The Aesthetics of Chaos: Nonlinear Thinking and Contemporary Literary Criticism

152 Pages·2003·2.98 MB·English

by  MICHAEL PATRICK GILLESPIE

Chaos
The Aesthetics of
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Michael Patrick Gillespie
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola
Also by Michael Patrick Gillespie, from the University Press of Florida
Oscar Wilde and the Poetics of Ambiguity (1996)
Joyce through the Ages: A Nonlinear View (1999)
University Press of Florida
Gainesville Tallahassee Tampa Boca Raton
Pensacola Orlando Miami Jacksonville Ft. Myers
The Aesthetics of
Chaos
Nonlinear Thinking and Contemporary Literary Criticism
Michael Patrick Gillespie
Copyright 2003 by Michael Patrick Gillespie
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
All rights reserved
08 07 06 05 04 03 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gillespie, Michael Patrick
The aesthetics of chaos: nonlinear thinking and contemporary
literary criticism / Michael Patrick Gillespie.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8130-2641-5 (cloth: alk. paper)
1. Criticism—History—20th century.
PN94.A33 2003
801'.95'0904—dc21 2003040239
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing
agency for the State University System of Florida, comprising
Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida
Gulf Coast University, Florida International University,
Florida State University, University of Central Florida,
University of Florida, University of North Florida, University
of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611–2079
http://www.upf.com
To Chuck and Linda Yung

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1. How Do We Talk about What We Read? 1
2. Nonlinear Thinking: Redefining the Paradigm 14
3. Reading on the Edge of Chaos: Finnegans Wake and
the Burden of Linearity 28
4. “And they lived happily ever after”: The Broken Contract
of Fairy Tales 43
5. “I sing of arms and of a man”: The Post-Newtonian Hero 61
6. “A time for every purpose under heaven”: The Circularity
of Biblical Hermeneutics in the Book of Job 77
7. Oscar Wilde and the Fabrication of an Irish Identity 94
8. What Is to Be Done? 109
Appendix: The Rise of Nonlinear Science 113
Notes 119
Bibliography 129
Index 135

Acknowledgments
I have always found this to be the most difficult section of a book to write. I
am afraid that any effort to thank the people who offered advice, insight, or
support from which I benefited while working on this study will come far
short of the acknowledgment that each deserves. I will not belabor the con-
tributions of each, but I hope in the alphabetical listing that follows that I
can attest to their generosity of spirit. With this in mind, I would like to
express my gratitude to the following: Jonathan Allison, Zack Bowen, Mary
Elizabeth Braun, the Rev. Thaddeus Burch, S.J., William Demastes, Deirdre
Dempsey, A. Nicholas Fargnoli, Susan Fernandez, Anne Fogarty, Paula
Gillespie, Judy Goffman, Amy Gorelick, Cheryl Herr, Philip Herring,
Debra Jelacic, Morton Levitt, Tim Machan, Peter Mackey, Michael Mc-
Kinney, Valerie Murrenus, Sandra Peterson, John Rickard, Thomas Rice,
Gary Richardson, Albert Rivero, Thomas Shea, Robert Spoo, John Su, the
Rev. Roland Teske, S.J., George Watson, and Stephen Watt. Whatever weak-
nesses one may find in this work, there are far fewer because of the help I
received from these friends.
An earlier version of chapter 3 appeared as an article in the Journal of
Modern Literature. I am grateful to Indiana University Press for permission
to reprint it here.