“Non-fiction” and “fiction” in John Woolman’s Journal
https://doi.org/10.26907/2074-0239-2021-65-3-46-55
Abstract
The paper examines “fiction” and “non-fiction” in John Woolman’s Journal (1774), a spiritual autobiography by a prominent 18th century American Quaker minister. The integration of “non-fictional” traits with attributes of “fiction” has been somewhat underexplored in Woolman scholarship. Employing the approach of historical criticism, the study addresses some of the key characteristics of the Quaker literary tradition and the paramount importance of non-fiction within this tradition. The analysis provides a list of “non-fictional” elements of John Woolman’s Journal: 1) declaration of the autobiographical intention with which the text begins; 2) chronologically organized records; 3) references to historical events, phenomena and people, and to geographic objects; 4) copious quotations from various documents. The “fictional” part of The Journal appears to include the following: 1) careful selection of life facts to include into the text, instrumental in the moulding of the autobiographical “exemplary self” [Banes, 1982]; 2) implementation of a parable form in some episodes; 3) figurative elements in descriptions of landscapes; 4) “emblematic” language of dream narrations; 5) recurring motif of travelling, which encompasses the semantics of “pilgrimage”, “work”, and “journaling.” These findings corroborate the idea of autobiography as a genre able to combine “fiction” with “non-fiction.”
About the Author
D. Abdurakhmanova-Pavlova
Saint Petersburg State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Daria Vladimirovna Abdurakhmanova-Pavlova, graduate student
199034
7/9 Universitetskaya Emb.
St. Petersburg
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Review
For citations:
Abdurakhmanova-Pavlova D. “Non-fiction” and “fiction” in John Woolman’s Journal. Philology and Culture. 2021;(3):46-55. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.26907/2074-0239-2021-65-3-46-55
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