Life in the Iron-Mills (1861) by Rebecca Harding Davis is a very early example of American fiction that depicts the living and working conditions in a mill town. Although the novella advocates for workers, it does not accurately depict contemporaneous working-class culture. Davis depicts workers as isolated and helpless in the face of the forces that oppress them rather than giving voice to the workers’ movement of her time. Although Davis depicts workers in a debased state, the text’s narrator holds out hope of the “Dawn,” suggesting a revolutionary movement. Because the narrator offers no interpretation regarding how the working class might step into this light, the narrator’s proffered hope actually undermines the revolutionary potential it promises.
","abstract_html":"<p><em>Life in the Iron-Mills </em>(1861) by Rebecca Harding Davis is a very early example of American fiction that depicts the living and working conditions in a mill town. Although the novella advocates for workers, it does not accurately depict contemporaneous working-class culture. Davis depicts workers as isolated and helpless in the face of the forces that oppress them rather than giving voice to the workers’ movement of her time. Although Davis depicts workers in a debased state, the text’s narrator holds out hope of the “Dawn,” suggesting a revolutionary movement. Because the narrator offers no interpretation regarding how the working class might step into this light, the narrator’s proffered hope actually undermines the revolutionary potential it promises.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Collins, Thomas"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Carla Cappetti","Daniel Gustafson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:21Z","subjects":["Rebecca Harding Davis","Life in the Iron-Mills","working-class literature","revolution","reform","spontaneism","Literature in English, North America"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/741","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Carla Cappetti","Daniel Gustafson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Collins, Thomas"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-05-04T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Rebecca Harding Davis","Life in the Iron-Mills","working-class literature","revolution","reform","spontaneism","Literature in English, North America"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/741"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Life in the Iron-Mills (1861) by Rebecca Harding Davis is a very early example of American fiction that depicts the living and working conditions in a mill town. Although the novella advocates for workers, it does not accurately depict contemporaneous working-class culture. Davis depicts workers as isolated and helpless in the face of the forces that oppress them rather than giving voice to the workers’ movement of her time. Although Davis depicts workers in a debased state, the text’s narrator holds out hope of the “Dawn,” suggesting a revolutionary movement. Because the narrator offers no interpretation regarding how the working class might step into this light, the narrator’s proffered hope actually undermines the revolutionary potential it promises.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Revolution, Reform, and Class Conflict in Rebecca Harding Davis’s Life in the Iron-Mills"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Carla Cappetti","Daniel Gustafson"],"dc:creator":["Collins, Thomas"],"dc:date.available":["2024-05-04T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Life in the Iron-Mills (1861) by Rebecca Harding Davis is a very early example of American fiction that depicts the living and working conditions in a mill town. Although the novella advocates for workers, it does not accurately depict contemporaneous working-class culture. Davis depicts workers as isolated and helpless in the face of the forces that oppress them rather than giving voice to the workers’ movement of her time. Although Davis depicts workers in a debased state, the text’s narrator holds out hope of the “Dawn,” suggesting a revolutionary movement. Because the narrator offers no interpretation regarding how the working class might step into this light, the narrator’s proffered hope actually undermines the revolutionary potential it promises.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/741"],"dc:subject":["Rebecca Harding Davis","Life in the Iron-Mills","working-class literature","revolution","reform","spontaneism","Literature in English, North America"],"dc:title":["Revolution, Reform, and Class Conflict in Rebecca Harding Davis’s Life in the Iron-Mills"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:21Z"}