Tracing the Aesthetic Principle in Conrad's Novels

Tracing the Aesthetic Principle in Conrad’s Novelssets out to revolutionize our reading of Joseph Conrad’s works and challenge the critical heritage that accompanies them. Levin identifies the emergence of an aesthetic principle in Conrad’s novels and theorizes that principle through the concept of ‘the otherwise present,’ which Levin defines as that which provokes desire and perpetuates it by barring its appeasement. This book offers a detailed analysis of Lord Jim, Nostromo, Under Western Eyes, The Arrow of Gold and Suspense, alongside a poststructuralist-inspired explication of Conrad’s literary vision and its defining principle. This study is an important source for both the newcomers and the initiated to Conrad’s oeuvre.