Journal Article

Dickens's Reality Show: Chromophobia in American Notes

Orestano, Francesca

2025

Overview

This article originates from the Dickens Seminar, traditionally a feature of the biennial ESSE-European Society for the Study of English-Conference, which was held in 2022 at the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany. The Dickens Seminar, jointly chaired by Matthias Bauer, Angelika Zirker (both Tubingen University), and Nathalie Vanfasse (Aix-Marseille University) focused on \"Dickens and / in Colour.\" Hence the notion of chromophobia deployed in this article, a notion applied to a Dickensian text in which colour and its uses play a paramount role of remarkable importance. The text is American Notes: For General Circulation (1842), generally considered a travelogue, an account of Charles Dickens's experiences when travelling across the United States. As a travelogue, American Notes should obey the laws of descriptive realism, but a close analysis of the text suggests that Dickens places a special emphasis on the use of colour which tends to create descriptive effects that bypass the accuracy of realistic description. Colours in the United States are either heightened to a maximum degree of saturation, or diluted to a wholly discoloured state. The transition between colour and non-colour is best described by David Batchelor in his study of chromophobia, a notion which illuminates the discursive meanings embedded in the Dickensian text, helping unveil his strategy of conveying disappointment and disgust for things American.

• Publisher: The Connotations Society for Critical Debate / Waxmann Verlag GmbH
• Subject: Dickens, Charles / Forster, John / Harris, Ed / Reality television programs