0. Introduction
1. "The Expense of Spirit"
2. "Archways"
3. "In the Region of Ice"
4. "The Sacred Marriage"
5. "The Dead"
6. "Magna Mater"
7. The Hungry Ghosts

7.1 "Democracy in America"
7.2 "Pilgrims' Progress"
7.3 "Up From Slavery"
7.4 "A Descriptive Catalogue"
7.5 "The Birth of Tragedy"
7.6 Conclusion

8. "Through the Looking Glass"
9. "The Transformation of Vincent Scoville"
10. "Gay"
11. "Blood-swollen Landscape"
12. Unholy Loves
13. Conclusion.

Footnotes
Bibliography

Dust-Jacket Blurb

This study analyzes the portrait of the intellectual in Joyce Carol Oates's academic short stories and her novel Unholy Loves; it discusses both thematic and stylistic development of these tales and Oates's critical view of the academic world. Furthermore, this close reading argues that many of the stories contain metaphorical qualities unacknowledged thus far; it therefore concludes that most are accomplished, sometimes excellent examples of Oates's craftsmanship and exceptional narrative talent.

Excerpt

On the one hand the university often functions as a microcosm, and therefore serves as a symbol of society. In this microcosm, various different characters are brought together, they act and interact, and by this means problems of our modern world are illustrated.