Help My Unbelief
James Joyce and Religion
Published on 15. April 2010
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-4411-3108-9 (ISBN)
Description
From the very beginning James Joyces readers have considered him as a Catholic or an anti-Catholic writer, and in recent years the tendency has been to recuperate him for an alternative and decidedly liberal form of Catholicism. However, a careful study of Joyces published and unpublished writings reveals that throughout his career as a writer he rejected the church in which he had grown up. As a result, Geert Lernout argues that it is misleading to divorce his work from that particular context, which was so important to his decision to become a writer in the first place. Arguing that Joyces unbelief is critical for a fuller understanding of his work, Lernout takes his title from Ulysses, I believe, O Lord, help my unbelief. That is, help me to believe or help me to unbelieve?, itself a quote from Mark 9: 24. This incisive study will be of interest to all readers of Joyce and to anyone interested in the relationship between religion and literature.
Reviews / Votes
Lernout meticulously pinpoints and researches minor references to religion in Joyce's oeuvre, providing an index of ideas that will undoubtedly be an excellent resource for scholars seeking an explanation for religious allusions which have hitherto been overlooked or unexplained, particularly in Joyce's early work... This is a vast, informative work that will be useful both to new readers and experienced Joyceans alike. -- Routledge ABES Lernout's book is an indispensible starting point for an extended examination of religion in Joyce's works and his always intricate perspectives. -- Journal of Modern Literature Volume 34, No.2 Lernout's vision is sharp and engaging. -- James Joyce Quarterly ... Lernout provides an excellent account of Joyce's work in relation to contemporary free thought and anti-clericalism. -- Forum for Modern Language Studies, Vol 48., No. 1 The evidence he offers from start to finish from Joyce's texts, letters, and the testimony of others is incontrovertible.Three examples...Quod erat demonstrandum! -- Peter A. Bien * Religious Studies Review *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
540 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4411-3108-9 (9781441131089)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2010
1st Edition
Continuum Publishing Corporation
€42.99
Available for download
Person
Geert Lernout is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and Director of the James Joyce Centre. He has published The French Joyce (1990) and Iets Anders: De GoldBerg-Varieties van Bach (2001).
Content
Preface; 1. The Holy Roman Apostolic Church; 2. Heresy, Schisma and Dissent; 3. Joyce's own Crisis of Belief; 4. Loss of Religion in Retrospect: From Epiphanies to Exiles; 5. You behold in me a horrible example of freethought; 6. After Ulysses; Conclusion; Select Bibliography; Index.