Publisher's Synopsis
This is a full-length study exploring the connections among narrative viewpoint, fictional characters' belief or disbelief in the supernatural, and attitudes toward non-material reality in the society to which the author belongs. Themes of uncertainty and madness dominate these works. The protagonist and the implied reader are forced to question the entire spiritual realm and the nature of reality. This study shows how these conflicts mirror cultural attitudes, from the rationalism of the 18th century to the scepticism and scientific preoccupations of the 19th.
