The Essayistic Spirit: Literature, Modern Criticism, and the Essay

Despite the recognition of a great tradition of essayists, the genre remains underrated in literary studies. Claire de Obaldia's wide-ranging study argues that to relegate the essay is to ignore the fact that our modern conception of literature is fundamentally essayist.
Despite the recognition of a great tradition of essayists, the genre remains underrated in literary studies. Claire de Obaldia's wide-ranging study argues that to relegate the essay is to ignore the fact that our modern conception of literature is fundamentally essayistic, and that all texts are implicitly regarded as essays. Exploring both the creative potential of the essay and the limits on the borders of philosophy, literature and criticism, this comparative study draws on the writings of Montaigne, early German Romantics, Lukacs, Adorno, Derrida, Hartman, Barthes, Proust, Broch, Musil, Bakhtin and Borges.