Within art, society, culture, philosophy, literature and many other spheres, a constant issue being dealt with is that of sin. Reevaluation of this concept has proceeded down varied stimulating paths in relation to the multidisciplinary appraisal, although philosophical aesthetic and epistemic emphases commonly reflect issues present in literature. In certain instances, texts clearly refer to sin, while in other it is more of an ambiguous and obscured notion. Alongside the established understanding of sin, discourse, poetry and novels have responded to sin variously, due to the blossoming of ideas. French, American and British literature's responses to the notion of sin will be investigated through the academic studies included in this volume.

Prof Dr Paola Partenza is Associate Professor of English Literature in the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures at "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy. Among the many authors to whom she has devoted essays are William Godwin, Mary Hays, Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, Christina Georgina Rossetti, Alfred Tennyson, T. S. Eliot, Shakespeare and Andrew Marvell.