Preface

xi

Acknowledgments

xvii

Part I. Preliminaries:

1

“Which is to be Master”: The History of our Own Obscurity; Or Subjectivity, Desire and Narrative in Con-Text

3

Subjectivity as Paradox

6

Desire

15

Ambiguous Metamorphoses and Leaking Identities

19

Seductions in Narrative

24

Notes

29

Part II. Literary Reflections I: Angela Carter, Heroes and Villains (1969)

33

Chapter 1: “Dans un pays inconnu”: Angela Carter in Con-Text

35

“Tough, Arrogant and Pragmatic”

36

Carter’s Messages and Methods

39

Ruined Cities of Heroes and Villains

43

Notes

44

Chapter 2: “Then all was Chaos”: Heroes and Villains in Con-Text

47

Heroes and Villains

47