From Social Disintegration to Moral Renewal: Interpreting At the Back of the North Wind from Carlyle's Moral Critique of Modernity

Zhiying Cheng; Ruiyun Zeng

doi:10.47297/wsprolaadWSP2634-786531.20250603

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From Social Disintegration to Moral Renewal: Interpreting At the Back of the North Wind from Carlyle's Moral Critique of Modernity

Volume 6, Issue 3

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From Social Disintegration to Moral Renewal: Interpreting At the Back of the North Wind from Carlyle's Moral Critique of Modernity
From Social Disintegration to Moral Renewal: Interpreting At the Back of the North Wind from Carlyle's Moral Critique of Modernity
College of Foreign Studies, Guilin University Of Electronic Technology, Guilin, Guangxi, 541000, China
Vol. 6, Issue 3, Pages: 146-150(2025)
Published：24 June 2025
DOI：10.47297/wsprolaadWSP2634-786531.20250603
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Cheng Zhiying,Zeng Ruiyun.From Social Disintegration to Moral Renewal: Interpreting At the Back of the North Wind from Carlyle's Moral Critique of Modernity[J].Research on Literary and Art Development,2025,06(03):146-150.
DOI：

Cheng Zhiying,Zeng Ruiyun.From Social Disintegration to Moral Renewal: Interpreting At the Back of the North Wind from Carlyle's Moral Critique of Modernity[J].Research on Literary and Art Development,2025,06(03):146-150. DOI： 10.47297/wsprolaadWSP2634-786531.20250603.

摘要

Abstract

At the Back of the North Wind

a representative work by Scottish writer George MacDonald

intertwines fantasy and reality to depict Diamond's coming-of-age journey. By analyzing this novel

this paper shows how it reflects the class divisions

moral decline

and spiritual redemption in Victorian industrial society and also explores the relationship between individual moral awakening and social revival. This thesis argues that MacDonald's novel resonates with Carlyle's Social Idea while presenting a different perspective on heroism. The thinking of "heroism in the ordinary" is different from Carlyle's cult of heroes

showing the hope and potential of individual power in Victorian society. This analysis contributes to understanding the role of children's fantasy literature in 19th-century British social change and offers new insights into the study of children's literature.

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references

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