Literature and Fascination
Exploring literary fascination as a key concept of aesthetic attraction, this book illuminates the ways in which literary texts are designed, presented, and received. Detailed case studies include texts by William Shakespeare, S.T. Coleridge, Mary Shelley
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Sibylle Baumbach
Literature and Fascination
Literature and Fascination Sibylle Baumbach
© Sibylle Baumbach 2015 Reprint of the original edition 2015 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-56516-0 ISBN 978-1-137-53801-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-53801-7
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Baumbach, Sibylle. Literature and fascination / Sibylle Baumbach, W-1 Professor, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–1–137–53800–0 1. Literature—Psychology. 2. Mesmerism in literature. 3. Emotions in literature. 4. Memory in literature. I. Title. PN49.B23 2015 809’.93384—dc23 Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.
2015013170
For my parents, Anneliese and Heinz Baumbach
Contents Acknowledgements
viii
Introduction
1
1 Literature and Fascination Narratives of fascination Of magic, love and envy: a short history of fascination Fascination, myth and medusamorphoses
11 11 35 61
2 The Power of Magic and the Fear of Contamination: Fascination in Early (Modern) Literature Fascination and meta-poiesis: the poet and his m(ed)use The theatre of infection: fascination in Shakespeare’s plays
71 71 85
3 Facing the Femme Fatale: The Poetics of Seduction and the Fascination with Storytelling The (non-)encounter with Medusa The fascination with representation Tales and torments of narrative attraction
114 121 128 135
4 The Spark of Inspiration: Mesmerism, Electrif
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