Upward Mobility And The Common Good: Toward A Literary History Of The Welfare State
by Bruce Robbins /
2007 / English / EPUB
2.6 MB Download
We think we know what upward mobility stories are about--virtuous
striving justly rewarded, or unprincipled social climbing
regrettably unpunished. Either way, these stories seem obviously
concerned with the self-making of self-reliant individuals rather
than with any collective interest. In
We think we know what upward mobility stories are about--virtuous
striving justly rewarded, or unprincipled social climbing
regrettably unpunished. Either way, these stories seem obviously
concerned with the self-making of self-reliant individuals rather
than with any collective interest. InUpward Mobility and the
Common Good
Upward Mobility and the
Common Good, Bruce Robbins completely overturns these
assumptions to expose a hidden tradition of erotic social
interdependence at the heart of the literary canon.
, Bruce Robbins completely overturns these
assumptions to expose a hidden tradition of erotic social
interdependence at the heart of the literary canon.
Reinterpreting novels by figures such as Balzac, Stendhal,
Charlotte Brontë, Dickens, Dreiser, Wells, Doctorow, and
Ishiguro, along with a number of films, Robbins shows how deeply
the material and erotic desires of upwardly mobile characters are
intertwined with the aid they receive from some sort of
benefactor or mentor. In his view, Hannibal Lecter of
Reinterpreting novels by figures such as Balzac, Stendhal,
Charlotte Brontë, Dickens, Dreiser, Wells, Doctorow, and
Ishiguro, along with a number of films, Robbins shows how deeply
the material and erotic desires of upwardly mobile characters are
intertwined with the aid they receive from some sort of
benefactor or mentor. In his view, Hannibal Lecter ofThe
Silence of the Lambs
The
Silence of the Lambs becomes a key figure of social mobility
in our time. Robbins argues that passionate and ambiguous
relationships (like that between Lecter and Clarice Starling)
carry the upward mobility story far from anyone's simple
self-interest, whether the protagonist's or the mentor's. Robbins
concludes that upward mobility stories have paradoxically helped
American and European society make the transition from an ethic
of individual responsibility to one of collective accountability,
a shift that made the welfare state possible, but that also helps
account for society's fascination with cases of sexual abuse and
harassment by figures of authority.
becomes a key figure of social mobility
in our time. Robbins argues that passionate and ambiguous
relationships (like that between Lecter and Clarice Starling)
carry the upward mobility story far from anyone's simple
self-interest, whether the protagonist's or the mentor's. Robbins
concludes that upward mobility stories have paradoxically helped
American and European society make the transition from an ethic
of individual responsibility to one of collective accountability,
a shift that made the welfare state possible, but that also helps
account for society's fascination with cases of sexual abuse and
harassment by figures of authority.