Henry Miller: The Modern Rabelais (Studies in Comparative Literature) [Hardcover]

John Parkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1991 | ISBN-10: 0889466289 | ISBN-13: 978-0889466289

This text reassesses the literary relationship linking Henry Miller and Francois Rabelais in terms of readings, imitations, and analogies. It uses a Bakhtinian approach to explore how Miller, as a 20th-century anarchist and rebel, could realize his kinship with Rabelais, a 16th-century humanist and Christian. The various avenues explored include lexical richness, conviviality, laughter, the grotesque, scenes of carnival, and the notions of freedom and self-transcendence. Despite the negative side of Miller's work, thought, and artistic vision, of which obscenity, nihilism, and despair form clear elements, Miller's personality exudes a fundamentally positive spirit based on friendship, trust, and mutual respect, all of which can be seen as elements in the Rabelaisian philosophy of Pantagruelisme.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 292 pages
• Publisher: Edwin Mellen Pr (January 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889466289
• ISBN-13: 978-0889466289
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,816,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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