Beyond Consolation: Death, Sexuality, and the Changing Shapes of Elegy

214 Pages·1997·9.498 MB·English

by  Melissa F. Zeiger

Beyond Consolation
(Rfaainfl
W O M EN
^Writing
a series edited by
Shari Benstock and Celeste Schenck
Reading Women Writing is dedicated to furthering international feminist
debate. The series publishes books on all aspects of feminist theory and
textual practice. Reading Women Writing especially welcomes books that
address cultures, histories, and experience beyond first-world academic
boundaries. A complete list of titles in the series appears at the end of
the book.
Beyond Consolation
DEATH, SEXUALITY, AND THE
CHANGING SHAPES OF ELEGY
Melissa F. Zeiger
Cornell University Press
ITHACA AND LONDON
Copyright © 1997 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or
parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University
Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 1997 by Cornell University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zeiger, Melissa F. (Melissa Fran), 1957-
Beyond consolation : death, sexuality, and the changing shapes of
elegy / Melissa F. Zeiger.
p. cm.—(Reading women writing)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8014-3110-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 0-8014-8441-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
i. Elegiac poetry—History and criticism. 2. Death in literature.
3. Sex in literature. 4. Orpheus (Greek mythology) in literature.
I. Title. II. Series.
PNi89.Z5 1997
3 4
8o9.i'93548—dc2i 97-79^9
Cornell University Press strives to utilize environmentally responsible
suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its
books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free
papers that are also either recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly
composed of nonwood fibers.
Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
To my father, Arthur Zeiger,
with love, admiration, and gratitude
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. Unwriting Orpheus: Swinburne’s “Ave atque Vale” and
the "New" Elegy 26
2. "Woman Much Missed": Writing Eurydice in Hardy’s
Poems of 1912-13 43
3. The Fading of Orpheus: Women's Elegies 62
4. Avatars of Eurydice: John Berryman’s Dream Songs 83
5. Beyond Mourning and Melancholia: AIDS Elegies 107
6. Against Elegies: Women's Breast Cancer Poems 135
Afterword: Why Elegies? 166
Notes 169
Index 189
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Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the American Council of Learned Societies for sup-
plying crucial encouragement and research time at an early stage of
this project. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the generosity of Jonathan
Crewe, Marianne Hirsch, Brenda Silver, and Susanne Zantop, who read
and made extensive comments on innumerable drafts of every chapter
of the manuscript, and who still claim "to enjoy every word/' Others
who contributed important comments, as well as inspiration, at various
stages are Lynda Boose, William Cook, Louise Fradenburg, Terrence
Holt, Stacy Hubbard, Keala Jewell, Dorothy Mermin, Beth Newman,
Peter Saccio, the late Walt Slatoff, Jon Stallworthy, Peter Swaab, Vir-
ginia Swain, Arthur Waldhorn, and Arthur Zeiger. I also thank others
who offered me warmth and intellectual support during the composi-
tion of the book: Tony Dangerfield, Laurence Da vies, Judy Frank, Carla
Freccero, Tassie Gwilliam, Nancy Harrowitz, Alexis Jetter, Joke Kardux,
Veronica Kelly, Laurie Langbauer, Lisa Miles, Matthew Neuburg, An-
nelise Orleck, Matthew Rowlinson, Paul Sawyer, Ivy Schweitzer, Tom
Sleigh, Jonathan Speaker, Frank Stringfellow, Sasha Torres, and Eduard
van der Bilt. My mother, Sophia Pelkey, called down good spirits to
aid me. I have been unusually lucky in my research assistants over the
years, and thank Martha Viehmann, Rob Miotke, Jonathan Eburne,
Doug Bachman, and Michelle Angers for invaluable scholarly support.
I also want to acknowledge a large debt of gratitude to Bernhard
Kendler, executive editor at Cornell University Press, for his encour-
agement. My two Press readers, Celeste Schenck and Debra Fried, re-
sponded to an earlier version with such extraordinary insight—and