Time and the Moment in Victorian Literature and Society

Sudden changes, opportunities or revelations have always carried a special significance in western culture, from the Greek and later the Christian kairos to Evangelical experiences of conversion. This fascinating book explores the ways in which England, under the influence of industrializing forces and increased precision in assessing the passing of time, attached importance to moments and events that compress great significance into small units of time. Sue Zemka questions the importance that modernity invests in momentary events, from religion to aesthetics and philosophy. She argues for a strain in Victorian and early modern novels critical of the values the age invested in moments of time, and suggests that such novels also offer a correction to contemporary culture and criticism, with its emphasis on the momentary event as an agency of change.

Author: Sue Zemka
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 11/24/2011
Pages: 300
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.10w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781107007420

About the Author
Zemka, Sue: - Sue Zemka is Associate Professor of English at the University of Colorado, Boulder.