Idylls of the Hearth: Enoch Arden and the Creation of Paradise

66 Pages·2017·0.42 MB·English

by  The Ruperto Family

Idylls of the Hearth: Enoch Arden and the Creation
of Paradise
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Idylls of the Hearth:
Enoch Arden and the Creation of Paradise

A. G. Ruperto

A Thesis in the Field of English Literature and Writing
for the degree of Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies

Harvard University
November 2017
1
2

Abstract

This thesis examines a theme of natural theology exhibited in Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s
“Enoch Arden.” It surveys the text’s thematic experiments with scenery and spirituality, as well
as the strategies governing its narrative during the cultural and religious transformation of
Victorian England. Modernist epistemology has exposed Tennyson’s devotion to nature poetry,
as well as his progressive understanding of spirituality through acute observation and
visualization of the environment. This study traces that progress from the poet’s celebrated early
works to the later and lesser-known Idylls of the Hearth, published as Enoch Arden, Etc. “Enoch
Arden,” the titular installment of this publication, will be the primary focus of my research. This
poem displays a phenomenological view of nature, where spiritual connections manifest between
characters and their settings—a theme pervading many works throughout Tennyson’s career,
when he sought spiritual enlightenment above literary fame, and rural habitation above modern
luxury. My readings are informed by interdisciplinary contributions to Tennysonian literature
including biographies, contemporary studies, and periodical reviews. My research concludes that
natural theology operates as the central feature of “Enoch Arden,” and many of Tennyson’s
narratives. It demonstrates that by textually conceptualizing environmental designs, and
humanity’s place within those designs, the poet remedied his lifelong anxieties about the
existence of God and an afterworld.
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Dedication

For my parents—my idols.
If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk through my garden forever.
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Acknowledgements

To simply acknowledge the following people would not suffice, because I owe them a
debt of gratitude. On this long journey through the ALM program I have had the privilege of
working with Sarah Powell, my academic advisor, Talaya Delaney, my thesis advisor, and
Professor Robert Kiely, my thesis director. Thank you, Sarah, for introducing me to the Harvard
community, and for helping me navigate the field of English literature. Thank you for exhibiting
a high standard of decorum, intellect, poise, and warmth that reminded me why I was seeking my
degree, that I was in the company of serious academics, and most importantly, that I was in the
company of good people. Thank you, Talaya, for patiently listening to all of my convoluted
ideas, and subtly teaching me the ways of thoughtful redirection. Thank you for your guidance,
your grace, and your wisdom. Thank you for being present and available. Thank you for being a
bridge over troubled water, and a flame in the dark. Thank you, Professor Kiely, for imparting
your knowledge to this humble student. Thank you for taking a chance on me, for entrusting me
as your faculty aide and your thesis candidate. Thank you for our conversations, and for your
inspiration. Thank you for teaching me to be a better writer. Thank you for teaching me to be a
better man.
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Table of Contents

Dedication …………………………………..………..……………………………....……...…... 3
Acknowledgements ………………………………..…………..………..…………….................. 4
List of Tables …………………………………………………………...…...…...……............… 5
I. Introduction ………………………………………………………...…....………....……. 6
II. Natural Theology and Tennyson’s Early Career ……....……...…............…...……...… 22
III. Natural Theology in Enoch Arden .…...……...……………….......…...………...…...… 33
IV. Summary and Conclusions …………………………………….……………...…....….. 59
V. Bibliography …………………………………………………..……...…………...….... 63
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Chapter I
Introduction

A complex depiction of Alfred, Lord Tennyson as both naturalist and spiritualist can be
traced through a range of scholarship generated since his tenure as poet laureate of Victorian
England. Framed in a culture of industrialization and scientific discovery, his legacy endures as
much for his convoluted religious beliefs as for his skill as a writer. The metaphorical presence
of God dominates Tennysonian literature, pervading the minds of its characters as well as the
settings they inhabit. Often this includes a theological paradox of doubt and faith, reflecting the
broader context of 19th-century Anglicanism when laypersons felt compelled to reexamine the
depths of their convictions.1 Modernist epistemology has contributed much in this regard to the
tributive elegy “In Memoriam A.H.H.,” and generally maintains that Tennyson struggled to
define his beliefs in the natural and supernatural worlds following the unexpected death of his
friend Arthur Henry Hallam. This notion is perpetuated in a well-known biography written by Sir
Harold Nicolson,2 who claims that “the death of Hallam was, as in the whole of ‘In Memoriam,’
fused into his almost morbid perplexity about faith and doubt and immortality” (128). In fact,
Tennyson’s conflict with religion preceded the loss of his friend. His doubts about faith and
immortality were built on a lifelong obsession with nature, which he perceived as calculating and
chaotic, productive and destructive, wondrous and merciless. While nature had granted Hallam

1 The Victorian Anglicans were pressed between the Protestant Church of England and the
Roman Catholic Church. Many felt the adoption of a foreign version of Christianity was against
nationalistic values, while the arrival of the industrial revolution and modern culture tested their
beliefs as Christians altogether.
2 All references to Nicolson are to Tennyson: Aspects of His Life, Character and Poetry (New
York: Doubleday, 1962).
7
life, it had then abruptly taken it from him. Tennyson was forever vexed by the injustice of such
death, which had come prematurely to many gifted and virtuous human beings. He began to
question the fundamental tenets of Christianity, including the benevolence and existence of God,
and the concepts of a human soul and an afterlife. But he also questioned the modern Victorian’s
disengagement with nature, which seemed unnatural and somehow at odds with God’s plan.
With this in mind, he painstakingly searched for signs of rebirth in his surroundings, while
struggling to balance domestic normalities with the complex, invisible laws of faith. In this way
his career suffused literary artistry with natural theology.3
Epitomizing the modern Renaissance man, Tennyson took an extracurricular interest in
natural sciences like astronomy, biology, and geology at an early age. His departure from writing
was impelled not only by the rapid modernization of post-industrial England, but also by the
toxic atmosphere that permeated his household.4 AJ Meadows notes that the young Tennyson
was “struggling to cope with his personal problems,” including the dysfunction within his
family, and therewith “set himself a rigorous program of study...something approaching half of
these studies were devoted to science” (112).5 This routine prompted a teleological examination
of Christian cosmogony, specifically the creation of the earth and the presence of unseen forces.
For all its complexity, Tennyson began to see the universe as possessing a systemic exactness,
like the thumbprint of God. According to Nicolson, he enjoyed a sort of “earth worship” that

3 Natural theology is typically defined as a branch of philosophy of theology which attempts to
either prove God’s existence, define God’s attributes, or derive correct doctrine based solely
from human reason or observations of the natural world.
4 The infamous ructions of the Tennyson family preceded Alfred’s fame. George Tennyson was a
violent alcoholic, embittered after being disinherited in favor of his younger brother, Charles,
who lived in a castle. One of twelve children, Alfred held a lifelong fear of epilepsy and mental
illness, predominant in his family and misunderstood in Victorian medicine. His brother Arthur
also suffered from chronic alcoholism, while his brother Edward was admitted to a mental
institution in 1833.
5 All references to Meadows are to Astronomy and Geology, Terrible Muses! Tennyson and 19th-
Century Science (Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London: Vol. 46, No. 1, 1992).
8
“smacks often of the microscope.” Eventually, the quest for technical knowledge became one of
spiritual reification. Tennyson was especially concerned with life after death, creationism, and
the arcane foundations of religion. He committed to explore these mysteries, consciously and
subconsciously, in his writing. And it was this state of suspense, between heaven and earth, to
which he owed his stylistic debts.
Tennyson’s poetic career developed on the heels of his predecessor, William
Wordsworth, who served as Britain’s poet laureate from 1843 to 1850. Together they
bookmarked the beginning and end of the Victorian era, while leaving an indelible mark on the
literary world. Wordsworth’s romantic poetry utilized a refreshingly colloquial language laced
with psychological observation and philosophical inquiry.6 Tennyson, meanwhile, brought a
progression from the more simple and ascetic style of traditional rhyme poetry to a newer
narrative poetry, including dramatic monologue.7 “Ulysses,” his reimagining of Homer’s
Odyssey, is considered a pioneering example of this technique, where Tennyson’s aging,
introspective hero somberly recounts his nautical voyages and mercantile pursuits, and realizes
his discontent with domestic life after returning home to Ithaca:
It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match’d with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
(88)8

6 Like Tennyson many of Wordsworth’s poems, such as “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” are
replete with environmental metaphors: “I wandered lonely as a cloud, that floats on high o’er
vales and hills, when all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils; beside the lake,
beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”
7 A poem written in the form of a speech of an individual character; it compresses into a single
vivid scene a narrative sense of the speaker’s history and psychological insight into his character.
8 Tennyson: Poems (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, New York, 2012).