J
oseph Conrad: Voice, Sequence, History, Genre 1) that narrative theory, and especially some of its more recent developments, can help critics generate greater insight into the complexities of Conrad’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 Conrad’s fiction and nonfiction, from early work such as An Outcast of the Islands to his late work of reminiscence, A Personal Record. The volume also provides multiple perspectives on major works such as Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim, a cluster of three essays on Nostromo and 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 Conrad’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 (
"The collection features truly first-rate essays and offers a remarkable and productive combination of traditional and experimental approaches. Joseph Conrad: Voice, Sequence, History, Genre, promises to provoke a real change in the way narrative theorists engage Conrad, and in the way readers of Conrad engage narrative theory." —Christopher GoGwilt, professor of English & comparative literature, Fordham University
Works of Joseph Conrad Discussed in This Book ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction Joseph Conrad and Narrative Theory Jakob Lothe Jeremy Hawthorn James Phelan 1
Part I Voice
Chapter 1 The Personal Voice in Conrad's Fiction Zdzislaw Najder 23
Chapter 2 "'I affirm nothing'": Lord Jim and the Uses of Textual Recalcitrance James Phelan 41
Chapter 3 "To make you see": Narration and Focalization in Under Western Eyes Gail Fincham 60
Part II Sequence
Chapter 4 Life Sentences: Linearity and Its Discontents in Joseph Conrad's An Outcast of the Islands Jeremy Hawthorn 83
Chapter 5 "She walked with measured steps": Physical and Narrative Movement in Heart of Darkness Susan Jones 100
Chapter 6 Motion That Stands Still: The Conradian Flash of Insight Josiane Paccaud-Huguet 118
Part III History
Chapter 7 The Nigger of the "Narcissus": History, Narrative, and Nationalism Allan H. Simmons 141
Chapter 8 "Material Interests": Conrad's Nostromo as a Critique of Global Capitalism J. Hillis Miller 160
Chapter 9 Nostromo and the Writing of History Daphna Erdinast-Vulcan 178
Chapter 10 Time, History, Narrative in Nostromo Christophe Robin 196
Part IV Genre
Chapter 11 Narrating Identity in A Personal Record J. H. Stape 217
Chapter 12 Conrad's Lord Jim: Narrative and Genre Jakob Lothe 236
Afterword Jakob Lothe Jeremy Hawthorn James Phelan 257
Contributors 263
Index 267
Overview
J
oseph Conrad: Voice, Sequence, History, Genre 1) that narrative theory, and especially some of its more recent developments, can help critics generate greater insight into the complexities of Conrad’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 ...