Sight Unseen: Vision and Eighteenth-Century British Fiction
Abstract
This dissertation explores the ways that vision is manipulated and employed in science and fiction writing of the modern period to create the appearance of convincing facts, make invisible objects visible and direct the reader to see beyond the reach of optical possibilities. In fact, the main focus of my dissertation is on what I call nondescriptions. Nondescriptions are moments in the text when an image or description is expected but noticeably omitted, or a detailed description or an image of an object or event that appears only in the mind of the author or a reader is provided. By paying attention to these moments of visual rhetoric, we understand that vision is only part of a complex method of truth-seeking at our disposal.
Subject Area
British and Irish literature|Science history
Recommended Citation
Papp, Vivian Zuluaga, "Sight Unseen: Vision and Eighteenth-Century British Fiction" (2021). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI28153160.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI28153160
