f o lt t't't'l¡till t'tl('¡rl ¿nrtl llrt'¡r tlro¡l i¡tlr) (luir.sr'(,n('(.r lrl*r.
¡t
,r ¡rlrrllHl
strtlck l)y Íl lliulun('r'. Arrol lr('r'sirrril(' \Aioul,l l¡t. ¡ur ¿rlu¡rrrt, ¡lll
rllt, ul le¡ll
critical sizc: ¿In in.jc'cLc'rl iclt'lr is tr) ('()r'r'('ril)ontl t,r ¿r n(.ulrnl
nr É,ult,llf
pile from withclut. E¿rclr suc[r r]('r.rtr«xr will «'¡rus(,¡r ('t.r'l¡rur¡r ,llrtutH
which eventually dies away. II', lr{)wr.vr.r, f lrt, sizt. ol' Ilr¡. r.' ¡rlh, l¡ I
ciently increased, the disturlrancc
c'¿u,rscrl lry su«'lr ¡¡rr in(,ur
uurllrH HEI
will very likely go on and on increasing urrtil Ilrt' wlrolt, ¡rik,k, ir rhrtH
Is there a corresponding phenomenon lr¡r nr i nrts, r rt I ir,h tlrpra Ht r r
machines? There does seem to be one f or tht'llunri¡n ¡rrinr nrl, I lre fr
ity of them seem to be "sub-critical ," i.",t«r cr)rr('sl)()rrtl irr
irr t lrlr 6¡11
to piles of sub-critical size. An idea prescntcrl f o suclr -¡r,r urlurl *t
average give rise to less than one idea in reply. A sn'rírllislr ¡rPilrpilf llfl
suPercritical. An idea presented to such a mind llt¿ty llivt, I lrG' lu g t
t'theory" consisting
ulr ltleall
of secondary, tertiary ancl ,-r',,,r., r'r,nrol
mals'minds seem to be very definitely sub-criticrrl. Arllr llr,,r lnH lS
analogy we ask, "Can a rnachine be made to bc sul)(,r't,r'ililiurlr" ¡ii¡
p. 454]
We all know subcritical minds, that's for sure! Wh¿rt vvouhlrl u llh¡ttH
it could be associated with lnore) not with less, with multi¡tli,,,r,ttlltttr, lllll
traction. Critical theory died awa)r long ago; can wer llr.t.r)nr(. r r itturl Él
in the sense here offered by Tirring? That is, generating nrorr, i,ir l,,,n l hfil
have received, inheriting from a prestigious critical tr¿rdit iorr lrlrrrt nnl lÉl]l
it die awalr) or "droppirg into quiescence" like a piarr«r n() l, rn¡t:,t flfrl
This would require that all entities, includirg compute:rs, (.(.¡r\(.
rr' ln lrr f tfulrl
defined simply by their inputs and outputs and becornc irg:rirrr I lr ingr, lltlt
ating, assernbling, gatherirg many more folds than thc "urritr,rl ,rl l,rttt " lll ffi
were possible then we could let the critics come ever cl«rst,r'trlu llr¡, lltHlil l§l
of concern we cherish, and then at last we could tell them: "\"(.s,,, ¡r1,,rril,, lril ilt
them, explain them, deploy them." Then we would have g«xrt. li,r,r pnnrl lrt t t ii,
iconoclasm.
MARTHA C. NUSSBAUM
b. 19 47
Martha C. Nussbaum takes philosophy out of the academic re¿rlnr r¡!rrl rrl,¡,ti
public issues of our duy. While many contemporary philosophers firlu,. r,n r.
technical issues of language or cognition, Nussbaum explores thr. llr,.r.rl,r ,,r
that philosophy brings society. In pursuit of this wider aim, sht, «lr;rr, ., ,,r,
other fields, such as law, public policy, international development, ¿¡¡r,1, ¡,, r 1,,,¡
surprisingly, literature. In our selection, "The Narrative Imaginati()n" (l'r',
baum argues that higher education should produce "citizens of tht, rr,,r l,l
literature plays a key role in achieving that goal because of its speci¿rl .'lli, ,,
ing us to understand others.
lf,rlr ln l().f ',', l\n.,olr;¡¡llrr llr'('\\ ul) nt llrr' ',ul,l¡t lrt ,,l l'llil:ltlt'l¡rlrilr, \A,ll.'l'(' ltt'l'
r.. r \r;r,. ,ur ;rllr¡r'n('\'. ,'\l'lcr :rllt'rrrlirr¡i \\','ll,'.,1«'\' ( l,llt'll(', sltt' ,'r)llll)lt'lt'tl ltt'r lt.A.
,i tr \,,rl, I lnivt.t'sil1, i¡, l()(r(). Sllr. tlirl ¡lnr,lurrlt' rt,,»t'1,. in t'll¡ssics ¿tt llarvarcl Uni-
ir1 |,u nur!,, lrt.r' i\'1./\. in l()7 l; slrt'\^/;rs tlrc fit'st wotltitlr ttl receive a prestigious
¡.rr lr ll,,rr rlri¡r rrf ll:¡r'vi¡l'tl's S«rt'it'ty r¡l'l"t'llor,r,s, tttrcl completed her Ph.D. in 197\.
,=..l,,rrn¡r tlr,'rr tiruglrt clirssics ¿rnrl ¡rlrilosophy at Harvard from 1975 to 1983; in
,, | ,,1r,.
¡rirrt,tl tlrc lirt'ulty «rl' IJr«lwn University and held a prestigiotls University
f , ,,,,,,r,,!ri¡r I'r'orrr lgtltl to 1995; in addition, she was research adviser to the World
,i l utr. l,,r I )t,\,(,lo¡»rrernt Economics Research (WIDER) in Helsinki, a division
, it,, I rrut,.«l Nr¡tions University, from 1987 to 1993. She moved to the University of
r ir:f[nr ur l()()5, wlrc're she is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of
,¡r,l I llrit.s. Slrc: has also held a number of distinguished visiting professorships
,*,,1 rl ul ir)ns rr rouncl the world.
i \l,ru\ r,rrl(,rnporary critics have espoused poststructuralist theory, but Nussbaurn
* ¿ ri,i'nt:, rr tlil'f'crcr-lt tradition of thought, grclunding her work in moral philosophy.
.,, 1¡,,trrrt,s f «rr her are the ancient Stoic philosophers, such as the Roman emperor
i.* u,, \rn't,lius (121-180 c.E.), who reflected on how to live deliberately and honor-
i I )rr,, ,rl'Nussbaum's concerns has been the emotions, particularly their relation
,rlri, ,, :ur(l ¡rolitics; rather than dismissing them as irrational or irrelevant to jrdg-
I
rrr ,r,. nrrrrry thinkers have, she shows their role in evaluation and ethical judgment.
, in.,t.urr'(,, justified anger at inequality, or compassion for those in poverty, works
( l,ur ,,....r|cd social change. Another concern has been the philosophical import of
, r,rtur(., rrs she has paid particular attention to its capacity to represent emotion and
r,,r Ir,,1, good and bad moral choices.
rlrr, lr ol'Nussbaurn's work cleals with ethics, emotion, and literature, but through
. l,r,)os hcr work expandecl to consider politics more explicitly. Her participation in
tlrl li ,urd travels to India, where she witnessed the inequalities experienced by
I
,¡11 ,l tlrc women of the world, affected herpowerfully; as she remarks in her 2000
,,1 \l'otnen and. Hwnoan Deuelopncent, these influences "transformed my work,
,l,rrr¡1 nre aware of urgent problerns and convincing me that philosophy had a con-
,trutrrn to make toward their solution." In collaboration with the Nobel Prize-
,r*unll ('conomistArnartya Sen, she has promoted "the capabilities aPproach," which
.1, lirrcs social good as assessed not by measuring wealth or a country's per capita
. r, ,, r r; I ional product, as many economists and policy makers do, but by determining
, r
-lr t( I I Jl§l I t'I t.rr¡rabilities people can exercise and how likely they are to flourish. This new
,,rrrt t'rrtails attention to literacy, health care, and freedom of religion, which she
i '. ,r\ rr-rinimal requirements for a decent society.
lrr I'orcgrounding traditional humanist concerns-in her emphasis on universal
, ,r,rrr capabilities, as well as in her defense of the tradition of litc'iature and liberal
,rninÍ{-Nussbaum departs from much poststructuralist theory, which espouses
,rrlr¡r¡anism and stresses the ways in which abstract structures, such as language or
i, , rl,gy, determine human life. Nussbaum also asserts normative standards, believ-
,, lof instance, that all people should have health care and "liberty of conscience"
, r,rlom of religion), at a time when much theory rejects normative standards and
,rrr.r'Sál ideals to embrace difference. In a vibrant exchange published in the book
,,t l,tn¡e of Cowmt y (Lgg6;2ded., 2OO2), Nussbaum argues for the humanist idea of
,,,,nropolitanism" over patriotism, adopting the Stoic advice that we should be citi-
!
, ,,¡ ol'the world.
l
\ t'c:ntral element in creating a better society for Nussbauffi, as it was for prero in
,, , lia2tublic, is the education of citizens; her book Ccútfuating Hum.anity: A Classicril
t,
lt,ns€ ,f R"forrw in Liberal Ed.ucation (1997), from which our selection is taken,
,rrtt,nds that an important pllrpose of higher education is to train citizens of the
!
,,, l,l who are sensitive to social justice. Nussbaum believes that one way to achieve
,,, lr sensitivity is through exposure to literature, especially drama and fiction. Lit-
,,rtrrre makes us better citizens because it helps train us to understand others.
 lll lll"l"l
r'rll¡(""t"tlt 'r¡''llrllllt(''r"tl¡tl

! lli,'lr',', ltr,l, l,,,tllll;t, ll¡()l'll

li¡lf Ilt'l I luur lrt'ilr¡i srlrr¡rlt ;r l)r lr,tlr' l)rtl',llll, :r', ¡.' ,,1 l,'tt I ll,,ll;',lrl, "tr.tl t,tl l', i i
1,,r,. lr(.(.tl
r tlltr i"lll'
1.,1,'t'l 'rlttl
ti«-ll-t is alr css('rrtilrl ¡rrt'l)anrliorr l',,r'nl()r':rl inlcr;rclion." ll rtt,rl'(", u', nr,t, i
¡'l't1"""¡'ltt
'r '. ' ¡,rll,ll,

compassion," which "involvt's tlrc r-('('ognilion f ll:rl :ur()l lr,'r lr('r',,rn tu l()(;ltAl'l lY
lf l lll
similar to [ourselves], has sul'f'crc'tl sonr('signilit'r¡lrl ¡r:rin ,rt nu',lr,rtrur, lr
might vote for universal health c¿Irc not ()nly oul ol'st'll' inl«'rr"'l lrul ,¡l , r,lr r>f'her generatitln; she has writ-
, \r.,.,r):r.,1 is «)r)(. (¡r' trr,, ,r«rst ¡r^rlilic sch.l¿rrs
I
rr,
than 300 o'ii.,l"u' as well as over 50
,
thy for those who have the misf-ortunc «rl'sul'lt'r'ing ill lt.';rlllr :ur,l l,r, l. rr¡r tr, !, ,,lrt.rl ,t.rrrly iO llr«rl..s, l)r.tl>li-s'ccl more
In the background of Nussbautn's ¿Irgunr('nt rn't' llt.' ",.'ulturr' 11 .¡¡ . ,lr,l Republic andthe l{ew YorL<Reuiew
, ,\ , ,r l)r(),ri,t'lrt Ittagazit-r",,rth as the Nrz'uz
I

Her fi"t b«rok' Aristotl'e's f)e Motu A'ni'

over the literary canon in the Unitccl St¿rtt's tlurirtg llrc lllr' l')lil)', t,r,l I l, '
i ,,,,1.,, .rrrrl givt',', ,.,,."s of public lectures' (1978)' was a
when conservatives charged that highcr cclucirtion lr:rrl lr.',',,rrr,' ¡r.lrlr, i , ,l i
i,t* lr,rl r,i,l¡ 'l'runslatiom, Conn'noe''t*y, and'
lnterpretiue.Fssays
by liberals, had abandoned the classics. Nussl)¿runl ('ourtl.'tr I,1 rr,l ,,11, ir¡
'fh" Fragili4t of Goodness:-Lwcl<
, i,,r ,,l lrt,r.rrisscrt¿rti.n. tt íur with h"r r-,á*t book,
(1986; ,:r.ed., 2001) that she gained
wide
their assumptions about the goal of eclucation llul r¡lso l)\, l,r «)un(ltrt¡' 1,, , ,.i, i t tr,,, , ir t orack |rugerry r*apt"ir.osophl
with classical philosophy' ethics'
that education should.be political and cosnropolit¿ur in llr,' r','r\ lr,rrlrtt,l t.l i,rr(,r. rt ir¿r,[{Lrr¿rtccl a cluster of *ort ,
,t-rr, deal
Kno*r."d.ge: Essays on Phil'osophy
and'Litera-
esteem-the literature and philosophy of thc ¿urcit'nl ( Jrt'r'ks ,urrl ll,,nr',r' , ,r,r ¡r, ,rrrrl litcr¿rtrre, inclucling I-oue's (1994)'
baum also criticizes the identity politics favorccl lly lillt'r¿¡ls, rvr('rlrrr¡, I lr,rt ,I ,1,)()o),'l 'lta,,erapy of Desíre:Theory and'Ú::t"e'intlellenisticE'thics
Life (1995), and cult'ivating
of education are universal. She further divcrges f'ronr ('()nlcnrl)r,r;r \ tlr, t,, ltrstit.t,: -lrce Literary lmoagination' and. PublicE'ducation (1997)' whose third
refusing to join the widespread critique, inspirecl by Mt(rttt,¡ I ()l ( \t I r :nr¡l , I
,,,,,it,tt,¡\ olassical Defense of Reforw-t' iin Liber*l'
continuing her focus on ethics' her
the Enlightenment and its stress on reason; instcacl,, slrt' s( r'orr¡,,1r rl, l, l,l r rs,,,l,rrc Narrative ñ;g*atián." while
argument and its key role in a deliberative democr¿lcy.
¡,rr
more explicitry address politics and hrmu.' rights; they include
r \\,rr,.«r| b.oks
"The Narrative Imaginati«¡n" conducts a witle-r¿rnging lr¡ur lr,,rrr \rt r ;! Deuelopvwent: Tloe capabilities
,rt,r *tcial Justice (lggg), woucen and,-Humcan of Eru'otions (2001)' Hid'ing
classical Greek drama-touchstones for the classic:ist Nusslxrunr tlr,,,,'=l rJpheauq-Ls'í¡ruou\lt: Th'e Intelligence
t ,,,,,, Ir (20( )O), F^rutiers of Justice: Disabil'
Whitman and Ch¿lrles I)ickens, r-rp to the now-canonic¿rl Al'r'ir;¡r¡ \trr, r í, ,,, I lt,ttunitl-: Disgwst, Sh'atnn, o*d-thn
lo* (2004t ancl
lnuisible Man (1952), by Ralph Ellison. In some ways, N.rssl,;unn', ,u r!r*,, yl"*b"'rship (2006). Most recently, she has been examining
..,rrir ,,rurity, species
=

implicit defense clf literature in the style of such earlier tlclt'rrscs ,,1 ¡r,r tr r ,r,. rrrrcl its effect .,, poiiri.r,'in'Tloe ctash
within: Detnocfaclt Religious vio-
ByssHE sHELLEy's, which holcls that writers are legislators ol'r ¡r1u,",, nrrr *r, , of conscience: In Defense of Ancerica's
Future (2007) and Liberty
i
,,, trt(l [ndia,s
thetes. While many view it as a refined hobby, literaturc lirr Nu',.,lr,rur, l*', t of Religious Equality (2OOB) '
,,l ,, several on
áor. than a dozen collections) among them
tt tt

deeper didactic value,, as it asks readers "to cross cultural ¿urtl ¡t;rlnrr.rl lr,rr,, !
,,,,.,r)1rrm has co-edite«l
Nussbaum puts special value on the novel because its "risc coirrr irl,'rl rr tll' work with the united Nations Univer-
, rr ,r ¡rlrilosophy; severaf J"ri'i'g from her
I

ported, the rise of modern democracy." ,,r,, lr as Trce Quality of Lrk(with Amartya sen,
1gg3), and woncem, cwl'twre, and
and sev-
In a subsidi ary argument, Nussbaum addresses the g«litls ol'r'r ilrr r',rrr ' l, , ,,tr t¡rtnent: A Study ,f H;;r) crp,b¡itkiás (with Jonathan Glover' 1995)'
Hutnan Riglcts in Aruerican
tr¡ task the New Criticism-the dominant Anglo-Americ¿ul rl)l)r.,rr lr ir' t I
, ,l ,,rr r«rpicar issues, ir.r,rJi;; s"xurl
orientation amd'
and Aninoal Rights: cuire*t Debates
and'
twentieth century, as practiced by cr-naNTH BRooKS and othcrs tt lrr, l, 1,,, ,, !

r,,,,tt¡tts Disco*rse(with saul óryurr, 1998),

her w.rkin her own
on questions of form and "the poem itself." Recalling Lioncl 'l'rillirr¡,, (l'rtt', I
,, r)ircctiozs (with cass R. sunstein, 2OOt4).
For an account of
drawing on the critic Wayne Booth (1928-2006), whose l¿ttt'r \\'()r l', ',1t, r t I
capabiriry;f phirosophy,An Interview with Martha c. Nussbaum,"
,,,,r.,, sce,,The
cal dimension of liter¿rture, she insists that criticism shoultl rtrl.lr,".', r , *' Reuiew, h.s ' 7t-72 (2009)'
rrt.rcd by Jeffrey J. wi[ia .,,s, Minne'sota
I
,,, disputa-
aesthetic form, in particular how "the interaction between rc¿r(lt'r ;urrl l, '.f r , ', is sizable, ranging from scholarly
rrrr.t.riticar commentary on Nussbaum on p.litics and religion;
a friendship and/«lr community." As is true of her treatment ol'¡rlril,,'.,,¡,1,r ,,, I i
,, ,r., (,,r crassicar phirosophy to engag".""",
in public delrates
and L""r, the subject of a l{ew
Yorkrirues
education, her imperative is ethical: criticism has an obligation t() ('(!n'.r,1¡ r ,r, r,, rrrrs appeared in teteirsion interviews Philosophy?" l{ovember
political issues, to engage in debate and evaluation, and t«l t¡ucslr)rr r ,rr ' ,

t,t,,,,t-irue Íeature articf" fri lobert-S.

nt'y"ton, "Wht l:-:1: andlas
(1983), tittred Literature
wisclom. 1 1,rt)9. issue tf xr- Literaíy History 15
A special
reading of Henry James; it includes
essays
One clther way that Nussbaum clifl'ers from rnany conternpor¿u'\ llr,l t I i
t,,t,tl ,lcil.osoplry, focuse«l on Nussbarrrr', putnám . For Love of country?
accessibility «rf her writing. She employs philosophical concepts u'ill¡,,rrt ¡ *, , .
tlrt, phirostphers Richard wolrheim ancr Hiráry
cohen, contains sixteen responses to Nuss-
minecl t«l conl,ey to a general readership how the«rry contribult's lr¡ rrr,rl r,,, r,r,r(r; new ed., 2oo2),"dit"á hy Joshua
,,Patriotisrn and Cosmopolirurrisni' by leading philosophers and
critics'
society. One o{t her most impassi<lned critiques, published in llrr' \/r'n li,¡ ' ,,,, s essay
1999, w¿ts of ¡uDIT'H BUTLEII, whose writing she finds esoteric ¿t¡rtl rr lr,,'., r,. ,,
(igg4) r',vhere it was origi-
Review rg
,,r,rs them Jucrith Butler; the issue of Boston
fbr subversion without a vision of normative justice she finds irrt'sl)()n'.rl,l, ' : : responses. A review attacking the multicul-
, ,rrr ¡rublishecr contained twentv-nine
:

critic David
ing to counterproductive social goals. Nussbaum, in turn, htts lr,','tt r r rlr¡ i I
, ir.rr lcarnings of cultiyating Humoanl*y
Tty the plrminent conservative
section of Ronald L' Hall's
both the right and the left. From the right, she has been att¿rcl<c'tl 1,,, ,".1,,,u i, ,

r r,r, *pp"ui, ínpubr.ic Intelesü,

sprin gt2vz. ¿, r,rbrtantial
and rhe Philosoplry of Loue: Kierke'
ticulturalism under cover of the classics. From the left, she hirs lr,','r¡ r rrti, i

t rt,, I lomoan Erubrace: 'I'lce Love ,¡ ilrrtosophy focus t"' A special

holding ¿r tr¿lditional and unoriginal view of education, as well ¿rs l',,r rlr l, rr,li, ,t,,1, Cauel.l,, Nussbau'o (2000) conside"
Ñ"'baum's ""totion'
on Martha Nussbaum's Political Phi-
mative values. Recause Nussbaurn advocates cosmopolitanisffi, tlrt'¡,,)',lr ,l,,r,r ,r ,

,rrt..f Ethicsll1 (2000) features "symposium

rist GAyaTRI CF{AI(IIAVoRT'Y SPIVAx has charged her rl,ith carryil-tg orrl .ur rnrl ícriricism u, Th"rapy: The Hunger of Martha
r,,r)r,rry.,,Geoffrey Galt il;;phr-',
(' ' 'r'
clvllrzlng rrrission" directecl at other cultures. The pragmatist ¡rlr ilo',r ,¡,1¡r ¡ | i (2OO6), of'fers a good synthetic account
,,rslraum,,,i, hisThe Clrarácter of Criticisnr'
,

Rorty, who joins Nussb¿rum in calling ftor the public use of phil«rso¡rlrr, r¡r r ' i r i

I \rtssbaum's career'
has criticized her argumentative stance) remanking that "her tonc s()nrt'lun, !:,

that to differ from her is to imperil thc social bond." Through ¿¡ll ,,1 tlr, , 'l I
 ol Ik fi¡r,, ¡,r I ilx i,¡t
chepter 3..rhe Na",oti,\,
tit¡,,,,i;,;;, ""' | ,,,,..,,,,,,,r,,rs,,r,,.,.,,,r,,,t,urt,.t\-.r,.,,.,,,1t ,,,r,r.n.:,,rt ,,,,x..
t'h,{i,h,,nu, ,1
"
,-, ,,, ,,. ,,,,,¡ (ris, i,r1iv. , pr.¡ry L,¡ pro.
| : :l;ll i:l;lli,l:ill.,)llll,

,r,,,r, rn.r.,In((nr{,rn.pn,r,(,,narmenr ola c¡rizen sho has become

"#:H"H['".:::::,:",:Tj"¡¡.t,,¡i',,,,',,i..,'',]i'irlj'1.i.:l;
sn. poems, he.aureitrawifrh""r¡«J,,t,,,,,|.,,.,,:.-j',,,,,, ,, lht,nr, l,il,.; by the..rp"nt *h" gr.id, Lh..hrine, began ro oor
arés hder Meikjejohn, i ,Trre
¡¡." ¡.."i.i,".,,,.i" ,", ¡ r,., ¡,,,. ;, , r,utrrs *rc, and his cries of pain disrupred the army,s rerigious

,¡,,,,,¡
, , , ,

IJ:.I;:1"H:::HÍi.s.JI1'""-"11,1::,¡,'",:',,r :r u, ;; )ltllililffi:.;[;'nl;n.I;,.*li:i:flJ:*Hi:,lff
:.1 ffi:i':;i;#.¿fft,jilt#:"^t,X-"'..'l:Jlill;l ;ii:l'lt::i:,1',,
Learn¡ng about manv rhine§ dñ.. srri¡l r'''¡¡rr!,,,r'
,, , l'.1:llltlil',j ii:,J"1fi,f"I.yi1:lii:ll"1i,T,",'üX,'."t"T:
rl.,.rnm¿nderodlsseusshowsnoinreresr¡nPhilocLeresasapersoni
^^, ]:l:.]11""
'r rr".
Ar¡reliust insk¡ ed I hait. u rkr' r\r¡,,,ir¡,

knowredse: we mu§r ats"

¡""'Jñ*".ii"l'"""''e wc rrrurr r"'r ',rr,r¡.lr ,,,
r,,.,r.\,,Ihimonlyasaroolofpublicends.rhechorusotcommonsol-

:
,^ ^..-lt]',.'.:" r,.,\ ,, ¡l¡Herenr iesponse tlinei tos-tzo):
",,,,,"".-
m rh nkh'w

f,f,il,iFj+[lit#i:lfli:*fi:'];l#ll,tl:,-ii, ilrrü"#]ii::],;'d"'i"*".h
:i",lLiÍ'Jil;filli';li|i;."]""::Él*:J'i;'..,-'"."r,,i,:''.,ii'llii1', wrerc"hed artavsaráne'
he $asres smv wilh that savage disease'
PeoP¡e race bur also rheir "¡n"¡¿*,,,t.i.¿.ult'ot,(,'lv
*ircs' r h"ugt 'l"
r'""" 'i"i"' with no sav of meetins his dailv ne€ds'
¡n8ar rne wortd.
Hoe the arts ptay
r.. ,i,,l
"."',,ii ,
" ".,, Ho% how in rhe wo¡ld, does thepoorman survive?
a vita, -,", ",n,,*,"" .-,.* ;._ .

frlü'i:;[ü:*tráix[iüt'#;'r5',.'"r¡j¡1iil:',r]r;r;l:: ||5t.ü:¿l*#iil¡;}.;T.idr"fl",?..ri1#i:i+ir",:fl
iifl'.,.:1,...;l.,*$ii..,,1',,11'*H.l'i,f":.,j#llir,,il
,li*i*-l*ii[*,f..*-t,f*-"i*lim-l*t,
*1":" theartscu¡r¡!.¡ri.,.¡r,,¡,xh .
¡as...r."¿.";",i..i.:',.i::':i^
;.:lfífffl:-.:l¡:.:T:'-"Ji:l,'1li1i::':¡i,1f:';)ll il l.::
,,i:;,1
,..,,nr¡arheric visionofwhich

:,:til':j"%.,,il",j#,Tlj:
s chara.rers speak. ln rhe play, rhis kind
""i.1*i:Í:fflit"1:T"i sili"il,::ff:.".i,i
ol

;:#*.Xlí*"::.1il':',':fi-"';1TffJi"':JlJ'l;:Jtiilt,t.;, ,,.",trEsurcsasratuabteroriherorÁarionordecenrcirizenshipand
l::;il[ñll;i,1.*,H;H""lfill,li:i:1,*j:.::f,:"...]§::n:*j
r.-".i,.""i""ij:'-llvtotPr€senrrhesptrinccircun,\r¡,,k,...,rr,,,;
,m. Á. i"ii", ij.'11",,i,,-"'ll'_:.1i "^*t"':T,!.' , " especir lrr r r, , ,",r', rr
r ¡, ,,(.d pubtic choice. Atrhoush Ihe sood or ihe uhote shourd nor be

l'ül#,ft[]Tri1xrT,',1*,til1l1ti*,*,l.li,,:ri:r, , ,,l;,ffi.fltj;,#/"'tr."1r;,..,ilrj]j*:::"";:::::
;l
:;
;i,g;i3;'9."'"i9ffi ¡ü1 ffiÍl'li"';.H §"i"':i"f*:ltffi.T

ÉHl#ii'r;ri#ffi ffi**,utt,ffi',.. :::_*:::::1**'':::i::::.::: rrL Añei..n nmli!r (lv l4-lee4l I'u!i- nmé, L widcly r.o3niz¿d ,* , ñd¿án .l,si..
'.¿r
 rvr§r r /,o ('r('t'gizt.s ¡,¡ ,r.ll¡rl
'rr.r t.(,\,,1r¡rirr¡rr.\/ ,r()\/(,rr(.lrr;
wll«l f4r¿ltifit's tlrtj st'rr¡rl irr¿r;i;,;,,¡,,,, vl,
rllt, t'rlrlt'\ us lo ¡tt¡tLt' nt()t'(' lrrlr¡t nt.'rl .jrrrlgnl('nls on isst¡('s t'('l¿rf i¡r¡4 f o i¡l'f ir¡lr¿r-
r¡l'¿r \^i(,rrjrr r,,.,,,,,¡rr, .... .l
.h*g"ct sexuat í,r,rg",--:1,,;;::i,'lil';:':i,ll li*, l t()n tuttl t.tlut'¡tl iolt.
itg' "never more loréd and uplír"ai¿rtc'cl" ;;, :':iil;;i1,,':I'lll::,,::i:, :il 'tr
llt¡ilr,'r t'rlucitI iort slrou ltl rlt'vt'l«r¡r sLrrclernIs' awareness of literature in
th¿¡rr wlrr., lr,, ,.t,¡r,r, r.i., ... -, -l
rÉ "others, " me a"-h,," !,..*rr rlil'li'r't'nt w¿rys. llut litcr¿rture does play a vital role in educating citi-
onlywhat their own minds ;#ii::i::f l' :il,Ii],l' ;T li 1i' ", i l'l n:,,tl
,,,.
have created, ncvcr th(. r(.;rlil.,,,r.rr,G, ,¡-ri¡
I
i, *ir ,l tlr(' \ /orlcl. lt nr¿rltt's sc)r)se, then, to ask how it can perforrn this func-
stands before them. "You i¡rrr rr\ \\,,'ll ¿rs possible-what sorts of literary works, and what sort of
99
then suddenly you discoveñhut "i.;;?:rrt;#:"i.,i[i:*'l;,;;1,;ffi,ffi
you're as trarlrsDirrr,¡rr i¡s ,ri,.,, r....r..rt¡i Ir'r, lun¡l of'tll«rsc works, our academic institutions should promote in order
m atter of the consrr
Iookf}:l*l ffi :i", f""#',ZT
"
; ,,I'
:;:::'l i,:I,' il- ; I Ii" ;i i * H f', f ,rlcr'¡r¡'l infirrmed and compassionate vision of the different. When we
r.l, llris t¡ucstion, we find that the goals of world citizenship are best pro-
";i;-Ipo,, reatity;,7
physic,i ,

*n
Ellison's grotesgue, surrear ;*rrf
'rl l,y ¿r literary education that both adds new works to the well-known
-o|ü'rr unrikc t rrt, t,r¡r s¡rrr,el
r, o_",e r, a"*í'
;,rtmn" ,rl'Wi:stern literature and considers standard texts in a deliberative
i:li:i"i,l,i:l
tion and injustice, l,,j::,": T
manipulatio., tre c r o s e ly I i,, ti c r I : s,
and ,r", ,;á ,[]rll'liill;rl:i;:ñl-!j
ri q I r ¡ I
'll
of.feing rransparenr ro and for :1il,:::;il,:rurl.lu,*"d that it is inappropriare ro approach rirerarure with
cit:*'-'::
one,s fe¡ow (,ír i2,,,," r rL¡
I e s' d ra m a, i t
expl"o'"' ;;J, *rñ;
n;;T; §,'*"J:'l:, : l, i íl' j
I ;: Í
r l*rlilit'rrl argenda." Yet it is hard to justify such a claim without embracing
*:la::j:Ii:.' jn reader';; É;;
and see more rhan rhr. ,,,s,,,.r,rs
i *r r \lrt'nrcr kind of aesthetic formalism that is sterile and unappealing. The
ll*,l('r'n ircsthetic tradition has had throughout its history an intense con-
H:Ji:.i,11,,' l,lll: ::: :: I
,ln rr ith character and community. The defense of that tradition in the
;*::*:::]l
when L1"r,wl* ;i;;;" , !,y,ro rerr you what w¿,s rt,¡,uv rrar ttculture wars" should enlist
vo r eve s were
u oki ns rr, ' rlrlrnrl)orary our support.
-"*i,'üilTlffi
r

;i:,,
o
;i i' J;I. :T ll], lfE :'
;#T:ji::,":::i:::yh:i:
that*L',, r ;;';;r
fairure, i, .u,rigares, r,r,,urr rr r ir rr
R
;,,ffix'i
Ellison
il:'Í n u
:f r r v ca b
", I'J:t'i: l, rl' i:: l.l,filJJi
\\ lr.n r c'hild and a parent begin to tell stories together, the child is acquir-
explicitly linked the novelist's
By representi'g both visibility art to the possib¡lity ,l,rlt,n ,rl' r'\s('ntial moral capacities. Even a simple nursery rhyme such as "'Iwin-
a novel' he wrote in an introduction,
ur,-J irs evari;;r, both
equa Iír y ¡r¡ rrl lr r ll,, trvinkle little star, how I wonder what you are" leads children to feel
"could be fashione.rl ¿rs ¡r r"rrl,r , .,rn(1,'r
P e rc ep ti on a n d e n te r ta i n m e n
t t h al'y,*n I il"ir" J::; T[1r ;j;,' -a sense of mystery that mingles curiosity with awe. Children won-
,l¡ r ,rlrorrt the little star. In so doing they learn to imagine that a mere shape
:, :"j1,' §
and whirrpoors ,Á"ir;;k."r
l::::l':"_rl: narion,s v,,,,irr,,, r,.. l ¡l llrl lreavens has an inner world, in some ways mysterious, in some ways
towa rd a n d ',ru8,_,
^y,y"f,o,,,, h;;;; ; Ji: il::f ;ili,,ix' lT:
1
il::',i
j j;;
I III i ltl,r'llrt'ir ovvn,. They learn to attribute life, emotion, and thought to a form
p.oper .,lr,,st'insideé are hidden. As time goes on, they do this in an increasingly
.#::'"Y
requires not i:1",:::::jt_,'o',-" urgenr goar. r.,o.r Ítem
onlv institutions r"d;;;;d;;r;;r;i:"*::1,.i:l:':'::I
_u,rd
,rr¡rlristicated wdy, learning to hear and tell stories about animals and
ffii,fl ;r,T I i ;11 ]j * : _: a," r", t h t; ;+i..,;:ir ",, ", "],.,¿i. j., J,fi
I
u t d : I
lluu¡urs. These stories interact with their own attempts to explain the world
filffi ,?nl'
1""",," -:'q andysariric at trearmen i il;i:, lu;
.lr,l llrcir own actions in it. A child deprived of stories is deprived, as well,
;l ?;::m'::::,',1n"
its rantastic use orimage and symbor r t,r.,, o*ul
(in,'ro;#ft:::iffiXl,:X;:'ll*:
,,1 t'r'r'tain ways of viewing other people. For the insides of people, like the

sequence lr',i(lcs of stars, are not open to view. They must be wondered about. And the
in the white-paint fáctory), urrd
end. ;;'ffi#'ilií;lll;JiiFt
its poignant mo,rt,rrn * r,n('lusion that this set of limbs in front of me has ernotions and feelings
pointed-hope, alt conrribure
ro rhis ,lr,l llroughts of the sort I attribute to myself will not be reachedwithout the
As Ellison says, forming the
ciüc imagination is not the «rn Ir ¡rirr ing of the imagination that storytelling promotes.
ty r.,lé
;il:,ffi::r#ii:,;,ll:11:;,:?r".
the lives of the different with
Nu,,",#-;;t has the power r«, r,*ke Nrrrrative play does teach children to view a personlike shape as a house
involvement uld sympathetic
more than, JJ::i::#ffJl;,::ffi: lrr lr«rpe and fear and love and anger, all of which they have known them-
understanding,
"d;:, with anger uf olrr rr* ,, 1'1's. But the wonder involved in storytelling also makes evident the limits
il;
f

r, ty,,fr . ,rl crrc:h person's access to every other. "How I wonder what you arer" goes the
ffi :: :'.:^1t :i'^1ll
those who share *íth " "- " r.,, -, r a n c e s sh¿r¡lt.
rrrryv err-cumstances s h ¿,,,, . Illrp
*r rlltr
_;;:;"^\,\_L- r r

,lrvrnc. In that simple expression is an acknowledgment of the lack of com-

"_
;ff :i,i:::a*11ü;::::ffi :ü'"#i:::f
aspirations and d"ri,"r,
,i,i,1xilJ""111;lil,:i:,ff : ¡rh'lcrless in one's own grasp of the fear, the love,.the sympathy, the anger, of
!op"';;íf";#Xii:ffili:::ü:T;ill
to decisions we must mak"
u, citizens. understanding, for ;i§1,:
tlr,' little star, or of any other creature or person. In fact the child adept at
',lrrytelling soon learns that people in stories are frequently easier to know
history of racial stereotyping ex¿rrrr¡rle, hG
can affect ,"f-"rteem, achieverr(,rrr, tlr;ur people in real life, who, as Proust puts it inThe Past Recaptwred,l fre-
Hu*l I
r¡ttt'rltl1, offer "a dead weight that our sensitivity cannot remove," a closed
7. Ralph EIIison, lnvisible
lVlan (New york:
,'rlt'rior that cannot be penetrated even by u sensitive imagination. The child,
dom House, Iss2), pp loá)"íZe Ran_ references to her o\\,n \\,,or-k.
note; all of ,3 [t\ussbaum,s r-lir,r, r¡r,r,, rglgr}lglh
Nrrrrbrl-,, except 2 cross_ l,bjg., p.572 fNussbaurnir',.,,,,,,t,
I Ibid', t I lrt' 7th and final volume (Ig27)of one of the great narratives of the Z[thcentury- The Remerubrance
"ár"r, 9' pp. xxiv-xxv, xxvi
:

[x,,rri,,,,ulr,r ¡ril[l u ,¡ I'ltings Past (1913-27), by the French novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922).
 wonde.ng arx)r-rt irs r)¿r'('rrrs, s(x)lr r('irfr¡s
learns that its parents neccr n,t
ltr¡,,r
rrrr,st,r¡rrsrirr.rr,,,,
f,tr ,,= ,, ,q
r.,l,rw,jr,,.,.yrrrirg rrrrrr l
llr¡¡l llris sull('r nrli lr('r'ron nriglrl llt' ¡n('. ,,\n(l llris I \1 ill lr,' urrlil\('lY lo
i.',¡¡1,1¡l
mind' The habits of wonder p-,,"r".i r{rr.\,, l, rr ,rl Lrrn ('onvin('('(l tlr:rt I ;r¡n ¡rl,,rvt' Ilr.' ,n'rlinlr'\' lr¡f ¿rrrtl rro ill ,'rr¡r lrt'lirll nlt'.
rry st.rytt,rirg rrrrs rrr.r,r,
person as spacious,and rr,, :l
deep, with qualií¡tivt, «lif.l.r.r,r¡..,,. ,!,¡ tr .u('('\('('¡tf iorrs lo lllir, i¡r ri()nr(' r'('l¡gir¡us lrir«litions'
¡l«lrtr¿ty¿tls o['thc:
hidden places worthy"f ."rp""t.-'¡ iqs¡rr( 1r,,,,,.,,,,, ,,
,rl,,r',',iorl ol'( Jotl; lrul ¡rlril()s()llltt'rs sucll Írs Arist«ltlc ¿rncl Rousseau4 have
In these various ways, narrative imasin¿l r,,r',rl,lr'.'l¿¡irrtctl tlr¿rl iru¡ro'li'r't lrur-n¿rn bcings need the belief that their own
morarintera"tr.". sáuii,;i"-;;li;i;Í,::;j:,::1,;:'::llill,l:l,l;:,:;,1:,,,. ,,, .rrl,rl¡lics rrr(' sinril¿rr t«r tll«rsc ol'thc sufTering person, if they are to respond
type of citizenship and a certai"'i;.;;;:",rmmrrnily: ¡rl, r ()nr¡xrssi«»rr t«r anothcr's plight. This recognition, as they see it, helps
sympathetic responsivenear,o r¡r. rrrrrr r ,!f *,,r,
cumstances shaoe those needs,".rorh".',
l"".rr, ancr urrtrcrsf ;rrrrr,, rlrr u,.¡ i::
',,,,,1
l,l,urr rrylrv ('onrl)¿rssion so frequentlyleads to generous support for the needs
whire respecting sc¡rirrirrr',r,... lrt lr('r\: on('thinl<s, "That might have been ffi€, and that is how I should
This is ,o b""r.rr" ái ¡r, ,f , ,rnl lo lrc lr('¿ttc:d."
¡;f;;;,"'ii,liir,rerary
intense concern wirh rhe fat"
of
i.rir.irgirrirrg t,,rf¡,
f
r¡¡r¡,ri;I | ,nrl):rssion, so understood, promotes an accurate awareness of our com-
u,it ¿.ti,,,,* ,il,.,,, rr.**r,ir
nor"h;;;;"r,
as containing a rich inner rife,
ail of which i; ;,;::;;',;, ,ri,*, .i¡,lr \ rrl¡rt'rrrbility. It is true that human beings are ne"dy, incomplete crea-
cess, rhe reader learns.to h"r,"'.".p".iio. ,,, rr,, ¡.,,. ,,,r,', rvlrr) ¿rrc in many ways dependent on circumstances beyond their
world' seeing its importance in
tr," hidd;;-;;,;;;..,,,* ,I ,1,,,, ,,,,,*,
defining a creature as firrv r,,,,,,,,,, ,,nr r ,,1 li rr t lre possibility of well-being. As Rousseau argues in Ernile, people
respect for the in ner I ife of rr h rhtl i,r nr,t lully grasp that fact until they can imagine suffering r.ividly to them-
ing describes when he ca,s"onr.iorr-n?r, in", litera ry r hi,.r.ir r r l,r, r | ¡ lrl
,r" t-rci;;;ion of-the n,vt,r r.,.¡r,rr,r , .rlrul*r ,lr,'.,,:rnrl leel pain at the imaginirg. In a compassionate response to the
imagination"2-meaning iy this
;ha?il novel-reader i,' l,;;;'i;,,,rthrtr ,rll,'r irrg «r{'another, one comprehends that being prosperous or powerful
ro the materár áoraitionr.iiii"ppi""ss l,rr ', rrol remove one from the ranks of needy humanity. Such reminders,
il:::rff"" whirr. r.r.s¡,r,,.*s r**r,*¡
,l* tr:rrliti«rn argues, are likely to lead to a more beneficent treatment of the
As children grow older, the morar , ,r1,. l'hiloctetes, in Sophocles'play, asks for aid by reminding the soldiers
and sociar aspects o'f rrr,sr. r, , l r, t t l rcy thernselves might suffer what he has suffered. They accept because
;."i::ff ::ffi 'il"T"fr jiill,li§
r

rl, \ i¡r'(' able to imagine his predicament.

only hope and fear. happiness {,lii:t:",i,#i"t*,,s[ii;iillii:ii
a.rd distr"rs_attitudes th¿¡t ¿¡rr.
¡rl
lt st'r'nrs, then, to be benefrcial for members of a society to see themselves
, 1,,,u¡rd to one another by similar weaknesses and needs, as well as by
rrrril:rr capacities for achievement. As Aristotle argues in chapter 9 of The
l',t,'tics, literature is "more philosophical than history"-¡ry which he means
¡rr,r(' conducive to general human understanding-precisely because it
r*fu**f#**g**mffi;,,u-,tlrlll*ffi
!.", f *"r,
As chi r
;ñ r;#, ;il"JJff :l:[
d ren
lll];, ." ñ ; ill
rr rlurrints us with "the kind of thing that might happen," g"r"ral forms of

¡,l,,..ilrility and their impact on human lives.

" "'r" (,ornpassion requires demarcations: which creatures am I to count as
rr\ li'llow creatures, sharing possibilities with me? One may be a person of
,, li¡rt'cl feeling and still treat many people in one's world as invisible, their
l,rrs¡rccts as unrelated to one's own. Rousseau argues that a good education,
',lrit'lr acquaints one with all the usual vicissitudes of fortune, will rnake it
,lrllit'ult to refuse acknowledgment to the poor or the sick, or slaves, or mem-
lr.rS «rf'lower classes. It is easy to see that any one of those miglrt really have
lr.t'n me, given a change of circumstances. Boundaries of nationality can
',nrrilarly be transcended in thought, for example by the recognition that one
,,1 I lrc frequent hazards of wartime is to lose one's nation. Boundaries of race,
,,1 gcnder, and of sexual orientation prove, historically, more recalcitrant: for

rlrcrc might appear to be little reallife possibility of a man's becoming a

ir r rn.r an, a white person's becoming black, or even (pace earlier psychi atry) a
',trright person's becoming gay or lesbian" In these cases, then, it is all the
nrore urgent to cultivate the basis for compassion through the fictional exer-
, isc of imagination-for if one cannot in fact change one's race, one can
rrnrrgine what it is like to inhabit a race different from one's own, and by
2. See Lionel Trilling, The Liberal
(New York: Scribner,i' rqi3l lmaginatiom 3. Scorrish moral
ñ,rrrlru.rrri, ¡lil:rqpher anrl lorrrrrlhr¡
ure in ec«rnomics
Trilling (l 905-l 9T 5),G;;;.,
Iir"ruru "ái"1. critic.
(17n_ligo).
I fcan-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Swiss-born French political philosopher; his writings include
forth his theory of education.
I tttile (1762), a novel that sets
 l)('('tllllillll
t'ltlst' l, :t l)('t's(), ,,1' rlil'li'r'('rrr
r';rt'r. ()r. s,,tr¡rl ,r.ir,rr;¡f
inragi,el wlr¿tI it w«"'ttl l¡«'lil'.«'li)r
s()rr('()rr(.(¡r¡t,rr)\,(,s f ,
r,lr, ,*r .,il,,r',,,r()rr lor' \lrlli.r irrp, 1,.r¿r' Itrc inr:¡fli¡r¡¡liolt. 'l'lris ('tt¡r¡l iott is llrlilf ilrltl f ltt'
Rousseau thought that;;;;pi; rr¡r\,(.§r,.rr ¡r rirr
clíl'fi'^'cl ,rrry irr t.ir.t,r¡rsr¡rr(.(.\: iur.rlr( lol llt.
*"." r;;'r,,ir,,,. rrrr írr rirt,r r)rr(.(,r,rrrf' *r ,ri
their desires' aimf and emotifrr, l l,, ,.\ nr¡xrtlrit.s ol'tlr(' slrcr"lirl()r'¿rrt' l)ro¿r(l('ltt'tl ilr tltc Proccss, through
the
imagini'g reveals to us is rrr, rr,;, rirrr ,,1 risl.s t lrlrt ar'(, ('()nurrr¡rr to ¿tll hurn¿tn llcings. 'lragedies are obsessed
that we are n,t ¿rll brr¡f tr,l,lr'rr(lr.r.
circumstance: rlrr, ,,l,irr +r ,,1,tlrr, ¡)()ssilrilitit's ¿¡rrtt w('irlir-lc'sscs «lf human life as such, and with the
9f oppression form desire u.r.i (',rf i,,., ,,,r«r ¡rs¡rir,rrrr, ir,,,
characters feel like'us' lil'c and other, less limited lives, belongirg to gods
and some
to identify can arso be sources repel "ury i.l"ntific.¿,f i,r,. Brf sr, f r r,rrr*r 'tr.r.,t lrr.l\,(,('r't lrulln¿ut
.,,1 ,1,'rrrigorls. lrr thc process they move their spectator, in imagination, frorn
of understr,ncring. ri«rlrr rrv
byits absence' we learn what i.tr,rrririr ,r,'* ,¡r ! i., r,r,rl,. rryorlrt «rl'war to the female world of the household. They ask the
life has aor" t,i'p.,,r¡rrc. A
foster the just treatment s()(.it.r'rr¡¡rr rr**r= ¡r,rl(' nr:rlt. r'itizcn of ancient Athens to identify himself not only with those
of all its members has s[r«r,g r

exercise of the compassionate r(,¡rs()rs f , r,tr* i , rlr¡,,lrl in lrctua[ fact become-beggars, exiles, generals, slaves-but also
imagination that crosscs
tries to. And this *Lurr, so(.i¡rr rlrrrrrrr* rr irl,,i¡rv wh«l in some sense he can never be, such as Trojans and Persians
"u.irrg
,uá", Iiterature. =

,,,1 \lr it'¿u'ts, such as wives and daughters and mothers.

LITERATURE AND THE
COMPASSIONATE IMA(; llrr,uglr such devices the drama explores both similarity and difference.
¡.1, ¡trl'1,irrg with a woman in a drama, a young male spectator would find
N T NA' I'I 0
The basis for civic imagining
must be laid in earry life. i,,rt lr,"t'¿ul in some sense remain himself, that is to sáy, a reasoning human
stories, rhymes, As t.rrirrrr.rr +,r¡r'¡1¡
"rd,o"r,gr-="rp""*lly i" th"e cgmp.any,,l.rl,,]..,,1,,,. 11,,,
,nrfi rvitlr moral virtues and commitments. On the other hand, he discov-
l,X;*:":il#Ír1: :^:'l:* fi';"ir"';''* or other rjvii,s ( ,r,¡,, rr¡ r,,, r,, rr , tlu()ugh this identiflcation much that is not his own lot: the possibility,
;il il
,
child; the
,rl r \.rrrr¡rlc, of being raped and being forced to bear the enemy's
;
"::i #:,:l:i,ff ;iJ ::"t,1""-ü [ :r:m I r;li'lil
pra i n ry
;
urgency and imporrance' ,i,,rrl¡ility of witnessing the deaths of children whom one has nursed one-
"Ler ¡¡- r"r, r"i r,i- l: : ;i i : I I
r"?"i i-lr-" i,,,,,,i,,'l',,,r,,,,,,,,,- , lt I lrt' ¡rossibility of being abandoned by one's husband and in conse-

ffili,:il,xf,.§:,,o,:1" 'rp,*";,
oüi' 'ü.,.",,1" and rrighrr,, rri,n rrrr,rsr,re ¡rrr lfr (.t«rtallywithout social support. He is brought up against the fact that
r* ni_',"" ;ffi il i1J:[1f"",:.:*::::bei ng is
".;;l;,;; i; .,,,,,,,,,,,r0,r ,,,,¡rlr. rrs articulate and able as he face disaster and shame in some ways
hearing ytt' ,i.'r.', ,t,,' , t,,rii ,tr rt rr¡rlcs do not; and he is asked to think about that as something relevant
hold on t. y., á.'rlar
of falling inro íh"-.,,lnd'
For older children and ,,, lr¡¡s()lf. So far from being"great books" without a political agenda, these
shoutd be added' rt was
yffi;;Jil;:';or" comprex lir.r:rr' rr,rlr¡ ,rr{ lr,unrs were directly pertinent to democratic debates about the treatment
in
"oni"",¡o, irir, ,," -ír"i;;:::I,,r,,, ,,,,,,,t
,l r;r¡rtured peoples in wartime" With their efforts to overcome socially
l,,r¡,r.tl invisibilities, they participated actively in those debates.
:li:;lFi,u:".":tttl_{t*;i:::*i:ir#,Tiriltl,l;i,,,r:,r,,i
ence," if thar means r¡e an "aesrrrr,rir ,,¡¡¡¡,¡¡ I rlt'rature does not transform society single-handed; we know that these
cern s. ";;;;;;;;:l::,;::".1j"
rhe,*il;;.;,Xlf:i:l':?ff^'":ffj:1j:- "i"
i., ¡,,, i,,,,, r,,,,i
".i r 1r,\\(.r'l'r-rl and in some sense radical dramatic experiences tookplace in a soci-
,rr rlrrrt was highlyrepressive of women, even bythe standards of its own era.

Ii,ll.ffi :,."'::T;ry"lli:*::{1,"",,,.1*:lür,fi."Ji,f :l:llillllllJ, { l I :r in ideas about others may be grasped for a time and yet not be acted
as for rheir o,r,"."r,".""rerisrics. ,rp()n, so powerful are the forces of habit and the entrenched structures of
r"a"J, ;;;i:"¿:##lll,1*i form makes its spectator
Arisrophanesb Frogs makes
pü;, :l;l :;::liiil
¡,;;',[rir"¿"*rJJi'ir, irl,r,l,r t,r rr ilt,ge and convention. Nonetheless, the artistic
for a time, the invisible people of theirworld-at least a beginning
ot meter' vocaburarv' u,d ,r.-forn, rrr,r rr{ l,r rr.(,ive,
rhen, was tÉe civic """"ü"¿, ,¡"-.Jr*,?;ri,:l:i', rrrrrr,*rr ,,l .,o('ial justice.
Y*:1, "¿r"rii", iL"irr.r*"a,", *".",,ri",r,1,,1t llrr: tragic form asks its spectators to cross cultural and national boundar-
r,, ¡rrrt¡
i,,,. On the other hand, in its universality and abstractness it omits much of
' Tragedies acquaint rh; roln^g citizen wirh the bad things rhaf rrrrr
rn a human tife, Iong rl',. lirbric of daily civic life, with its concrete distinctions of rank and power
beÉ" lrfl" iir"lr¿á"r'ri.. ,,,,,r,rr,
r, ,rr" prá?.*.ii..i,,1,,,r,,, ,,,,1 wealth and the associated ways of thinking and speaking. For such rea-
,'"-rlffi ffi :ff Hl";'il-'
an d th e r"' i i, i n spi re t,,., -
,t l ,ns, later democratic thinkers interested in literature as a vehicle of citi-
"' "i i i, r,, r'.,, i,
.r'nship came to take a particular interest in the novel-a genre whose rise
,,,i¡rciáed with, and supported, the rise of modern democracy.T In reading a
frf ,,.,rlist novel with active participation, readers do all that tragic spectators
'fif,x*nl*'ld,;ll#,tr{-;:i:,' lhlf¡ ,l,r --and somethi^g more. They embrace the ordinary. They care not only
,rlrrut kings and children of kings, but about David Copperfleld,s painfully

Rousseau ,_Emite,
?,')::!::T,:: or om Edwca- )rr this phenomenon, see Charles Taylor,
lli F É ;;'í; ;ki ;:'T.ffJff:, ?o+t e05 n.c.r.) contains a ct¡¡tlr"'l l* r* ( fl\ussbaum's note].
T;; ;i' i:;224.
;1' lx; Eurlpiie; ;";';-"^r-..r.-^
Euripides r, rnl
,t ,litl«.ol I r¡f ',¡r¡.cas of tüe Sel.f: The Making of the Mod.ern B. The hero who gives}is name to the 1850 bil-
lri-j-\
6.
¡. GreekI comic
trfeek
[NusrUu"_t';;r;.
Comir. .l.r;;rir;¿;.;;,o_ca.
.lro- nli^+ / --
- ^- ^
and e"r"f^,iir.?"r
poet in the underwoild. lrr,,t lr*r¡h t,l,,ttrity (bambridle, Mass., Haivárd University dun_gsroman bV tlq English novelist Charles
385 e.c.r.);
l'rcss, iqsq); also Ian Watt, The Rise of the llovel Dickens (1812-1870).
,ll,'r'keley: University of California Press, 19J7)
 working in a f'actory, or w¿rll<irr¡¿
rlrt, 1*,_',rry-síx ,lilt,s l,r,rrr rtrtil
bury without food"'st t,,rrrl,lt rfl rh lltu('l':rlit' ¡lot'll'Y is lris r,\1'n ll';lltsl¡rf iort ol'llt(. ¿utcir,¡tl Allrt,¡ritr¡t irtt.¡r lo I trt,
"h "orr"?"r" realitics «rl'¿r l¡li, ,1,¡)(,\,(,r.f v HrGf
home to them with a textured
=illlrlltolt tll' ttl()(lt'l'lt Alrrt't'it':l: i¡r "Sr)nll ol' llrt, l,,r¡losilio¡r" llt, irrrirgit.t('s thc
vividnerr rrávailable i, ;r;,git,¡r*,rry,
\ltt,,t' t,l'ltltt'it'ltl ( Jl'('t'lr f »r)t'l l'y nligrirtirrg [«¡ llrt. Ncw W«trld ancl inspiring his
,

"
#i*":,1?:: :::i:,Hi" l";;h"}lt ;;il:i;¡l;[l.:lJffi:ti
r
"s, _ s, .,,1 (, s r, c r rri n r, rd H dr
¡*rr'lt v, "tllttlt'lt'rr'tl" lry Alltct'it'¿r's rttixturc «ll' ¡rcoples and its surprising love

ffi,*::ff*:lÍ;:r.f¿::1,:-{d,il
rations, hopes, and r.rff"ri"gr.
ii";;l the ch¿¡r¿,( I(.rs ,,n¿ rnJ *,1 lt r,rl l¡ itt«'ry.
llrr' ¡rot'f 's rrllility to
cumstances have made the
hilre are *rrr'l,rlo;1,"il:li:;:, j: lÍ eternity," Whitman holds, is especially impor-
"scicr
li*r of thep;;; v(,ry rrrf,fi
t,tttl tvlrt'tl w('¿¡re dealing with groups whose humanity has not always been
readers. sr"r, readers "nr.r,"r..r, , r'-hpt't'lt'cl ilr our society: women and racial minorities, homosexuals, the
*::::r3ldle-class
i's assess rrr.q, ,tit,tn,....-l
or thei r c on e q uen c e fo.r
s
rpi ##ffi'.i"
j'il,il;,;ili
['i;;;:?t
¡rrnt' ¡trttl tllc: ¡r«lwerless. A major part of the social role of the literary artist,
,tt lll s¿lw it, was to promote our sympathetic understanding of all outcast
,1".*
ilffjl:,::'^li,1h"
commo' hypan goals and
the
^:;deric¿rr. inrt,r,r,,,
iortd, seeing the
r.'"ü#fiff J ,ff rtl)l)r'('ssc:d people, by giving their strivings voice. "I am he attesting sym-
¿"iT,l:,lllilll"t :i ¡r,rtlr\,," thc poet announces (song of Myself 22.461_24.5):
:iHH;3',T:-T::ff1-:l:':,_T:,",
shape people's possibilities,
and "fi,;i;iir, *""der, ancr n ¿,, i,, u r orü
,r,Li','p":ii]i.??ffhili,ll.'ii,ll'il|^:l 't'lr rough me
jffi;ijl;,::::rl?,1:p"r' many long ar*U voices,
;;;;1,y and racire symp¿,thv t h,, ruur, V«¡ices of the interminable generations of prisoners and slaves,
i's' as the secure child V1r;ces of the diseas'd and despairing and of thieves and dwarfs,
pessimistic sentiments' rn r,o-"
"r;l;;,;; g#;iliff:J:Íilll::':LÍ1
this *o^ywe start to see how
dec¡rry rrtt,r*ñ
ffi;*;trj.?*
narrator ;::,:?i_
buvs vam froma
g"isider, rorexampre, rhe scc:,l(, i,
a Harl";;;;;;Já:fi-f; whr
'l'hrough me forbidden voices,
:ff,,':ilil;ll ,;il V«ricesof sexes and lusts, voices veil'd and I remove the veil,
ffi;',fl;Hl';:#;^::T':*;ri
with shame, ás he decid"es ,,,.?,," sense ramiriar; r,,r rho ¡,
,roi ,o t i¿" rri, pr";ü"trfl:[:,li[,
Vrices indecent by me clarified and transfigur'd . .
*:*,1 Dazzling and tremendous how quick the sun-rise would kill ffi€,
:il,-, :J,:§:ff:::T:J,::gl*;i:,,wirr be unramiriar ro rhc wrrrre nr
l?fi li &' ;:, in ;,,: l, l; I could not now and always send sun-rise out of me.
lft

ili,i;j;.l**:l*::l i-p,;i,;
pertinenr kind of sympathy,;,h.;;.1 p.o_pt, acr,,cr,(, r u i,
I

might have grown up fiee

;;; :Tffi::iffi;ir:rli¡
,";;-rhr; llrt'poet in effect becomes the voice of silenced people, sending their
fíom the d"for.rrir! experience ',lr('('t'h out of himself as a kind of light for the democracy. Like Ellison much
bv rrrr, of r¿rc.ism h* litlt'1', Whitman focuses on our failures to see the flesh and blood of those
::::t^"ll*lt"d and one
"rp";;""; does come rr, c¡,,¡ ,'.,, ¡, rr tllr whom we live; his poems, like Ellison's novel, portray themselves as
rlr'\'i('cs of recognition and inclusion. The imagining he demands promotes
This comprex interpretive ir r('s¡>ect for the voices and the rights of others, reminding us thatihe other
art is what the stoics requirt,«r
asked the wórld citizen *t,n*,l lr,rs both agency and complexity, is neither a mere object nor a passive recipi-
to gain empathic understaldirrg
of pt.r¡rr,. whJ .r¡l oftbenefits and satisfactions. At the same time, it promotes a vivid aware-
3;Íf:tlj
cratic wdv, T5:1":rT.*:ver,
ne,:{s ro be deveroped in
as an essent ial par."itrrirr.irfJ,l5 a specirir,,rnu 4r rrrss of need and disadvantage, and in that sense gives substance to the
r",l;fii: ir}r"i,i':l i:i'J; ,rlrsf ract desire for justice.
ffn:;:ff
figure from H":L:^?:"'#':j,."
e.ven more comprex
our own tradition ,rt o gives worrcr. ( ),ro rl ¡\s in Athens, so in America: the fact that sympathy inspired by literary
u, ", ;";ffii,:,"Jiliri1;,ti,1,1 'l! rrtutginitg does not immediately effect political change should not make us
cator YT#:?J,:
Yil: of democraric:,',il i:i,[Ti?.,T,,.,r,,,
citizens.
i rrepr ace abr y
"Their prestd""d,lh:THi::t
11 v¡, r,, u h h ,1,'tty its moral worth. If we followWhitman's idea, we will conclude that it is
common referee so much
as their poets i,l' :Iir,,l! t'\s('ntial to put the study of literature at the heart of a curriculum for citi-
shail.,,, H;;;;,
on t, arsur r,'rrship, because it develops arts of interpretation that are essential for civic
ffit*:'"1"J:fr;:r:T::,1- l:.:"plio:
,".H1:i:',Ti-Htffi
and judgmenr r rr r,r re
r ¿r
rr r'ticipation and awareness.
#:dJ:f, iüi:'lil;:T-$ ¡

lMarcus Aurelius made a further claim on behalf of the narrative imagi-

"T:fr[:,iü;:ffi
as mere statistics or numbers. Tü,i:tr"x1H:*l:r1fi
::T"r1{iít{'l:,k:*:,*:1#:f mail:J';':il:i,ff;'il1-,:il; tr:tf ion: he argued that it contributes to undoing retributive anger. He means
tlrrrt when we are able to imagine why someone has come to act in a way
Whitman
llr¿rt might generally provoke an angry response, we will be less inclined to
9' The originar stoics were
criticar of most litera-
ture of their time, since ttr"y
,lt'rnonize the person, to think of him or her as purely evil and alien. Even if
bltieved that it usu_ \1'(' never fully understand the action, the very activity of asking the question
ril,,m:ffi m*r*;li*iijiiir", ,trtd trying to depict the person's psychology to ourselves in the manner of a
is Iogically indeoe"aErt
ái
lf,Lj. rnrerest in
1!¡tic peiceptián, which ,.,ri.r.rlfy sympa_
led thám, to ¡i,,«rd novelist is an antidote to self-centered rage. It is easy to see how this
take an inreresr in cultiv;rt;;
,h; ilr;;"rro, ¡,sychological mechanism operates in our personal lives, where the ability
to tell ourselves the story of a parent or a lover or a child who has angered
 Irs ( illt r¡llr.D lrt.lr¡ r,\ ¡r,,,,t . _.rr: r

,u,i,r'i,,'""'::;llJi;';,:;fl ;,ll:;,i,1,::'.,11;l:,1;:;i ,, tlrnit',.,,r,1 llll¡r", llr urf r l\ l('\\', l,l\('tr ,llltu,:, llrr' ( ()nllot('r',\, lt,'ll,,.ul
people differeni n.ír'"r.r.,i;;I,';i:,,,,, ,1,;,:1,,,,,,1i
ir rrr¡rl<l l¡,. .rll
:11,,1,,i:, l;;,:,, ? ,',1, ,1 l,'', ¡rro¡r'r l nr \\ l,rlrrt.ur('\(llr(' lcr rtts. l l¡,' \()iccs ()l \\r)r'kirrg-r'lrrss
r,,,, r..,..\ r, rr i,l, 1,, , l;¡irrr.'rl, lr;r\('!,,('rrr"r.rllt 1,,'('n ('rclr¡tlt'rl I'r'r)nr "l,rrglislr litcr¿tturc" ir-l
fl[],'],t'lfi',:i:'"']i;;i;;;''h"r"gi"'t ""'i't"',,,, ,,1,,i
,, ,',,,,,,,,, irll I'l,,l,lt ,'l¿rst ( ()n.,( r()us s()('¡('ty. li«lr É{('ncrutti«lr-ts, ¿t[ Ieast since Dick-
I his point is itself repeatedly rl,, r,' lr;rr',' lrt'r'n gt'slur'('s ()l inclusion, in which working-class charac-
dram¡lf izctl
chara*ers againsr *r,o,i;;:;;;
irr'ii'.1'.,.,.r.in lif t,r.;rr r rrr¡r 1.., ,1, ,rltr,r, l,,,rr<' in ;r lilt'rirry r)()\/('l; but thcir voices first had to be assimilated to
ard wright's-Natiue sr" irs irrrg.r. rrrr. r,,.,,r, r ,,r
."ri.rr'rili""i:-,,,,i2.rr r¡, ¡ , ,,l,li, , l,rss nonn ol litcrary discourse. This was a way of rendering real
'r,r.si, ,r r ,,,.,1 ,r,
dantBiggerThomas.2,in,fr"r.r"ii"""llrn,,,,.ffrt,¡rr.<.ss(.()l(,r.rr,r,,l r ,l iii,, l)('()l)l(' i¡rvisible.
with rhe compJícared p";r;;"rl;lr;11,n-,,.,,, lrr r,, , , rrtr:rl r-,rl(' ol ¿rrt is to challenge conventional wisdom and values. One
Forsrer's posrhumousri 'ñoi',""., ti,.w. r,trr.,,,.,,1,, ,,r r
demonizing stereotypás tr
prbr;;il in ¿r sirr¡ir:rr. \1 :r\ ,,,rrrr,, l
, ,,r 1.., ('nglrgt' in this Socratic enterprises is by asking us to confront-and

trr" rr"*r"lJ*,rut r !r¡rr. f ,r lrt'--those whom we do not usually like to meet. Offensiveness is
the novel wirh the ir,.,". or.r"yt.tr
_o.lá;f ü;il" himscif ,,,rry,1,,. ,r,sr r rr¡rr,r, r, , , ,ll 1,1 ilst'lf'rr sign of literary merit; but the offensiveness of a work rnay be
to know it, his dream..f , ,,.,,,1, , t,,, | ,,1 rl., ('ivic v¿rlue. T'he inclusion of new and disturbirg works in the cur-
"";;;;""r1,,r'r", his infcrrs<.Lrrr;ir.¡i t,,r 1,,,, ,l,rr¡r ..lr«rulcl be assessed with these ideas in mind. When we do consider
HLT:"Iiiil;,ill"::" i, u ro,- .,r i,,',,gi,,,,,,',, , ,,r
can '"al"i"'nJin!
seem profoundlythrearer.,ing l, rr,,r lt.s wc should bear in mind that it is difficult to know in advance, or
who would d"_tr,,rrr r;;li;:,:,:;, r ,t ¡,," . , I lr, rr lrich Lrnconventional works, or parts of works, will have a lasting
, ri", r.igii; ; ff ,1 fl',l."* :#tü',j; :;
r I t, illrrrnin¿rte the situation of a group and which are merely shocking.
" "á
tniniflffi;q:'n:j|" grain or *,,v :;i;;.ar.
;";ll,i lj ,,lri,i'.,,r,,
srereolypt,, .,rr
:1
., i .i
r,, r ,f r¡s have fears and blind spots that militate against the acknowledg-
,, , irr ,,1 sr)rnc of our fellow citizens, and we should recognize that our reac-
r"yr,"..n"i";,;".ff ?n,"".T1"d;?,;T,":,i?r:l:*:l,llll.:1,,:,,;::,,,: (,1 tlisturrbance may therefore be highly unreliable, leading us to regard
ted, and indeed invired,;;;,;;rrb"r:lii*" ,,,,,,'ll,shocking what will eventually be seen to have genuine merit. (To
characrer' f he invitarion to
can easily ,,¡1r sy,,,r):,r1,r., i ¡r..t ()rle example, contemporary sensibilities required the excision of a
do,o t,u, ."¡rr¡ueryrittle-"í,,r'",,ii,,'.',
ence can too easiry deteriorate rrr, , .¡,,
irto , ."rf-"ongra^turatory w;1r,,,,rr¡ ', r,rl s('('ne from Wright's l{aúiue Son, ir which Bigger and his friend mas-
own compassionate tendencies. rr, ,,1, ¡tr" in the movie theater while looking at the image of a white woman.
íts audience was to seewithout
ffr" of Sophoc lcs, l,lttl,,, t, t,.
"t,l"rrge
nirJirs . ir i ',r t'rrc, too shocking for publication in 1940 and not included in editions
gusring and vile: ,,,rs, blasphem;;;";:: wha_t the char¿rt.r,.r., 1,,r,,,1 ,t, I rl,,' ,,,¡vel until 1993) can now be seen as crucial to the narrative develop-
phjlocretes,b,rly,,,r,
sores' The chalrenie r,,r , ,,1 ,,,t ,,1'the work, and to its exploration of the social formation of Bigger's
a vrotenl criminal "rwri[Ár:r'ñr",*'iiiwas
who kiJls iis 1o"", g";;;
and is ro rr¡r¡r. irr. rr,, rrr, t
,,'rrr;rli«rn and desires.) W" do not need to deny that there are defensible
simirarrv, the chareng
through' or seen in terms" "rof .ru.io* t"¡irilr;;;T"":"":Til:lirl,;i,]]:
,1,,'11, :,
,, rrr r i:r «rf'literary merit in order to recognize that we ourselves are unreliable
rl,,¡ t,rl'merit when works touch on our own lives and the controversies of
experience for the novel.s J";"."t"* f¿¡¡¿5¡s5-,,grrirr, .r ,rrrr, ,,r,
l,l"l, ,, ,\\ r) time. For this reason we ought to protect the opportunity of the arts
i'" "rár"r".."
These works are all ,".iri", , , \ ¡,lore new territory with broad latitude, and we should also protect the
I *r""lir."al Iiterary lang.rrg,., .r r.r,
relativetl"i'früi;;:"1il
explains their
rhe reatm of .,1i...ii,,,', ,r,
I rr, ,, ,,,lrt ,rl'university teachers to explore controversial works in the classrooffi,
the radical characrer l','tlrt'r or not we ourselves have been convinced of their lasting merit.
:;;i;;;;;;
:f.:h+,
that Jiterary arr mosr frfly rr can also be arg,t,.t, tr,,r,, ,,,,
,,,
frf ÁfiJi" Wh;i;,
ing the excruded when ir
ár","'iÁ"'""ffiHi:?1ffiil;'il1,;',l;;i
a daily languase that is
COMPASSION IN TFIE CURRICULUM: A POLITICAL AGENDA?
nonriá;;
ffiffimay ],i',,,:
J994 Booker prize for Fiction,
á;,;;#;st ,
shock our se,sir,irrr¡, r r,,
li rl,,' literary imagination develops compassion, ancl if compassion is essen-
wasgivenroJamesKelman,sa distinguíshed rirr.r,r\ ,rr,,,,,¡ ,, ,l lirr civic responsibility, then we have gocld reason to teach works that
Ur*L)r""lr'#orHo*t-r,,",^^-ir,r.t,1,,,,,,1,,,,,, ¡ ,{)rrrote the types of compassionate understanding we want and need. This
s"o't""á'
i¡J',.,"i'*¡,,"n rir,rns includirg works that give voice to the experiences of groups in our
;3::Jlf,1?, Íll,',-:f; is ser in th.t ,,,,,,,r ,,r ,,
i,r,*"ii"._i;ü-*;;",,1-[.":,.:iiffii,f,?if j:ii;:,,1,,
,,, i.ty that we Llrgently need to understancl, such as members of other cul-
acter would be Iikerv to
use ir",-tr,orgr,i Jná
¡;:**Jf t"f ] r ir .s, r:thnic and racial minorities, women, and lesbians and gay rulen.
minorfuror'since mányculrrrul,"'riri""r.o;".","0
,p"""h.
The aw¡rr,r ( r,,,r,,r ,
liccall Reno student Eric Chalmers,6 who, in connection with the readings
strenuousry ro gir irr¡, .,¡¡, l¡
prestigiousartisticprizetoaworkrnr,Jlá"lcount,usesthe , ',i,gncd in his English class, was asked to think about the experience of a
,

wortlltt, 1,,,,,,
2. Main character of Nariue llr;rt is, the search fbr tn-rth by engaging in Huntanity,'I'o rescarch the book, Nussbaum and
S

ii:*i t;;[tr;JJ"',ii,fuili'(liilJ-
?;,ii;
J A norel published in r97r. alter
the
:l"r?:T;'L?üifl:::ii1,,l;l:1 ,],,i,1,
, ,
l, l,,rlc n,ith ancl questioning tl-rose with whom one
lr ¡r,¡1'1'5--¡[g rnethocl of inqr-rirv used by the
, ,, r'1, ¡rhilosopher Socrates (469-399 e.c.E.), as
her ¿rssistants intervier,r,ed ancl sr-rrveyed stu-
clcnts ancl faculty from a varriety of campuses tcl
4 scoltish nu,"lt"r rb. iéill cletermine lr,hat was actuallv going on in higher
dearh of l, ¡,¡r tt'rl in the clialogues of his pupil Plato. eclucation.
I )rst'ussecl in an earlier chapter of Cultiuating
 ód/ Pcrs()n iul(l l() wt.il(, ;r lt.l lr,r l. lris
,rlf,rllr¡'lit', ¡¡rlr¡tir¡¡lllr','lr,r,.rr l('r', nr:t1r slill l)r()lttol('\\'nrl);rllrt';u¡rl r('\lrcll
.í: i:it'ffi:
;fr:,:r,:1,:,1*;ulu l';li;"ili J l;il,,irl';11," 1,,' :, : ", ; i 1: ? rlu r(',t(l«'l'tln',,rrglr llrr' .,ol I ul irtf t'l':rt'liolt llt('\\1ol'1,. ls,lt \,\/l¡,llt'('()nsIl'ut'ls.
.tl',,1 llrcst'fig,ur'('s ¡u'('rl¡sli¡rt'f , irt trtt'rt, I'ront tlrc r(:¿tl-l¡li'¿tuIlt«lr, who
I**,TÍl;lTT-"li ";;;;i;o ll"l,'lij[,J;:,,SI I;l i, ] ;ll ;:1,, ' l',r\ (' lll s,x'ls ol' ¡»'()l)('r lit's t lli¡t irr(' n«lt rcalizcd in the text.)
i'r,,. :r;iil,;li rr.r¡ .,
He acknowledge¿.,1r,,i
ment had hud u llrrrrLnrg:rl)()ul lkroll¡'s nrt'tlrl)h«rr ol'the literary work as friend shows us
,'""t'uinty' "we mer' you kn ,*, ,,ir
ru¡nirir* ti"Tpoint-because *,,,.,r',,t ,,,.,,,,,, i,n tl¡r'r ,li¡rrcnsi«m of'tll(' ('x¡rcrience of sympathy. When we read a novel
is "like an undersra"¿i,r*,,il,ií,i.
such whitmu.,",'*'-"" i,1,,,,., ,,, ,, ,rlr , l,,sc rItt'rrti«rl, we ['rccluently will be led by the text to have sympathy
,,rca. rr,"i',;:",ü;::i,:::[Tti:.¡1f1,]i,r ,,,i.r *,i..,'..r,,',,,r,r r,, , . , ,rl, ,l,,ur¡t'lt'rs «rf'many different kinds; but frequently, too, the text will
own values and tc ,lrrr,rll synrl)ilthy unevenly, directing our attention to some types of human
¡.,, r,"yl #; ;::T_"';n* tm:'kftl [:il *i irl., ,rrrtl rr«lt tr¡ others. Literary works are not free of the prejudices and
in a highly concrere way'
To produce studenrs
"
i"crrdingiJ.¡.1 ,n", unserf lrc arr<r <risr,
i
j
l;,l i i i,, i ,i,rrl ,,¡rrts tlr¿rt are endemic to most of the political life. Anovel that sees the
wh" ;-;ili; <risrrr r, 1*n{'n('('of'rniddle-class women with great sympathy may (like the novels
read critica]ly; not §"":1,,i::,:,t'an<r
we must crt'«rr,rr¡i,, 1l¡, ,, r \ rr¡irrrirr Woolft') render working-class people invisible. A novel that recog-
only a *o*rrrr"'"oucratic
questions abáut that experience, but ¿¡ls.
rr-iiil. J_";;:i:"li,ulo.
And th,
r. ¡rrl, ¡ r ¡r, ,,r ', tlrt' struggles of working-class people-ás, up to a point, the novels of
i"rr"r";h"'Ji:' "T:rience. , , l.r'!¡s (l«r-may have little sensitivity to the lives and experiences of many
.r,. *"i"_pil;fi :,t Jjl:,:;fí*::+":üi i: ;LlH?x:i,;xl, ::, I :l :,,,, ¡rr (,1'w«)nren. If we are reading and teaching such novels with democratic
,,
west, in thá anc¡"nt c*"[i..áiii.r'i}Iritlt"a] attítude has irs r.,),,r,. ,,, ,, l, ,r1., ,,1't'r¡ual concern and respect in mind, we will probably come to feel
work of art was closely rragic fesfivals, whr,r',, r,rr tlrt'r't'is something incomplete or even defective in these works. In this
* ¡rr¡ 1,r,
damenral civic values. """;;;;;;rrre
,

lt t,r, U""",i.:;;;*Orr"", and deliber¿¡tir¡rr ;rl,,,lr r ,',{'\\,rrr¡rathetic reading and critical reading should go hand in hand, as we
critical works of ,il";;;;"rfiI"":1j^":o vividly depict.tt irr r¡rrr, , I lr,,rv oLrr sympathy is being distributed and focused. One learns some-
rn; c;@yi;"'ir;:o',";;*,0:r-;¡;;:r¡1-, wár# e.,,,r,1. ri, ,
ancien r i.""i
r
, r

, lrnril ¡rlrout the text when one asks these critical questions: one sees its inter-
t",t r, e oo,r, p.-ffi ?,,
of reader with a lit..rry.work. :i :i:;l"f :üil}
Á lr*".y _.rk, he writes, H: i; X., : I,: l l : :
,,1 ',tructure with a new sharpness, and one makes one's own relation to it
,,r,rt('¡lt't'Cise.
one reads ír, a friend ir, d,,,.i,,¡, ,t,, ,,
íirnr"i",,'""l.l"l"r,or.n to rp"ni,,,,..i,, ,,,,,, rr
civic and evaluative approach to reading is both moral and political.
I lris
lr ,r,,lrs lrow the interaction between reader and text constructs a friendship
::tril?;:Xi,;:1", ¿.", ,r,i, i.,:";.r:il, do ro_my mind) wr,;,, ,r,,, r, ,,,,1/r)r'community, and it invites us to discuss texts by making moral and
in,¡r" ,," üi¡il;?.i,:'#;;fjT::;j,.."u." ,boíti'üJ," .i,,,, ,,, , , , ,,, r;rl rrssessments of the kinds of communities texts create. Wayne Booth's
, r,,i(,,, of this approach, like the one defended here-and like that of Lio-
,rr I lrillirg in the previous generation-is liberal and democratic, informed
:rlTre"J,Tt'#:',:#[i#Lxfu-:#iü!iüt"i".:tur,,,",;:":
sure and excitement
that l,r ,r ('orlviction that all citizens are worthy of respect and that certain fun-
what might be cared
debasl ffi;';';1ñ:'ó:i,';::1';".11;: ; ' l;: ,l u¡rt'rrtal freedoms deserve our deepest allegiance.
,rr" before a souls-rin,íh"
*.,"'iy Jir,i.llrespecrand.motives, ;;ñ" á;,'iJli,,, ,,, ,,, liut conservative critics have recently charged that the whole idea of read-
tions among trr" uEracters
it displays.
und alro, ,;il;";'1i,,. ,,,,, ,
,

rr¡,, i¡r this way is an illicit and antiliterary activity, alien to the high tradition
g.otf, .Ik"; "rrriffls
,

,,1 tlrt'humanities.l To take a fairly typical example, in a column titled "Lit-

*i,r,i--".li;; i, ;:T*i;iffi.f :i:,"lilt is perfectry *,,,, r,,,,,, ¡ r,n v l'}olitics," George Will recently wrote of the "supplanting of esthetic by
cede, and ground, a
criricar ¡',,litical responses to literature," arguing that this approach "aims at dele-
"r;":r;";;,;ilTTí::ir,fifñi,::,llll: I ,,rtr¡nizing Western civilization by discrediting the books and ideas that gave

:LF:t [: ;i:l,T$:t[:l:*jjnsi-,r, ""ñi;;;;',i*','],,,,,,

pararive cha racte r.
lru llt [o it."2
Th ioug.h r¡,. p-ü, ;",ffÍ:','",[;HtTi: It is not clear what notion of the aesthetic George Will has in mind when
lr. t'ontrasts the aesthetic with the political. The questions raised here about
ffiI""fft1",[jrXi,." en]oying ir,"-**i.. fh,.s ins ight wi il l, ;, 1,,,,, :,,I

ilr., i, r,, r, r¡ ,nr¡rassion and community are hardly new, faddish questions. Indeed, they
the classroom a parai,ellerience and.its role in
r

"".ji";;.'ü;.,1,'1i,,,, ,,,, ,r(' rrs old as literary interpretation itself. In ancient Greece alone, one can

,;u;*"[iJ:ril;i:i jlii'ffJ::,'¿i';:;:!r?:i:y*;;-;.';,,,
and the "implied
lrrrrl them in Aristophanes and Aristotle, Plato and Plutarch.3 How, all these

embodied in the aurhor,,;,1"i',., ri," lll,,l,, ,,,

,"*rt:-.:
raken as a whole. A
work;f,"i".riür";.;lll, ,,, ,,, ,
, I nÍtlish novelist (1882-1941; see above); her
,r,rlrs focusing on upper-middle-class women
Penguin, 1993), pp. 125-49 [Nussbaum's note].
2. GeorgeWill, l'lewsweeh,April 22,1991 fNuss-
7. \\,h.vne Boorh,,Th",go*Oany ,,,, lrrtlc Mrs. Dalloway (L925) and 'Io the Light- baum's note]. Will (b. 1941), American political
of Fic ti o n ( Be rke
i r"ir,¡,ríey, \e Keep: An Ethics Itttns(,(1927). commentator.
t98B) [Nussbau,"t U', Ii fár n i, p."rr,
I

l.iJ'"H,r'orh "tCa (tg2l_rOoS), I Sct'Judith Frank, "In the Waiting Room: Can- 3. Greek philosopher and biographer (ca. 5O-ca.
American criric (lommunities,'Political Correctness,"' in
,,rr.,, 120 c.u.). pr.Aro (ca. 427-ca. 347 e.c.E.) Greek
"frh" ;;;:1, ih"to.ic, and ethics. \l t l, IO rchi d.s and. Trotsl<y : Mes sages frono Arneric an philosopher.
I ttit't,rsities, ed. Mark Edmundson (New York:
 tl" I l'lr';tl :lcslltt'lic ll¡,',¡! t.'l\ ilr tlrt' \A/r'slcrrr lr':rrlif iorr ll:¡r,r. ¡llill¡tlr.ly
:l:l :lil li"';:;;,, i,,l:, lll;, ''i¡ rl tlt,' t'rll'('ttlt' li¡t nr,rlrsl victA,. 'l'llt' lorrg list irrr'lr¡rlt.s l)l¿rto, Arist«ltlc:,
: :i,i,,;,;,i;!
i
i+ffil"'"?,:l{r¡
frih, i..^ ^ ^h t- t ñr
rf
tt*iil#** . üllll' ll,, ii t: ., r: :,,,,r :,,,,,,
:
'f r,rr ',, I lt'gt'1, Niclzst'lrt', lirlslo), ¿rn«l f int' l)rc)sc:rrt-cl ay theorists such
\¡ llrt¡r I):tltlo, Nt'ls()r¡ ( Jootlnuur, ¿rrrcl llich¿rrd Wollheim.s Ironically,
it
||lffili,iH::t l11:'##:H*lfilíill¡ nmfi : :r
i't,1,'',, ;ts tvt'll,, tltt' llt'ltitiss¿¡ttcc) humanists who shaped the canon of liter-
is worth taking seriorril,,'ura i:, i',r;,
(',rrrt',,r' :
' l'r"',r('\ llllrf cot-lscrv¿ttivc theorists defend: for these thinkers saw their
*i;ilil§::li;l';;:I.., ,, r'rF*
', ,rrr llrt' ( Jrt'cl<s and Romans as part of the "political agenda" of reacting
mean by sayirg rh¿rt
,n"Tli!,H'i1,"^forle
the tic ?
S uch u
;;; ;"-: J,ilr,iüiJj;:: j
rhr..s«, .r,r,(,i,... ,l rrr('(lit'vlrl scholasticism and promoting a more human-centered view
"r,i* H , ii;,;l il rI r,, il j,,J r,,,r lrl.
fii"',?:.:",'.'1r",ffij3:*:lili?* uíi,.[yT,.,,w ¿,,],.r,,,.,., r;rrr irt lt'¿ts[ comPrehend how one might look at a Monete canvas in
tjl"l.and post-I(¿tnf i¿rrr ¡, r, r, *, ] r
¡
i
accordirg io which th" li)r.rr,rllrr rr* rt,r\ llt'll itrrcl []r-rllough recommend-although I doubt that it is the most
ff ";.#;ii1 :hi;*;#[# *l{{j ]lii'
,.,rrrrrar ^^
;l;:,i, i'lr r('\\'7ru'tlirrg way to look, if it neglects ways in which Monet's forms
ceptible ü:i: i :
centihle ormultiple
nf rn¡,f+i^r^ l
:,
i,
('rrrr¡,lr.i i'r, '},', f()\', lulcl serenity, and even a certain ideal of community. One can at
inrerprerar,""rlt",I**tr:ilHii:?';.:s r
uird
, | ,,lrrl)t'('lrcncl what it might mean to listen to a Mahlerl symphony that
xi,:',::i::!Tl *n:n e,in,:¿t
very general que.stion" <.rraL
^
r*ru:x5::üHff:1
;::r;ffi :':::iqffi:t¡r11*3jff i{;:}T{i,::li,llr',T,ll
r ü ilIIfi ,, rt irtt'iflrtion to feel compassion, disgust, despair, and triumphant joy,
"'
"l ,,rrr' ll"qrrllcl certainly be doing violence to Mahler's own self-conception,
crive
Clive Bell
B el I u"q R^^^* n-.
ani nog"í'F,v ,r i'¡, lt ',('('rrrs ¿l remarkably fruitful one. (He repeatedly speaks in letters of
advo a,;; ::,.,t :!:I
c

*u.,,,,¡,
:,,Tpre
fl LII?']JI
: i I I l,
suppriecr r,y r r rr,r,r,u
* " r\,r\\ i¡r which his works address questions about the meaning of life
"'l ',,'r'1, lo create a compassionate, nonhierarchical community.) It is at least
:l¡:ry:I,*"il*I1x-"h,,",H,ffi "f""J ' rl,l,' lo look at dances of some modern choreographers in this way-
"ff,UT;:*l:Íi*'ñ;i"1-
qqfaf.,6 6 "rL ^
saretv. .rr
;,"""'J ;i
rhey wirr fl,$lFtil;ilsJllrtlxl ' ',u!11t, oncc again, one would, I think, be missing a great deal that is both
interests in safetyrrrd óTJ,T
w_ell-beirg,ánd
:Xii,i[:ff ff ::. i.,.l¡r,1,I rr l,' *E u ¡,

f
r i
' l,r ,rl :¡rrtl political, for example Martha Graham's2 narrative investigations
attend ro fhp rr^:r^:rif ¡,,u*t*
:iffi :t,ffi ;ij:xiyit[tf f ,Tf""#ff Jf :iffi m:l::;: j*i:j
hf I rr\ tlr, s('xuality, and ethical conflict.
llrrl il is next to impossible to see what it could mean to read a drama of
::ffi ü,'iüxm ;'Ti:il ;: :,1: ffi ifl ,x i : il
Is the formalist view ffi ffi ,r
:
an
tli§ ; i
"1,1r,,,'lt's, or a novel of Dickens or George Eliot,'ir the detached way. It
n,rl,(,ssible to care about the characters and their well-bei^g in the way
adequate view of the
intuitive appeal' It seems It rr¡rs rr r ¡,*orli aesthetic? '1,, l.rl irrvites, without having some very definite political and moral inter-
of the fog' th"t" true that if r am!r"o""upied r', .rtt,tlicned in oneself-interests, for example, in the just treatment of
featrr", with h«rw,r, gr r rr¡¡¡
"';;ny
am probablynot attendi'á'¡;;i, of its ,ñrp", ,'tl"t'rs rrrrd in the reform of education. Both Dickens and Eliot frequently
of instructions on ng*,t "oror, ?rrd fo* r, rrrrrr rr I
rly, ifrr* reading
"l,lr,",S I he reader, alluding to such common interests. This commitment
bring aúout r""irr h"r;;;Ellison,s ,o\,(,t ¡r{ ,r .,,
or Dit.rrt,rr,¡ " rlr. r¡ri¡king of a social world, and of a deliberative community to think
,,?{::'.:iiq,i":f¿':ii""oo,."Fo¡r,, much ,iri"r,á" iií". Erris«,, ,r,,,,¡ il,t,,t r rlrt ,rlly irbout it, is what makes the adventure
of readirg so fascinating, and
, ,r,, ,
t e n r e r r a, ,, tll l,t'ltt.
igno re "X
hope' But "this do"' ",i?Xi',: ::: l,
" :m
i;J §:',X'ffi" * jl, I lr.rt'was a
t"rtrr" of Dickens,: orfllli
,,ot mean that the : :, :, :::
brief moment in the recent history of literary criticism when
guage is not profoundly 'r 'lrr I \('('m Possible and desirable to hold such concerns in abeyance. This
moral u,rq priiriálir-"d E,rí,r,,r,., r,,,
,', llrt' rnoment of the flourishing of the so-called New Criticisffi, which
*ffi;':?T"'.T[i*i i:y,""Tf l*ú;;;;;
ar (.or a r, r * r !,
parrs or"."rtirrg
the hrm,,,, \,,,, i,' l,l (lo sirnplify) that when one read a poem one should bring nothing exter-
,, ,l lo llr¿rt reading-no historical and social context, no questions of one's
'iir n ,tltout life and how to live it.a Not surprisingly, this movement produced
4. In his hishly influen tial
t, l¡r'sl work in the area of lyric poetry, and even there only by udegree of
of Ju.clsru"r7 0 zqól Critiqwe of the power
Iosopher TMMANuEL
,";ffi*), the German phi_
KANr (1,724_l8g+) ,.gr",

*fi#truffi!
t
h er ic ;, ¿L -""'i' u." poser.
llffr1 "r, i
" ""
ssa ri r y d is in rer_ 2. American dancer and choreographer (1894-
5. Clive Bell. Art (London: Chatro & leel).
Windus, 3. English novelist (pseudonym of Marian Evans,
*1"'{;
arr
ff fI t;¿)ft TI:tr1:?', . :u.",
criric,'s _ iissr ffir'j;iJf.,],l }á.ig!;l
é r,t,,.
,,,1i,[,r:*E**,ffi rB19-1880).
4. w. K. wIMSArr and MoNRoE c. BEARDSLEv, "The
were among"ii
an earlv_zorrrl*riyry
rsts and writers,
many
"f
group of art_
*f_,"_ Iived in the Lon_
:ii;il,,r;"¿¿1::1"r,:il:i.";::;l;: I : li:lrliii'H#il,tr*=11ü:f',.,*
r,,rrr..t ¡lrirrter.
I r,,,.,tr¡v Mahler (1860-1911), Austrian com-
l-i-l
Intentional Fallacy)' Sewanee Reuiew 54 09aO;
also cLEANTH BRooKS, The Well-Wrought LJrn
(New York: Harcourt Brace, 1947) [Nuisbaum's
note]. For "The Intentional Fallacy," see above.

i,Hff,llÍ',1Hfti*f:X,;J'ti:t:'i;H,,?;
above).
7' Thesatiric novels collectively
gantwaamdPantagrweto5';-\ár, known as
writer and physlcian 'rá"'ái;. 1rir,"?H:i;
i"ú;i"i, -i:". 3;*flJ:L,T"i*:#j#1*:j ,iili,,
rlr 1 rr rllr orrlv ¡¡ n,irrl t',»,li:rl ¡rs ¿ul('rllrr",rir." l't¡tltL's lll'illi:¡t¡l itl,'¡t ol'
,:r1¡r f rr'r ,r('('outtl ,ll't'ut r it'ul¡il'('()¡tlrr)\'('r'\irs irt lltt'('()ttlt'xf tll'¿t vivitl, Ittls('ll-
lt,rl, ,r¡lrl l)()\ /(,1'l'ul :tct'ou¡rl ol'lr('!'()\^/n r'¡rtlirtti«lll trc¿tttncnt ltlr breast
.¡| ,lr;r¡¡r¡osr,tt f lrt' s('nl('st('r i¡l'lcr slrc tirtrght the three nonstandard
.l , ,rllr¡,lirrg l«r l¡rr,¿rst ciulccr-r(¡rlrinrls hcr reader vividly of the fact that
= lrl,,tr¡r i.'¡¡lly ¿ur«l ctlricirlly situ¿rtccl kind of criticism resPonds to an age-
|,,rur r.¡rl iolt ol'what gives literature its importance in human life.", .. isn't
,r ,rll,,r :¡lt," rl)(,¿rsks, "what manypeople thinkgood literature should do:
.r,rln u., lvlrcll wc're weak, deepen our understanding of history, expand
.i * n,,(. ol'wll¿rt it's possible to think and feel?" She makes us ask why we
.r,lrt ,,r!.,pt.('t ¿r tc:acher who assigns the three nonstandard works of havirg
¡,,,lrtr,'rrl aÍ{cnd¿r": is it political to acknowledge the bodies of women and
. illn(..rs(,s tr) which women are subject, and apolitical to deny such recog-
,ri,n, Is t'riticism political only when it asks us to look and see, acknowl-
ii,lr|1 rvlr¿rt we might not have acknowledged before, and apolitical when it
., rrr rr i rrv itc such acknowledgment?
llr,. nr()vc to include noncanonical works and to scrutinize the ways in
t,i, lr .,ut'lr works construct desire and recognition does not necessarily lead
,lr l.l,itinrizingWestern civilization," r, George Will fears. Says Frank,
l)r.s¡ritc the picture Will paints of contemporary academic life, I did not
rrlri¡rt'to my colleagues that Shakespeare and Milton don't talk about
l,rr.;rst cancer; nor did I, deciding that the lack of a poetic treatment of
l,rr.:rst cancer in their works makes them bad writers, demand that my
,1,'¡xrrtment replace our courses in Shakespeare and Milton with courses
r ¡n M¿rria Edgeworth and Audre Lorde.l Rather, like many of my col-
1,,:rgrrcs, I taught the noncanonical alongside the canonical: Edgeworth
,urrl []urney, for example, alongside Defoe, Richardson, Fielding, Smol-
L.lt., and Sterne.2 Will is anxious about the wholesale destruction of
\\/t,stern civilization,I think, because canon revision reveals the canon to
l,t.¿r social institution rather than a self-evidently sublime entity unsoiled
lry t he grime of human interest.
tt lrtt.r'irture is a representation of human possibilities, the works of litera-
r,, (. wr, choose will inevitably respond to, and further develop, our sense of
,1r,, \^/c are and might be.
( )nce we start to think of literature this wzlt we notice someihirg else:
rlr,rt the New Critics' decision not to concern themselves with the social
,,,,1 lristorical dimensions of literary works was itself a political act, an act
,rl ;r ttuietistic type. Tlrrning to the ethical interpretation of a standard text,
lr,urli defends an interpretation of Defoe's Robinson Crwsoe that links it
,1,,s(,ly to its own historical context, one in which moral issues involved in
,,lr)rrialism and slavery were hotly debated.3 As Frank puts it, "You need to
I I lrirt is, replace two central figures in the his- Defoe (1660_1731), Samuel Richardson (1689-
r,,r\ (,1'Engliih literature, the dramatist William 176l), Henry Fielding (1707-1754), and Tobias
',l,.,l,,.speaie (1565-1616) and the poet
John Mil- Smollett (1721-17 71). The key role played bI qop-
rrrrr ¡obS-tOZ4), with women-thb E,nglish nov-
l"o:j"T,
,553); their humor is r¡,
, ,,, , l¡,,t and children's writer Maria Edgeworth
| 'r,ll-1849) and the African American pbet and
ular female novelists such as Edgeworth and Bur-
ney was long overlooked.
3. Thetitlecharacterof thepopular 1719 novelis
8' American scholarand
G¿ novt,f isr (l). r,,1rr ,r, rivist Audre Lorde (1943-1992), who herself an Englishman shipwrecked while attempting to
,jll,':
,1,,,,1 «¡f'breast cancer. procure African slaves for his South American
senr in lslz, ' '\ll male l8th-century British writers viewed as plantation.
"¡ori!_rlo,rrhs ¿¡l.rt,r rtrr, ,,¡,, , ,, ,,,,,t'rrtial figures in the rise of the novel: Daniel
 q
tlo ¿r Iot ol'w,ot'l'. lo igtt()r'(' llrt' llislol'it'¡¡l t',lrrlt'rl ol'lltiltiu\()n ('r r\rrr lf * i:: ?i \ \,,, ss r,
|, ::;:,;:i ;il:i_illi: r:lii:i,illilliil,:it,j.,l:,:::i:
ter how mytllically it ¡lrcs('rtLs itscll'."'l'ltt'willl'r¡l t'lroit't'lo rtnr,urr l¡rl, ,
';'i;'¡,;]:.1:'i::1,:.','',1:];,;;','l ,,,' ,,,.t,,.,"* l'l's'li'ir,,s.phy.rphysics.,.the
of such issues, and to treat the work ¿rs (list¿rrr[ rrryt lr, llcl rnvS ¡r lrr t,r n r r , \,'

:l ::i ilil ;il'iil*

a stance of detachment from concrete hum¿rn l)r()lrlt'nrs. l'lrc rlrl.rr lrur,
the Bloomsbury formalists was less innoccrnt «rl'¡rr»liti«'s tlr:lrr il rrrr¡rlrr .ir i
,

,, : ii : Ii:::n-,*xi*r;:*
ii ;i li: liil' : l, ;:" a,,J'::1,:",üXtn:;:::::;',lir,i,ti.u,i""::d
:

seem. Indeed, it seems evident, when one stuclics tlrt'wrif ilrgs,,f ll, ll I i,: ,,,.., ;, ¡,rrir0s.,1,hit I:
and other members of the Bloomsbury group, th¿rt tlrt'ir sl¡ur('(, \1 rrl, ,1, i
connected with Bloomsbury's own complicatecl ¡l«rlitit'irl sf ¡rn('(,, r¡*li¡ :i : : : i : I. I ; J':;' :,:;'l'J;l
i;',il'i""'i.,"." t : :"1}1 I "J*i:*H: l?irT lJü
matters of sex and aristocratic in matters oftt¿rstc ¿rncl c'rlu('¡rlion I lr, ¡ i
was that the cultivation and defense of fine-tr-l ne rl, rlr.l irt'lrr,r I rr ,.r l.
resPonses allowed them to rise above everyday moral.iurlgrut'rrls (;ur,l rl*,
protect unconventional forms of sexual life), but ¿lls«l t«r ¡r('lllr,r l rr lrr+,'
',,r-,-*li1m}[$*$:lPffi
""ry;
proposals of the duy that focused on the education «llt tlrt' nr,rs\r',,. *,r,
trating instead on the cultivation of small elite commur-ritics ol'l'r ir.rr,l,. , tr
i
;lt J* I:i:
i :l
il;'L'i t' á*' "'l :: r[ iil: ::il il"-$:
: :, 1
{ i'-J :"
:

Bloomsbury ideal was closely linked not only to cliscl¿rirr lin' tlrr' \r *r I , : j[IT:;'1,u"',t:tl'*'::"1":t::i::.ll--"*;*:l;'l"l¿':
classes but also, frequently, to anti-Semitism and other {irrrns r¡l'r'tlnr¡, , i::i: enrrcn(
of value judgments
:

racial prejudice. These prejudices also infect much of tl-rc N«,rr' ('r trt i :,':,',\l'.:'.il;;ii'itv
l',,' ;,' ;'';f 't YuY. rh;ffi ::ü "j, li::H,ul:ttl,Tft
.
',,'

There is of course no reason whythe politicalattitudes oft llloo¡rrsl,r¡rr ,, r!

t the phiroso pni""l
I
.

related ideas of the New Criticism should not be found in tlrt. I¡t(,r¡u \ , I ,

:::ll Íl::i:i:;:f,1'*.t rí;;;;";" .,: l:"^l with selr-critica, argument

room. We all learn most from a curriculum that contains clisst'rrl ,ur¡l ,lrlt
ence, an interaction of opposingviews. Even in the process ol'('()nrirr¡r tr, ¡,+:¡
with one work in a single class we should seek out a plurality ol',',urtr.r ri ilii[*:J;**xtfi
,f {':i:,T*ffi 'gllturun,il"'}:i
judgments. And different classrooms will properly differ gre¿rtly, rr., tlr, r ;;;;;, rrt,il"¡;""0}"";lt ffi;lffiI i, u,'.".p".,1l', *"'o
;::',i,,,.i.
I :l l,':. uiklf;;;,,'ü"ini".,'" yr*'Jfl",:i"i¿** [::#ff;
I

ter approaches with political dimensions of many different tyl)('s. I lrr lrr¡
tant thing to recognize is that we don't avoid the political rlirn(,n,,rr*, I
t

pretending it isn't there; and insofar as we do, we drain the w«lrltS, r,,.p' r ,ti ,:ll ji,:ld:itf ;*:l*:T["'ff iil"'fl.ilil,1il,.:t,:it;:ii:"f,'i: \

narrative works, of much of their meaning and urgency. This sor I nl 1, ,' i

debate about the moral content of art has been a staple of the Wt.stn rr rr ¡.! r:i:ii:itJi**":-,f u".l,tf :'.:::ff:¡lTffi
tion, in both philosophy and literature. There is no reason why it slr,,nl,l ,; ,
.fjÍtrffi'lilx:1*:::-ii
literature teachers "" ":;;;;;'i'o*Ltt'i" to the phi-
continue to make our teaching of literature more truly Socr¿rtit'. I lr, ,r,l'l ,,]i.ii;;;' i' which
the u b -
,, i,,. i* íf r rnu "'.0-1Ti¡*T,:ilfi,$fi i5*.?'i!-*" Y"'" :l
s

tion of new works will enhance our understanding both of lristr¡r r ,rn,l ' an
human beings. A critical examination of more standard works r,r,ill 1r, l,l ,; l,,..,rrhv of science' lit"'urvitltfl
insights-frequently(as in the case of RobinsonCrusoe) bVreve¿rlirrp.¡ ,lnr, ,, ,t,'i,suesinvolved''-J''"."iá"'of ff"X'lY;lit;1""11;
sion of unease or criticism in the text that a more morally detac'lr..,l .,tr l, i li,':*i'.*:l#1**Ii:::l#,n'f#;*TJ.T[m;r;*T+ 1

criticism might have missed. "Jff I

t,,rt'lring' lnterdiscrP I

]NSHIP, RELATIVISM, AND IDEI\TITY POLITI(]S

,,,;,,,;i'.,"thanití[ffj#-.,":.lT:,1,S.",i:\:.L::1",¿;il",1[::;
*i
\
\

t'o
""to'v : U"; h"; ; ith ite rau s''" e.,r r *'
i.' d
;'it'""#J#:l^ffi
\
r
What, if anything, should worry us in the current political criticisnrr' lt n,,
:ilI ;,;;i
,,, 1':l u \
*
r

at ion' br c
a cause for concern that some political critics are more radical thir¡r \\,,',,.
'
I ri z
ffiJllfi
i
:lIl'J"'.",Í;;;,". "," "*,ll \

rlrt' discussion of
ce
Booth and Lionel Trilling, just as some are more conservative. lt \{rul,l 1,,
dull if all academics were liberals; criticism, like moral and politic¿rl ¡,1rr1,, ,,
phy, profits from vigorous debate. It is far more healthy for studcrrts t, 1,, ,,
debates between opposingviews than for them to hear only refinecl t¿rIl, ,rI',,,,,
a poem's irony, divóiced fiom any historical or ethical considerati«xrs.
Nor is it a cause for grave concern, ultimately, that many contt'rrrp,r,*
critics espouse forms of moral relativism deriving from French postnr(¡rl, ,,,
*mffiffigp*ffffiffi
ist philosophy, denying the objectivity of value judgments. One m¿ry ('t,¡ t,r rr r I ,'ltJ seminar' whi<
take issue with the conclusions of these critics, and find fault with tlrt.ir .r Cultnatlng Hüfianity'
'i, ot'l'y it"tui"ted in
researching
ments. On the whole, philosophers thinking about truth and objectivitr 1,,,,, t
''
 sttttttt's t'l stltll ittttitosttto¡rolti;ttt
inlluc:ncc(l Illc rlt'sigrr irrrtl l lrc' nrt't lrotls ol' t'¡rclr irrrlivitlu¡¡l l'¡rt'ullt' nrr nrl,, t,r rtilir'izc llrr'I'rr lll('l('l)()\^'('ll'tt.l t'tol'lt¡tttisls' ll w¡ts tto ¡los(t'ttotl-
tt¡¡trkt'l
departmental courses. Such appro¿rclrt's n('('(l st rr)ng sul)l)orl,, si¡r, r' rr lt lr, , rrlt,'tt lltt'\'¡rtr'¡"t'nt:"tt'tl'lrv t"t.¡tlxrtrl rtrirrt('rs .l vrtlttc'
"ttrcn
,, t lrrrl N'l iltt¡¡r :r 'tí''''tt¡ti'tf l'tti"'ancl pcrnicious' World
them the facile relativism that many urrclcrgr¿trlu¿rt('s lrrirrg lo lllt'r'l,r,r',,rr,
ligltt'l': r"''t'""i.,"tt'"r i'
is likely to remain unexamined and the goarls of'w«»rltl t'ilizt'rrslri¡, t, +l , ,rll¡.t;tt.lY t,"ly""t'tt,'"'ii" ihty o<:t"t' insist-
tttt.'c iclcas whcrever
extent unfulfilled. , ,,,',',lr,,ttltl vigort¡ttsly t'it'¡tLtl democracy'
lr¡ lltr ilrt¡rlrvt'rishccl vicw
lr,rl t lrr'1 [t'¿rtl
r

v,t,, .'' u *"'*r'l]J;ü;

;.';; ;i^tlf*{t
The really grave cause for concern in the current teaching ol'litt'r'¡rlrrr' 1,,
r,,,,, ¡,,'.' i,' I I
U¿"*,:tl:r'l:i'::ff1
ever, is not the presence of defective arguments, which c'¿ur ('ársilt' lr,
cized. Itis,instead,theprevalenceofanapproachtoliter¿rturctlr¡rt (¡r',ru,,
r + i, : i

i I I I :;, ll' :: I lll,: I l* l" *l.T:: :ri:"': :,1 f;;üilt*m ::

,,, ,i, .. ,'',.,' rcatt wclr "3.,t,jll"-":i1,ii writers under-
the very possibility of a sympathy that takes one outsidc onc's gr',)ull, ¡rr¡l ¡
iti,"";;á-".i.Á
common human needs and interests as a basis for that symllrrtlrv. llr, r,'
of producing world citizens is profoundly opposed to the spirit r¡l trl, r,r,, :;ii:ill{ll;.ilH::H'::il:ffi';''"""i*::l;i":*#,11";:'-H;'1"*"
gtoup' frequently do k'now things
rlt'rry (hat
-"^il;'-;;pft"""1
politics, which holds that one's primary affiliation is with onc.'s lo.'¿rl ¡rr,,,,, r,,¡,,1 r,)
Ñeither individuals or groups
whether religious or ethnic or based on sexuality or gender. Mut'lr trirr lrr, .
. 'rrr rlr.it
livt's that
"'ft"*"üf"iIi a per.ceptive outsider mav sometimes
"cltft"cl*'
of literature in the current academy is inspired by the spirit ol'¡rlr.¡rtrtr 1,, ¡,, r l.r'l irr selFknowiJJg"' t"a experienc" f iit to see' But in general'
¡**"t1"á in an
I

. "lr.tl :t l)('rson *e with

do well to begin
tics. Under the label "multiculturalism"-which can refer to tht'rl)t,r.,f rf i.,: of u g'ou''
recognition of human diversityand cultural complexity-a new ¿rrrtilrr¡r,r,r,! ' \\,rrt l() .',nd""tu"iif'" 'i'"ái't"
0"""1'liii""';;;;;;;íorti"' sroup' we m-ust' how-
r,,',r tlr.t has expand our own
view has sometimes emerged, one that celebrates difference in ¿ur unu tn, i' rn"v-U" possible for us to
way and denies the very possibility of common interests and undo'sl u r l i *;= ¡
,r ,rsist tlrat when Jil;; ír"' á'n.T
r, r, i, g-. tn" t*:1"XX:iil[",:H:;
even of dialogue and debate, that take one outside one's own f{r()up ln rl ,, . r .
"'"i"il"'""'"
rI

,,,,' ti,' .'.,rid l"^ttt nothing from such worKs

world- citizen version of multiculturalism, the ethical argument li rr' rr l, I r , ,,.
in i''"Xsi;1till;a
¡

work such as lnuisible Man to the curriculum will be Ellison's own ¡u'F1unr ¡., ""¡' l"'tttttlaries superflcial if it preaches
the simplistic
that our nation has a history of racial obtuseness and that this w«rrl. lr, l¡, .i I rtlt.ttY interPretatro
i" 'i¿-* it'á 'ftirr' g*'"'l"t'"" and culture shape
,.rr,,,' tlrirt we if we reflect
t' ;;d;;;;; 'ki""' "'. ;;;" easilv see
of ""
citizens to perceive racial issues with greater clarity. In the identilr, ¡,,,1n.,
.,\l)('('ts what"ff''"f for the
version of multiculturalism, by contrast, the argument in favor «rl' lttt t ,l ¡
,
',,\ it t"
tt"' '""Jt'iift"i-lit"t"""
Man will be that it affirms the experience of African-Americarr strrrl, ,,r .,,1 r, :rtl. lt is for "tg""'ryimportant
ili3 cultivate suffi-
ñ;;ih:;' tfat "í"o'
This view denies the possibility of the task Ellison set himself: "ol'r'r'\r',r1i,., ,,,',',,, irs o.,
""pu"'ioi'if 1J
the human universals hidden within the plight of one who was lrot lr 1,1.,' ,,,,t11.lt isthepolitic'i o'tíf'ltof Iiteraturetlt"'i'cantransPortrrs'while
t"""áii"g similaiities but also
and American."5
r

##ili;f
',,,,rri.s ourselves, u'Jl'"""'iilijr""t'ott'"t' other and myself
u''¿
,,,l,r,rrtltlifferences 'tt""grtiáiirtat comprehcnsible'
These different defenses of literature are connected with dif'fi'rr'nr ,,+,
,,,1 rrr,rl.i,g ttt"^ to*i';il;'"t;;;
;t ut l""tt Hot" nearly
to deny the
ceptions of democracy. The world-citizen view insists on the nc('(l l,'r .+ri á"*"'
citizens to understand differences with which they need to live; it srr¡',, ¡ if ',\ ',r.,rce toward *ttllt'*'tiá' r"[tu" tocíal good' \ue should
'r.l"i"ttiuility;eems
,,r ¡,,,ssibility "r ut"il"y'".;;i""* "t "
i

in sist ing on the

zens as strivirg to deliberate and to understand across these division,. lr ¡

,,,, ¡',,'t it'^ l lv oppose J::';

;5;;;"'"'"' 1'""'" foundl of multiculturalism as
connected with a conception of democratic debate as deliberation ¿rlrnul t |,
common good. The identity-politics view, by contrast, depicts tlrt' t rn r: ',rl,l t itizen, rather
'il" 'il;'¿t'ity-pai'ilform and the undergradu-
body as a marketplace of identity-based interest groups jockeying lirr' ¡r,,,r ¡ :
ll,::l;i:: Hif":H#:.:il:ifiiry,.,? T*u'rire,
.

and views difference as something to be affirmed rather than un«l('r.,t,,r,;l pi"l"iirv. Butth.e great contribu-
,, , rrr r it.ulum ,r,orr¿iJri]"ii'r*i;;¡1rc ís its ability to wrest from
Indeed, it seems a bit hard to blame literature professionals for thr'('un'
r'" to *'u"rt"i" tí'" rii" "r tr"l" liu'""
,

prevalence of identity politics in the academy, when these schola rs ., r r ¡,1 r r ',,rr litcr¿ttur€ acknowleágment of those
reflect a cultural view that has other, more powerful sources. I)o¡unr,rr,: ,,,, lr,'rlttently oU"""
"ft'Uñ"i"Ji*"girru'io* "" and even in
both in concrete circumstances "to
1,,' ,rr(' other contribute
economic views of rationality within the political culture have long lr.rr* 'f"' "i'*iá'fffi"t put it"a *"tft1i n"tion
,1,,,rr1'.lrt and emotion'lÁ"
may
humanity shared by my
fully promoted the idea that democracy is merely a marketplace of'r',nrr¡* t to á"ny th" "á*-on
l, r,..rr rrris national ád"rr.y This con-
irg interest groups, without any common goals and ends that (', r l rr ,,
h"pPgl to '""J of his experience"'8
rationally deliberated. Economics has a far more pervasive and f«»r'rrrrrti,* l, ,r.r( l('r and those *t'cl -igf"
education'
influence on our lives than does French literary theory, and it is str rl. l,¡. ,,i,,:;',;;;;k", it " k"v elerñent itt t'igh"'
that conservative critics who attack the Modern Language Association'' ,,,, Prize*winning American
economist whose advo-

cacv of free *"tü;; ;t

nigttty influential'

5. Ellison, introduction to lnuisible Man. scholarly papers (whose titles on occ¡rsinrr , I

8. Éllison , In'tisible Man'-p' xxvi [Nussbaum's

6. The primary North American professional orga- outrage from conservatives) are presenlt'rl rl l,
notel.
nization for academics in English and foreign lan- dreds of panels.
guages and literatures; at its annual convention,
 we are now trying to builcl an
acaclerny tlrat will «rvcrr.()nr(,rl(,li.r
and receptivity thut"-arred r,, ,l , i
academy in which no group
the humanities deparrt rnt,,f s
r »r' t.¿ r r l,. ,r * ,r=
.
i,r, lrrttl ltl ;¡t'Llt(t\t'lcrl¡4r' llt,' \t'r)t llr ,¡l' l,'slli¡¡¡t lllcot'y, \\/ltr.¡l lrr¡l ('()¡(lr.tl¡lr.,rl, il ltslt. 'q
will be invisible in Ellisor's !i(,r¡si(.. I r, r rttrtl ,,1¡lV lolrr'¡r ntlnlru¡¡s. ¿\ltlrorrglr llrt' ('ss:tV lrt'¡4irrs willt llris t'l'ilit'islrr,
way a radical political ág",rau; rlr,rr i, i!. 'lr,rl ll¿r', N('\,('r' llt'('n" r'rtrl)r':r('('s f lrt' ,r¡r¡lorlunily lo t'slr¡lrlisll ¿r ¡l(.w ficlrl ¿ulrl to
it is always .uai"ul, ín ¿rry srr.it.r1,,
the equalt"o'ih of all human
beings,u:dpeople fincl ,,ll ..,,rrf r, r'.,* ! .rr¡, l,",lri;ur slu«li«'s oul ol'tlr('"('lost'1." lJ(>r'/,in'urrcnr-¡¿rn, this scholarly trernsforrna-
the claim or that ideal, *;;h s,l.rr,r*r rrr,r ,r lr,r'. l)r)lrtit':rl ¿ts tt,t'll ¡rs l)r'oli'ssi«x'r¿rl conscclLrcr.tces, {ostering a sense of lesbian
agenda is radical in the
,ñ"úr, thef
way irrr, stoic'-oríd'ci'tiz,rln,¡,
#;il';l
i;;-'.'..ruir.t,. ,r rrr , ,,, ¡
,= rrlll\ ;ut(l t'oltuttulrity.

Rome built on hierarchy ut'árank, w¡rs r¡rrrr,,rr ¡. i,¡rurr,lcrl irr t'rrcyclopcclic rcsearch, "What Has Never Been" traces the origins of
of one's neighbor was and is
in the *uvthat the chrisf i¡r¡ .l,t,rrr li'r¡rinist litcrary criticism, reviews definitions of lesbianism, inventories a
rrf,,,f ,,r I
radical, in a #orld anxious lrr,ur lilr'¡':rry c¿lnor1, and suggests a "lesbian aesthetic." Looking to the future, it
mon membership in'1" kingdom [«r rlt,rr1, ,,,r t
of e.rd, o.^ the kingcror, ,f,f r(,rrr¡ * ii i,,r'.',('sS('s thc difficulties, outlines the tasks, and anticipates the challenges that
:i ¡ l,",lri:rrr I'c¡ninist literary critics. One of the main challenges thatZimmerman
:i::1*i.",T#"'#'#ffi:??;f?"1' ;l"d,TIJne wor thy«,r «¡,,, (,,,, r r
¡ *
l.rrtrlirs is "lle:tcrosexism"-¡hs assumption in mainstream feminism and in culture
,l'rr¡,r'tlr¿rt hcterosexuality is the one natural way to express sexual or affectional
't rr lnn('nt. She details the heterosexist assumptions that dominate feminist literary
',tlr,lrgir:s, journals, and books of literary criticism, in particular faulting such
,,rrnn¡r'rr[ f'cminists as Elaine Showalter, SANDRA M. cTLBERT, and susAN GUBAR,
l¡,,',¡'r,r,r'll-known studies of women writers fail to note female companions and les-
,.rr ,rllrtchments. Further, she claims that anthologies ignore prominent lesbian
r rl.r s, th¿tt surveys omit lesbianism as a theme or perspective, and that analyses

¡tlr'r rlisrcgard or vilify lesbian characters and themes in literature. To overcome

BONNIE ZTMMERMAN ', t'rr¡st'xist biases, she calls for lesbian theorists to develop their own resources to
,'rl,l:r c¿lnon and a critical approach.
b. 1947 ln Iruilding a distinctive canon and criticism, Zimmerman sees a central theo-
uBeginning , I rr ;r I
¡troblem in the definition of "lesbian" and whom that term includes or excludes.
with nothing,,, Bonnie Zimmerm¿ ,r,rr('rnodern critics, like Catherine Stimpson, lean toward a narrow definition
Been: An overview r.áu",
began to expand the "r
i"_#;,¿;,;:11_1i;;;il:,il1 ,,,,',lit'¿rted on sexual intimacy, while others, like the feminist poet and critic ADRr-
Iimitation. *Yl:;:i,,ll;1,:,,,:, ,
, , \t, tucH, advocate a more expansive category. Rich's concept of a "lesbian con-
",it..árfr"t,iir..t ip by poinr.ing wrr¡rr rr,r,r r,.
for decades-'unspeakabre'-l"rür"" [<.¡
,uruurn" encompasses all women who have intense women-identified bonds, which
movements of the Ig60s, feminist ".*"'""llflr,rrr* out of the ioci¿r | r, ,, ;¡ r r, ,r rr .
,rrr¡1lrt be social or political rather than sexual. This problem of definition mirrors
¡y the late lg70s was ¿r (.r)rrr,,rr
i" ".ii;r.- , l*r'('nnial one in theory, particularly in those studies based on identity: if they
Hi,:;ffi;;:l'.T15"'i"" ""'t"-r"JJ, rn*,.v criticism,..r'r r,,,,,,, r
I

,r.'('rclusive, then such definitions might reproduce biases and static categories of
;:s;;l;;;;;;Ti"':::f#ff*:,ry;n,?flr,x,*tit."l';x1,,:,:i],,;;;
'lr,,ught; if they are too expansive, then they might gradually erase meaningful dis-
:lli:i,:ii:'r'":Xff?:::-r., p'*",r"i,'É,i,,,-,¿",,,ned women ¿,,,(r ,,,,,,,,,,
rur.lions. AlthoughZirnmerman admires the flexibility of Rich's "continuum," she
,
,rllinrately cautions against it, arguing that it diminishes a sense of lesbian difference

*i j:*::mrumfi**.m?,J,,"*"il:!;i:ili:lLi;,::i::l ,rr,l s¡reciflcity; instead, she advocates Lillian Faderman's definition that identifies as
l,",lri¿tn those women who have affectionate attachments with other women, usually
versar whire rg"o,.i,,g'iin"._.o";;1"
rrmirarion' Zimmerman's
;;:;ili,lí:1:ff :T,,"1ü?:.:l:],i.:il rr ir romantic couple.

tT;;.""0,1,¿T,?,
"whar. Has ñ;;;;" is a defining docuicrr r¡r l¡ rr,r ,,
1,,, ( )nce the lesbian critic has settled this theoretical problem, her primary responsi-
s tak i n g ., ; ; ;;;;; l,rlilies, according to Zimmerman, are to identify lesbian texts and to build a'lit'erary
a. or re m i n s t i. r, o ru.. r,
;:LH_, i
; ¡,. trrrrlition. This first involves a task of recovery, because many lesbians were his-
s n i" ié6;, ,-r"u ilil,T."lTü :',:Í:"¿il".,'1i:}
earned her ph'D' ¡n téz+.
sr," r,"rJr.".-*i';;;#.,
l"*t;tr;h*#,Ít,:,i I : :,,,,, i
t,,r'ically constrained to write in "code" to avoid public ostracism. As an example of
l,uilcling a canon, Zirnrnerman cites Barbara Smith's famous lesbian reading (see
cago area, bul since I97g academic positions i, rrrr r r,,
she f,", orgiri';ólr"»i"go ,rlrove) of the African American novelist Toni Morrison's Sula (L973), arguing against
w.as.active in establishing Stare úniversiry, rrlr,,r, ,r.
a women,s ,L¿i., *ri llrt' need for biographical evidence or proof of authorial intention. Once a canon is
ricutum; .r.," r,"' r*o,.ñ,ry,.".,"-á'r.
t998-99 she served o""ríd"r,torilr" :;1. ;Ih?Jlffo':[r',t"r;::i,i:i,l,l::,,, ,'sl¿rblished, she hopes lesbian critics can go on to analyze the images and stereo-

"
2003 she became associate ñli.á #.o-"1, studies Ar.o.i,,ri,,,,, ,,,,,r ;:,, Iv
l)es of lesbians in literature and to examine the stylistics of lesbian writing, cul-
vi". p."-riá".,ii".?r*rrr"rrrirs ar. rrrinating in defining a specifically lesbian aesthetic. In some ways, Zimmerman's
merman was one of the first san Diego srrrr,, 2r,,,
openry r"sbran;;;i;... lcrnplate for developing lesbian criticism parallels the course of early feminist criti-
Iinking her potitics and schotarsh;;, in rhe America, a-"r.r..r,,,, ,,,,,r
ary courses studvins leshian
il;;;:":;:;.rr," a"*r.f_",i .i,,,11i1,,.,, ,,,,,, lisrn, which in the 1970s worked to construct a canon of women's writing (or what
t i*.r, ,ru theory.
lite¡aiure, l,laine Showalter called a "literature of their own") and to critique literary stereo-
while the feminil un¿,,"*urlliL".i;;;í"-""rs lvpes of women, and in the 1980s moved to examine specific characteristics of écri-
negative biases againsr rlt .n"tir" r"*r"li*r,i"il,r" ofih" I960s seemr,<r r. rrr,,¡,,
rheory and Iirerary r.rirrr
r
trre féw'rinine (female/feminine writing or style), in the phrase of the French feminist
were still marginalized u
de"ude rrá. i, ¡.r,,
".r.lJ It"rrr*, and in academ1.. *,r,,,r.,,
u ELENS clxous.
ship. As Zimmerman laments
in..What U* ñ.r"iS"eo,,,even feminisf. li¡rr¡r¡r r,, ,.
Zirnrnerman concludes by anticipating problems that might face lesbian critics.
Although she celebrates the radical edge of lesbian separatism and its resistance to