Marriage, Violence and the Nation in the American Literary West

ISBN-13: 9780521816670 / Angielski / Twarda / 2002 / 274 str.

William R. Handley (University of Southern California)

Opis

William R. Handley examines literary interpretations of the Western American past. Handley asserts that although recent scholarship presents a narrative that counters optimistic frontier individualism by focusing on the victims of conquest, twentieth-century American fiction tells of intra-ethnic violence, involving marriages and families. He examines historiography and writing by Zane Grey, Willa Cather, Wallace Stegner and Joan Didion among others.

Recenzje

'William R. Handley's book demonstrates an important and fascinating argument: in twentieth century American literature, after the Native has been domesticated, scenes of white American domesticity and marriage turn violent, as Empire brings its guns home. With sophisticated analyses and fresh readings that are intelligent, lively and forceful, Handley's work will make a real difference in scholarship of the American west and in American Studies. ' Lee Mitchell, Princeton University

Spis treści

Introduction; 1. Western unions; 2. Turner's rhetorical frontier; 3. Marrying for race and nation: Wister's omniscience and omissions; 4. Polygamy and empire: Grey's distinctions; 5. Unwedded West: Cather's divides; 6. Accident and destiny: Fitzgerald's fantastic geography; 7. Promises and betrayals: Joan Didion and Wallace Stegner; Afterword; Notes; Index.