The Ends of History by Christina Crosby, Paperback | Indigo Chapters

Why were the Victorians so passionate about "History"?How did this passion relate to another Victorian obsession - the "woman question"? In a brilliant and provocative study, Christina Crosby investigates the links between the Victorians' fascination with "history" and with the nature of "women."Discussing both key novels and non-literary texts -Daniel Derondaand Hegel'sPhilosophy of History;Henry Esmondand Macaulay'sHistory of England;Little Dorrit, Wilkie Collins'The Frozen Deep, and Mayhew's survey of "labour and the poor";Villette, Patrick Fairburn'sThe Typology of Scriptureand Ruskin'sModern Painters - she argues that the construction of middle-class Victorian "man" as the universal subject of history entailed the identification of "women" as those who are before, beyond, above, or below history. Crosby's analysis raises a crucial question for today's feminists - how can one read historically without replicating the problem of nineteenth century "history"?The book was first published in 1991. | The Ends of History by Christina Crosby, Paperback | Indigo Chapters