Enlightenment in Europe the Enlightenment Thesis

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What is truly remarkable about Swift's novel is the fact that the protagonist rarely generates any kind of emotional response to what he encounters, and the adventures that befall him. In this sense, Swift's novel aims at challenging the norms, tradition, mentalities and institutions of English society by attempting to uncover what lies behind them.

Henry Fielding's novel Tom Jones was published in 1749, and is regarded as his most famous writing. The novel reflects many aspects of its author's life, with the main character being built as a reflection of Fielding himself. One of the most prominent themes of the novel is the opposition between two perspectives on virtue. Fielding creates characters such as Square and Thwackum who only theorize and invoke virtue, and others, such as Tom or Allworthy who practice it. In fact, this duality expresses Fielding's personal belief that virtue is synonymous to action. The first category of characters which comprises those talk about virtue but do not practice it is very interesting because these characters represent what Fielding despises in contemporary society i.e., hypocrisy and deceit. For instance, Square is a philosopher who finds justifications for his immoral behavior by turning to philosophical notions; similarly, Thwackum is a violent man who invoked religion, and claims that his values are derived from it when in fact, his behavior is despicable and completely selfish.

Samuel Richardson's novel Clarissa, or the History of a Young Lady was published between 1747 and 1748. Pertaining to the realist genre, Clarissa is a series of letters written by the characters. Similarly to the case of his previous novel, Pamela, Richardson's goal was to instruct the audience through a new approach to writing, one which emphasized entertainment; in fact, his novels along with Defoe's and Fielding's represented a serious step towards the legitimization of the novel as a form of literature.

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Clarissa also tackles the theme of virtue with the characters being either rewarded or punished for their actions. The characters whose behavior is virtuous get married and live happily (for instance, Anna or Belford) while those whose behavior is immoral die in misery and loneliness with Lovelace as the best example. Richardson's ultimate goal was to build a Christian parable which focused the idea that morality and instruction could be achieved through literature.

Last but not least, Laurence Stern's novel, Tristram Shandy was written by Stern towards the end of his life, and published shortly after. Despite its success, the novel was criticized for its open and straight-forward treatment of sexuality. However, what is truly remarkable about the novel is its narrative technique that represented an abrupt departure from Fielding's Tom Jones which was considered to be the model for novels in the eighteenth century. Divided into nine volumes, the novel spans approximately eighty years, and actually has two plots; interestingly, the author does not present, as many of his contemporaries had, the experiences but the thoughts and opinions of his protagonist. In addition, Sterne includes other materials such as essays and legal documents into his novel thus creating an entirely new narrative technique.

The eighteenth century was the Age of Reason, an era dominated by technological and scientific progress which was based on the idea that reason was the underlying factor of all things. Literature made no exception; English literature, as well as literary irony and satire were born and developed in the eighteenth century along with the writings of Defoe, Swift, Fielding, Richardson and Stern.

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