Slavery in Enlightenment America – Crèvecoeur’s bilingual approach
Crèvecoeur’s reception has been skewed by a focus on his writing in English. His work on slavery has been neglected - with the exception of one extract on a bestial Southern atrocity, and even that letter has been undermined as an anti-slavery text. In fact, he wrote significant abolitionist pieces...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Liverpool University Press
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49398/ |
| _version_ | 1848797988691902464 |
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| author | Still, Judith |
| author_facet | Still, Judith |
| author_sort | Still, Judith |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Crèvecoeur’s reception has been skewed by a focus on his writing in English. His work on slavery has been neglected - with the exception of one extract on a bestial Southern atrocity, and even that letter has been undermined as an anti-slavery text. In fact, he wrote significant abolitionist pieces as well as engaging in abolitionist activism. However, his writing can be ambiguous when he describes kindly-treated slaves in the Northern provinces. On the one hand, this seems to detract from the abolitionist case, but, on the other hand, relative to much contemporary writing, humanizes black Americans as part of the community with common practices, feelings and rational aims. The cosiness of this black and white family-community is, however, shadowed in Crèvecoeur’s texts by (a) the antithetical figure of the Native American who starkly formulates the absolute value of liberty – as against trading some freedom for comfort, wealth or even survival, and (b) the parallel with domestic animals. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:12:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-49398 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:12:37Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Liverpool University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-493982020-04-01T04:30:12Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49398/ Slavery in Enlightenment America – Crèvecoeur’s bilingual approach Still, Judith Crèvecoeur’s reception has been skewed by a focus on his writing in English. His work on slavery has been neglected - with the exception of one extract on a bestial Southern atrocity, and even that letter has been undermined as an anti-slavery text. In fact, he wrote significant abolitionist pieces as well as engaging in abolitionist activism. However, his writing can be ambiguous when he describes kindly-treated slaves in the Northern provinces. On the one hand, this seems to detract from the abolitionist case, but, on the other hand, relative to much contemporary writing, humanizes black Americans as part of the community with common practices, feelings and rational aims. The cosiness of this black and white family-community is, however, shadowed in Crèvecoeur’s texts by (a) the antithetical figure of the Native American who starkly formulates the absolute value of liberty – as against trading some freedom for comfort, wealth or even survival, and (b) the parallel with domestic animals. Liverpool University Press 2018-04-01 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49398/1/Slavery%20in%20Enlightenment%20America%20articlefinal.pdf Still, Judith (2018) Slavery in Enlightenment America – Crèvecoeur’s bilingual approach. Journal of Romance Studies, 18 (1). pp. 103-129. ISSN 1752-2331 Crèvecoeur slavery Enlightenment America indigenous peoples domestic animals http://online.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/abs/10.3828/jrs.2018.6 doi:10.3828/jrs.2018.6 doi:10.3828/jrs.2018.6 |
| spellingShingle | Crèvecoeur slavery Enlightenment America indigenous peoples domestic animals Still, Judith Slavery in Enlightenment America – Crèvecoeur’s bilingual approach |
| title | Slavery in Enlightenment America – Crèvecoeur’s bilingual approach |
| title_full | Slavery in Enlightenment America – Crèvecoeur’s bilingual approach |
| title_fullStr | Slavery in Enlightenment America – Crèvecoeur’s bilingual approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Slavery in Enlightenment America – Crèvecoeur’s bilingual approach |
| title_short | Slavery in Enlightenment America – Crèvecoeur’s bilingual approach |
| title_sort | slavery in enlightenment america – crèvecoeur’s bilingual approach |
| topic | Crèvecoeur slavery Enlightenment America indigenous peoples domestic animals |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49398/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49398/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49398/ |