The Female Quixote
The Female Quixote is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Lennox , published in 1752 . It belongs to the genre of educational and moral novels , at the center of which are "young, sensible, virtuous heroines" and thereby "deal with aspects of female self-image and the social role of women."
In an inversion, the novel reverted to the basic motif of Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote in order to show a satire of contemporary everyday life based on the delusional romanticization of the heroine Arabella . The novel was received extremely positively by the critics, saw numerous new editions as well as translations and led to the fact that its author continued to be associated with this title 45 years later.
content
The young Arabella , heroine of the novel, grew up in a remote castle without any particular social ties or relationships. However, the intelligent and mentally active girl has developed an almost exaggerated, delusional state of mind through excessive reading of French romances, which has a lasting impact on her perception of reality.
Without any special knowledge of human nature or historical education, she considers the French novels to be genuine, authoritative historical evidence of the real world. In this way, she permanently projects the ambivalent clichés and ideals of true love and heroic greatness onto even the most banal everyday, conjuring up grotesque situations and misunderstandings. Similar to the lord of La Mancha, she suspects princes in disguise behind a gardener or even highwayman who are planning her kidnapping.
In the course of the plot, a pastor finally takes pity on the educational task of opening Arabella's eyes to reality and enabling her way into social relationships and ultimately even a happy marriage.
expenditure
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The Female Quixote or the Adventures of Arabella. Printed for J. Smith, Dublin 1752.
- Don Quixote in the hoop skirt: or the adventurous incidents of the heroine Arabella. Reason u. Holle, Hamburg and Berlin 1754.
Publication history
The Female Quixote , like almost all publications by women writers of the 18th and early 19th centuries, was published anonymously . In theory, this anonymity lasted until Lennox's death. However, it was an open secret in the cultural circles that she stood behind the successful novel. Her other works were always provided with the note that they came from the author of The Female Quixote . On the other hand, one looks in vain for her name in every new edition of the work during her lifetime. Forty-five years after this work and after the changed taste of the public no longer wanted to read romances, J. Bell published the writer's last novel, tellingly, under the following title: The history of Sir George Warrington: or the political Quixote. By the author of The female Quixote.
Reception and criticism
Both Samuel Richardson and Samuel Johnson discussed the second and most successful novel by Charlotte Lennox with great benevolence. They even supported the colleague with the publication. The colleague and literary critic Henry Fielding , who is otherwise in dispute with Richardson, praised the work in his Covent Garden Journal No. 24. The Female Quixote was quite successful overall. It was reprinted several times and was reprinted in a number of great novels in 1783, 1799 and 1810. The novel was translated into German in 1754, into Dutch in 1762, into French in 1773 and 1801, and into Spanish in 1808.
Fielding recommended reading the work because it dealt with everyday topics realistically, and saw it as a satire on the narrow-mindedness, vanity and affectation of the ruling world of women. Jane Spence, however, interpreted Fielding's praise as ambivalent. In her view, Fielding would have praised the works of women writers in principle to encourage his rivalry with Richardson, who is an even worse author than any woman.
During the 19th century, The Female Quixote remained quite popular and was even regarded as a model novel for the works of Jane Austen .
literature
- PS Gordon: The Space of Romance in Lennox's Female Quixote. In: Studies in English Literature. 38, 1998, pp. 499-516.
- Arno Löffler : The Insane Heroine: Charlotte Lennox 'The Female Quixote. In: Works from English and American studies. 11, 1986, pp. 68-81.
Web links
- The Female Quixote E-Book as PDF, PDB or LIT format. Accessed October 1, 2012.
- The Female Quixote, Volume 1 on LibriVox (free audiobook). Accessed October 1, 2012.
Individual evidence
- ^ Arno Löffler : Lennox, Charlotte. In: Metzler Lexicon of English-Speaking Authors . 631 portraits - from the beginning to the present. Edited by Eberhard Kreutzer and Ansgar Nünning , Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2002, ISBN 3-476-01746-X , p. 346.
- ↑ The exceptions to the rule were mostly only their translations, as was the case with Sarah Fielding , who was particularly proud of it.
- ↑ M. Battestin: Henry Fielding: A Life. Routledge, London 1993, p. 543.
- ↑ Cf. Arno Löffler : Lennox, Charlotte. In: Metzler Lexicon of English-Speaking Authors . 631 portraits - from the beginning to the present. Edited by Eberhard Kreutzer and Ansgar Nünning , Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2002, ISBN 3-476-01746-X , p. 347.
- ↑ Jane Spencer: Fielding and female authority. In: Claude Rawson (Ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Henry Fielding. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge / New York 2007, pp. 122–137, here: p. 133 .