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The Reception And Influence Of Rebecca Harding Davis

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Among the multitudes of upper class women in the nineteenth century, struggling with their own problems, few felt the need to speak out for others, especially the lower classes. However, Rebecca Harding Davis observed the suffering of all humanity and decided to give everyone a voice through her writings. Throughout her career, Davis wrote an innumerable amount of works advocating for equal rights among all people, right up until her death in 1910. The following paper will analyze and discuss the reception and influence that Rebecca Harding Davis’s works of literary realism had on the hierarchy of society, in relation to class, from the nineteenth century to the present. Furthermore, Davis’s own personal experiences will also be discussed …show more content…

Beyond her parents, Davis was also influenced by many notable authors who showed her that everyday life and people could actually be depicted in literature. Among these notable authors, Davis particularly favored Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Twice Told Tales, and the stories within this collection shocked Davis at their boldness. One of these short stories within Hawthorne’s collection in particular, entitled The Ambitious Guest, was fascinating to Davis because of the horrifying ending in which everyone dies. This ending completely went against what Davis had been exposed to growing up in a society coddled by Romanticism, and she enjoyed the change. Together, these influences created a pioneer for a crucial development in literature: the transition from Romanticism to Realism. Beginning in 1830, which is, ironically, the year Davis was born, a new literature movement called Romanticism began. This movement was characterized by stories laden with sentimentality and focused on the individual. One notable example of a romanticized story would be Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, in which Ivanhoe falls madly in love with Rowena and does everything in his power to win her over. This story was one of the many that Davis was exposed to growing up, and she quickly came to reject the ideals of Romanticism. Davis saw these works of literature as egotistical and melodramatic, and while she enjoyed good stories, she determined that they could not make any

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