William Greenslade
Reading matter and the matter of reading in Gissing’s fiction
Greenslade, William
Authors
Contributors
Christine Huguet
Editor
Abstract
This chapter revisits George Gissing’s handling of reading practices within the realist frame of his practice as a novelist to show the variety of reality effects linked to reading matter and the reading subject – the choice of books, their location on the shelf, table or in the hand, the reader’s attitude and physical relation to the book. Gissing’s figures not only read but are ‘read’ by their reading matter, offering evidence of their state of mind, their cultural and educational situation and their bearing to the world. Some of these attitudes and practices are explored in relation to the contemporary ‘reading problem’ which identifies mass literacy and ‘frivolous, feeble’ reading habits as symptoms of a problematic modernity. It is through his particularised representation of reading that Gissing successfully encodes and captures such contemporary uncertainties.
Citation
Greenslade, W. (2010). Reading matter and the matter of reading in Gissing’s fiction. In C. Huguet (Ed.), Writing Otherness: The Pathways of George Gissing’s Imagination (173-188). Equilibris
Publication Date | Jan 1, 2010 |
---|---|
Peer Reviewed | Not Peer Reviewed |
Pages | 173-188 |
Book Title | Writing Otherness: The Pathways of George Gissing’s Imagination |
ISBN | 9789059760127 |
Keywords | reading matter, Gissing, fiction |
Public URL | https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/985208 |
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