Literary Challenge

[chickenfeet2003]

David Lodge claims, in Author, Author, that Queer Theorists purport to have identified an extended metaphor for anal fisting in Henry James' introduction to the revised New York edition of his works. I would be fascinated to read a description of anal fisting in the rather orotund style of the late Mr. James. I lack the dexterity to write

Comments

[cassandre]

This reminds me of a talk I once heard on Henry James by queer theorist Eve Sedgwick (some of whose work has been groundbreaking). Part of her argument consisted of seeing veiled references to the male posterior in James' use of the conjunction 'but'.

I wish I were making this up, but I'm not. Even as a starry-eyed undergraduate, I'm proud to say I turned skeptical at that point.

[melted_snowball]

Now I'm starting to imagine the extended compare-and-contrast: anal fisting by James, next to vaginal fisting by, oh, I'm out of my league here.

Hm.

[sabotabby]

Snowballing in Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion? Or is that too obvious?

[arcana_mundi]

Jesus wept.

I am SO looking forward to the end of the vogue for these boutique departments trucking mostly in sophistries pertaining to pussy and cock.