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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2022

Tragedy, Defeat and Hope: Lucy Hutchinson’s Vision of History and the Memoirs

Résumé

This paper aims to highlight two competing views of history in the Memoirs: first, a disenchanted, tragic vision of the English Revolution, associated with the defeat of the Good Old Cause and the death of Colonel Hutchinson; second, a millenarian perspective epitomized throughout the Memoirs by the latter’s heroic martyrdom. Not only did the martyr-Colonel’s last words to his children offer a source of spiritual consolation, but they also raised political hopes in his family and among his nonconformist friends. In this sense, the commemoration of the Colonel’s Christlike sufferings offers a way out of the historical tragedy, mitigating the deep sense of defeat and despair that permeates the Restoration section of the Memoirs. From this perspective, Lucy Hutchinson’s celebration of her husband’s martyrdom can be construed as a polemical attempt to resist the Stuart monarchy’s plan to cast into oblivion the memory of the “great rebellion” and of its Puritan heroes.
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Dates et versions

hal-04035604 , version 1 (18-03-2023)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04035604 , version 1

Citer

Claire Gheeraert-Graffeuille. Tragedy, Defeat and Hope: Lucy Hutchinson’s Vision of History and the Memoirs. Lucy Hutchinson, 1620-1681: The English Revolution and Women’s Writing, David Norbrook, Jun 2022, Nottingham (UK), United Kingdom. ⟨hal-04035604⟩
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