The nets of modernism : Henry James, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and Sigmund Freud

One of the finest literary critics of her generation, Maud Ellmann synthesises her work on modernism, psychoanalysis and Irish literature in this important new book. In sinuous readings of Henry James, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, she examines the interconnections between developing technological networks in modernity and the structures of modernist fiction, linking both to Freudian psychoanalysis. The Nets of Modernism examines the significance of images of bodily violation and exchange - scar, bite, wound, and their psychic equivalents - showing how these images correspond to 'vampirism' and related obsessions in early twentieth-century culture. Subtle, original and a pleasure to read, this 2010 book offers a fresh perspective on the inter-implications of Freudian psychoanalysis and Anglophone modernism that will influence the field for years to come. "One of the finest literary critics of her generation, Maud Ellmann synthesises her work on modernism, psychoanalysis and Irish literature in this important new book. In sinuous readings of Henry James, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, she examines the interconnections between developing technological networks in modernity and the structures of modernist fiction, linking both to Freudian psychoanalysis. The Nets of Modernism examines the significance of images of bodily violation and exchange - scar, bite, wound, and their psychic equivalents - showing how these images correspond to 'vampirism' and related obsessions in early twentieth-century culture. Subtle, original and a pleasure to read, this book offers a new perspective on the inter-implications of Freudian psychoanalysis and Anglophone modernism that will influence the field for years to come"-- Provided by publisher

One of the finest literary critics of her generation, Maud Ellmann synthesises her work on modernism, psychoanalysis and Irish literature in this important new book. In sinuous readings of Henry James, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, she examines the interconnections between developing technological networks in modernity and the structures of modernist fiction, linking both to Freudian psychoanalysis. The Nets of Modernism examines the significance of images of bodily violation and exchange – scar, bite, wound, and their psychic equivalents – showing how these images correspond to ‘vampirism' and related obsessions in early twentieth-century culture. Subtle, original and a pleasure to read, this book offers a new perspective on the inter-implications of Freudian psychoanalysis and Anglophone modernism that will influence the field for years to come.

Cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 2 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 9 List of abbreviations......Page 11 1 - Introduction: what hole?......Page 14 2 - The modernist rat......Page 27 3 - Strandentwining cables: Henry James's The Ambassadors......Page 48 4 - The Woolf woman......Page 75 5 - The darkened blind: Joyce, Gide, Larsen, and the modernist short story......Page 106 6 - The name and the scar: identity in The Odyssey and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man......Page 142 7 - Skinscapes in Ulysses......Page 164 Afterword......Page 180 Notes......Page 184 Bibliography......Page 219 Index......Page 246 Cover 1 Frontmatter 2 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 9 List of abbreviations 11 1 - Introduction: what hole? 14 2 - The modernist rat 27 3 - Strandentwining cables: Henry James's The Ambassadors 48 4 - The Woolf woman 75 5 - The darkened blind: Joyce, Gide, Larsen, and the modernist short story 106 6 - The name and the scar: identity in The Odyssey and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 142 7 - Skinscapes in Ulysses 164 Afterword 180 Notes 184 Bibliography 219 Index 246 9780521681094