Modernist Literature: Challenging Fictions

Modernist Literature MML_PR.indd i 10/12/2006 9:27:03 AM To my students, and to Amanda and Laura MML_PR.indd ii 10/12/2006 9:27:03 AM Modernist Literature Challenging Fictions Vicki Mahaffey MML_PR.indd iii 10/12/2006 9:27:03 AM © 2007 by Vicki Mahaffey BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Vicki Mahaffey to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2007 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1 2007 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mahaffey, Vicki. Modernist literature : challenging fictions / Vicki Mahaffey. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-631-21306-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-631-21306-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-631-21307-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-631-21307-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. English fiction—20th century—History and criticism—Theory, etc. 2. American fiction—20th century—History and criticism—Theory, etc. 3. Modernism (Literature) —English-speaking countries. 4. Fiction—Appreciation—English-speaking countries. 5. Books and reading—English-speaking countries. 6. Authors and readers. 7. Reader-response criticism. I. Title. PR888.M63M35 2007 823′.91209113—dc22 2006022479 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Set in 12 on 13.5 pt Perpetua by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd, Hong Kong Printed and bound in Singapore by Markono Print Media Pte Ltd The publisher’s policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board used have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards. For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website: www.blackwellpublishing.com MML_PR.indd iv 10/12/2006 9:27:03 AM Contents Preface Acknowledgments Part I: Introduction 1 Why Read Challenging Literature? vi xx 1 3 Part II: Readings 2 Partnering: Holmes and Watson, Author and Reader, Lover and Loved, Man and Wife 3 Window Painting: The Art of Blocking Understanding 4 Watchman, What of the Night? Conclusion 73 124 169 200 Notes Bibliography Index 203 226 231 MML_PR.indd v 71 10/12/2006 9:27:19 AM Preface In James Joyce’s Ulysses, Stephen Dedalus teaches a class on Roman history and Milton’s “Lycidas” on the morning of June 16, 1904. His headmaster predicts that Stephen won’t stay long at the school, remarking that he was not born to be a