Shreds of Matter: Cormac McCarthy and the Concept of Nature (Re-Mapping the Transnational: A Dartmouth Series in American Studies)

Shreds of Matter: Cormac McCarthy and the Concept of Nature offers a nuanced and innovative take on McCarthy’s ostensible localism and, along with it, the ecocentric perspective on the world that is assumed by most critics. In opposing the standard interpretations of McCarthy’s novels as critical either of persisting American ideologies―such as manifest destiny and imperialism―or of the ways in which humanity has laid waste to planet Earth, Greve instead emphasizes the author’s interest both in the history of science and in the mythographical developments of religious discourse. Greve aims to counter traditional interpretations of McCarthy’s work and at the same time acknowledge their partial truth, taking into account the work of Friedrich W. J. Schelling and Lorenz Oken, contemporary speculative realism, and Bertrand Westphal’s geocriticism. Further, newly discovered archival material sheds light on McCarthy’s immersion in the metaphysical question par excellence: What is nature? "Julius Greve offers a nuanced and innovative take on the writer's ostensible localism and the ecocentric perspective on the world that is assumed by most critics. In opposing both the standard interpretations of McCarthy's novels as either critical of persisting American ideologies--manifest destiny and imperialism--or of the ways in which humanity has wasted Planet Earth, Greve emphasizes the author's interest in the history of science and in the mythographical developments of religious discourse." -- Provided by publisher Cover Title Page Table of Contents Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction | Cormac McCarthy’s Concept of Nature 1 | “Trailing the Cord” 2 | “Shreds of Matter” 3 | "Cloaca Maxima” 4 | “Another Kind of Clay” 5 | “Malignant Life” 6 | “The Ashes of Its Ruin” Conclusion | Naturphilosophie and the Literature of Nature Notes Bibliography Index