Postmodern, Marxist, and Christian Historical Novels: Hope and the Burdens of History PDF
Preview Postmodern, Marxist, and Christian Historical Novels: Hope and the Burdens of History
Routledge Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature POSTMODERN, MARXIST, AND CHRISTIAN HISTORICAL NOVELS HOPE AND THE BURDENS OF HISTORY Lynne W. Hinojosa “At a time when hope is too often dismissed as a utopian ideal, Hinojosa argues that this virtue is, in fact, a worldly practice, one that engages not only the future but the present and past as well. Her readings of modern historical fiction within the framework of Jürgen Moltmann and others show how genuine hope makes a difference in the lives of characters and readers alike, enabling us to participate in God’s mission of love and justice.” Elizabeth Newman, Adjunct Professor of Theology, Duke Divinity School “Hinojosa deftly navigates the fields of literary theory, Marxist thought, and Christian theology to appraise the hollowed‐out ac- counts of history and hope in much contemporary fiction. Novels as disparate as The English Patient and Parable of the Sower come under scrutiny for circumventing ‘the historic character of reality,’ a phrase from Hinojosa’s primary interlocutor, Jürgen Moltmann. These and other works manifest hope as ironic detachment or triumph over time or presumptuous utopia, while Marilynne Robinson’s fiction, in contrast, discloses the congruity of history and hope as her characters experience transformation within, not in spite of, the brokenness of the past, present, and their longed‐for futures. For specialists perhaps, this book nonetheless speaks to the urgency of our cultural moment in which the myriad crises we face cry out for a practical, actionable hope by which we can claim that another world—of wounds healed, of violence reckoned with—is possible.” Debra Dean Murphy, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, West Virginia Wesleyan College Postmodern, Marxist, and Christian Historical Novels Postmodern, Marxist, and Christian Historical Novels: Hope and the Burdens of History argues historical novels can help readers receive the burdens of history—meaning both the burdens of the past, present, and future and the burden of living in time—and develop a more robust conception of and concrete practice of hope. Since the 1960s, historical novels have been a dominant literary genre, but they have been influenced primarily not by Christian but by postmodern and marxist thinkers and writers. This book provides a theological and literary analysis of all three types of historical novels—postmodern, marxist, and Christian—and outlines what each school of thought can learn from each other regarding historical understanding and hope. Using Jürgen Moltmann’s theology of hope and Frank Kermode’s literary criticism as a theoretical basis, the book offers readings of novels by Julian Barnes, A.S. Byatt, Octavia Butler, Michael Ondaatje, Ian McEwan, and Ursula LeGuin, among others, and ends with an extended analysis of Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead series. Lynne W. Hinojosa is Associate Professor of Literature in the Honors Program at Baylor University. She received her Ph.D. in English from the University of Notre Dame (2003). In addition to essays in journals such as Literature and Theology, Religion and Literature, and the Journal of Modern Literature, she has published two scholarly monographs: The Renaissance, English Cultural Nationalism, and Modernism, 1860–1920 (2009), and Puritanism and Modernist Novels: From Moral Character to the Ethical Self (2015). Routledge Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature Postcolonial Realism and the Concept of the Political Eli Park Sorensen William Faulkner and Mortality A Fine Dead Sound Ahmed Honeini T.S. Eliot’s Ariel Poems Making Sense of the Times Anna Budziak Katherine Mansfield International Approaches Edited by Janka Kascakova, Gerri Kimber and Władysław Witalisz Polish Literature and Genocide Arkadiusz Morawiec Uncertainty and Undecidability in the Twentieth-Century Literature and Literary Theory Mette Leonard Høeg Postmodern, Marxist, and Christian Historical Novels Hope and the Burdens of History Lynne W. Hinojosa Our Henry James in Fiction, Film, and Popular Culture John Carlos Rowe Agatha Christie and New Directions in Reading Detective Fiction Narratology and Detective Criticism Alistair Rolls For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge. com/Routledge-Studies-in-Twentieth-Century-Literature/book-series/ RSTLC Postmodern, Marxist, and Christian Historical Novels Hope and the Burdens of History Lynne W. Hinojosa First published 2022 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 Lynne W. Hinojosa The right of Lynne W. Hinojosa to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested ISBN: 978-1-032-15536-4 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-15537-1 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-24457-8 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003244578 Typeset in Sabon by MPS Limited, Dehradun For Victor, with hope Contents Acknowledgments x 1 History, Hope, and Historical Novels: Postmodern, Marxist, and Christian 1 2 Frank Kermode, Jürgen Moltmann, and Three Modern Derivatives of Christian Hope 26 3 Postmodern Historical Novels: Idealistic Hope and Ironic Hope 47 4 Marxist Historical Novels: Utopic Hope 78 5 Moltmann on Eschatological Historiography and the Modern Church 124 6 Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead Series: Historical Novels for a Disburdened Church 149 Index 197
The list of books you might like
