The essay offers a new comparative analysis of two major American authors of the early 20th century, demonstrating that W.E.B. Du Bois’s first novel, The Quest of the Silver Fleece (1911), represents a crucial intertext for Nella Larsen’s own first novel, Quicksand (1928). Despite the growing body of fine scholarship on the intertextuality that characterizes Larsen’s fiction, her revision of The Quest of the Silver Fleece has remained critically unacknowledged. Recovering this neglected intertexual relationship enables a deeper appreciation of both novels, revising traditional scholarly assessments, illuminating the oft-underestimated complex literariness of The Quest of the Silver Fleece, and foregrounding the formal sophistication and political relevance of Larsen’s psychological exploration of her heroine.
“’New and Unknown Ways of Living and Dressing’: W. E. B. Du Bois, Nella Larsen, and the Quicksand of Intertextuality.”
FABI, Maria Giulia
2012
Abstract
The essay offers a new comparative analysis of two major American authors of the early 20th century, demonstrating that W.E.B. Du Bois’s first novel, The Quest of the Silver Fleece (1911), represents a crucial intertext for Nella Larsen’s own first novel, Quicksand (1928). Despite the growing body of fine scholarship on the intertextuality that characterizes Larsen’s fiction, her revision of The Quest of the Silver Fleece has remained critically unacknowledged. Recovering this neglected intertexual relationship enables a deeper appreciation of both novels, revising traditional scholarly assessments, illuminating the oft-underestimated complex literariness of The Quest of the Silver Fleece, and foregrounding the formal sophistication and political relevance of Larsen’s psychological exploration of her heroine.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
