Jerome Meckier Bücher

The essays on Aldous Huxley collected here were written between 1966 and 2005 and have been arranged in such a way that they approximate a book on Huxley as a modern satirical novelist of ideas. In this capacity, Huxley assessed the intellectual condition of his era, always excoriating folly but never losing sight of human potentialities, especially his own. Huxley's ingrained skepticism persisted into his later fictions, even after his conception of the nature of things improved. The amused and highly amusing Pyrrhonic aesthete turned into a Swiftian Prospero. Detached yet totally committed to bettering the human condition, Huxley epitomized the dedicated craftsman. This lifelong aesthetician, always a philosopher, continues to command attention as thinker, critic, and artist: both satirist and sage. (Series: "Human Potentialities." Studien zu Aldous Huxley & zeitgenossischer Kultur/Studies in Aldous Huxley & Contemporary Culture - Vol. 8)Edited by Peter E. Firchow and Bernfried Nugel; with an introduction by Peter Edgerly Firchow and a personal memoir by Gavin Keulks.

Jerome Meckier explores the literary rivalry among Victorian novelists in his analysis of Great Expectations, revealing how Dickens reinterpreted works by authors like Lever, Thackeray, and the Brontës. He argues that Dickens parodied their themes and characters to critique their narratives as unrealistic fairy tales, particularly through a darker lens that replaces the traditional Cinderella motif with the story of Misnar's collapsible pavilion. This shift serves as a commentary on social disparity and reflects Dickens's tragicomic worldview, offering a corrective to the era's romanticized tales.

The book explores the interactions among Victorian novelists, focusing on how they read and responded to each other's works during the 19th century. Jerome Meckier introduces the concept of the "Victorian realism wars," where authors like Trollope, Gaskell, and Eliot sought to establish their credibility as realists by challenging Charles Dickens. Through parody and critique, these writers navigated a literary landscape shaped by the need to assert their own voices. This study reshapes the understanding of notable novels by highlighting their interconnectedness and the competitive dynamics of realism in Victorian literature.

Focusing on the life and career of a prominent figure in Victorian literature, this critical and biographical study offers a fresh perspective that challenges existing perceptions. It delves into the complexities of the individual's contributions and influences, providing a nuanced understanding of their impact on the literary landscape of the time. Through detailed analysis, the work highlights significant themes and contexts that shaped their legacy.

Huxley began as a poet, mastering the modern satirical voice that used art to create parodic poetry reflecting the breakdowns and dead ends of the post-war era. His most irreverent works are contrapuntal, effectively silencing traditional poets and formats. His poetic personas often fail to maintain conventional forms or intentionally sabotage them. By 1920, he emerged as a parodic counterpart to formative intelligences like Dante and Goethe, who positively synthesized their times. Meckier analyzes Huxley’s poems, including “Leda,” his ironic modern myth, and traces his evolution through the poets featured in five of his eleven novels, whose various poetic stances ultimately collapse. However, Huxley began to recognize a spiritual significance in the creative impulse, leading him to reassess many Romantic and Victorian poets he once dismissed as frauds. He eventually celebrated mystical contemplation as a form of silent poetry, envisioning a utopia where everyone can express their poetic potential. Huxley transformed from a figure who parodied established poets to a philosopher advocating for a poetry of silence, marking a significant evolution in his career.