30135 - Theory and History of Literary Genres (LM)

Course contents

Title of the course:

The book of sand:Readings of Heart of Darkness

 Borrowing a suggestive image from Borges, we could say that all literary masterpieces are books of sand, transient and porous objects that never remain the same for long, always in danger to be re-written at each readings, objects that disgregate and reconstitute themselves with each act of interpretation. But what are the historical, cultural and aesthetical conditions that lead to such interpretative strategies? Is it possible to talk of “right interpretations” and “wrong interpretations”? Are all readers free to impose their different subjectivities onto the text? The course will focus on what I think is an exemplary case – Heart of Darkness. This is a key text of modernity, because of its multilayered and ambiguous nature that has caused it to become the object of several and contrasting interpretations. The course will pay particular attention to those processes of thematization, selection, paraphrase and construction of meaning that are at stake in readings of this novella. The course will illustrate the way this text has been interpreted from the point of view of some of the most influential modernist critical traditions, as well as suggesting further intertextual references. Finally, this course aims at being a forum of discussion and hopefully at involving students in a collective exercise of literary hermeneutics.

Readings/Bibliography

Primary Readings

- J. Conrad, Cuore di tenebra (Heart of Darkness), edizione bilingue a cura di G. Sertoli, Torino, Einaudi

- J. Conrad, Diario del Congo (Congo Diary), in Id., Cuore di tenebra, edizione bilingue a cura di G. Sertoli, Torino, Einaudi, pp. 255-270

- J. Conrad, Un avamposto del progresso (An Outpost of Progress), in Id., Opere. Romanzi e racconti 1895-1903, Milano, Bompiani,  pp. 217-247

Critical works on Heart of Darkness

- R. O. Evans, Conrad's Underworld, “Modern Fiction Studies”, 2, 1956, pp. 56-62

- T. Todorov, Conoscenza del vuoto. Heart of Darkness (Connaissance du vide, 1971), in Id., Poetica della prosa, Roma, Teoria, pp. 171-186 (con il titolo Cuore di tenebra il saggio si trova anche in I generi del discorso, La nuova Italia)

- C. Achebe, Un'immagine dell'Africa: il razzismo in Cuore di tenebra di Conrad (An Image of Africa. Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness, 1977), in Id., Speranze e ostacoli, Milano, Jaca Book, 1998, pp. 11-27

- P. Brooks, Un rapporto illeggibile. Heart of Darkness (An Unreadable Report: Conrad's Heart of Darkness, 1984), in Id., Trame. Intenzionalità e progetto nel discorso narrativo,Torino, Einaudi,  pp. 248-274

- E. Said, Due diverse prospettive in Cuore di tenebra (Two visions in Heart of Darkness, 1993), in Id., Cultura e imperialismo, Roma, Gamberetti Editrice, pp. 44-57

- G. Sertoli, Introduzione a Cuore di tenebra, in J. Conrad, Cuore di tenebra, edizione bilingue, Torino, Einaudi, pp. v-xliv

 

Critical texts on interpretation

- U. Eco, Intentio lectoris. Appunti sulla semiotica della ricezione, in Id., I limiti dell'interpretazione, Milano, Bompiani, pp. 15-38

- E. Garroni, Interpretare, in M. Lavagetto (a cura di), Il testo letterario istruzioni per l'uso, Roma, Laterza, pp. 245-282

- F. Kermode, Il segreto nella parola. Sull'interpretazione della narrativa, Bologna, il Mulino

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See the website of Donata Meneghelli