Henry Miller and Religion

169 Pages·2007·4.406 MB·English

by  Thomas Nesbit

STUDIES IN MAJOR
LITERARY AUTHORS
Editedby
Williatn E. Cain
Professor ofEnglish
Wellesley College
A ROUTLEDGE SERIES
STUDIES IN MAJOR LITERARY AUTHORS
WILLIAM E. CAIN, GeneralEditor
"SOMEWHATONTHECOMMUNITY-SYSTEM" NoPLACEFORHOME
FourierismintheWOrksofNathanielHawthorne SpatialConstraintandGnaracterFlightinthe
AndrewLoman NovelsofGormacMcCarthy
JayEllis
COLONIALISMANDTHEMODERNISTMOMENT
INTHEEARLYNOVELSOFJEANRHYS THEMACHINETHATSINGS
Carol Dell'Amico Modernism, HartCrane, andtheCultureof
theBody
MELVILLE'SMONUMENTALIMAGINATION GordonA.Tapper
IanS. Maloney
INFLUENTIALGHOSTS
WRITING"OUTOFALLTHECAMPS" AStudyofAuden'sSources
J M. C'oetzee'sNarrativesofDisplacement
RachelWetzsteon
LauraWright
D. H. LAWRENCE'SBORDERCROSSING
HEREAND Now ColonialisminHisTravelWritingsand
ThePoliticsofSocialSpaceinD. H. Lawrence cCLeadership"Novels
andVirginiaWoolf
EunyoungOh
YoungjooSon
DOROTHYWORDSWORTH'SECOLOGY
"UNNOTICEDINTHECASUALLIGHTOF DAY" Kenneth R.Cervelli
PhilipLarkinandthePlainStyle
TijanaStojkovic SPORTS,NARRATIVE,ANDNATIONINTHE
FICTIONOFF.SCOTTFITZGERALD
QUEERTIMES JaromLyleMcDonald
GnristopherIsherwood'sModernity
JamieM. Carr SHELLEY'SINTELLECTUALSYSTEMANDITS
EPICUREANBACKGROUND
EDITHWHARTON'S"EVOLUTIONARY MichaelA.Vicario
CONCEPTION"
DarwinianAllegoryinHerMajorNovels MODERNISTAESTHETICSANDCONSUMER
PaulJ. Ohler CULTUREINTHEWRITINGSOF()SCARWILDE
PaulL. Fortunato
THEENDOFLEARNING
MiltonandEducation MILTON'SUNCERTAINEDEN
ThomasFesta UnderstandingPlaceinParadiseLost
AndrewMattison
READINGANDMAPPINGHARDY'SROADS
ScottRode HENRYMILLERAND RELIGION
ThomasNesbit
CREATINGYOKNAPATAWPHA
ReadersandwritersinFaulkner'sFiction
()wen Robinson
HENRY MILLER AND RELIGION
Thomas Nesbit
Routledge
NewYork & London
ExcerptsfromHenryMiller'sNexus(Grove1965),Plexus(Grove1965),Sexus(Grove1965),andTropicof
Capricorn(Grove1961)usedwithpermissionofGrove/Atlantic,Inc.
Excerptsfrom aletterofHenryMillerto Herbert Muller,dated2July1941,usedcourtesyofthe Lilly
Library,IndianaUniversity,Bloomington,IN.
ExcerptsfromHenryMiller'sTheWorldofSex(Ts.HenryMillerPapers,ColumbiaU.)usedwithpermis
sionoftheRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,ColumbiaUniversity.
ExcerptsfromtheRosyCrucifixionNotes,HerbertFaulknerWestPapers,DartmouthCollege,usedcour
tesyofDartmouthCollegeLibrary.
ExcerptsfromHenryMiller'sNotebooksand"SchemeandSignifkance"(HenryMillerPapers,Collection
110)usedwithpermissionoftheDepartmentofSpecialCollections,CharlesE.YoungResearchLibrary,
UCLA.
Routledge Routledge
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usedonIyforidentificationandexplanationwithoutintenttoinfringe.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Nesbit,Thomas.
HenryMillerandreligion/byThomasNesbit.
p.em.-- (Studiesinmajorliteraryauthors)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-415-95603-X
1. Miller,Henry,1891-1980--Religion. I.Title.
PS3525.15454Z7662007
818'.5209--dc22 2007008691
VisittheTaylor& FrancisWebsiteat
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This bookisdedicatedtoJulie Felty
Contents
ListofAbbreviations ix
Acknowledgments xi
ChapterOne
Introduction
Chapter Two
General Reception 13
Chapter Three
Avant-Garde Religion 27
ChapterFour
TropicofCancer 41
ChapterFive
TropicofCapricorn 63
ChapterSix
The RosyCrucifixion 93
ChapterSeven
Conclusion 127
Notes 129
Vtt
viii Contents
Bibliography 147
Index 155
List ofAbbreviations
AMORC TheAncientand Mystical OrderRosae Crucis
FBI Federal BureauofInvestigations
KJV KingJamesVersion
NIV New InternationalVersion
OED Oxford English Dictionary
OTO OrdoTempli Orientis
UCLA UniversityofCaliforniaat LosAngeles
IX
Acknowledgments
Professor Susan Mizruchi dedicated countless hours to this project. From
prolongedconversationstodiligentlyediteddrafts,shewentfar beyondwhat
anyone would expect from an advisor. How wonderful it was to find some
one who shares so many interests, who could see the logic uniting them. I
will be forever grateful for her attention, curiosity, encouragement, enthusi
asm, honesty, and trust.
As a careful reader and mentor, Professor Peter Hawkins refined my
manuscript and my vision. He was always available, volunteering aid when
everhesensed itwas needed. Inaddition to pointingouteven moreallusions
to theBibleand Dante in HenryMiller'swritings, Peterhelped mearticulate
what is truly unique about Miller's religiosity. As Director ofthe Luce Pro
gram in Scripture and the Literary Arts at Boston University, he has devel
oped an unparalleled program investigating the intersections ofreligion and
literature. Iam proudto beamong itsalumni.
Other colleagues have been helpful and generous. Professor Matthew
Smith guided my project from conception to gestation, pressing me to pur
sue my intellectual investigations into excess. Beyond offering page-by-page
commentson mymanuscript, ProfessorStephen Prothero hada major influ
enceon my intellectual development, encouraging me to researchsidestream
religiosity. Professor Charles Lindholm also madevaluable commentson my
Millerwork. ProfessorWilliam E; Cain and Max Novick, Research Editorat
Routledge, were both extraordinarily helpful in their efforts to ensure that
thisstudywas published.
Millerscholars past and present havealso provided assistance. MaryV.
Dearborn was always charitable with her notes, library, and time. Through
chats and correspondence, Bertrand Mathieu and Karl Orend gave not only
insight but courage. Discussions with the following also helped improve the
study, pointing me in profitabledirections: Sean Dempsey, ProfessorAbigail
XI