Description

L. M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle and Emily's Quest interrogate idealism as a viable generic mode, the former exploiting its strength, the latter exposing its weakness. The Blue Castle employs an idealism that is not captive to the merely sentimental in order to resolve the dilemma Montgomery faced in 1924–26: how to reconcile her heroines' desires for sexual intimacy with their equally strong imaginative impulses. The Blue Castle achieves such a reconciliation through a strategic use of Victorian associations of illness with intimacy, pleasure, and imaginative potential. Emily's Quest, by contrast, is beset by a deadening heartsickness and a failed imagination., Accession Number: 2007630517. Peer Reviewed: Yes. Publication Type: journal article. Language: English. Update Code: 200701. Sequence No: 2007-1-10584. DOI: 10.1353/uni.2007.0032., Source type: Electronic(1), http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2007630517&site=ehost-live; http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/lion_and_the_unicorn/v031/31.3lawson.html