thesis

Concepts of Moral Geography in Dante Alighieri and James Joyce

Abstract

Moral geography illustrates the relationship between the landscape and the moral, religious, and psychological structures that are in place in the text. In literature, moral geography is present vis-à-vis how the physical landscape reflects the mental landscape of the characters, and vice versa. This is especially pertinent in Dante, who can be seen as the most prominent example of moral geographical frameworks in the Western canon. Joyce, who was an avid reader of Dante, understood Dante’s use of the concept and redefined the concept to suit his purpose in Ulysses. This thesis operates upon the premise that the moral geographical framework laid by Dante laid the groundwork for Joyce’s moral geographical framework, and though Joyce altered Dante’s to a fair degree, he is indebted to Dante for this framework

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