The idea of order and unity in Mandeville's Travels

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorChance, Janeen_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberDoughtie, Edwarden_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberNelson, Deborahen_US
dc.creatorMacDaniel, Elizabeth J.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2018-12-18T21:24:33Zen_US
dc.date.available2018-12-18T21:24:33Zen_US
dc.date.issued1984en_US
dc.description.abstractMandeville's Travels, a fourteenth century work said by some critics to be wholly fictional, by others to be partially fictional, has defied scholarly attempts at definition and at placement within a genre. I do not intend to make such an attempt, to define Mandeville's Travels as a romance or moral treatise, for example, but rather will examine and explicate the text. It is my contention that Mandeville's belief in an order and unity that can simultaneously encompass and transcend disorder and diversity was the organizational and thematic principle upon which he created the work. I will provide a socio-historical context for the work, for I believe that the idea of Mandeville's Travels grew from a reaction to socio-historical events and changes within Mandeville's world. Mandeville's plan was to demonstrate the existence of order and unity despite the apparent disorder and diversity of the author's time. The text, then, is an exemplum of Mandeville's vision of the underlying unity and order in the universe, and, with an examination of the text, I prove that this idea governs the unified structure, the choice of formal techniques (such as juxtaposition, links across space and time, and repetition of images, among others), and the development of the theme of order underlying diversity.en_US
dc.format.digitalOriginreformatted digitalen_US
dc.format.extent60 ppen_US
dc.identifier.callnoThesis Engl. 1984 MacDanielen_US
dc.identifier.citationMacDaniel, Elizabeth J.. "The idea of order and unity in Mandeville's Travels." (1984) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/104513">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/104513</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.digitalRICE2148en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/104513en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.titleThe idea of order and unity in Mandeville's Travelsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentEnglishen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanitiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
RICE2148.pdf
Size:
2.6 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
Collections
Rice University Theses and Dissertations