Joseph Conrad

by Lothe, Jakob; Hawthorn, Jeremy; Phelan, James

• ISBN13: 9780814210765
• ISBN10: 0814210767
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-02-22
• Publisher: Ohio State Univ Pr

Summary

J oseph Conrad: Voice, Sequence, History, Genre1) that narrative theory, and especially some of its more recent developments, can help critics generate greater insight into the complexities of Conradrs"s work; and (2) that a rigorous engagement with Conradian narrative can lead theorists to a further honing of their analytical tools. More particularly, the volume focuses on the four narrative issues identified in the subtitle, and it analyzes examples of Conradrs"s fiction and nonfiction, from early work such asAn Outcast of the Islandsto his late work of reminiscence,A Personal Record. The volume also provides multiple perspectives on major works such asHeart of DarknessandLord Jim, a cluster of three essays onNostromoand history, and an afterword by the editors that looks ahead to future work on the interrelations of Conrad and narrative theory.brings together essays by established critics of Conrad and by leading narratologists that explore Conradrs"s innovative uses of narrative throughout his career. Collectively, these explorations by Daphna Erdinast-Vulcan, Gail Fincham, Jeremy Hawthorn, Susan Jones, Jakob Lothe, J. Hillis Miller, Zdzislaw Najder, Josiane Paccaud-Huguet, James Phelan, Christophe Robin, Allan H. Simmons, and John Stape amply demonstrate (

Author Biography

Jakob Lothe is professor of English literature in the department of literature, area studies and European languages, University of Oslo. Jeremy Hawthorn is professor of modern British literature, department of modern foreign languages at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. James Phelan is Humanities Distinguished Professor in English at The Ohio State University.

Table of Contents

Works of Joseph Conrad discussed in this book
Introduction : Joseph Conrad and narrative theory	p. 1
Voice
The personal voice in Conrad's fiction	p. 23
" 'I affirm nothing' " : Lord Jim and the uses of textual recalcitrance	p. 41
"To make you see" : narration and focalization in Under Western eyes	p. 60
Sequence
Life sentences : linearity and its discontents in Joseph Conrad's An outcast of the islands	p. 83
"She walked with measured steps" : physical and narrative movement in Heart of darkness	p. 100
Motion that stands still : the Conradian flash of insight	p. 118
History
The nigger of the "Narcissus" : history, narrative, and nationalism	p. 141
"Material interests" : Conrad's Nostromo as a critique of global capitalism	p. 160
Nostromo and the writing of history	p. 178
Time, history, narrative in Nostromo	p. 196
Genre
Narrating identity in A personal record	p. 217
Conrad's Lord Jim : narrative and genre	p. 236
Afterword	p. 257
Contributors	p. 263
Index	p. 267
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