SKU: 2374137478

The Burdens of Perfection: On Ethics and Reading in Nineteenth-Century British Literature

Sale price$22.15 Regular price$24.61
Save 10%

Pay in installments of $6.15 with ShopPay, AfterPay and Klarna

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Aug 8 - Aug 13

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

The Burdens of Perfection: On Ethics and Reading in Nineteenth-Century British LiteratureIn some moods, or for some people, the desire to improve can seem so natural as to be banal. The impulse drives forward so much in our culture that it can color our thoughts and shape our actions without being much noticed. But in other moods, or for other people, this strenuous desire becomes all too noticeable, and its demands crushing. It can then drive a sleepless attention to ourselves, a desolate evaluation of what we have been and what we are.

In some moods, or for some people, the desire to improve can seem so natural as to be banal. The impulse drives forward so much in our culture that it can color our thoughts and shape our actions without being much noticed. But in other moods, or for other people, this strenuous desire becomes all too noticeable, and its demands crushing. It can then drive a sleepless attention to ourselves, a desolate evaluation of what we have been and what we are.--from The Burdens of Perfection

Literary criticism has, in recent decades, rather fled from discussions of moral psychology, and for good reasons, too. Who would not want to flee the hectoring moralism with which it is so easily associated-portentous, pious, humorless? But in protecting us from such fates, our flight has had its costs, as we have lost the concepts needed to recognize and assess much of what distinguished nineteenth-century British literature. That literature was inescapably ethical in orientation, and to proceed as if it were not ignores a large part of what these texts have to offer, and to that degree makes less reasonable the desire to study them, rather than other documents from the period, or from other periods.

Such are the intuitions that drive The Burdens of Perfection, a study of moral perfectionism in nineteenth-century British culture. Reading the period's essayists (Mill, Arnold, Carlyle), poets (Browning and Tennyson), and especially its novelists (Austen, Dickens, Eliot, and James), Andrew H. Miller provides an extensive response to Stanley Cavell's contribution to ethics and philosophy of mind. In the process, Miller offers a fresh way to perceive the Victorians and the lingering traces their quests for improvement have left on readers.

--Regenia Gagnier, University of Exeter "Choice"

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 12/16/2010
ISBN: 9780801477188
Pages: 260
Weight: 0.92lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.80d
Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 2374137478

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.3 ★★★★★
Based on 10 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
V
Verified Purchase
vivian
San Leandro, US
★★★★★ 5
I like the shirt and the price was decent
Size: X-Large, Color: Black
Nice but I don’t like it on my neck. I’m giving it away as a gift.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2025
V
Verified Purchase
Victor
Phoenix, US
★★★★★ 1
Too small for the shown size.
Size: XX-Large, Color: Black, Size: XX-Large, Color: Black
I usually would buy XL size but in this case I bought XXL thinking since it's cotton it might shrink. But when I tried the T-shirt it was too small. My older XL sized T-shirt has 2 1/2" larger total shoulder width and 3" wider body width. See attached pictures. Length was also a bit shorter by about 1/2". I will to return it.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2026
P
Verified Purchase
Pattie B
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 2
Does not match the size
Size: 3X-Large, Color: Blue
Way smaller than the size indicated. Very thin material, almost see- thru.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2025
R
Verified Purchase
Robert
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 5
Will buy again
Size: XX-Large, Color: White
Very comfortable. Fits as expected,
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2025
N
Verified Purchase
Nicholas Chiazza
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 5
Great shirt for money
Color: Gray Green, Size: XX-Large
Great shirt and good fit. Material is very soft and comfortable.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2026

recommand products