Henry James and Queer Modernity

Eric Haralson0521813948, 9780521813945, 9780511064838

In Henry James and Queer Modernity, Eric Haralson examines far-reaching changes in gender politics and the emergence of modern male homosexuality as depicted in the writings of Henry James and three authors who were greatly influenced by him: Willa Cather, Gertrude Stein, and Ernest Hemingway Haralson places emphasis on American masculinity as portrayed in fiction between 1875 and 1935, but the book also treats events in England, such as the Oscar Wilde trials, that had a major effect on American literature. He traces James’s engagement with sexual politics from his first novels of the 1870s to his ”major phase” at the turn of the century. The second section of this study measures James’s extraordinary impact on Cather s representation of ”queer” characters, Stein’s theories of writing and authorship as a mode of resistance to modern sexual regulation, and Hemingway’s very self-constitution as a manly American author.

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Table of contents :
Half-title……Page 3
Series-title……Page 4
Title……Page 5
Copyright……Page 6
Dedication……Page 7
Contents……Page 9
Acknowledgments……Page 10
Abbreviations……Page 14
Introduction……Page 17
1 Indiscreet anatomies and protogay aesthetes in Roderick Hudson and The Europeans……Page 43
2 The elusive queerness of “queer comrades”: The Tragic Muse and “The Author of ‘Beltraffo’ “……Page 70
3 The Turn of the Screw, or: The Dispossessed Hearts of Little Gentlemen……Page 95
4 Masculinity “changed and queer” in The Ambassadors……Page 118
5 Gratifying “the eternal boy in us all”: Willa Cather, Henry James, and Oscar Wilde……Page 150
6 “The other half is the man”: the queer modern triangle of Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and Henry James……Page 189
Coda: “Nobody is alike Henry James”: Stein, James, and queer futurity……Page 221
INTRODUCTION……Page 230
1 INDISCREET ANATOMIES AND PROTOGAY AESTHETES IN RODERICK HUDSON AND THE EUROPEANS……Page 234
2 THE ELUSIVE QUEERNESS OF “QUEER COMRADES”……Page 236
3 THE TURN OF THE SCREW, OR: THE DISPOSSESSED HEARTS OF LITTLE GENTLEMEN……Page 240
4 MASCULINITY “CHANGED AND QUEER” IN THE AMBASSADORS……Page 243
5 GRATIFYING “THE ETERNAL BOY IN US ALL”: WILLA CATHER, HENRY JAMES, AND OSCAR WILDE……Page 246
6 “THE OTHER HALF IS THE MAN”: THE QUEER MODERN TRIANGLE OF GERTRUDE STEIN, ERNEST HEMINGWAY, AND HENRY JAMES……Page 250
CODA “NOBODY IS ALIKE HENRY JAMES”: STEIN, JAMES, AND QUEER FUTURITY……Page 257
Bibliography……Page 259
Index……Page 275