:: The Young Enthusiast ::

Chapter 1: Starting Over: Intersubjectivity and Narrative: Butte argues that it is not subjectivity but intersubjectivity that is the formal innovation that separates the 19th-century novel from earlier types of prose fiction. Butte then cites the theories of Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty as two opposing views of the phenomenology of intersubjectivity: for Sartre, the other is a thing to fear, for Merleau-Ponty, the other signifies companionship, that we are inhabiting a world together, but separately. The argument over the nature of intersubjectivity characterized by this debate was one of the central issues of post-19th-century novels and film. In particular, the gaze is a crucial cite of this debate: under Sartre’s paradigm, the gaze is oppositional, and the primary response to being gazed upon is shame; under Merleau-Ponty’s paradigm, the gaze is mutual, and the exchange of glances eventually forms the complex knot we refer to as intersubjectivity.

Chapter 2: Representing Deep Intersubjectivity: Narrative Practices: Moll Flanders is analyzed as a simpler model of intersubjectivity; rather than constructing her portrayals of others’ consciousnesses from visual and verbal cues, Moll projects generic attributes onto these characters based on their actions (rather than the intentions behind their actions) as well as her own knowledge gained from past experience. Butte also does a short reading of Evelina in which he argues that Evelina’s lack of confidence (at least compared to Moll) makes her a keener observer of the intentionality of others. Next, Pamela is read as moving slightly deeper; both Pamela and Mr. B understand each others as something more than images moving across a screen, but Butte argues that neither character consciously probes how the other constructs the “you” that they use to refer to one another; that constant evaluation and re-evaluation of the other’s perception of yourself is one hallmark of deep intersubjectivity that Pamela consistently lacks. Finally, Tom Jones is read as another instance of this shallow subjectivity. While Tom is sensitive to the particular feelings of others, he is not aware of their (particularly Sophia Western’s) perception of him. Butte does, however, analyze one scene that approaches deep subjectivity: when Tom meets with Molly in her room and a curtain falls to reveal his tutor Square in a state of undress. Butte notes the similarities to Sartre’s shock and fear at knowing and being known, but for Butte the comic aspects of the scene emphasize the exposure of hypocrisy over self-revelation.

Note: Chapter 2 also contained readings of Great Expectations, The Turn of the Screw and Middlemarch, all of which I have skipped over in my summary since these works do not appear on my list.

In regards to Butte’s reading of Pamela in chapter 2, I wish he had done a similar reading of Clarissa. It seems that the “admiration” he describes in Mr. B as pleasure taken from afar is totally reconfigured in the character of Lovelace. To me, Lovelace seems like an extremely frustrated sceptic, refusing to be content with “admiration” and constantly searches for a deeper kind of relationship with Clarissa. While she is alive, this attempt is literalized when Lovelace rapes Clarissa, and after she dies the display of her heart along with her diaries seems like a way to preserve that relationship, both hrough the display of her internal organs and the display of her private thoughts as they appear in her journals.

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