'Myself creating what I saw ': sympathy and solipsism in Jane Austen's Emma
Loading...
Date
Authors
Medalie, David
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Routledge
Abstract
This paper situates Jane Austen’s Emma (1816) in relation to Enlightenment ideas
about selfhood. It argues that the moral philosophy of two central figures from
the Scottish Enlightenment, David Hume and Adam Smith, may be used to shed
light on Austen’s dramatisation of the self’s interaction with others, especially
in Emma. Of particular importance is the emphasis on ‘sympathy’ in the work
of Hume and Smith. The genuinely ‘sympathetic’ self gains self-knowledge
and self-insight through responsiveness to the perspectives and predicaments of
others. This is in stark contrast to solipsistic conduct, which locks the individual
in a form of moral and epistemological blindness.
Description
Keywords
Enlightenment, Selfhood, Sympathy, Solipsism, Jane Austen's Emma (1816), David Hume, Adam Smith
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
David Medalie (2013) ‘Myself Creating What I Saw’: Sympathy and Solipsism in Jane Austen's Emma, English Studies in Africa, 56:2, 1-13, DOI:10.1080/00138398.2015.856553