Henry would never know he hadn't written it himself: The Implications of "Dictation" (2008) for Jamesian Style
Date
2014
Authors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
0273-0340
1080-6555
1080-6555
Volume Title
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press
Type
Article
Peer reviewed
Yes
Abstract
This essay explores the critical implications of Cynthia Ozick’s “Dictation,” a work of biographical fiction in which James and Conrad’s typists covertly exchange excerpts from “The Jolly Corner” and “The Secret Sharer.” Ozick’s conceit enables us to read against the plot of the tales, emphasizing the queer desire of each hero for his alter ego over the narrative restoration of compulsory heterosexuality. Her disruption of the link between extract and referent disallows naïve attempts to extrapolate a gay biographical subject from a queer reading of the text, emphasizing Jamesian style’s intrinsic reluctance to anchor the sign to a coherent identity.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Layne, B. (2014) Henry would never know he hadn't written it himself: The Implications of "Dictation" (2008) for Jamesian Style. The Henry James Review. 35(3), pp.248-256