Thomas Carlyle’s Conception of Transcendentalism in Sartor Resartus and Its Application to Theorizing Postliberalism

Abstract

Sartor Resartus as Fiction and Non-Fiction Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus can be engaged and applied as a work of political philosophy. As satirical fiction, it has been ignored for its serious and normative implications. That Carlyle employs satire as a vehicle to construct and communicate philosophical conclusions should neither obscure nor detract from the practical significance of such conclusions. There is no singular and definitive interpretation of the meaning of Sartor Resartus in its totality, largely due to the question of irony surrounding its plot structure. Janice L. Haney acknowledges that there is a “problem,” which is not clearly resolvable, as to how to read Sartor Resartus’s “ironic surface,” especially since Carlyle uses multiple levels of fiction and the text has a fragmented style.1 Gerry H. Brookes argues that irony is a rhetorical device that Carlyle employs to convince the reader of the truth of transcendentalism.2 Albert J. LaValley maintains that the irony in Sartor Resartus articulates a pessimism with respect to humanity’s philosophical prospects, and thus a lack of affirmation of transcendentalism.3