The Metamorphoses of Myth in Fiction since 1960

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Why do contemporary writers use myths from ancient Greece and Rome, Pharaonic Egypt, the Viking north, Africas west coast, and Hebrew and Christian traditions What do these stories from premodern cultures have to offer us The Metamorphoses of Myth in Fiction since 1960 examines how myth has shaped writings by Kathy Acker, Margaret Atwood, William S. Burroughs, A. S. Byatt, Neil Gaiman, Norman Mailer, Toni Morrison, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, Jeanette Winterson, and others, and contrasts such canonical texts with fantasy, speculative fiction, post-singularity fiction, pornography, horror, and graphic narratives. These artistic practices produce a feeling of meaning that doesn't need to be defined in scientific or materialist terms. Myth provides a sense of rightness, a recognition of matching a pattern, a feeling of something missing, a feeling of connection. It not only allows poetic density but also manipulates our moral judgments, or at least stimulates us to exercise them. Working across genres, populations, and critical perspectives, Kathryn Hume elicits an understanding of the current uses of mythology in fiction.

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The great strength of this book lies in the remarkable range and general erudition of its author, Kathryn Hume, whose title cleverly intimates her argument: that myth, which so often marshals metamorphosis as its subject matter, can itself undergo transformation. In an era sometimes imagined as having repudiated this most indestructible of storytelling vehicles, Hume demonstrates convincingly that, far from having suffered postmodern eclipse, myth is the contemporary Arethusa who escapes a poststructuralist Alpheus to rise, transformed, where he cannot pursue. * David Cowart, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of South Carolina, USA *
Wide-ranging, wise, and as plainspoken as ever, Kathryn Hume takes us on a brisk tour of myth in contemporary fiction, pointing out some of the landmarksmyths recycled and repurposed, revised and resisted, and invented from scratch. She asks, What is myth good for in novels and ventures some answers: cultural capital, compensation, reflection on the grandest themes (creation, power, metamorphosis, death), and the thing we most want, the feeling of meaning. Can you think of anyone who could address matters of such weight with more authority Me neither. * Brian McHale, Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor of English, The Ohio State University, USA, and author of Postmodernist Fiction (1987) *

Author Bio

Kathryn Hume is Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English Emerita at Penn State University, USA. She is the author of Fantasy and Mimesis (1984), Pynchons Mythography (1987), Calvinos Fictions (1992), American Dream, American Nightmare (2000), and Aggressive Fictions (2012).