Rita Felski 
Uses of Literature 

Uses of Literature bridges the gap between literary theory
and common-sense beliefs about why we read literature.

* Explores the diverse motives and mysteries of why we read

* Offers four different ways of thinking about why we read
literature – for recognition, enchantment, knowledge, and
shock

* Argues for a new ‘phenomenology’ in literary
studies that incorporates the historical and social dimensions of
reading

* Includes examples of literature from a wide range of national
literary traditions

Table of Content

Acknowledgments vi

Introduction 1

1 Recognition 23

2 Enchantment 51

3 Knowledge 77

4 Shock 105

Conclusion 132

Notes 136

Index 146

About the author

Rita Felski is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of English and Chair of Comparative Literature at the University of Virginia, and an Associate Editor of New Literary History. She is the author of Beyond Feminist Aesthetics, The Gender of Modernity, Doing Time: Feminist Theory and Postmodern Culture, and Literature After Feminism. She is also editor of Rethinking Tragedy.