num_pages: 178
description: In the first full-length study of Joyce's direct and indirect use of alchemical allusions, DiBernard shows how an awareness of the alchemical metaphor guides a reader through the richness of Finnegans Wake. For example, the alchemical transmutation of lead into gold parallels the transmutation of the dross and commotion of ordinary life into a work of art.This study shows how the themes of Joyce's novel--death and rebirth, the conflict between physical and spiritual, incest, colors, forgery, and the reconciliation of opposites--relate to the alchemical process. The author then presents a theory, based on alchemical metaphor, on the much debated subject of Joyce's view of the artist.
language: English
title: Alchemy and Finnegans Wake
titlecomplete: Alchemy and Finnegans Wake
ratings_count: 4
publisher: State University of New York Press