The Discerning Narrator: Conrad, Aristotle, and Modernity

by Alexia Hannis

Overview

The Discerning Narrator sheds new light on Joseph Conrad’s controversial critique of modernity and modernization by reading his work through an Aristotelian lens. The book proposes that we need Aristotle – a key figure in Conrad’s education – to recognize the profound significance of Conrad’s artistic vision.

Offering Aristotelian analyses of Conrad’s letters, essays, and four works of fiction, Alexia Hannis illuminates the philosophical roots and literary implications of Conrad’s critique of modernity. Hannis turns to Aristotle’s ethical formulations to trace what she calls "the discerning narrator" in Conrad’s oeuvre: a compassionate yet sceptical guide to appraising character and conduct. The book engages with past and current Conrad scholarship while drawing from Aristotle’s Poetics, Politics, and Nicomachean Ethics, as well as classical scholars to offer original philosophical analyses of major and understudied Conrad’s works.

Drawing on Aristotle, Hannis provides a fresh context for making sense of Conrad’s self-differentiation from modernity. As a result, The Discerning Narrator provides an affirmation of literature’s invitation to wonder about the possibilities inherent in human nature, including the potential for painful depravity, heroic excellence, and ordinary human happiness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442649071
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	11/18/2022
Pages:	158
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Alexia Hannis teaches at Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning and the University of Guelph-Humber and she is a writing tutor at Victoria College, University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Deeper Significance of Sailing Ships

1. Conrad’s Vision of Things
2. An Outcast of the Islands: Tragedy, Pathos, and Conrad’s Narrative Appeal
3. Seeing Jim’s Virtues in Lord Jim: A Tale
4. The Discerning Narrator in Falk: A Reminiscence
5. Marlow’s Practical Wisdom: Chance: A Tale in Two Parts

Conclusion: "Speakings"

Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Christopher GoGwilt

"Through its extended reading of a range of Joseph Conrad's work, The Discerning Narrator demonstrates the relevance of Aristotle's philosophy for Conrad's assessment of modernity. The selection of texts presents an intriguing constellation of Conrad's works and offers a brilliant and original re-assessment of the main contours of Conrad's oeuvre."

Debra Romanick Baldwin

"Clearly conceptualized and elegantly written, this slim but important volume offers fresh new readings of four of Joseph Conrad's works. Hannis is at the forefront of a new generation of scholars who view Conrad beyond the lens of postcolonial studies and as part of an older, wider human conversation with classical roots."

Editorial Reviews

"Clearly conceptualized and elegantly written, this slim but important volume offers fresh new readings of four of Joseph Conrad’s works. Hannis is at the forefront of a new generation of scholars who view Conrad beyond the lens of postcolonial studies and as part of an older, wider human conversation with classical roots."

—Debra Romanick Baldwin, Associate Professor of English, University of Dallas

"Through its extended reading of a range of Joseph Conrad’s work, The Discerning Narrator demonstrates the relevance of Aristotle’s philosophy for Conrad’s assessment of modernity. The selection of texts presents an intriguing constellation of Conrad’s works and offers a brilliant and original re-assessment of the main contours of Conrad’s oeuvre."

—Christopher GoGwilt, Professor of English, Fordham University

From the Publisher