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Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus 1836
Jun. 5th, 2016 08:58 pmHer's a review I wrote earlier this year:
I attempted to read Sartor Resartus (1836) but found it literally unreadable. The novel purports to be a commentary on the thought and early life of a German philosopher called Diogenes Teufelsdröckh (which translates as 'god-born devil-dung'),author of a tome entitled "Clothes: their Origin and Influence", but was actually metatextual. Carlyle uses the sceptical English reviewer of the imaginary book to parody transcendentalism.
I’m a big fan of metatext in some contexts. I love, for instance, AS Byatt’s use of imaginary nineteenth-century texts and scholarly commentaries in *Possession*. I love Sperenza’s *By the Winners* as a mix up of academic writing and adventure writing.
But in order for any of these to make sense, you need to be familiar with the text being rewritten. I know squat about transcendentalism, except that Louisa May Alcott’s father followed it and it seemed to consist mostly of admiring the scenery while doing not actual or money-earning work, so I found this totally unreadable.
I may have a go at his history of the French revolution, but otherwise this will have to be the sum of my knowledge about Carlyle:
• Had a famously unhappy marriage.
• Wrote an unreadable book.
• Was an oddly popular author in the nineteenth century.
I attempted to read Sartor Resartus (1836) but found it literally unreadable. The novel purports to be a commentary on the thought and early life of a German philosopher called Diogenes Teufelsdröckh (which translates as 'god-born devil-dung'),author of a tome entitled "Clothes: their Origin and Influence", but was actually metatextual. Carlyle uses the sceptical English reviewer of the imaginary book to parody transcendentalism.
I’m a big fan of metatext in some contexts. I love, for instance, AS Byatt’s use of imaginary nineteenth-century texts and scholarly commentaries in *Possession*. I love Sperenza’s *By the Winners* as a mix up of academic writing and adventure writing.
But in order for any of these to make sense, you need to be familiar with the text being rewritten. I know squat about transcendentalism, except that Louisa May Alcott’s father followed it and it seemed to consist mostly of admiring the scenery while doing not actual or money-earning work, so I found this totally unreadable.
I may have a go at his history of the French revolution, but otherwise this will have to be the sum of my knowledge about Carlyle:
• Had a famously unhappy marriage.
• Wrote an unreadable book.
• Was an oddly popular author in the nineteenth century.
