World Literature

Proustian Thoughts from Ireland

A new collection of essays shows that the author of À la recherche du temps perdu had a major impact on Irish life, deeper and…

Death in the Novel

With the waning of religious faith and practice in Ireland, the hope of eternal salvation is no longer available to a large portion of the…

Irish Art / Culture

The Disappearing Priest

Seminarians were traditionally taught to view the body with suspicion, as a source of temptation and sin. By embracing celibacy, many priests believed they were…

Irish Literature

Evil Literature

A new survey deals with literature and sexuality in Ireland from Joyce to McGahern, taking in the background of shrill clerical warnings of moral dangers…

Everything’s A Sin

In spite of his bitterness, Dedalus nevertheless betrays a lingering fascination with Catholic vocabulary and concepts, as is pointed out by an acquaintance later in…