The horse in literature and film : uncovering a transcultural paradigm / by Francisco LaRubia-Prado.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

LaRubia-Prado, Francisco, author.

Contributor:

Bloomsbury (Firm), publisher.

Series:

Ecocritical theory and practice.

Ecocritical theory and practice

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Horses in literature.

Horses in motion pictures.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (291 pages).

Distribution:

New York : Bloomsbury Publishing (US), 2025.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Lexington Books, [2017]

Summary:

Horses serve as central characters in great literary works that span ages and cultures. But why? In The Horse in Literature and Film: Uncovering a Transcultural Paradigm, Francisco LaRubia-Prado, Ph.D. explores the deep symbolic meaning, cultural significance, and projective power that these magnificent animals carry in literature, film, and the human psyche. Examining iconic texts and films from the Middle Ages to the present-and from Western and Eastern cultural traditions-this book reveals how horses, as timeless symbols of nature, bring harmony to unbalanced situations. Regardless of how disrupted human lives become, whether through the suffering caused by the atrocities of war, or the wrestling of individuals and society with issues of authenticity, horses offer an antidote firmly rooted in nature. The Horse in Literature and Film is a book for our time. After an introduction to the field of animal studies, it analyzes celebrated works by authors and film directors such as Leo Tolstoy, Heinrich von Kleist, D.H. Lawrence, Akira Kurosawa, John Huston, Girish Karnad, Michael Morpurgo, and Benedikt Erlingsson. Exploring issues such as power, the boundaries between justice and the law, the meaning of love and home, the significance of cultural belonging, and the consequences of misguided nationalism, this book demonstrates the far-reaching consequences of human disconnection from nature, and the role of the horse in individual and societal healing.

Contents:

Introduction: The Horse Paradigm

Everyday Life and Its Disruptions. Germany. Horses at the Frontier: Heinrich von Kleist's Michael Kohlhaas

Russia. Horse and Nature: Leo Tolstoy's Kholstomer [Strider]

Iceland. Saga Horses: Benedikt Erlingsson's Hross í oss [Of Horses and Men]

War and Peace. Spain. Horses as Gift: Cantar de Mio Cid [Poem of the Cid]

Japan. Horses as the Real: Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha [The Shadow Warrior]

Children and Young Adult Literature: Peace Horse, War Horse, Novel by Michael Morpurgo; Play by Nick Stafford

Authenticity and Inauthenticity. England. Alchemical Horse: D.H. Lawrence's St. Mawr

USA. Horse as Home: The Misfits, Film by John Huston; Script by Arthur Miller

India. Postcolonial Horse: Girish Karnad's Hayavadana [Head of a Horse]

Conclusion: Horse Balance.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

979-88-8188-302-7

1-9787-3665-7

1-4985-3492-9

OCLC:

1003132310