Homosexuality in the Life and Work of Joseph Conrad Love Between the Lines [Paperback]

This book analyzes the representations of homosexuality in Conrads fiction, beginning with Conrads life and letters to show that Conrad himself was, at least imaginatively, bisexual. Conrads recurrent bouts of neurasthenia, his difficult courtships, late marriage, and frequent expressions of misogyny can all be attributed to the fact that Conrad was emotionally, temperamentally, and, perhaps, even erotically more comfortable with men than women.

Subsequent chapters trace Conrads fictional representations of homosexuality. Through his analysis, Ruppel reveals that homoeroticism is endemic to the adventure genre and how Conrads bachelor-narrators interest in younger men is homoerotic. Conrad scholars and those interested in homosexuality and constructions of masculinity should all be interested in this work.

Acknowledgments

Chapter One: Playing Tricks on the Dead: Outing Joseph Conrad and the Ethics of Literary Criticism

Chapter Two: Life, Letters, and Neurasthenia

Chapter Three: Male Intimacy in Conrads Tales of Adventure  The Nigger of the Narcissus and Heart of Darkness

Chapter Four: Male Intimacy in Conrads Tales of Adventure  Romance and Victory

Chapter Five: Conrads Bachelor Narrators: Lord Jim, Il Conde, and Under Western Eyes

Chapter Six: Conrads Bachelor Narrators: The Secret Sharer, Chance, and The Shadow Line

Chapter Seven: Conclusion: Amy Foster and Imaginative Bisexuality

Notes

Bibliography

Index

 

Ruppel has produced some thought-provoking assertions concerning homosexuality in Conrad's works. -- Linda Dryden, English Literature in Transition

Richard J. Ruppel, chair of the English department at Chapman University, elC7