A Political Genealogy of Joseph Conrad

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, European, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book A Political Genealogy of Joseph Conrad by Richard Ruppel, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Richard Ruppel ISBN: 9780739178256
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: December 11, 2014
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Richard Ruppel
ISBN: 9780739178256
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: December 11, 2014
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, who gradually transformed himself into the English writer, Joseph Conrad, was a mercurial personality. He left Poland for the sea, though he had no experience with salt water. He left the Polish language for French, and then for English. He attempted suicide at the age of twenty. He invested in various schemes and lost his inheritance. He married an English typist nearly sixteen years younger than himself with whom he had nothing in common. He worked as a writer though he made no money through all the years of his most important work and though he experienced terrible psychological breakdowns after completing each novel. He was warm with his friends, ingratiating with influential strangers, but also intensely irritable and easily offended.

His work is as varied and changeable as his personality, from his first two, emotionally intense Malay novels, to the stolid and confident Nigger of the “Narcissus” and “Typhoon”; from the coldly ironic “Outpost of Progress” to the nightmarishly subjective Heart of Darkness; from the leisurely, panoramic visions of Nostromo to the tautly nervous, claustrophobic ironies in The Secret Agent.

Despite the extraordinary thematic and tonal range of his work, critics have imposed a stable political perspective on his fiction—most often an organic conservatism, influenced by his Polish background. This is understandable; until recently, a critic’s role has been to impose order on an artist’s creations.

The approach in this book is different. Drawing on the work of Michel Foucault and Jean-Francois Lyotard, especially on the latter’s critique of what he called “the grand narrative,” A Political Genealogy of Joseph Conrad shows how Conrad’s politics were always radically contingent on audience, contemporary events, and, especially, genre. While the political perspective in each of his stories and novels may be more-or-less coherent and consistent, there is no consistency throughout his work.

A Political Genealogy of Joseph Conrad is the first book devoted exclusively to Conrad’s politics since the 1960s.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, who gradually transformed himself into the English writer, Joseph Conrad, was a mercurial personality. He left Poland for the sea, though he had no experience with salt water. He left the Polish language for French, and then for English. He attempted suicide at the age of twenty. He invested in various schemes and lost his inheritance. He married an English typist nearly sixteen years younger than himself with whom he had nothing in common. He worked as a writer though he made no money through all the years of his most important work and though he experienced terrible psychological breakdowns after completing each novel. He was warm with his friends, ingratiating with influential strangers, but also intensely irritable and easily offended.

His work is as varied and changeable as his personality, from his first two, emotionally intense Malay novels, to the stolid and confident Nigger of the “Narcissus” and “Typhoon”; from the coldly ironic “Outpost of Progress” to the nightmarishly subjective Heart of Darkness; from the leisurely, panoramic visions of Nostromo to the tautly nervous, claustrophobic ironies in The Secret Agent.

Despite the extraordinary thematic and tonal range of his work, critics have imposed a stable political perspective on his fiction—most often an organic conservatism, influenced by his Polish background. This is understandable; until recently, a critic’s role has been to impose order on an artist’s creations.

The approach in this book is different. Drawing on the work of Michel Foucault and Jean-Francois Lyotard, especially on the latter’s critique of what he called “the grand narrative,” A Political Genealogy of Joseph Conrad shows how Conrad’s politics were always radically contingent on audience, contemporary events, and, especially, genre. While the political perspective in each of his stories and novels may be more-or-less coherent and consistent, there is no consistency throughout his work.

A Political Genealogy of Joseph Conrad is the first book devoted exclusively to Conrad’s politics since the 1960s.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Textual Layering by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book Paul Ricoeur and the Task of Political Philosophy by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book Student Resistance to Apartheid at the University of Fort Hare by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book Image of U.S. Presidential Administrations by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book Domination and Subordination as a Social Organization Principle in Georg Simmel's Soziologie by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book Legacies of Totalitarian Language in the Discourse Culture of the Post-Totalitarian Era by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book Turkey and the European Union by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book Romanticism and Postromanticism by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book Anthropology of Los Angeles by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book The Obama Doctrine in the Americas by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book The Eisenhower Presidency by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book An Education in Sexuality and Sociality by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book The Making of Hmong America by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book Identity, Rights, and Awareness by Richard Ruppel
Cover of the book The Free Market and the Human Condition by Richard Ruppel
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy