[Gutenberg 5083] • The Man of Feeling

[Gutenberg 5083] • The Man of Feeling
Authors
Mackenzie, Henry
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Tags
failure (psychology) -- fiction , psychological fiction , classics , gothic fiction , benevolence -- fiction , sentimentalism -- fiction
ISBN
9780192840325
Date
1771-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
Size
0.14 MB
Lang
en
Downloaded: 49 times

Mackenzie's hugely popular novel of 1771 is the foremost work of the sentimental movement, in which sentiment and sensibility were allied with true virtue, and sensitivity is the mark of the man of feeling. The hero, Harley, is followed in a series of episodes demonstrating his benevolence in an uncaring world: he assists the down-trodden, loses his love, and fails to achieve worldly success. The novel asks a series of vital questions: what morality is possible in a complex commercial world? Does trying to maintain it make you a saint or a fool? Is sentiment merely a luxury for the leisured classes?