Reckless innocence, non-anger and forgiveness : moral knowledge in Penelope Fitzgerald's fiction

Vol.46,No.1(2020)

Irene Visser

https://doi.org/10.5817/BSE2020-1-13

Stable URL (handle):
http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/142611

PDF
Abstract
This essay contributes to the currently limited academic scholarship on Penelope Fitzgerald's fiction by exploring affective interpersonal relationships as central themes in her novels Innocence (1986) and The Beginning of Spring (1988). I draw on Martha C. Nussbaum's philosophical work, in particular her recent publication Anger and Forgiveness (2016), to shed light on the arresting and unconventional ways in which Fitzgerald's fiction dramatizes and often subverts commonly held notions of innocence, anger, guilt and forgiveness. This essay argues that Fitzgerald's art as a novelist is particularly evident in the subtle and ironic manner in which she presents arresting moral insights. Nussbaum's philosophical explorations of moral knowledge provide the theoretical framework that clarifies these innovative and thought-provoking aspects of Fitzgerald's work.

Keywords:
Penelope Fitzgerald; affect; Martha Nussbaum; moral philosophy; contemporary literature

Pages:
261–277
References

Alexander, Jeffrey C. (2004) Toward a theory of cultural trauma. In: Alexander, Jeffrey C., Ron Eyerman, Berhard Giesen, Neil J. Smelser and Piotr Sztompka (eds.) Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1–30.

Barnes, Julian ([1986] 2013) Introduction. In: Penelope Fitzgerald, Innocence, Boston: Mariner Books, vii–xv.

Byatt, A. S. (1998) A Delicate Form of Genius. The Threepenny Review 73. Web. https://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/byatt_sp98.html. (accessed 17 Dec. 2018)

Byatt, A. S. (2008) Preface. In: Penelope Fitzgerald and Terence Dooley So I Have Thought of You: The Letters of Penelope Fitzgerald. London: Fourth Estate, ix–xiii.

Dooley, Terence. (2008) Introduction. In: Penelope Fitzgerald and Terence Dooley So I Have Thought of You: The Letters of Penelope Fitzgerald. London: Fourth Estate, xiv–xlii.

Eide, Marian (2010) Forgiveness: An Introduction. South Central Review 27 (3), 1–11.

Fitzgerald, Penelope ([1988] 2014) The Beginning of Spring. London: Fourth Estate.

Fitzgerald, Penelope ([1986] 2014) Innocence. Boston: Mariner Books.

Knight, Christopher J. (2017) Penelope Fitzgerald and the Consolation of Fiction. London: Routledge.

Lee, Hermione (2005) A Quiet Ghost. In: Body Parts: Essays on Life-writing. London: Chatto & Windus, 158–166.

Lee, Hermione (2013) Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life. London:Vintage.

Nussbaum, Martha C. (2016) Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Nussbaum, Martha C. (1990) Love's Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Putnam, Hilary (1978) Meaning and the Moral Sciences. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Sudrann, Jean (1993) Magic or Miracles: The Fallen World of Penelope Fitzgerald's Novels. In: Hosmer, Robert E. (ed.) Contemporary British Women Writers: Narrative Strategies. London: St. Martin's Press, 105–127.

Winterson, Jeanette (2015) The Gap of Time: The Winter's Tale Retold. London: Hogarth.

Winterson, Jeanette (2011) Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? London: Jonathan Cape.

Wolfe, Peter (2004) Understanding Penelope Fitzgerald. Columbia: The University of South Carolina Press.

Metrics

1

Crossref logo

1

3

Views

0

PDF views

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

PDF