Contesting Tears: The Hollywood Melodrama of the Unknown Woman by Stanley Cavell

Description: Contesting Tears by Stanley Cavell A study of American films that focus on the subject of remarriage in the format of comedy. Cavell provides close readings of four melodramas he finds definitive of the genre: Letter from an Unknown Woman, Gaslight, Now Voyager, and Stella Dallas. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description What is marriage? Can a relationship dedicated to equality, friendship, and mutual education flower in an atmosphere of romance? What are the paths between loving another and knowing another? Stanley Cavell identified a genre of classic American films that engaged these questions in his study of comedies of remarriage, Pursuits of Happiness. With Contesting Tears, Cavell demonstrates that a contrasting genre, which he calls "the melodrama of the unknown woman," shares a surprising number and weave of concerns with those comedies.Cavell provides close readings of four melodramas he finds definitive of the genre: Letter from an Unknown Woman, Gaslight, Now Voyager, and Stella Dallas. The women in these melodramas, like the women in the comedies, demand equality, shared education, and transfiguration, exemplifying for Cavell a moral perfectionism he identifies as Emersonian. But unlike the comedies, which portray a quest for a shared existence of expressiveness and joy, the melodramas trace instead the womans recognition that in this quest she is isolated. Part of the melodrama concerns the various ways the men in the films (and the audiences of the films) interpret and desire to force the womans consequent inaccessibility."Film is an interest of mine," Stanley Cavell has written, "or say a love, not separate from my interest in, or love of, philosophy." In Contesting Tears Cavell once again brilliantly unites his two loves, using detailed and perceptive musings on melodrama to reflect on philosophical problems of skepticism, psychoanalysis, and perfectionism. As he shows, the fascination and intelligence of such great stars as Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis, and Barbara Stanwyck illuminate, as they are illuminated by, the topics and events of these beloved and enduring films. Author Biography Stanley Cavell is the Walter M. Cabot Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and General Theory of Value at Harvard University and the author of many books. These include Conditions Handsome and Unhandsome, In Quest of the Ordinary, and Themes out of School, all published by the University of Chicago Press. Table of Contents A Note on the Captions Preface Introduction 1: Naughty Orators: Negation of Voices in Gaslight 2: Psychoanalysis and Cinema: Moments of Letter from an Unknown Woman 3: Ugly Duckling, Funny Butterfly: Bette Davis and Now, Voyager 4: Postscript: To Whom It May Concern 5: Stellas Taste: Reading Stella Dallas Notes Bibliography Filmography Index Details ISBN0226098168 Author Stanley Cavell Short Title CONTESTING TEARS 2/E Pages 272 Language English Edition 2nd ISBN-10 0226098168 ISBN-13 9780226098166 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY 791.436 Illustrations Yes Year 1997 Imprint University of Chicago Press Place of Publication Chicago, IL Country of Publication United States Residence MA, US Birth 1926 Affiliation Harvard University Harvard University, Massachusetts Harvard Universit DOI 10.1604/9780226098166 UK Release Date 1997-02-01 AU Release Date 1997-02-01 NZ Release Date 1997-02-01 US Release Date 1997-02-01 Publisher The University of Chicago Press Publication Date 1997-02-01 Audience Undergraduate Subtitle The Hollywood Melodrama of the Unknown Woman We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:6897495;

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