Conrad's 'Heart of darkness' and contemporary thought : revisiting the horror with Lacoue-Labarthe

With its innovative narrative structure and its controversial explorations of race, gender and empire, Joseph Conrad's __Heart of Darkness__ is a landmark of 20th century literature that continues to resonate to this day. This book brings together leading scholars to explore the full range of contemporary philosophical and critical responses to the text.**__Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' and Contemporary Thought__ includes the first publication in English of philosopher Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe's 2007 essay, "The Horror of the West", described by J. Hillis Miller as "a major essay on Conrad's novel, one of the best ever written". In the company of Lacoue-Labarthe, leading scholars explore new readings of Conrad's text from a full range of theoretical perspectives, including deconstructive, psychoanalytic, feminist and postcolonial approaches. Drawing on the very latest insights of contemporary thought, this is an essential study of one of the most important literary texts of the 20th century.** Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 9 Preface 10 Notes 12 Introduction: ‘An emotion of thought’ 14 Encounters 14 The moon and the halo 16 The chorus 21 Notes 28 Prologue: Revisiting ‘Heart of Darkness Revisited’ (in the company of Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe) 30 Notes 45 Part 1: Mythic Darkness 50 Chapter 1: Heart of Darkness revisited 52 Notes 67 Chapter 2: Modernism, myth and Heart of Darkness 68 Notes 79 Chapter 3: Civilization and its darkness 80 Degeneration 81 Perversion 83 Primeval density 85 The metaphysics of oblivion 89 Notes 97 Part 2: Conrad avec Lacoue-Labarthe 100 Chapter 4: A frame for ‘The Horror of the West’ 102 Philosopher-poet 103 Framing the frame 105 Mythic mimesis 111 Western barbarity 114 Notes 118 Chapter 5: The horror of the West 124 Notes 133 Chapter 6: Philippe’s lessons of darkness 136 The darkness of a sacrificial heart 137 Coda: The darkness at the heart of genocide 146 Notes 153 Part 3: The Affect of Ideology 156 Chapter 7: La lettre, Lacan, Lacoue-Labarthe: Heart of Darkness redux1 158 Social organization 161 Family romance 168 Notes 174 Chapter 8: The voice of darkness 177 The textual voice as literary artefact 178 Pardon my French: The linguistic conundrum as textual voice 182 Ideological darkness versus textual voice 187 Notes 191 Chapter 9: The horror of trauma: Mourning or melancholia in Heart of Darkness? 194 Affective politics: Kurtz’s myth and Marlow’s response 197 The assertion of melancholia 202 Notes 209 Part 4: The Echo of the Horror 212 Chapter 10: Conrad’s Dionysian elegy 214 Notes 232 Chapter 11: Sounding the hollow heart of the West: X-rays and the technique de la mort1 234 Body politics and the heart of the matter 238 Seeing through colonialism 243 The hollow body: Kurtz, Marlow and co. 244 Notes 249 Chapter 12: The horror of mimesis: Echoing Lacoue-Labarthe1 252 The mimetic frame 253 Mimetic sexism and colonial ideology 256 The racist pathos of mimetic rhetoric 259 The barbarity of mimesis 264 Notes 270 Postface: A talk with Avital Ronell (about Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe)1 273 Notes 281 Bibliography 282 Index 294 Here, Leading Scholars, Including Philippe Lacoue-labarthe, J. Hillis Miller, And Jonathan Dollimore, Explore New Philosophical Perspectives On Joseph Conrad's Masterpiece, 'heart Of Darkness'. Introduction: 'an Emotion Of Thought' / Nidesh Lawtoo -- Prologue: Revisiting 'heart Of Darkness Revisited' (in The Company Of Philippe Lacoue-labarthe) / J. Hillis Miller -- Heart Of Darkness Revisited / J. Hillis Miller -- Modernism, Myth And Heart Of Darkness / Michael Bell -- Civilization And Its Darkness / Jonathan Dollimore -- A Frame For 'the Horror Of The West' / Nidesh Lawtoo -- The Horror Of The West / Philippe Lacoue-labarthe -- Philippe's Lessons Of Darkness / François Warin -- La Lettre, Lacon, And Lacoue-labarthe: Heart Of Darkness Redux / Stephen Ross -- The Voice Of Darkness / Claude Maisonnat -- The Horror Of Trauma: Mourning Or Melancholia In Heart Of Darkness? / Beth S. Ash -- Conrad's Dionysian Elegy / Henry Staten -- Sounding The Hollow Heart Of The West: X-rays And The Technique De La Mort / Martine Hennard Dutheil De La Rochére -- The Horror Of Mimesis: Echoing Lacoue-labarthe / Nidesh Lawtoo -- Postface: A Talk With Avital Ronell (about Philippe Lacoue-labarthe). Edited By Nidesh Lawtoo. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Content: Acknowledgements Preface, Anne Luyat Introduction: 'An Emotion of Thought', Nidesh Lawtoo Prologue: Revisiting 'Heart of Darkness Revisited' (in the Company of Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe), J. Hillis Miller Part I: Mythic Darkness 1. Heart of Darkness Revisited, J. Hillis Miller 2. Modernism, Myth and Heart of Darkness, Michael Bell 3. Civilization and its Darkness, Jonathan Dollimore Part II: Conrad avec Lacoue-Labarthe 4. A Frame for 'The Horror of the West, Nidesh Lawtoo 5. The Horror of the West, Philippe Lacou-Labarthe 6. Philippe's Lessons of Darkness, Fran ois Warin Part III: The Affect of Ideology 7. "La lettre , Lacan, Lacoue-Labarthe: Heart of Darkness redux, Stephen Ross 8.The Voice of Darkness, Claude Maissonat 9. The Horror of Trauma: Mourning or melancholia in Heart of Darkness, Beth S. Ash Part IV: The Echo of the Horror 10. Conrad's Dionysian Elegy, Henry Staten 11. Sounding the Hollow Heart of the West: X-Rays and the technique de la mort, Martine Hennard Dutheil de la Roch re 12. The Horror of Mimesis: Echoing Lacoue-Labarthe, Nidesh Lawtoo Postface: A talk with Avital Ronell (about Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe) Bibliography Index. "With its innovative narrative structure and its controversial explorations of race, gender and empire, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is a landmark of 20th century literature that continues to resonate to this day. This book brings together leading scholars to explore the full range of contemporary philosophical and critical responses to the text. Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Contemporary Thought includes the first publication in English of philosopher Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe's essay, 'The Horror of the West', described by J. Hillis Miller as 'a major essay on Conrad's novel, one of the best ever written'. In the company of Lacoue-Labarthe, leading scholars explore new readings of Conrad's text from a full range of theoretical perspectives, including deconstructive, psychoanalytic, narratological and postcolonial approaches. Drawing on the very latest insights of contemporary thought, this is an essential study of one of the most important literary texts of the 20th century."--Bloomsbury Publishing. With its innovative narrative structure and its controversial explorations of race, gender and empire, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is a landmark of 20th century literature that continues to resonate to this day. This book brings together leading scholars to explore the full range of contemporary philosophical and critical responses to the text. Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' and Contemporary Thought includes the first publication in English of philosopher Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe's 2007 essay, "The Horror of the West", described by J. Hillis Miller as "a major essay on Conrad's novel, one of the best ever written". In the company of Lacoue-Labarthe, leading scholars explore new readings of Conrad's text from a full range of theoretical perspectives, including deconstructive, psychoanalytic, feminist and postcolonial approaches. Drawing on the very latest insights of contemporary thought, this is an essential study of one of the most important literary texts of the 20th century.