Reading Alcoholisms: Theorizing Character and Narrative in Selected Novels of Thomas Hardy, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf

302 Pages·1999·30.42 MB·English

by  Jane Lilienfeld (auth.)

Reading Alcoholisms

Reading Alcoholisms
Theorizing Character and Narrative in
Selected Novels of Thomas Hardy,
James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf
] ane Lilienfeld
Palgrave Macmillan
READING ALCOHOLISMS
Copyright© Jane Lilienfeld, 1999. All rights reserved.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1999 978-0-312-21709-9
No part of this book may be used or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For
information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York,
N.Y. 10010.
ISBN 978-1-349-61987-0 ISBN 978-1-137-10023-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-10023-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lilienfeld, Jane, 1945-
Reading alcoholisms : theorizing character and narrative in
selected novels of Thomas Hardy, James Joyce, and Virigina Woolf I
by Jane Lilienfeld.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. English fiction-20th century-History and criticism.
2. Alcoholism in literature. 3. Joyce, James, 1882-1941. Portrait
of the artist as a young man. 4. Hardy, Thomas, 1840-1928. Mayor
of Casterbridge. 5. Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941. To the lighthouse.
6. Drinking of alcoholic beverages in literature. 7. Characters and
characteristics in literature. 8. Alcoholics in literature.
9. Narration (Rhetoric) I. Title.
PR888.A4L55 1999
823'.809355-dc21 99-21180
CIP
Design by Letra Libre, Inc.
First edition: July, 1999
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated
to
my mother, Edna R. Lilienfeld, 1907-1990
and
Cynthia Maude-Gembler, visionary and colleague

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments IX
Introduction 1
1. "An Altar to Disease in Years Gone By":
Alcoholism in The Mayor of Casterbridge 13
2. The "Great Stone Jar": The Art of Escape in
James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as
a Young Man 85
3. "The Horrors of Family Life": A Feminist Interrogation
of the Politics of Codependence in To the Lighthouse 159
Epilogue 233
Notes 239
Works Cited 257
Index 281

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MY FAMILY for the generous financial assis
tance that sustained the research and writing of this book: my
mother, Edna R. Lilienfeld; my uncle, Joseph Meyerhoff; my cousin
Harvey Meyerhoff; all of Baltimore, Maryland.
Elizabeth Wilson, University Librarian, and Ivy Hui, Tesuk Im,
and Connie May, Librarians of Lincoln University Library, were
tireless in their help in locating and obtaining interlibrary loan ma
terials. The following research librarians at the University of Mis
souri/Columbia libraries were generous in their assistance: Cindy
Cottner, Assistant to the Director; Michael Cook, Executive Staff
Assistant; Diane Johnson, Research Librarian, Health Sciences Li
brary; Nancy Meyers, Sociology Research Librarian. I thank
Martha Shirkey, former Research Librarian in Literature at the Uni
versity of Missouri, Columbia, for her cheerful and indefatigable
help. I am also grateful to the following librarians and library staff
associates at Harvard University Libraries for their generous help:
Carol Alexander, Director of Periodicals at Widener Library;
Michael Currier, Head of Widener Library Privileges; Marcia Deihl,
Staff Assistant, of Tozzer Library; and Maureen Mahoney, Library
Assistant, of Tozzer Library. Thanks also to Deborah Grier, Head of
Circulation, at the Fine Arts Library. I deeply appreciate the exten
sive help and electronic expertise provided by Greg Finnegan, Asso
ciate Librarian for Public Service and Head of Reference of Tozzer
Library. Additionally, I am grateful to Barbara Haber, Curator,
Schlesinger Library of Radcliffe College; and Robert Prescod, Act
ing Department Head for Circulation Privileges, Countway Library,
Harvard Medical School; and Lyn Dietrich, Acting Director,
McLean Library Services, McLean Hospital, for access to library