SOURCE: Hundert, E. J., and Paul Nelles. “Liberty and Theatrical Space in Montesquieu's Political Theory: The Poetics of Public Life in the Persian Letters,” Political Theory 17, 2 (1989): 223-46.
In this essay, Hundert and Nelles support the argument advanced by Judith Shklar that Montesquieu describes liberty as requiring a theatrical public sphere, adding that the Persian Letters reflect Montesquieu's earlier explorations of this idea. The authors focus on the structure and genre of the novel to demonstrate how Montesquieu uses the unusual form of the epistolary novel to advance his political philosophy.
This is a free excerpt of 92 words. There are 9,883 words (approx.
33 pages at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our Montesquieu: Critical Essay by E. J. Hundert and Paul Nelles Access Pass.
