Male Jealousy: Literature and Film (Continuum Literary Studies) [Hardcover]

Louis Lo (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0826499554 | ISBN-13: 978-0826499554 | Publication Date: May 8, 2008

Male Jealousy: Literature and Film is a critical and cultural theory-based study of male jealousy in western culture and its connections with paranoia. By tracing the meanings of jealousy and the representation of jealous men (married or unmarried, heterosexual or homosexual), Lo argues that jealousy is promoted within patriarchy and within what Derrida characterises as logocentricism, where to love is the desire to be loved, and where love cannot be guaranteed in any form of sexual relationship. Contrasting the difference between jealousy and its closely linked concept, envy, this book explores the economy of possession and its relationship to the body, and argues, controversially, that jealousy is an even more modern concept than envy. Informed by critical theory, engaging in particular with Derrida, Deleuze, Freud, Lacan and Kristeva, the study offers close readings of key works by Cervantes, Shakespeare, Proust, Buñuel, Vidor and Almodóvar, in which a spectrum of different forms of jealousy are portrayed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Louis Lo has written an exemplary work, making comparison of texts from different cultures absolutely new and fresh. Historicizing an emotion whose relationship to paranoia and love becomes acutely apparent in analyzing Cervantes, Shakespeare and Proust, he moves expertly through different modes, relating jealousy to gender and film theory, to Freud and Derrida, and to comparisons between Britain, France, Argentina, Spain, and Hong Kong. Its scope and achievement is productive, fertile and stimulating." —Jeremy Tambling, Professor of Literature, University of Manchester, UK.

Mentioned—The Chronicle Review, July 4, 2008

“Louis Lo has written an exemplary work, making comparison of texts from different cultures absolutely new and fresh. Historicizing an emotion whose relationship to paranoia and love becomes acutely apparent in analyzing Cervantes, Shakespeare and Proust, he moves expertly through different modes, relating jealousy to gender and film theory, to Freud and Derrida, and to comparisons between Britain, France, Argentina, Spain, and Hong Kong. Its scope and achievement is productive, fertile and stimulating.” –Jeremy Tambling, Professor of Literature, University of Manchester, UK.

Mentioned–The Chronicle Review, July 4, 2008

About the Author

Louis Lo is Assistant Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, Shue Yan University, Hong Kong. He is co-author of a book on Baroque Macau (forthcoming, Hong Kong Univeristy Press) and is currently working on a study of revenge-motifs in literature.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (May 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826499554
• ISBN-13: 978-0826499554
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,074,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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