Bad Form: Social Mistakes and the Nineteenth-Century Novel

188 Pages·2008·1.04 MB·English

by  Kent Puckett

Bad Form
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Bad Form
Social Mistakes and the Nineteenth-Century Novel
Kent Puckett
3
2008
3
Oxford New York
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Copyright © 2008 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Puckett, Kent.
Bad form : social mistakes and the nineteenth century novel / by Kent Puckett.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-19-533275-9
1. Fiction—19th century—History and criticism—Th eory, etc. 2. Manners and
customs in literature. 3. Flaubert, Gustave, 1821–1880—Knowledge—Manners
and customs. 4. Eliot, George, 1819–1880—Knowledge—Manners and customs.
5. James, Henry, 1843–1916—Knowledge—Manners and customs. 6. English
fi ction—19th century—History and criticism. 7. Literature and society—Great
Britain—History—19th century. 8. French fi ction—19th century—History
and criticism. 9. Literature and society—France—History—19th century. I. Title.
PN3499.P75 2008
809.3 — dc22 2008003644
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For my family
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Acknowledgments
I’ve racked up a lot of debt while writing Bad Form, and if I can’t
repay it, I can at least (and with pleasure) acknowledge it. First,
special thanks to David Miller, my marvelous friend, colleague,
and critic. Talking with him about this book has made every one
of its pages better and sharper than it could have been otherwise.
Th anks, too, to Nick Dames, who responded to my work at sev-
eral stages with terrifi c subtlety and intelligence. I owe more than
I can say to a few who have—in diff erent ways—kept me sane
over the years: Eric Bulson, Bryan Wagner, and Adam Zucker.
Graduate school was made great, as great as it could be, by the
presence of a number of unusually brilliant and brilliantly unusual
people: Dohra Ahmad, Chris Brown, Aman Garcha, Judith Gold-
man, Joe Keith, David Kurnick, Mike Malouf, Ana Mitrić, Derek
Nystrom, Geoff Rector, Ben Robinson, Danny Siegel, and Robin
Varghese. More recently, I have benefi ted from the advice and
example of my colleagues at U.C. Berkeley. Particular thanks go
to those who have generously read and commented on my work:
Elizabeth Abel, Janet Adelman, Ann Banfi eld, John Bishop,
viii acknowledgments
Mitch Breitwieser, Ian Duncan, Anne-Lise François, Catherine Gallagher,
Steve Goldsmith, Kevis Goodman, Dori Hale, Celeste Langan, Sharon Mar-
cus, Sam Otter, Mike Rubenstein, Scott Saul, and Alex Zwerdling. Many
thanks go to Shannon McLachlan at Oxford University Press. She has made
what is necessarily an anxious process into something both edifying and en-
joyable. Th anks, too, to Alex Woloch and to other press readers for their
insightful, sharp, and generous readings. It is a better book because of their
advice. Susan Ecklund’s judicious copyediting helped me to avoid (or at least
to disguise) my own bad form. Th anks to Susan M. Griffi n, editor of Th e
Henry James Review; a part of chapter 3 has appeared in its pages. And, what
can I say about my best friend, Kara Wittman? Her patience, imagination,
and intelligence are only some of the wonders she brings with her everywhere
she goes. I owe much, much more than this book to her. Finally, I would like
to dedicate this book to my family, to my parents Kent and Franceen Puck-
ett—they are generous, brilliant, hilarious—and to my sister Nora Puckett:
counselor, rhythm section, pal.
Contents
Introduction: Making Mistakes 3
1 Some Blunders 14
2 Embarrassing Bovary 53
3 Looking Good: Style and Its Absence in George Eliot 83
4 Hanging Together in Henry James 118
Afterword: “J’ai envie d’foutre le camp” 150
Works Cited 163
Index 173