Graham Greene’s Fictions: The Virtues of Extremity

222 Pages·2000·0.927 MB·English

by  Cates Baldridge

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Baldridge,Cates.
GrahamGreene’sfictions:thevirtuesofextremity/CatesBaldridge.
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Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-8262–1251-4(alk.paper)
1.Greene,Graham,1904—Criticismandinterpretation. I.Title.
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For Tricia,
who single-handedly vanquished
the Ministry of Fear

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction: The Virtues of Extremity 1
1
The Mediated and the Absolute: A Genealogy of
Brighton Rock 10
2
Waning Power and Faded Glory: Greene’s
Conception of God 49
3
Love, Pity, Charity: Passions at the Heart of the
Matter 90
4
Comedians, Commitment, and Commedia 129
5
The Honorary Marxist: Political Philosophy in
Greene’s Novels 169
Bibliography 199
Index 207

Acknowledgments
Thewritingofthisbookwasaidedconsiderablybythegenerous
leave policy of Middlebury College, which allowed me to devote
myselfwholeheartedlytofinishingtheprojectduringthe1996–1997
academic year. For two very pleasant weeks during that time, I was
a guest of the Harry Ransom Research Center at the University
of Texas at Austin, which holds a large proportion of Greene’s pa-
pers. Although relatively few passages from the Ransom Center’s
holdings appear in this work, the chance to soak up the unpub-
lished productions of Greene did much to increase my knowledge
ofthemanandthustorefinetheargumentsinGrahamGreene’sFic-
tions. Everyone connected with the Ransom Center was unfailingly
helpful.
GratefulacknowledgmentismadetotheHarryRansomResearch
CenterandtoDavidHighamAssociatesforpermissiontousemate-
rialinthisbook.
UponmyreturntoMiddlebury’sEnglishDepartment,severalof
my colleagues—among them Jay Parini, Alison Byerly, and Steve
Jensen—read parts of this manuscript and offered valuable com-
ments.JayParini,whoseemstoknoweveryoneinpublishing,also
lent a helping hand in finding a proper home for the book. Just as
Jay promised, the University of Missouri Press has been a model
of courtesy, professionalism, and dispatch throughout: my dealings
withtheacquisitionseditorClairWillcoxhavebeenespeciallypleas-
ant,andJulieSchroederhasrescuedmefromanumberoferrorsand
inconsistencies. All blemishes that remain are entirely chargeable
tomyself.
Backhomeonceagain,Ioweadebttothestudentsinmysenior
seminaronConradandGreene,whoablyandrigorouslytested—and
contested—in the crucible of a classroom ideas hitherto extant only
onpaper.
Finally,andforemost,Imustthankmywife,TriciaWelsch,who,
throughthedistancesofourcommutermarriageandtheintimacies
ofourconcurrentleaves,supportedandnourishedmeinahundred
ix
x Acknowledgments
ways,practicalandspiritual,whileallthetimeworkingbusilyather
own academic labors. Throughout the last four years she has been
my toughest critic and my biggest fan, and every page of this book
bearssomemarkofherwisdomandempathy.