The Political Aspect of Literature: Criticism of a (Neo)conservative Community

• Thesis title in Czech: Politický aspekt literatury: kritika (neo)konzervativní komunity
• Thesis title in English: The Political Aspect of Literature: Criticism of a (Neo)conservative Community
• Key words: komunita|politika|neokonzervatismus|konzervatismus|autoritarismus|atavismus|dystopie|feminismus
• English key words: community|politics|neoconservatism|conservatism|authoritarianism|atavism|dystopia|feminism
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2016/2017
• Thesis type: Bachelor's thesis
• Thesis language: angličtina
• Department: Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (21-UALK)
• Supervisor: doc. Erik Sherman Roraback, D.Phil.
• Author: hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept.
• Date of registration: 21.06.2017
• Date of assignment: 21.06.2017
• Administrator's approval: not processed yet
• Confirmed by Study dept. on: 06.09.2017
• Date and time of defence: 19.06.2018 00:00
• Date of electronic submission: 21.05.2018
• Date of proceeded defence: 19.06.2018
• Submitted/finalized: committed by student and finalized
• Opponents: Mgr. Pavla Veselá, Ph.D.

Guidelines

The political aspect of literature, specifically fiction, has always provoked passionate discussions, both in the academia and in the mainstream media and pop culture. Avoiding politics might rob the literary works of their context and power, while reducing them to mere political manifestos denies these works their aesthetic qualities. One has to take into consideration the important fact that politics in the works of literature is crucially shaped by the reader and is thus beyond the author’s control. This paper boldly tries to examine the political aspect of literature, and the focus is narrowed down to novels that critically deal with the life in a neoconservative community; namely Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Ira Levin’s Stepford Wives. Other primary texts that share the same concern, which is the criticism of atavistic tendencies and allegedly restrictive conservative values and social norms, will be discussed as well: for instance Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, or Edith Wharton’s novels. The analysis of how these atavistic communities are constructed in order to appear illiberal, undemocratic or even fascist requires research not only in the literary field, but also in philosophy, where the works of authors like Hannah Arendt or Theodor Adorno might be highly relevant. As politics in literature is vastly determined by the reader’s reception and subsequent interpretation, this initial research is justifiably succeeded by the inquiry into how the film and television adaptations have conveyed, misinterpreted or appropriated the “political message” of these particular literary works to suit their own agenda, either political or not. The result of my research should determine how the political aspect of the chosen novels functions not only in the context of the literary work as a whole, but also in the socio-political and cultural atmosphere in the United States. The conclusion might allude to a few thoughts on the desirability and role of politics in literature in general.

References

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