Art and Desire: A Study in the Aesthetics of Fiction

Art and Desire is an attempt to re-humanize the theoretical discussion of literature. 'Novels, poems and plays', the author declares in his Preface, 'are not 'texts' but works; literature is a humane activity practised by sentient beings (writers and readers), and the question of its function can be addressed by reference to the common experiences and intuitions of the participants, refined, clarified and structured by the process of rational discourse.' In testing a theory of aesthetic experience against the case of fiction, 'Art and Desire' explores fundamental questions about art and reality, emotion and aesthetic order, and the value of literature and literary criticism.