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Searching for "Common Ground": Class, Sympathy, and Perspective in Howells' Social Fiction.

The author focuses on the social fiction and criticism of American author William Dean Howells, which the author claims reflect Howells' views of class differences. According to the author, Howells was sympathetic to the concept of democracy, although he was aware of his own social privilege. The au...

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Published in:American Literary Realism Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 189 - 213
Main Author: Dawson, Melanie
Format: Article
Published: University of Illinois Press Spring2007
Subjects:
Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920
American literature
Literary criticism
Hazard of New Fortunes, A (Book : Howells)
Minister's Charge: Or the Apprenticeship of Lemuel Baker, The (Book)
World of Chance, The (Book)
Literary characters
Social classes in literature
Sympathy in literature
Literary realism
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:The author focuses on the social fiction and criticism of American author William Dean Howells, which the author claims reflect Howells' views of class differences. According to the author, Howells was sympathetic to the concept of democracy, although he was aware of his own social privilege. The author examines Howells' novels "A Hazard of New Fortunes," "The Minister's Charge: Or, the Apprenticeship of Lemuel Baker," and "The World of Chance," discussing the depiction of characters, and the issues of social class, sympathy, and realism in the novels.