Sentimentality was used because other political avenues....

“ Sentimentality was used because other political avenues were closed, and authors hoped that through it they could bring about a political change that would fulfill the egalitarian promises of the Revolution. Real political venues were unavailable, so fiction became a medium for authors to appeal to audiences for change. ”

Todd M. Brenneman

From : Homespun Gospel: The Triumph of Sentimentality in Contemporary American Evangelicalism