Objects and Intertexts in Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”: The Case
for Reparations is an inspired contribution to the scholarship on
one of the most influential American novels and novelists. The
author positions this contemporary classic as a meditation on
historical justice and re-comprehends it as both a formal
tragedy— a generic translation of fiction and tragedy or a
“novel-tragedy” (Kliger)—and a novel of objects. Its many
things—literary, conceptual, linguistic— are viewed as vessels
carrying the (hi)story and the political concerns. From this, a
third conclusion is drawn: Fadem argues for a view of Beloved as a
case for reparations. That status is founded on two outstanding
object lessons: the character of Beloved as embodiment of the
subject-object relations defining the slave state and the
grammatical object “weather” in the sentence “The rest
is…” on the novel’s final page. This intertextual reference
places Beloved in a comparative link with Hamlet and Oresteia.
Fadem’s research is meticulous in engaging the full spectrum of
tragedy theory, much critical theory, and a full swathe of
scholarship on the novel. Few critics take up the matter of
reparations, still fewer the politics of genre, craft, and form.
This scholar posits Morrison’s tragedy as constituting a searing
critique of modernity, as composed through meaningful
intertextualities and as crafted by profound “thingly” objects
(Brown). Altogether, Fadem has divined a fascinating singular
treatment of Beloved exploring the connections between form and
craft together with critical historical and political implications.
The book argues, finally, that this novel’s first concern is
justice, and its chief aim to serve as a clarion call for
material— and not merely symbolic—reparations. This book is
freely available to read at
https://taylorandfrancis.com/socialjustice/?c=language-literature-arts#
General
Imprint: |
Routledge
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Series: |
Routledge Research in American Literature and Culture |
Release date: |
May 2023 |
Firstpublished: |
2021 |
Authors: |
Maureen E. Ruprecht Fadem
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152mm (L x W) |
Pages: |
248 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-367-61305-1 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-367-61305-0 |
Barcode: |
9780367613051 |
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