The Victorian Ghost Story and Theology : From Le Fanu to James

"This book argues that theology is central to an understanding of the literary ghost story. Victorian ghost stories have traditionally been read in the context of agnosticism -- as stories which reveal a society struggling with Christian orthodoxy in a new 'Enlightened' world. This book, however, uses theological ideas from St Augustine through to modern theologians to identify a theological journey taken by the protagonists of such stories, and charts each stage of this journey through the short stories it examines. It also proposes a theory of reader participation which creates an imaginary space in which modern epistemology is suspended. The book studies the work of four major authors of the supernatural tale: Arthur Machen, M.R. James, Sheridan Le Fanu and Henry James."--Provided by publisher This Book Argues That Theology Is Central To An Understanding Of The Literary Ghost Story, [using] Theological Ideas From St Augustine Through To Modern Theologians To Identify A Theological Journey Taken By The Protagonists Of Such Stories .... The Book Studies The Work Of Four Major Authors Of The Supernatural Tale: Arthur Machen, M.r. James, Sheridan Le Fanu And Henry James.--page 4 Of Cover. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Introduction: Rethinking The Victorian Ghost Story -- Rethinking Victorian Agnosticism -- Rethinking Victorian Society -- Reviving Theological Ghosts -- A Journey Through The Stories Of Machen, Mrj, He Fanu And Henry James -- 2. Haunted By The Ghost Of God -- Reading Theologically -- God As Ghostly: The Relegation And Return Of Meta-narrative -- Being As Ghostly: The Christian Meta-narrative Of The Ghost Story -- 3. `strangely Mistaking Death For Life': Arthur Machen -- Anglo-catholicism And Arthur Machen's Sense Of Mystery -- Machen's Thomist Anthropology -- `the White People' -- Man Without Christ In `the Great God Pan' -- Aesthetic Nihilism In The Three Impostors -- Conclusion -- 4. `what Is This That I Have Done?': M. R. James -- M. R. James, Anglican Dogma And The Moral Authority Of Text -- Mrj's Theological Anthropology -- `canon Alberto's Scrapbook' And `count Magnus' -- `mr Humphreys And His Inheritance' -- Conclusion -- 5. `these Devils Have Made Quite A Saint Of You': Sheridan Le Fanu -- Le Fanu And The Irish Protestant Establishment -- Le Fanu's Augustinian Journey -- Doubling And Transformation -- Mimetic Crisis As Gothic Horror In `spalatro' And `borrhomeo The Astrologer' -- From Horror To Terror: Incomplete Resurrection In `the Haunted Baronet' -- Terror Brought To Actuality In `the Mysterious Lodger' And `the Familiar' -- Conclusion -- 6. `he's There From The Moment He Knows Somebody Else Is': Haunted By Paralysis In The Stories Of Henry James -- Henry James' Non-theology -- Henry James And Teleology -- Becoming And Stasis In `the Beast In The Jungle' -- Aesthetic Creation In `the Altar Of The Dead' -- Conclusion -- 7. Conclusion: `this Supernatural Soliciting Cannot Be Ill, Cannot Be Good' -- Return To The Gap -- Reader Doubling -- Response As Participation. Zoë Lehmann Imfeld. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 169-182) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction: Rethinking the Victorian Ghost Story....Pages 1-12 Haunted by the Ghost of God—Reading Theologically....Pages 13-38 ‘Strangely mistaking death for life’: Arthur Machen....Pages 39-78 ‘What is this that I have done?’: M. R. James....Pages 79-105 ‘These devils have made quite a saint of you’: Sheridan Le Fanu....Pages 107-139 ‘He’s there from the moment he knows somebody else is’: Haunted by Paralysis in the Stories of Henry James....Pages 141-158 Conclusion: ‘This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good’....Pages 159-168 Back Matter....Pages 169-188