The Varieties of Authorial Intention Literary Theory Beyond the Inte
This book explores the logic and historical origins of a strange taboo that has haunted literary critics since the 1940s, keeping them from referring to the intentions of authors without apology. The taboo was enforced by a seminal article, “The Intention
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John Farrell
The Varieties of Authorial Intention Literary Theory Beyond the Intentional Fallacy
John Farrell Department of Literature Claremont McKenna College Claremont, California, USA
ISBN 978-3-319-48976-6 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-48977-3
ISBN 978-3-319-48977-3 (eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016963206 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Edgars Sermulis / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To Alex Rajczi
PREFACE
A little more than a decade ago, when I was in the middle of writing a book about the role of paranoid characters in modern culture (Paranoia and Modernity: Cervantes to Rousseau), I decided to offer an undergraduate course on the subject. The readings included books with literary figures notable for their grandiosity and suspicion—Don Quixote, Captain Ahab, Kafka’s K., Charles Kinbote, and various Pynchon characters; it also included key philosophical contributors to the modern habit of suspicion—Luther, Hobbes, Rousseau, Nietzsche, Marx, and Freud. The enrollment was surprising. Forty students signed up, my largest class ever at Claremont McKenna College, and I had to request a bigger room. On the first day of class I went to the old room and wrote a note on the board that read something like this: “Lit 165 has been moved to Bauer 33.” Then I went upstairs to wait for the students. But nobody came. Ten minutes into the hour and the room was empty. Could some prankster have erased my message that quickly? Going downstairs to answer this question, I found a packed classroom, seats filled and some students on the flo
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