Subject Cultures: The English Novel from the 18th to the 21st Century

This collection of essays examines the representation of subject cultures in the English novel from the 18th to the 21st century. It draws upon the work of Andreas Reckwitz and connects his sociological theories with other approaches to subjectivity. This focus is path-breaking because there exists no comprehensive literary study that discusses subject cultures and Reckwitz's concepts. The essays concentrate on points of transition between subject cultures, and demonstrate that the English novel functions as a key tool in articulating as well as negotiating concepts of modern subjectivity. The volume is divided into three parts. The introductory essay offers a critical discussion of how Reckwitz conceptualizes subject cultures in Western modernity. The second part focuses on tensions between bourgeois and romantic models of subjectivity. The case studies in this section cover novels by Samuel Richardson, Frances Burney, Charlotte Brontë, and Charles Dickens. The third section addresses the transformation of the organisation man and the emergence of creativity as a key paradigm since the 1980s. Here, novels by A.S. Byatt, Andrea Levy, Ian McEwan, J.G. Ballard, and Matthew Reynolds are featured.