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"A Disembodied Spirit": Calvinism and Immaterialism in the Fiction of William Godwin

Panel: 
Nineteenth-Century British Literature and Culture
Abstract: 

This paper explores the Calvinist and immaterialist elements in four of William Godwin’s (1756-1836) novels: Caleb Williams, St Leon, Fleetwood and Mandeville. These novels illustrate Godwin’s growing conviction that immaterialism has deleterious consequences for social solidarity.

Presenter Information
First Name: 
Rowland
Last Name: 
Weston
Institution: 
University of Waikato