A New Politics of Form in Harlot’s Ghost

Authors

  • David Anshen University of Texas-Pan American Author

Keywords:

Harlot’s Ghost, Cold War, political fiction, narrative form, American novel, power and authority

Abstract

A reading of Harlot’s Ghost in relation to Mailer’s efforts to use fiction writing to reveal contradictions at the heart of American society and challenge American ideology, particularly in relation to the Cold War. The novel resists making overt judgments on events. The novel’s form and its political and social content are unified in their challenge to the dominant societal narratives about America and how these narratives are traditionally told.

Author Biography

  • David Anshen, University of Texas-Pan American

    David Anshen is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Texas-Pan American. He has written on film and contemporary American literature focusing on the politics of historical representation. He has written specifically on Norman Mailer in his dissertation and reviewed The Castle in the Forest. He is currently co-editing a special issue of the Mississippi Quarterly, William Faulkner’s critique of capitalism.

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Published

2026-02-10

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2008): In Memorium

Section

Articles