Reading The Text That Isn't There: Paranoia In The Nineteenth-century Novel (literary Criticism And Cultural Theory)

Through a careful examination of the work of the canonical nineteenth-century novelists, Mike Davis traces conspiracies and conspiratorial fantasy from one narrative site to another. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 2 Copyright......Page 3 Dedication......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Acknowledgments......Page 6 Introduction......Page 7 A SURVEY OF TERMS......Page 9 MORE RATIONAL THAN REASON ITSELF......Page 13 THE ARCHITECTONICS OF ENLIGHTENMENT: GOTHIC STRUCTURES AND PANOPTICONS......Page 15 OTHER ORDERS BEHIND THE VISIBLE......Page 19 THE REVISIONARY TRAJECTORY......Page 21 WHERE TO BEGIN......Page 24 V-LAND, WE-LAND, VY-LAND, WHY-LAND?......Page 25 A MATTER OF CONTEXT......Page 27 UNDERWRITING/OVERREADING......Page 29 IS THERE SUCH A THING AS HYSTERICAL SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION?......Page 31 SHOULD WE BELIEVE HER (EVEN IF SHE ASKS US NOT TO)?......Page 35 TRIAL (& TRIAL) & ERROR (& ERROR & TRIAL)......Page 36 LOOSE ENDS OF A MANGLED TALE......Page 39 STRUCTURAL LITERARY NATIONALISM......Page 45 HAWTHORNE REVISING HAWTHORNE......Page 48 A COMMON THREAD......Page 49 A CONSPIRACY OF IMITATIONS......Page 50 IMITATION OF ROMANCE......Page 57 IMPLICATIONS OF IMITATION......Page 60 RECONSIDERING GABLES AS A MURDER MYSTERY......Page 65 IMITATION OF CONSPIRACY......Page 68 CONCLUSIONS......Page 71 IMPLICATIONS ABOUT THE IMPLIED READER......Page 72 THINGS AND WHAT THEY ARE CALLED......Page 73 AT FIRST GLANCE: BENITO CERENO......Page 74 AT FIRST GLANCE: THE SAN DOMINICK......Page 76 THINGS TAKEN PERSONALLY......Page 80 CONSPIRACY......Page 85 DELANO’S MOTIVES......Page 90 THE READER’S MOTIVES......Page 92 CONCLUSIONS......Page 96 TAKING HUMOR SERIOUSLY—AN INTRODUCTION......Page 98 THE PARTICULARS OF THE CASE......Page 100 SITUATING THE PARTICULARS OF THE CASE......Page 102 SCRUTINIZING THE ESOPHAGUS: DETECTION......Page 107 SCRUTINIZING THE ESOPHAGUS: HAPLESS HOAXES......Page 108 SCRUTINIZING THE ESOPHAGUS: EXTRA-TEXTUAL PERSECUTION......Page 113 SCRUTINIZING THE ESOPHAGUS: TWAIN’S READERSHIP......Page 116 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ESOPHAGUS......Page 118 TWAIN’S HISTORY OF PRACTICAL JOKES (AND HIS PRACTICAL JOKE OF HISTORY)......Page 121 HANK AND JOAN AND MARK......Page 125 ABANDONING THE ESOPHAGUS......Page 131 CLOSING THOUGHTS......Page 133 Notes......Page 136 Bibliography......Page 167 Index......Page 173 Introduction : The Gothic Logic Of Paranoia -- Wieland's Transformations : The Problem Of Closure In The Opening American Novel -- Hidden Significance : The Marble Faun As Post Script To Seven Gables -- Rhetorical Razors : Lurking Significance In The Vexatious Coincidence Of Benito Cereno -- Literary Cloaks, Practical Jokes, And The Esophagus Hoax : Concealment, Conspiracy, And The Contrivance Of History In Twain. Mike Davis. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 141-182) And Index.