Shin, Woong-Jae. “Chivalric Ideals Reflected in the Lower-Class Character of Great Expectations.” Studies in English Language & Literature. 40.2 (2014): 103-116 Although the idea of chivalry was devised for an upper-class elite and the leadership of society was granted exclusively to the aristocracy, Dickens suggested the potentiality of the lower-class people to lead society by endowing his lower-class characters with chivalric qualities. This paper points out the representative types of chivalric ideals revived in the Victorian Age--courage, disinterested generosity, loyalty, Christianity, physical manliness, and the protection of the weak and the feminine. Then, focussing on the blacksmith Joe Gargery in Great Expectations, it examines how Dickens presents his lower-class character as an ideal human being or a Victorian chivalrous man. Finally, the paper discusses why Dickens had a hope for building a better society not in the governing upper class, but in the working and poor lower class. (Kwangwoon University)
목차
Abstract I II III IV Works Cited
키워드
Great ExpectationsJoe GargerychivalryVictorian Ageclass-consciousness