TRANSMISSION, IMITATION AND THE QUESTION OF EARLY AMERICAN LITERARY NATIONALISM
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2024.3.04Keywords:
the early American Republic, transatlantic exchanges, English imitations, generic instability, common property, the early American novelAbstract
Transmission, Imitation and the Question of Early American Literary Nationalism. This article seeks to revalue early American literature and concurrently to clarify to what extent one can talk about American literary nationalism during the formative post-revolutionary years. Although many anthologies of American literature as well as critical studies devoted to American literary historiography have underlined the national unity of American literature as a whole, they have consistently ignored this particular period in which the transmission and imitation of English models and their alteration or transformation by American booksellers and publishers, corroborated with generic instability and the absence of central publishing hubs, fail to attest to a homogenous—and, implicitly, wholly national—development of literature. In doing so, special attention will be paid to the early American novel as a site for probing the ideals of the early Republic, for appraising its historical accomplishments, and, ultimately, for lambasting its democratic failure. At the same time, despite the misleading name of “novel” attributed to various literary genres, and its hybrid form, the early American novel was instrumental in reflecting transnational concerns and cultural exchanges that were highly suggestive of the unstable cultural identity of America at the time.
Transmitere, imitație și problema naționalismului literar american timpuriu. Prezentul articol își propune să reevalueze literatura americană timpurie și, totodată, să clarifice în ce măsură putem vorbi despre un naționalism literar american în anii formatori postrevoluționari. Deși multe antologii de literatură americană, precum și studii critice dedicate istoriografiei literare americane au scos în evidență unitatea națională a literaturii americane în ansamblul ei, ele au ignorat în mod consecvent această perioadă în care transmiterea și imitarea modelelor engleze și alterarea sau transformarea lor de către vânzătorii de carte și editorii americani, coroborate cu instabilitatea genurilor literare și absența unor rețele principale de edituri nu atestă o dezvoltare omogenă și, implicit, eminamente națională a literaturii. Astfel, vom acorda o atenție specială romanului american timpuriu ca spațiu de validare a idealurilor Republicii timpurii, al evaluării realizărilor istorice ale acesteia și, în esență, al criticilor legate de eșecul democrației. Totodată, în ciuda denumirii înșelătoare de „roman” atribuită diverselor genuri literare și a formei sale hibride, romanul american timpuriu a jucat un rol crucial în reflectarea problemelor și schimburilor culturale transnaționale, ambele extrem de sugestive pentru instabilitatea identității culturale americane a acelor timpuri.
Cuvinte-cheie: Republica americană timpurie, schimburi transatlantice, imitații ale modelelor engleze, instabilitate generică, proprietate comună, romanul american timpuriu
Article history: Received 01 July 2024; Revised 15 August 2024; Accepted 12 September 2024; Available online 30 September 2024; Available print 30 September 2024.
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