Alchemy and Finnegans Wake

By Barbara DiBernard

Book Overview

In the first full-length study of Joyce's direct and indirect use of alchemical allusions, DiBernard shows how an awareness of the alchemical metaphor guides a reader through the richness of Finnegans Wake. For example, the alchemical transmutation of lead into gold parallels the transmutation of the dross and commotion of ordinary life into a work of art.

This study shows how the themes of Joyce's novel-death and rebirth, the conflict between physical and spiritual, incest, colors, forgery, and the reconciliation of opposites-relate to the alchemical process. The author then presents a theory, based on alchemical metaphor, on the much debated subject of Joyce's view of the artist.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0873954297
• ISBN13: 9780873954297
• Release Date: June 1980
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 178 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher