SHORT STORIES, KNOWLEDGE AND THE SUPERNATURAL : machado de assis, henry james and guy de... maupassant

This book proposes a comparative approach to the supernatural short stories of Machado de Assis, Henry James and Guy de Maupassant. It offers an alternative to predominantly novel-centric and Anglo-centric perspectives on literary pre-modernism by investigating a transnational and multilingual connection between genre, theme and theory, i.e., between the modern short story, the supernatural and the problem of knowledge. Incorporating a close analysis of the literary texts into a discussion of their historical context, the book argues that Machado, James and Maupassant explore and reinvent the supernatural short story as a metafictional genre. This modernized and innovative form allows them to challenge the dichotomies and conventions of realist and supernatural fiction, inviting their past and present readers to question common assumptions on reality and literary representation. Amandio Reis is a Research Fellow and member of the Centre for Comparative Studies at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. He is the editor-in-chief of Compendium: Journal of Comparative Studies. He has taught comparative literature, Romantic poetry and painting, and contemporary and late nineteenth-century short fiction. His work is mostly focused on narrative theory, comparative literature, and interarts studies, with a special focus on the late nineteenth century and transatlantic modernisms Acknowledgments Prefatory Note Contents Chapter 1: Introduction: Mapping the Transatlantic Supernatural Story 1.1 A Turning Point: The Short Story in the Late Nineteenth Century 1.2 The Modern Supernatural Story 1.3 Machado, James, Maupassant: A Comparative Perspective 1.4 Knowing (in) the Short Story References Works of Guy de Maupassant Works of Criticism Other Works Untitled Untitled Chapter 2: Machado de Assis and the Doors of Fiction 2.1 The French, the Brazilian, and the Tropics 2.2 Todorov, the Literary Fantastic, and the Supernatural 2.3 Three Knocks on the Door 2.4 The Secret Beyond the Door 2.5 Actual Dreams 2.6 Mad Copies Versus Mad Originals 2.7 Matrimonial Horror 2.8 New Endings Make New Beginnings References Works of Machado de Assis Works of Criticism Other Works Untitled Chapter 3: Henry James, from Ghost Stories to Ghost Texts 3.1 Series, Collections, and Stories 3.2 The Long and the Short of It 3.3 Ghosts and Ghosts: Difference and Repetition 3.4 Texts and Testaments 3.5 Writing as Haunting 3.6 From Ghost Stories to Ghost Texts 3.7 “The Malignant Heart of Any Story” 3.8 Apparitions and Disappearances References Works of Henry James Works of Criticism Other Works Untitled Chapter 4: Guy de Maupassant: Doubt, Dogma, and the Dead 4.1 “The Wise Man Says: Perhaps?” 4.2 The Horla Cycle 4.3 Realism Revisited 4.4 The Reanimation Plot 4.5 “Beside Schopenhauer’s Corpse” 4.6 Beasts with Five Fingers 4.7 A Lock of Hair Locked in a Text 4.8 Writing Back to Life 4.9 Writing Into Death References Works of Henry James Works of Guy de Maupassant Works of Criticism Other Works Chapter 5: Conclusion: The Metaliterary Supernatural Story 5.1 Losses, Gains, and Counterfeit Coins 5.2 The Reality of the Short Story 5.3 Fictions of the Unknown References Works of Machado de Assis Works of Henry James Works of Criticism Other Works References Works of Machado de Assis Works of Henry James Works of Guy de Maupassant Works of Criticism Other Works Index