Narrative con/texts in Dubliners
By: Bernard Benstock.
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Urbana
Language: eng
Number of pages: 171
Subjects: Joyce, James, 1882-1941; Narration (Rhetoric) -- History -- 20th century; Dublin (Ireland) in literature
Other titles: Narrative contexts in Dubliners.
Description: The harvest of a long and deep acquaintance with Joyce's fifteen enigmatic stories of Dublin life, Narrative Con/Texts in "Dubliners" creatively widens the definition of "context" to include networks of theme and symbol. By treating Dubliners as an expanding document of lives in the process of being lived and by paying attention to how the boundaries between stories break down, Benstock is able to notice how characters and situations come uncannily to resemble each other. There are several innovative approaches here (for example, the thorough inspection of the economic conditions of Joyce's Dublin, down to the halfpenny) as well as new twists on established ideas. Benstock attempts a global, integrated reading of the stories, substituting his more holistic "con/texts" for the current fashion of context-hunting. His is an old ambition (for full coverage) in a new, upbeat format.
Notes: Includes index.