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Myths of the Underworld in Contemporary Culture
Judith Fletcher
其他書名
The Backward Gaze
出版
Oxford University Press
, 2019
主題
History / Ancient / General
Literary Criticism / General
Literary Criticism / Ancient & Classical
Literary Criticism / Modern / 20th Century
Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social
Social Science / Folklore & Mythology
Social Science / Women's Studies
ISBN
0198767099
9780198767091
URL
http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=WCiPDwAAQBAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
EBook
SAMPLE
註釋
Myths of the Underworld in Contemporary Culture: The Backward Gaze examines a series of twentieth and twenty-first century fictional works that adapt Greco-Roman myths of the catabasis, the heroic journey to the underworld. Covering a range of genres - including novels, comics, and children's culture, by authors such as Elena Ferrante, Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman, A. S. Byatt, Toni Morrison, and Anne Patchett - it reveals how an enduring fascination with life after death, and fantasies of accessing the world of the dead while we are still alive, manifest themselves in myriad and varied re-imaginings of the ancient descent myth. The volume begins with a detailed overview of the use of the myth by ancient authors such as Homer, Aristophanes, Vergil, and Ovid, before exploring the ways in which the narrative of a return trip to Hades by Odysseus, Aeneas, Orpheus, and Persephone can be manipulated by contemporary storytellers to fit themes of social marginality and alterity, postmodern rebellion, the position of female authors in the literary canon, and the dislocation endured by refugees, exiles, and diasporic populations. It also argues that citations of classical underworld stories can disrupt and challenge the literary canon by using media - such as comic books, children's culture, or rock music - not conventionally associated with high culture.