Southwest Graduate English Symposium – 2007
   
   
  Faith and the Body: Victorian Evangelicals
   
  "Occasionally peeping inside the leaves to see that Venus's arm was not broken, [Sue] entered with her heathen load into the most Christian city in the country by an obscure street running parallel to the main one, and round a corner to the side door of the establishment to which she was attached. Her purchases were taken straight up to her own chamber, and she at once attempted to lock them in a box that was her very own property; but finding them too cumbersome she wrapped them in large sheets of brown paper, and stood them on the floor in a corner." – Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure, 1895
   
  After buying plaster statuettes of Venus and Apollo, the heroine of Hardy's novel hides them away in her boarding room, claiming to the devoutly Christian landlady that they are casts of St. Peter and St. Mary Magdalene.
   
  This episode marks a significant philosophical and theological conflict during the Victorian Period: the Evangelical's struggle between holiness and worldliness; being in awe of Venus and claiming it to be Mary Magdalene; devout faith and consuming passion. This panel, "Faith and the Body: Victorian Evangelicals," seeks papers and presentations that investigate this conflict. Texts may include literary works (such as Hardy's novels or Barrett Browning's poetry), sermons, religious treatises, or cultural critiques.
   
  Please plan a 15 minute presentation. Submit title and 300 word abstracts, with name, university affiliation, address, phone number(s), and email address to: asu2007symp_at_yahoo.com
   
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Received on Mon Dec 11 2006 - 18:26:02 EST