Reading Mansfield and metaphors of form / W.H. New.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

New, W. H. (William Herbert), 1938-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mansfield, Katherine, 1888-1923--Literary style.

Mansfield, Katherine.

Mansfield, Katherine, 1888-1923--Criticism and interpretation.

English literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (238 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, 1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Taking an innovative approach to criticism, Reading Mansfield and Metaphors of Form demonstrates how Mansfield's stylistic practice both embodies and conveys her analysis of social and psychological trauma through a "metaphoric" use of literary form. New argues that the stories are neither simple vehicles for conveying emotional states nor neutral representations of moments in time but carefully crafted models, or correlatives, of social and psychological conditions of understanding. He elucidates a number of formal strategies, such as sequence, reversal, negation, repetition, deferral, and reconstruction, and then applies them to a wide range of Mansfield's stories, including such favorites as "Prelude," "The Voyage," "The Little Governess," and "Je ne parle pas français." Drawing on a range of writings in contemporary postcolonial, narratological, and gender theory, Reading Mansfield and Metaphors of Form leads to a new appreciation of the implications of Mansfield's formal craft. The book, written in a lively and readily accessible style, is at once an exemplary demonstration of the intricate process of critical reading and an intelligent and innovative reassessment of Mansfield's literary significance.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Preface: Who’s Been Reading Katherine Mansfield?

Acknowledgments

A Note on Sources

Reading Mansfield

Canon, Colony, and Critical Expectation

Reading and Writing

Reading Reading

In the Act of Writing: Manuscript Practice

A Catalogue of Forms

Metaphors of Form

Reading for Form

Reiteration: Stories of Static Action

Overturns: Stories of Deferral

After and Before: The Epilogues and “Prelude”

The Art of Reconstruction: Reading “The Escape”

Notes

Works Cited

Index

Permissions

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-282-85532-8

9786612855320

0-7735-6747-X

OCLC:

181843736