States of Sympathy - by Elizabeth Barnes (Paperback)

About the Book

Explores the extent to which sympathy and sentiment--through the representation of the family--are increasingly employed to construct the notion of a politically affective state in philosophical, political and literary texts. The book offers fresh interpretations of classic and lesser-known works, from Susanna Rowson's Charlotte Temple to Herman Melville's Billy Budd.

Book Synopsis

Explores the extent to which sympathy and sentiment--through the representation of the family--are increasingly employed to construct the notion of a politically affective state in philosophical, political and literary texts. The book offers fresh interpretations of classic and lesser-known works, from Susanna Rowson's Charlotte Temple to Herman Melville's Billy Budd.

Review Quotes

Barnes covers a lot of textual ground in articulating her assertion that 'American culture's preoccupation with familial feeling as the foundation for sympathy, and sympathy as the basis of a democratic republic, ultimately confounds the difference between familial and social bonds.' She makes her argument by referring to a wide variety of literary texts and to a number of philosophers, including Locke, Paine, and Francis Hutcheson.

About the Author

Elizabeth Barnes is associate professor of English at the College of William and Mary.