Page 140 - DENG501_LITERARY_CRITICISM_AND_THEORIES

Literary Criticism and Theories

Notes Margaret," which initially appeared in the Partisan Review in 1945, concerns an urbane, wealthy
New York family and their African American maid, Margaret. In the story, the family's liberal
ideas are challenged when Margaret proves to be a destructive, troubled young woman. When the
daughter of the family, also named Margaret, tries to excuse the maid's mean-spirited behavior,
the patriarch of the family realizes that despite her troubles, the maid is not excused from individual
responsibility and societal obligations. "Notes on a Departure," the third story in Of This Time, Of
That Place and Other Stories, was originally published in the Menorah Journal in 1929. It chronicles
the final days of a university professor on campus, as he prepares to leave his job for good. He
reflects on his tendency to separate himself from his colleagues, the town, and the university in
general. In "The Lesson and the Secret," which initially appeared in Harper's Bazaar in 1945,
Trilling explores the dynamics of a creative writing class frequented by older, society ladies who
clash with their young male instructor. In the best-known story of the collection, "Of This Time, Of
That Place," which was published in the Partisan Review in 1943, Trilling once again returns to an
academic setting to chronicle the relationship between an English instructor and poet, Joseph
Howe, and two of his students: Tertan, a brilliant, but mentally ill student of philosophy and art;
and Blackburn, a wily and unprincipled opportunist. Howe's eventual betrayal of Tertan's and
Blackburn's professional successes leads Howe to reevaluate his own value system.

12.3 Major Themes

In several of his stories, Trilling strived to strip away the veneer of civility in societal interactions
to expose inner lives of emotional strife, hidden motives, scruples, and self-discovery. As Trilling
stated, fiction should "raise questions in our minds not only about the conditions but about ourselves,
lead us to refine our motives and ask what might lie behind our good impulses." Along with a
ruthless examination of morality, he often addressed the limits of liberal ideology in his stories-
several characters reject liberal values in favor of more conservative concepts of materialism,
opportunism, and individual responsibility. Reviewers note that several of the stories in Of This
Time, Of That Place and Other Stories concern maturation and explore the relationship between
art and life as well as science and morality.

12.4 Critical Appreciation

Trilling is considered a renowned literary critic, and critics speculate that his reputation as a critic
has overshadowed his fictional work, which includes Of This Time, Of That Place and Other
Stories. Commentators note that the stories in the volume embody themes that occupy a prominent
place in his critical work. Several of the stories are viewed as autobiographical in nature. Critics
have speculated as to the origins of the characters in the stories, particularly "Of This Time, Of
That Place." The stories have been derided as being too literary and old-fashioned to attract much
new critical attention. Yet reviewers praise them as erudite and complex tales befitting a critic of
great reputation, and they urge greater critical and popular attention to Of This Time, Of That
Place.

Self-Assessment
1. Choose the correct options:
(i) Partisan review appeared in ............... .
(a) 1945 (b) 1942
(c) 1950 (d) None of these
(ii) The photagonist in this essay is ............... .
(a) Rameau (b) Diderot
(c) Meister (d) None of these

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