| Joseph Conrad and the Anthropological Dilemma: 'Bewildered Traveller' Contributor(s): Griffith, John W. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0198183003 ISBN-13: 9780198183006 Publisher: Clarendon Press OUR PRICE: $237.50 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 1995 Annotation: This is the first detailed analysis of Conrad's early works in relation to nineteenth-century anthropology, Victorian travel writing, and contemporary anthropological theory. Conrad's early fiction originated as a response to his travels in so-called primitive cultures: Malaysia, Borneo, and the Congo. As a sensitive observer of other peoples and a notable emigre, he was profoundly aware of the psychological impact of travel, and much of his early fiction portrays both literal and figurative voyages of Europeans into other cultures. By situating Conrad's work in relation to other writings on 'primitive' peoples, John Griffith shows how his fiction draws on prominent anthropological and biological theories regarding the degenerative potential of contacts between European and other cultures. At the same time, however, Conrad's work reflected an anthropological dilemma: he constantly posed the question of how to bridge conceptual and cultural gaps between various peoples. As John Griffith demonstrates, this was a dilemma which coincided with a larger Victorian debate regarding the progression or retrogression of European civilization. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - General |
| Dewey: 823.912 |
| LCCN: 94045316 |
| Lexile Measure: 1480 |
| Physical Information: 0.82" H x 5.74" W x 8.8" (1.03 lbs) 260 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - British Isles |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Conrad's early fiction originated as a response to his travels in Malaysia, Borneo, and the Congo. As a sensitive observer of other cultures and a notable émigré, he was profoundly aware of the psychological impact of travel, and much of his early fiction portrays both literal and figurative voyages of Europeans into other cultures. This is the first detailed analysis of Conrad's early works in relation to other writings on primitive peoples, notably nineteenth-century anthropology, Victorian travel writing, and contemporary anthropological theory. |