| Chapter 1: | The Femme Fatale in American Naturalism: An Introduction |
|
|
This is a limited free preview of this book. Please buy full access.
Furthermore, Ahnebrink provides a useful historical and social context of American naturalism. Ahnebrink analyzes the social, philosophical, and literary backgrounds of this movement: “Gradually, American literature began to reflect the changes wrought in America by the rise of industrialism, the advance of science, the westward march of settlement, and the closing of the frontier” (14).
Ahnebrink’s examination of historical and cultural information about naturalism has been useful in examining the cultural context and other background information. These cultural, social, and historical contexts are relevant to the formation of the femme fatale in this literary movement. Moreover, Ahnebrink’s statement of the problem of free will is central to the study of the femme fatale:
Although Ahnebrink here is focusing primarily on the naturalistic writer, the same can be said of the naturalistic character. The femme fatale is a determined character living in a determined world, yet whether or not she does have a will of her own and to what extent her will overcomes her determinism are two of the main focuses of this book.
Donald Pizer, in “Late Nineteenth-Century American Naturalism,” proposes “a modified definition of late-nineteenth-century American Naturalism” and believes that the naturalistic novel should not be read as superficial or reductive. The naturalistic novel