A world abandoned by God: narrative and secularism

197 Pages·2006·1.108 MB·English

by  Lee, Susanna

A World
Abandoned by God
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A World
Abandoned by God
Narrative and Secularism
Susanna Lee
Lewisburg
Bucknell UniversityPress
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(cid:2)2006byRosemontPublishing&PrintingCorp.
Allrightsreserved.Authorizationtophotocopyitemsforinternalorpersonaluse,
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provided thata base fee of $10.00, plus eightcents per page,per copy ispaid di-
rectlytotheCopyrightClearanceCenter,222RosewoodDrive,Danvers,Massachu-
setts01923.[0-8387-5609-3/05$10.00(cid:3)8¢pp,pc.]
AssociatedUniversityPresses
2010EastparkBoulevard
Cranbury,NJ08512
ThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstherequirementsoftheAmerican
NationalStandardforPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials.
Z39.48-1984.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Lee,Susanna,1970–
AworldabandonedbyGod:narrativeandsecularism/SusannaLee.
p. cm.
Navigatingthesecularworld—Flaubert’ssuperiorjoke—Faithinrealism—
Thejoyofmystification—Thenarratorwhoknewtoomuch.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-8387-5609-3(alk.paper)
1. Frenchfiction—19thcentury—Historyandcriticism. 2. Russianfiction—
19thcentury—Historyandcriticism. 3. Secularisminliterature. 4. Religion
andliterature. I. Title.
PQ653.L44 2006
843(cid:2).709382—dc22 2005012254
printedintheunitedstatesofamerica
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Contents
Acknowledgments 7
Introduction 11
1. Navigatingthe SecularWorld 22
2. Flaubert’sSuperiorJoke 49
3. Faithin Realism 79
4. The Joyof Mystification 109
5. The NarratorWhoKnewTooMuch 137
Conclusion 170
Notes 174
Bibliography 186
Index 193
5
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Acknowledgments
I
AMGRATEFULTOMANYFRIENDSANDCOLLEAGUESFORTHESUPPORTAND
guidancetheygavemeduringthisproject.
The following people read all or portions of the manuscript and
offered superb advice and encouragement: Susann Cokal, Florence
Dore,Edwin Duval,Svetlana Grenier, PhilipeHamon, RobertLouis
Jackson, Patrick Laude, Olga Meerson, Barbara Mujica, Gerald
Prince,DebaratiSanyal.ThankstoPennyBurt,whoprovidedcrucial
help with Russian translations, to John McKay for pointing me in
thedirectionofDemonsinthesummerof2001,andtoRobertLouis
Jackson, whose excellent graduate course on Turgenev led both di-
rectly and indirectly to the present work. I am particularly grateful
toMariannaLee,whoseministrationshelpedtheproseofthisbook
immensely, and to Jared Stark, whose thoughtful suggestions have
long (and especially recently) been enormously valuable. Last but
not least, my heartfelt thanks to Peter Brooks, whose guidance and
supporthavebeen cruciallyimportantover theyears.
Georgetown University’s generosity, in the form of two consecu-
tive summer grants and a junior research leave, was instrumental in
enabling meto complete thisbook. I amgrateful also tothe follow-
ing people at Bucknell University Press and AUP: Greg Clingham,
ChristineRetz,and,forherattentivecopyediting,Cathy Slovensky.
I could not have completed this project without the encourage-
ment of my friends and family. Masha Belenky, Jeremy Billetdeaux,
Susann Cokal, Roger Donahue, Angie Graham, Cynthia Hobbs,
Marie-Chantal Killeen, Peter Kok, Betsy Konrad, Sandra Lee, Eliza-
beth Letcher, Katie MacKaye, Brian Pope, Kirsten Singleton, An-
drew Sobanet, and Georges Steiner cheered me on in all weather.
Chapter 5 unquestionably owes its existence to the generosity and
hospitalityofMicheleandLilyVonStein.Manythankstothem.And
mydeepestgratitudeto DenisCrean,for hisoptimismandhislove.
And finally, for their inspiration, love, and support, I thank my
parents: Marianna Lee, Edward Lee, and Kathryn Shevelow. This
bookisdedicatedtothem.
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A World
Abandoned by God
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