissa)
  • Pioneered the epistolary novel form and explored themes of virtue, seduction, and moral dilemmas
• Laurence Sterne (Tristram Shandy, A Sentimental Journey)
  • Experimented with narrative techniques and blended humor, sentiment, and self-reflexivity
• Henry Mackenzie (The Man of Feeling)
  • Epitomized the sentimental hero as a man of acute sensibility and emotional vulnerability
• Frances Burney (Evelina, Cecilia)
  • Depicted the challenges faced by young women navigating the complexities of society and courtship
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Julie, or the New Heloise)
  • Influenced the cult of sensibility with his emphasis on natural feeling and the corrupting effects of society

Themes and Motifs in Sensibility Literature

• The power of sympathy and empathy to create emotional connections between individuals
• The importance of moral virtue, benevolence, and the cultivation of refined sensibilities
• The tension between authentic feeling and the demands of social convention and propriety
• The exploration of the inner lives and psychological experiences of characters
• The celebration of nature as a source of emotional inspiration and moral guidance
• The critique of the corrupting influence of society and the value placed on sincerity and authenticity
• The portrayal of sentimental heroes and heroines as models of moral sensitivity and emotional depth

Stylistic and Formal Innovations

• Epistolary novel form (novels composed of letters) allowed for the intimate exploration of characters' thoughts and feelings
• Stream of consciousness techniques captured the fluid and associative nature of subjective experience
• Sentimental language and effusive descriptions evoked strong emotional responses in readers
• Use of sentimental scenes and tableaux to create moments of heightened emotional intensity
• Experimentation with narrative voice, point of view, and the blurring of boundaries between fiction and reality
• Incorporation of digressions, self-reflexive commentary, and meta-fictional elements
• Emphasis on the power of language to evoke feeling and create empathetic bonds between readers and characters

Influence on Later Literary Movements

• Paved the way for the development of Romanticism with its emphasis on emotion, individuality, and the power of nature
• Contributed to the rise of the Gothic novel and its exploration of the darker aspects of human psychology and the sublime
• Influenced the Victorian novel's concern with social issues, moral dilemmas, and the inner lives of characters
• Anticipated the modernist interest in subjective experience, stream of consciousness, and the fragmentation of the self
• Shaped the development of women's writing and the portrayal of female characters in literature

Critical Reception and Debates

• Praised for its ability to evoke strong emotional responses and promote moral virtues
• Criticized for its perceived excesses, sentimentality, and lack of realism
• Debates about the value of sentiment versus reason and the role of literature in shaping moral and social values
• Discussions about the gendered nature of sensibility and its association with femininity and domesticity
• Critiques of the potential for manipulation and insincerity in sentimental writing
• Debates about the relationship between sensibility and the emerging consumer culture of the 18th century

Legacy and Modern Interpretations

• Recognized as a significant transitional period between Neoclassicism and Romanticism
• Reappraised for its contributions to the development of the novel as a genre and its exploration of subjectivity
• Studied for its insights into 18th-century culture, gender roles, and the history of emotions
• Examined through the lenses of feminist, psychoanalytic, and cultural theories
• Continues to influence contemporary literature and popular culture (sentimental fiction, melodrama, "chick lit")
• Provides a historical context for understanding the ongoing debates about the role of emotion and sentiment in literature and society