Mimesis and Theory

"Mimesis and Theory" brings together twenty of Rene Girard's uncollected essays on literature and literary theory, which, along with his classic, Deceit, Desire, and the Novel, have left an indelible mark on the field of literary studies. Spanning over fifty years of critical production, this anthology offers unique insights into the origin, development, and expansion of Girard's mimetic theory - a groundbreaking account of human interaction and the genesis of cultural forms.Arranged chronologically in order of publication, the essays run the gamut of Western literary culture, from Racine and Shakespeare to the existentialist writings of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre. The authors that have most influenced Girard - Stendhal, Proust, and Dostoevsky - receive extended treatment. In addition, Girard's observations on the changing landscape of literary studies are chronicled in several essays devoted to psychoanalysis, formalism, structuralism, and post-structuralism.Though at times overshadowed by his work in religious and cultural anthropology, Girard's work in the area of literary studies has been the wellspring of his thought. All of the essays contained in this volume develop the idea that the greatest authors are also the greatest students of human nature, that their intuitions are often more penetrating than those of the philosophers or the social scientists.