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Darwin and Literature

Leonard Moss

Although their vocabularies differ, biologists, biblical authors, and playwrights describe the paradox that Charles Darwin outlines in The Origin of Species (1859) when he observed the coexistence of a drive for permanence and a contrasting capacity to modify, deviate from, or transform established identities. The Torah; Books of Ecclesiastes, Job, and Matthew; and plays by Shakespeare, O’Neill, and Beckett embody a convergence of constancy and change. Their principle literary mechanisms—their challenge-response narrative design, rhetorical repetitions, and metaphorical associations—translate a biological contradiction into a moral dilemma that leads to recurring Darwinian outcomes. An evolutionary process becomes the template for the progressions and problems of belief systems transmitted by masterpieces of Western literature. Surprisingly, most biblical writing celebrates an outcome entirely consonant with the narratives of evolution.

This study deals primarily with characters and their communities in biblical and tragic texts who toil mightily, usually with limited success, to integrate the certainty of inherited dogma with the originality of useful change. Through this study, the author concludes that Darwin’s insight can expand an understanding of literature, and literary analysis will support Darwin’s insight.

Lexington Books

Pages: 188 • Trim: 6½ x 9½

978-0-7391-8532-2 • Hardback • June 2014 • $114.00 • (£88.00)

Subjects: Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Literary Criticism / Comparative Literature, Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / Historical Events, Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / Religion

Darwin and Literature

Hardback

Summary

Although their vocabularies differ, biologists, biblical authors, and playwrights describe the paradox that Charles Darwin outlines in The Origin of Species (1859) when he observed the coexistence of a drive for permanence and a contrasting capacity to modify, deviate from, or transform established identities. The Torah; Books of Ecclesiastes, Job, and Matthew; and plays by Shakespeare, O’Neill, and Beckett embody a convergence of constancy and change. Their principle literary mechanisms—their challenge-response narrative design, rhetorical repetitions, and metaphorical associations—translate a biological contradiction into a moral dilemma that leads to recurring Darwinian outcomes. An evolutionary process becomes the template for the progressions and problems of belief systems transmitted by masterpieces of Western literature. Surprisingly, most biblical writing celebrates an outcome entirely consonant with the narratives of evolution.

This study deals primarily with characters and their communities in biblical and tragic texts who toil mightily, usually with limited success, to integrate the certainty of inherited dogma with the originality of useful change. Through this study, the author concludes that Darwin’s insight can expand an understanding of literature, and literary analysis will support Darwin’s insight.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 188 • Trim: 6½ x 9½

978-0-7391-8532-2 • Hardback • June 2014 • $114.00 • (£88.00)

Subjects: Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Literary Criticism / Comparative Literature, Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / Historical Events, Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / Religion

Author

Leonard Moss has written books on Arthur Miller, Joseph Conrad, literature and evolution, and tragedy and philosophy. He edited the journal of the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association in Providence from 1998 to 2004.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I: Biblical Adaptation and Dysfunction

1. The Darwinian Narrative
2. The Hebrew Origin of Species
3. Departures from Orthodoxy
4. The Adaptation According to Matthew

Part II: Tragic Transformation

5. Shakespeare’s Suspended Heroes
6. The O’Neill Variation
7. Beckett: Constancy, Flux, and Innovation

Conclusion

Notes
A Bibliographical Guide to Recent Evolutionary Theory
Index
About the Author

Darwin and Literature

Leonard Moss

Darwin and Literature

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