Liber Amoris: Unmanning the Man of Letters

Abstract

Examines Liber Amoris in relation to a gendered sense of Hazlitt’s insecurity as a writer. Claims the book provides a self-examination of his position in the realm of letters, expressing his anxiety about working in both the fields of polite literature and vulgar entertainment. Also reveals how an egalitarian Rousseauvian idealism becomes complicated by issues of gender and rank. Considers the book the best example of difficulties Hazlitt experiences as he negotiates boundaries of polite culture, gender, and rank. Believes Hazlitt is ill at ease with his professional identity as a writer, and thus a study of his career provides an opportunity to reassess the way in which Romantic literary culture is defined against the vulgar and the popular.