Home Literary Studies 15 Samuel Johnson, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759)
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15 Samuel Johnson, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759)

  • Tobias Menely
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Handbook of the British Novel in the Long Eighteenth Century
This chapter is in the book Handbook of the British Novel in the Long Eighteenth Century

Abstract

Samuel Johnson’s Rasselas (1759) is a story about self-deception and consolatory fictions, the human tendency to wish-away difficult realities. Though Rasselas adopts the form of a timeless moral fable, it can be read as a proto-novel in its staging of the transition from a closed feudal society to a dynamic cosmopolitan world, in its attention to historical and cultural variation, and in its skeptical refusal of inherited wisdom or generalizable precept. Though Johnson has a reputation as a conservative defender of the status quo, recent criticism has shown that Rasselas gives expression to Johnson’s critical perspective on European empire, his sympathy with North African culture, and his progressive attitude toward gender.

Abstract

Samuel Johnson’s Rasselas (1759) is a story about self-deception and consolatory fictions, the human tendency to wish-away difficult realities. Though Rasselas adopts the form of a timeless moral fable, it can be read as a proto-novel in its staging of the transition from a closed feudal society to a dynamic cosmopolitan world, in its attention to historical and cultural variation, and in its skeptical refusal of inherited wisdom or generalizable precept. Though Johnson has a reputation as a conservative defender of the status quo, recent criticism has shown that Rasselas gives expression to Johnson’s critical perspective on European empire, his sympathy with North African culture, and his progressive attitude toward gender.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Questions
  6. 1 The Novel and Liberty: Individual Freedom and Civic Order 21
  7. 2 The Novel and Sense(s): Reason, Sentiment, and Subjectivity 41
  8. 3 The Novel and Intimacy: Gender, Sexuality, and Queer Readings 65
  9. 4 The Novel and Cultural Encounters: Colonialism, Cosmopolitanism, and the Other 85
  10. 5 The Novel and the Literary Marketplace: Print Culture, Popular Reading, and an Emerging British Canon 107
  11. 6 The Novel and the Environment: Nature, Cultivation, and Alien Ecologies 123
  12. Part II: Close Readings
  13. 7 Aphra Behn, Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave (1688) 141
  14. 8 Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe Trilogy (1719‒1720) 157
  15. 9 Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (1726) 175
  16. 10 Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, or The History of a Young Lady (1747–1748) 193
  17. 11 Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling (1749) 211
  18. 12 Eliza Haywood, The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless (1751) 229
  19. 13 Robert Paltock, The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins (1751) 243
  20. 14 Charlotte Lennox, The Female Quixote (1752) 259
  21. 15 Samuel Johnson, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759) 279
  22. 16 Sarah Scott, Millenium Hall (1762) 295
  23. 17 Laurence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759–1767) 311
  24. 18 Frances Brooke, The History of Emily Montague (1769) 327
  25. 19 Henry Mackenzie, The Man of Feeling (1771) 347
  26. 20 Tobias Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771) 365
  27. 21 Frances Burney, Evelina (1778) 381
  28. 22 Phebe Gibbes, Hartly House, Calcutta (1789) 399
  29. 23 Ann Radcliffe, The Romance of the Forest (1791) 417
  30. 24 Charlotte Smith, Desmond (1792) 435
  31. 25 Mary Wollstonecraft, Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman (1798) 449
  32. 26 William Earle, Obi; or The History of Three-Fingered Jack (1800) 467
  33. 27 Anonymous, The Woman of Colour; A Tale (1808) 483
  34. 28 Maria Edgeworth, Ormond (1817) 499
  35. 29 Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy (1817; revised 1829–1830) 519
  36. 30 Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818) 539
  37. 31 Jane Austen, Persuasion (1818) 557
  38. Index of Names 575
  39. Index of Subjects 583
  40. List of Contributors 595
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110650440-016

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Questions
  6. 1 The Novel and Liberty: Individual Freedom and Civic Order 21
  7. 2 The Novel and Sense(s): Reason, Sentiment, and Subjectivity 41
  8. 3 The Novel and Intimacy: Gender, Sexuality, and Queer Readings 65
  9. 4 The Novel and Cultural Encounters: Colonialism, Cosmopolitanism, and the Other 85
  10. 5 The Novel and the Literary Marketplace: Print Culture, Popular Reading, and an Emerging British Canon 107
  11. 6 The Novel and the Environment: Nature, Cultivation, and Alien Ecologies 123
  12. Part II: Close Readings
  13. 7 Aphra Behn, Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave (1688) 141
  14. 8 Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe Trilogy (1719‒1720) 157
  15. 9 Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (1726) 175
  16. 10 Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, or The History of a Young Lady (1747–1748) 193
  17. 11 Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling (1749) 211
  18. 12 Eliza Haywood, The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless (1751) 229
  19. 13 Robert Paltock, The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins (1751) 243
  20. 14 Charlotte Lennox, The Female Quixote (1752) 259
  21. 15 Samuel Johnson, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759) 279
  22. 16 Sarah Scott, Millenium Hall (1762) 295
  23. 17 Laurence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759–1767) 311
  24. 18 Frances Brooke, The History of Emily Montague (1769) 327
  25. 19 Henry Mackenzie, The Man of Feeling (1771) 347
  26. 20 Tobias Smollett, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771) 365
  27. 21 Frances Burney, Evelina (1778) 381
  28. 22 Phebe Gibbes, Hartly House, Calcutta (1789) 399
  29. 23 Ann Radcliffe, The Romance of the Forest (1791) 417
  30. 24 Charlotte Smith, Desmond (1792) 435
  31. 25 Mary Wollstonecraft, Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman (1798) 449
  32. 26 William Earle, Obi; or The History of Three-Fingered Jack (1800) 467
  33. 27 Anonymous, The Woman of Colour; A Tale (1808) 483
  34. 28 Maria Edgeworth, Ormond (1817) 499
  35. 29 Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy (1817; revised 1829–1830) 519
  36. 30 Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818) 539
  37. 31 Jane Austen, Persuasion (1818) 557
  38. Index of Names 575
  39. Index of Subjects 583
  40. List of Contributors 595
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