Self-study
P1
OPA ·
Jewett is a "domestic novelist"
Author’s Concession ·
Some similarities
focus on women; domestic occupations; social interactions; men relegated to periphery
Main Point / Critique ·
Major differences
Premise ·
No children or childrearing
Domestic novels revolve around children which are absent in Jewett's works.
Premise ·
Secular worldview
Domestic novels are religious whereas Jewett's works are secular.
P2
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Author's Anticipated Rebuttal ·
These differences could be attributable to historical changes
Meaning that Jewett may yet be a domestic novelist.
Concession / Premise ·
Jewett had a difference conception of nature and fiction
The historical factor may be part of the explanation but it's not the main explanation.
Premise ·
Domestic novels view fiction as part of a continuum
Fiction is connected to religious writing and domestic instruction. A novel could double as a child-rearing manual and a tract on Christian duty.
Premise ·
Jewett thinks of fiction as distinct
The point of fiction isn't to teach anything. It's "high-culture" and has value in and of itself.
P3
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Historical context ·
Fiction became "pure art"
Fiction's value is independent of social this or teaching that. This is like our modern conception of fiction: it's valuable in and of itself as art.
Main Point / Critique ·
Jewett is fundamentally different from domestic novelists
Because she viewed fiction as art.
Passage Style
Critique or debate
Spotlight
24.
In saying that domestic fiction ███ █████ ██ █ ██████████ ██ ███████ ██ ████ ██ █
a
Domestic fiction was ████ ██ ██ ███████ █████████ ██████████ ████ ████ ███ █████
The description of the “continuum” doesn’t involve a relationship to past writings. It instead relates to fiction’s relationship to other kinds of writing with educational purposes.
b
Fiction was not ███████ ██ ███████ ████████ ████ █████ ██████████ ██ ████████
This best captures the meaning in context. Fiction wasn’t viewed as distinct from other categories — it was part of a category that “included writings devoted to piety and domestic instruction.”
c
Domestic fiction was █████ █████████ ██ ██████ █████
The description of the “continuum” doesn’t relate to serial publication (publishing fiction in series of chapters). It instead relates to fiction’s relationship to other kinds of writing.
d
Fiction is constantly █████████
The description of the “continuum” doesn’t relate to the evolution of fiction. It instead relates to fiction’s relationship to other kinds of writing.
e
Domestic fiction promoted ███ ████████████ ███ █████ ███ ██████████ ██ ████████
The description of the “continuum” doesn’t relate to the cohesiveness of society. It instead relates to fiction’s relationship to other kinds of writing. Fiction is part of a continuum with other writings that have the purposes of religious and domestic instruction. Whether these writings make society more cohesive or continuous is never mentioned.