The Calcutta Chromosome

Volume 1 thus ends with a discussion of morality, from models of civic virtue (and vice) to Christian prescriptions and prohibitions.

The important question is not whether they should be encouraged or prohibited but whether the choice to engage in such a relationship should be protected or precluded. Abramson argues ringingly that our freedom to make choices–to worship, make a political speech, or fall in love–is fundamental. Rules forbidding faculty-student romances are not only unconstitutional but set dangerous precedents for further intrusion into rights of privacy and conscience.

Together, these formulations urge us to rethink our views of Victorian political economy and gender as they pertain to mystical and religious practices.

In early modern culture and in Milton’s poetry and prose, this book argues, the concept of hope is intrinsically connected with place and land.