Tremendous Thing , livre ebook

224

pages

English

Ebooks

2015

Écrit par
Gregory Jusdanis

Publié par
Cornell University Press

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224

pages

English

Ebooks

2015

Lire un extrait

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus

Publié par

Cornell University Press

Date de parution

06 février 2015

EAN13

9780801454752

Langue

English

"Why did you do all this for me?" Wilbur asked. "I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you.""You have been my friend," replied Charlotte. "That in itself is a tremendous thing."-from Charlotte's Web by E. B. White Friendship encompasses a wide range of social bonds, from playground companionship and wartime camaraderie to modern marriages and Facebook links. For many, friendship is more meaningful than familial ties. And yet it is our least codified relationship, with no legal standing or bureaucratic definition. In A Tremendous Thing, Gregory Jusdanis explores the complex, sometimes contradictory nature of friendship, reclaiming its importance in both society and the humanities today. Ranging widely in his discussion, he looks at the art of friendship and friendship in art, finding a compelling link between our need for friends and our engagement with fiction. Both, he contends, necessitate the possibility of entering invented worlds, of reading the minds of others, and of learning to live with people. Investigating the ethics, aesthetics, and politics of friendship, Jusdanis draws from the earliest writings to the present, from the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad to Charlotte's Web and "Brokeback Mountain," as well as from philosophy, sociology, evolutionary biology, psychology, and political theory. He asks: What makes friends stay together? Why do we associate friendship with mourning? Does friendship contribute to the formation of political communities? Can friends desire each other? The history of friendship demonstrates that human beings are a mutually supportive species with an innate aptitude to envision and create ties with others. At a time when we are confronted by war, economic inequality, and climate change, Jusdanis suggests that we reclaim friendship to harness our capacity for cooperation and empathy.

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Publié par

Cornell University Press

Date de parution

06 février 2015

EAN13

9780801454752

Langue

English

Sociology

A Tremendous Thing

FriendshipfromtheIliadto the Internet

GregoryJusdanis

CornellUniversityPressIthacaandLondon

Cover art: Winslow Homer,Boys in a Pasture(1874), oil on canvas. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Hayden Collection—Charles Henry Hayden Fund.

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2014 by Cornell University Press

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Jusdanis, Gregory, 1955– author A tremendous thing : friendship from the Iliad to the Internet / Gregory Jusdanis. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 9780801452840 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Friendship. 2. Friendship in literature. 3. Social networks. I. Title. BJ1533.F8J87 2014 302.34—dc23 2014013454

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood ﬁbers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

Cloth printing

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my friends

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Contents

1.ThePoliticsofFriendship

2.MourningBecomesFriendship

3.DutyandDesire

4.FriendsandLovers

Afterword:DigitalFriends

NotesWorks CitedIndex

1 21 61 92 119 156

171 193 211

Acknowledgments

“Whydidyoudoallthisforme?”heasked.“Idon’tdeserveit.I’veneverdone anything for you.” “Youhavebeenmyfriend,”repliedCharlotte.“Thatinitselfisatremen dous thing.” E. B. White,CHARLOTTE’SWEB

It has been my good fortune to have tremendous friends. Julian Anderson,mywife,haspainstakinglyreadeverylineIhavewritteneversincewemet one May morning by a Bavarian lake. I have been discussing these and other issues with Vassilis Lambropoulos for thirty years, proﬁting al ways from his insights. Artemis Leontis went over the manuscript with both rigor and compassion. Ric Rader read various drafts many times over, answering all my anxious queries. Mychildren,Adrian,Alexander,andClare,havepatientlyhumoredmy thinking out loud, sometimes at length, on ideas of empathy, sacriﬁce, consistency, and devotion. Asever,JimPhelanofferedmajorchanges,deletions,andadditionstothe original version. Yiorgos Anagnostou helped shape the work by point ing out strengths and weaknesses. Lou Ruprecht insisted that I push my thinking further. Peter Jeffreys read an early draft and suggested wider

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