Beyond Consolation: Death, Sexuality, and the Changing Shapes of Elegy PDF
Preview Beyond Consolation: Death, Sexuality, and the Changing Shapes of Elegy
Beyond Consolation (Rfaainfl W O M EN ^Writing a series edited by Shari Benstock and Celeste Schenck Reading Women Writing is dedicated to furthering international feminist debate. The series publishes books on all aspects of feminist theory and textual practice. Reading Women Writing especially welcomes books that address cultures, histories, and experience beyond first-world academic boundaries. A complete list of titles in the series appears at the end of the book. Beyond Consolation DEATH, SEXUALITY, AND THE CHANGING SHAPES OF ELEGY Melissa F. Zeiger Cornell University Press ITHACA AND LONDON Copyright © 1997 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 1997 by Cornell University Press Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zeiger, Melissa F. (Melissa Fran), 1957- Beyond consolation : death, sexuality, and the changing shapes of elegy / Melissa F. Zeiger. p. cm.—(Reading women writing) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8014-3110-7 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 0-8014-8441-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) i. Elegiac poetry—History and criticism. 2. Death in literature. 3. Sex in literature. 4. Orpheus (Greek mythology) in literature. I. Title. II. Series. PNi89.Z5 1997 3 4 8o9.i'93548—dc2i 97-79^9 Cornell University Press strives to utilize environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are also either recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21 Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21 To my father, Arthur Zeiger, with love, admiration, and gratitude This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. Unwriting Orpheus: Swinburne’s “Ave atque Vale” and the "New" Elegy 26 2. "Woman Much Missed": Writing Eurydice in Hardy’s Poems of 1912-13 43 3. The Fading of Orpheus: Women's Elegies 62 4. Avatars of Eurydice: John Berryman’s Dream Songs 83 5. Beyond Mourning and Melancholia: AIDS Elegies 107 6. Against Elegies: Women's Breast Cancer Poems 135 Afterword: Why Elegies? 166 Notes 169 Index 189 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments I am grateful to the American Council of Learned Societies for sup- plying crucial encouragement and research time at an early stage of this project. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the generosity of Jonathan Crewe, Marianne Hirsch, Brenda Silver, and Susanne Zantop, who read and made extensive comments on innumerable drafts of every chapter of the manuscript, and who still claim "to enjoy every word/' Others who contributed important comments, as well as inspiration, at various stages are Lynda Boose, William Cook, Louise Fradenburg, Terrence Holt, Stacy Hubbard, Keala Jewell, Dorothy Mermin, Beth Newman, Peter Saccio, the late Walt Slatoff, Jon Stallworthy, Peter Swaab, Vir- ginia Swain, Arthur Waldhorn, and Arthur Zeiger. I also thank others who offered me warmth and intellectual support during the composi- tion of the book: Tony Dangerfield, Laurence Da vies, Judy Frank, Carla Freccero, Tassie Gwilliam, Nancy Harrowitz, Alexis Jetter, Joke Kardux, Veronica Kelly, Laurie Langbauer, Lisa Miles, Matthew Neuburg, An- nelise Orleck, Matthew Rowlinson, Paul Sawyer, Ivy Schweitzer, Tom Sleigh, Jonathan Speaker, Frank Stringfellow, Sasha Torres, and Eduard van der Bilt. My mother, Sophia Pelkey, called down good spirits to aid me. I have been unusually lucky in my research assistants over the years, and thank Martha Viehmann, Rob Miotke, Jonathan Eburne, Doug Bachman, and Michelle Angers for invaluable scholarly support. I also want to acknowledge a large debt of gratitude to Bernhard Kendler, executive editor at Cornell University Press, for his encour- agement. My two Press readers, Celeste Schenck and Debra Fried, re- sponded to an earlier version with such extraordinary insight—and
The list of books you might like
