Law Vs Letter. The Evolution of the Cain Figure in US Literature: Transcending Moral Censorship?
As the law breaker, Cain appears as ideally situated to examine the issue of moral censorship. The United States, with its stern history of authoritarian Puritanism, offers a perfect locus for the study of censorship. Thus, the analysis of the evolution of the Cain figure in the literature of the Un...
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| Language: | English |
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Presses universitaires de Rennes
2013-11-01
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| Series: | Revue LISA |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5483 |
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| author | Claude Le Fustec |
| author_facet | Claude Le Fustec |
| author_sort | Claude Le Fustec |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As the law breaker, Cain appears as ideally situated to examine the issue of moral censorship. The United States, with its stern history of authoritarian Puritanism, offers a perfect locus for the study of censorship. Thus, the analysis of the evolution of the Cain figure in the literature of the United States cannot but provide a unique viewpoint on the tricky issue of this powerful western country’s evolving stance toward law and authority. Focusing on three American novels from different periods, The Scarlet Letter (1850), East of Eden (1952), and Sula (1973), this study hopes to expose the complexification of the traditional Christian reading of the evil transgressor. In a post-Christian age, Cain has stopped being censured. This means no mere axiological inversion but a complexification of moral matters paradoxically raising fundamental ontological questions in a world supposedly devoid of transcendence. Through the characters of Hester, Caleb and Sula and the evolution from one to the other as specific Cain figures, one may perceive a whole society’s ideological metamorphosis with respect to normative moral thinking. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-00c2c2abe13d41c1b1de2632a48b4be1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1762-6153 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-11-01 |
| publisher | Presses universitaires de Rennes |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revue LISA |
| spelling | doaj-art-00c2c2abe13d41c1b1de2632a48b4be12025-01-06T09:03:16ZengPresses universitaires de RennesRevue LISA1762-61532013-11-011110.4000/lisa.5483Law Vs Letter. The Evolution of the Cain Figure in US Literature: Transcending Moral Censorship?Claude Le FustecAs the law breaker, Cain appears as ideally situated to examine the issue of moral censorship. The United States, with its stern history of authoritarian Puritanism, offers a perfect locus for the study of censorship. Thus, the analysis of the evolution of the Cain figure in the literature of the United States cannot but provide a unique viewpoint on the tricky issue of this powerful western country’s evolving stance toward law and authority. Focusing on three American novels from different periods, The Scarlet Letter (1850), East of Eden (1952), and Sula (1973), this study hopes to expose the complexification of the traditional Christian reading of the evil transgressor. In a post-Christian age, Cain has stopped being censured. This means no mere axiological inversion but a complexification of moral matters paradoxically raising fundamental ontological questions in a world supposedly devoid of transcendence. Through the characters of Hester, Caleb and Sula and the evolution from one to the other as specific Cain figures, one may perceive a whole society’s ideological metamorphosis with respect to normative moral thinking.https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5483lawCainUS FictionMoral censorshipTranscendencejustice |
| spellingShingle | Claude Le Fustec Law Vs Letter. The Evolution of the Cain Figure in US Literature: Transcending Moral Censorship? Revue LISA law Cain US Fiction Moral censorship Transcendence justice |
| title | Law Vs Letter. The Evolution of the Cain Figure in US Literature: Transcending Moral Censorship? |
| title_full | Law Vs Letter. The Evolution of the Cain Figure in US Literature: Transcending Moral Censorship? |
| title_fullStr | Law Vs Letter. The Evolution of the Cain Figure in US Literature: Transcending Moral Censorship? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Law Vs Letter. The Evolution of the Cain Figure in US Literature: Transcending Moral Censorship? |
| title_short | Law Vs Letter. The Evolution of the Cain Figure in US Literature: Transcending Moral Censorship? |
| title_sort | law vs letter the evolution of the cain figure in us literature transcending moral censorship |
| topic | law Cain US Fiction Moral censorship Transcendence justice |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5483 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT claudelefustec lawvslettertheevolutionofthecainfigureinusliteraturetranscendingmoralcensorship |