{"product_id":"the-one-vs-the-many-alex-woloch-9780691113142","title":"The One vs. the Many: Minor Characters and the Space of the Protagonist in the Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eDoes a novel focus on one life or many? Alex Woloch uses this simple question to develop a powerful new theory of the realist novel, based on how narratives distribute limited attention among a crowded field of characters. His argument has important implications for both literary studies and narrative theory. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Characterization has long been a troubled and neglected problem within literary theory. Through close readings of such novels as \u003ci\u003ePride and Prejudice\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGreat Expectations\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eLe P鑽e Goriot\u003c\/i\u003e, Woloch demonstrates that the representation of any character takes place within a shifting field of narrative attention and obscurity. Each individual--whether the central figure or a radically subordinated one--emerges as a character only through his or her distinct and contingent space within the narrative as a whole. The \"character-space,\" as Woloch defines it, marks the dramatic interaction between an implied person and his or her delimited position within a narrative structure. The organization of, and clashes between, many character-spaces within a single narrative totality is essential to the novel's very achievement and concerns, striking at issues central to narrative poetics, the aesthetics of realism, and the dynamics of literary representation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Woloch's discussion of character-space allows for a different history of the novel and a new definition of characterization itself. By making the implied person indispensable to our understanding of literary form, this book offers a forward-looking avenue for contemporary narrative theory.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alex Woloch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691113149\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691113142\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/23\/2003\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 408\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.27lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.18h x 6.14w x 0.99d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2004 pg. 1878","brand":"Alex Woloch","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43992280563967,"sku":"9780691113142","price":48.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_6b2af882-c2de-4984-bf21-0f8355348141.jpg?v=1683315127","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-one-vs-the-many-alex-woloch-9780691113142","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}