Theory Permeating Literature

The ambiguity of the title Theorizing Literature captures the two key aspects of this book: it theorizes literature and it focuses on literature that itself ‘theorizes’, that is, engages with literary theory. In doing so, this book deals with a striking phenomenon: many influential literary texts of the last fifty years draw on contemporary literary theory. They present theory in a narrative form, have their characters act according to theoretical premises, use irony to point out unresolved problems of theory, and actively contribute to theoretical discourses.