Title
How Hemingway's Cats Will Save Literary Studies
Document Type
Article
Annotation
Draws on the theories of Simone de Beauvoir and Toril Moi to refute the pervasive view that interest in the literary by students and the reading public is waning, citing the popularity of teen fiction on bestseller lists and other evidence. Schindler discusses the socialization function of literature, the collaboration process between reader and author, and the detrimental effects of the bestseller/canon divide. Schindler recounts her chance visit to the Hemingway Museum in Key West where she was inspired by her experience with both the author’s famed cats and fellow museumgoers to reread and thereby reassess her initial negative impressions of Hemingway’s life and writings. Schindler concludes that Hemingway’s cats enabled her to see and collaborate with the author in new ways and to converse with others about his work as well. Closes by speculating on how she might capitalize on the popularity of Hemingway’s cats to arouse student interest in his work.
Published in
Caesura: Journal of Philological and Humanistic Studies
Volume
4
Issue
2
Date
2017
Pages
45-66
Citation
Schindler, Melissa E. “How Hemingway’s Cats Will Save Literary Studies.” Caesura: Journal of Philological and Humanistic Studies 4, no. 2 (2017): 45-66.