Sexual Privatism in British Romantic Writing: A Public of One (Routledge Studies in Romanticism)

Book Details

• Author: Adam Komisaruk

• Publisher: Routledge

• Edition: 1st Edition

• Binding: Hardcover

• Number of Pages: 216

• Release Date: 16th May 2019

• ISBN: 9780815363682

• Languages: English

• Package Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches

About the Book

Sexual Privatism in British Romantic Writing: A Public of One by Adam Komisaruk delves into the complex relationship between sexuality and public life in the Romantic period. While the era is often associated with free erotic expression, it was also characterized by an ambivalence about the role of sex in the public sphere. Komisaruk explores how late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century British texts, though seemingly advocating for greater sexual openness, frequently repressed the very sexual energies they purported to embrace.

This tension between sexual expression and repression reflects broader ideological currents of the time, including the rise of capitalism and its impact on the individual's sovereignty over their own interests. The book investigates how Romantic writings—both literary and political—grappled with the tension between private and public realms of sexuality. Komisaruk examines a wide range of Romantic "publics," including legal issues like rape, sodomy, and adultery laws, as well as high-profile scandals, population debates, and the club culture of the period.

By analyzing works from authors such as William Beckford, William Blake, Erasmus Darwin, Mary Hays, Percy Shelley, and Mary Wollstonecraft, along with writings from political economists like Jeremy Bentham and William Godwin, Komisaruk unravels the ideological forces that shaped British Romanticism's approach to sexuality. The book also draws on contemporary legal treatises, popular journalism, and satirical pamphlets, shedding light on how ideas about sexual privatism were both promoted and contested during this transformative period.

This critical work provides a nuanced examination of the intersection between sexuality, economics, law, and personal identity in the British Romantic era, making it an essential read for scholars of Romantic literature, history, political economy, and gender studies.