JOURNAL ARTICLE

Characterization and Categorization in Mary Barton.

  • Published In: SEL: Studies in English Literature (Johns Hopkins), 2024, v. 62, n. 4. P. 729 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Reinken, Brian 3 of 3

Abstract

This article contends that Elizabeth Gaskell's 1848 novel Mary Barton confuses several kinds of categorization and thus challenges the viability of classification as a way to organize industrial society. The argument focuses on Gaskell's polymorphic minor characters who embody a dynamic superabundance of contradictory social roles and thereby resist categorization into prefabricated literary types. Attending to these polymorphic characters encourages a more capacious understanding of what minor figures in English realism are capable of doing. Ultimately I suggest that Mary Barton even erodes the categorical distinction separating minor characters from major ones in the first place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:SEL: Studies in English Literature (Johns Hopkins). 2024/10, Vol. 62, Issue 4, p729
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Literature and Writing
  • Publication Date:2024
  • ISSN:0039-3657
  • DOI:10.1353/sel.2024.a941808
  • Accession Number:180657924
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of SEL: Studies in English Literature (Johns Hopkins) is the property of Johns Hopkins University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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