The Law as Myth in Victorian Literature

FAIN: FT-12766-76

Eugene F. Quirk
University of Hartford (West Hartford, CT 06117-1599)

In the 19th century, England sough to reform secretly by means of law and thus to avoid violent revolution, and reliance upon law is reflected in the literature of the Victorian era. This study explains how law figures as myth and is a principle of characterization in the works of some major Victorian writers. It concludes by examining similarities between 19th century England's attitude to law and that of America in the 20th century.