Abortion, 85–86
“About 5,750 Words” (Delany), xii, xv, 1–15
About Writing (Delany), xii
Academe: analysis of science fiction, xvi–xxx, 27, 60, 75
and Intellect’s displacement, 201–18, 225–26
poetry biases of, 238
social position studies, 200–201, 202, 220
social status and intellectual confidence, 196–99
Academy of Comic Book Artists (ACBA), 239
Ace Books, 94–95
Action: incidents and actions in The Dispossessed, 114–55
value of action attached to character, 100–101
“Adventuress, The” (Russ). See “Blue-stocking”
Aesthetics: and didacta, 118
and The Dispossessed analysis, xxv–xxvi
ethics as, 159
and meaning/formal relation, 6
and modeling of reality, 32
and mysticism, 14–15
vs. politics as basis for criticism, xx
style/content integration, 1–15
Affection vs. sexuality, discourse of, 149
After the Great Divide (Huyssen), xx
Against Interpretation (Sontag), 196
Age of Anxiety, The (Auden), 199
AIDS, 219
Alienation theme, 56
Allen, Dick, 237–38
Althusser, Louis, xxiv–xxv
“Alyx” (Delany), xiii, xix, 59–76
Alyx (fictional character), 69, 70, 75–76
American Shore, The (Delany), xxiv, xxvi
Anarres (fictional planet): diet on, 162
eroticism on, 113
and gender egalitarianism, 114, 118–19, 123–35
hard metaphor for, 115–16
landscape of, 113–14
pregnancy on, 131
sexuality on, 112, 116–17, 119, 123–24, 133, 156
And Call Me Conrad (Zelazny), 176–77
And Chaos Died (Russ), 61
Anderson, Karen, 73
“Angouleme” (Disch), xxiv
Archetypal themes, 43–58, 64, 68–69
A Rebours (Huysmans), 18–19
Art: democratization of and subversion of Intellect, 201–18
readers and trends in, 46
and science, commonalities, 169
science fiction as high art, 227–28, 236–41
Asian Shore, The (Disch), 14–15
Asimov, Isaac, 13, 27, 232, 235
Athens, Greece, 172
Audience. See Readers
Bailey, J. O., xvi
Balibar, Etienne, xxiv
“Barbarian, The” (Russ), 59, 71, 75
Barter vs. money economy, 65–66
Barthes, Roland, 200, 203, 206–8
Barzun, Jacques, 201, 203, 204–6, 208
Baudelaire, Charles, 18–19
Beach, Frank A., 222
Beauty and ugliness in The Dispossessed, 112–13
Becker, Carl, 27
Bedap (fictional character), 120, 147–53
Begardi, Philipp, 48
Believability, unconscious apprehension of, 39
Benjamin, Walter, 225
Bester, Alfred, 14, 19, 26–27, 142
Beyond This Horizon (Heinlein), 13, 141
Bisexuality on Anarres, 117, 119, 123–24
Black God’s Shadow (Jirel of Joiry) (Moore), xxxn9
Blish, James, 232
Blish, Judy, 73
“Bluestocking” (Russ), 59, 61–62
Bookstores, refusal to carry hardcover science fiction, 230–32
Bowles, Rev. William Lisles, 17–18
Brave New World (dystopia), 25, 26, 27
Braxa (fictional character), 51, 52
Breadth of vision, science fiction’s, 26, 27, 48, 134
Brewster, Ben, xxiv
Bronski, Michael, 221n
Brown, G. Spencer, 65
Brunner, John, 230
Budd, Malcolm, xvii
Burroughs, Edgar Rice, 158
Cain, James M., 62
Camp Concentration (Disch), 18, 48, 49–50, 55–56, 77–83
Cannon, Poppy, 190
Carr, Carrol, 73
Cartoonist Workers of America, 239
Cautionary dystopia story type, 11
Chandler, Raymond, 62
Characters: Delany’s women, 94, 100
Disch’s, 44, 49–50, 55, 77, 79, 82–83
Heinlein’s, 149–50
Le Guin’s, 116–17, 120, 129, 130–31, 136, 137–38, 147–55
super-woman type, 103–4
value of action attached to, 100–101
Zelazny’s, 51–52, 53. See also Shevek; Takver
Chatterton, Thomas, 18
Cheney, Matthew, xv–xxx
Childhood’s End (Clarke), 14
Civil rights movement, 189
Clareson, Thomas D., xvi
Clarke, Arthur C., 14
Classic language in America, 62–63
Cleveland, Ohio, 175–76
Coinage of new words, science fiction’s, 23
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 17–18
Communal child-rearing on Anarres, 117
Communication levels, 107–8
Communism and McCarthy era, 189
Community, minority social groups’ sense of, 221
Comparison vs. value judgment in criticism, 46
Conscious vs. unconscious mind’s processing of story, 39–40
Content: reversal of, 65–66
style as integral part of, 1–15, 46
Context, concept of, 203. See also Social context
Cory, Donald, 222
Corydon (Gide), 221–26
Creatures of Light and Darkness (Zelazny), 47
Credit vs. money economy, 66
“Critical Methods/Speculative Fiction” (Delany), xii–xiii, 17–28
Criticism, literary: aesthetics vs. politics as basis for, xx
comparison vs. value judgment in, 46
content/style relationship, 1–15, 46
Delany’s impact on, xv–xxx
history perspective, x, xvi, 17–28
on Russ, 59–76
social context for, 46, 192–226
and subjectivity/objectivity dichotomy, 106–7
value of science fiction as object of, 227, 241. See also Dispossessed, The (Le Guin); Theory, criticism
Cultural relativism in science fiction, 64–65
Culture: coherence of science fiction novel’s, 162–63
and democratization of art and education, 201–18
and gender role expectations, 98–99, 119
high/low dichotomy, xx–xxi
and human behavior variations, 21–22, 71–72
influence on response to the erotic, 116–17
multiculturalism, 215
science fiction as commodity of, 227–41. See also Social context
Cumbani, K., 170–71
D’Alviella, Count Goblet, 47
Dancing innovations in the fifties, 191–92
Decipherment of Linear-B, The (Ventris), 65
Deconstruction, xxiv, 200. See also Dispossessed, The (Le Guin)
Delany, Alyx, 89
Delany, Samuel R.: critical contribution of, xv–xxx
and Disch, 43, 44–45, 48, 49, 178, 180, 181–82
on Emmett Till murder, 208
and feminism, xxi, xxii–xxiii, 85–104
on the fifties, 185–92
gender proportions analysis, 144–45
Istanbul prostitution story, 115
and Le Guin, 161
origins of, 217
overview of essays, xii–xiii
remedial English teaching, 9
and Russ, 72–73
as science fiction writer, x, xvi, xvii–xviii, xxvi
self-conscious communication style, xxix
Spenserian stanza question, 194–96
summer camp experience, 124–28
at SUNY Buffalo, 196–99
thinking style of, xviii–xix
travels of, 167–82
and Zelazny, 43–44, 168, 175–76
Democratization of education and culture, 201–18
“Descending” (Disch), 44
Dhalgren (Delany), xxvi
Diachronic/synchronic structures, 70–71, 199–200, 218, 225
Didacta: in The Dispossessed, xxvi, 131, 135–38, 147–55, 157–58
vs. fictive densities, 157
integration with foreground vision, 158–61
musical arrangement of The Family of Man exhibit, 204
as signs of the aesthetically suspect, 118
Difference, discourse of, xxvi, 139–40, 141, 157–58, 202–3n
Dionysian (intensive) symbolism, 47–48, 51
Disch, Thomas M.: canon of, 48–49
and Delany, 43, 44–45, 178, 180, 181–82
dream scene analysis for Camp Concentration, 77–83
expertise technique in, 18
literary method, 46–48
and mundane fiction, 45
mysticism in, 14–15
mythical themes in, 49–50, 55–56
and science fiction’s unique structures, 142
tragic threads in, 27
Discourse: of affection vs. sexuality, 149
as creator of object, 200
of difference, xxvi, 139–40, 141, 157–58, 202–3n
of distance and estrangement, 141, 143, 160
of incident and action, 117
plotting changes in societal, 218–26
of privileged objectivity, xi
of science fiction, 61, 75, 123, 144, 159
Discovery, story writing as process of, 40–41
Dispossessed, The (Le Guin): Cheney on Delany’s analysis, xxiv–xxvii
didacta in, xxvi, 131, 135–38, 147–55, 157–58
and egalitarianism in gender roles, 114, 118–19, 123–35, 144–45
eroticism in, xxv–xxvi, 113, 114–20
ethical considerations, xxv–xxvi, 114–23, 135
imagery in, 108–14
and reading model, 105–8
sexuality in, xxv–xxvi, 112–13, 114–20, 123–24, 133, 148–50, 151–52, 155–56, 163
sociology of Urras, 145–47
structural analysis, xxvi, 155–64
what works, xxv, 112–14, 163–64, 165
Distancing and estrangement discourse, 141, 143, 160
Distribution of hardcover science fiction, limitations on, 230–33
Doctor Faustus (Mann), 49
“Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth, The” (Zelazny), 8, 43–44
Dream analysis from Camp Concentration, 77–83
Dream Makers (Platt), xviii
Dream Master, The (Zelazny), 53–54
Drug scene in the fifties, 192
Dyer’s Hand, The (Auden), 25
Dystopian/Utopian dichotomy, 24–28
Echo Round His Bones (Disch), 48, 49, 55, 142
Economic situation: fictive omissions in The Dispossessed, 131–33
need for visibility of women characters’, 101–2
sword-and-sorcery’s story ties to transitioning, 65–66
Editorial environment for science fiction writers, 229–36
Egalitarianism, gender: lack of in The Dispossessed, 114, 118–19, 123–35, 144–45
and social conditioning in gender proportion, 144–45
and superwoman character, 104
Einstein Intersection, The (Delany), 167–76
Ellison, Harlan, 13
Entertainment, science fiction as, 7–8, 32, 33
Envisioning and notation in writing process, 37–41
Eroticism in The Dispossessed, xxv, 113, 114–20
Establet, Roger, xxiv
Estrangement and distancing discourse, 141, 143, 160
Ethical considerations, xxv–xxvi, 114–23, 135, 159
Ethnic identifiability in sword-and-sorcery fiction, 64–65
European sojourns, Delany’s, 167–75, 176–82
Evans, Sir Arthur, 173–74
Exotic, the, in The Dispossessed, xxv, 114, 115
Experience, personal: interaction with writer’s signs, 106–7
mismatches with The Dispossessed, 114, 115, 116–17, 120, 124–28, 137–38, 145–47, 151–52
underlying influence of writer’s, 158–59
Experimental science fiction, 32–33
Expertise technique, 18–19, 30–31
External vs. internal fictive structures, 120n
Extrapolation, xvi
Faerie Queene, The (Spencer), 194–96
Fairy tales vs. sword-and-sorcery, 67
Fall of the Towers, The (Delany), 100, 102–3, 171
Fame for poets, 238–39
Family of Man, The, exhibit, 203–18
Fans, science fiction. See Readers
Fantastic, 44
Fantasy fiction, xxii, xxx, 11, 61–76
Fashion, fifties’ influence on late 20th century, 190
Faust, Johann Georg, 46–47, 48, 49–51, 54, 56–57, 58
“Faust and Archimedes” (Delany), xiii, 43–58
Faustian themes in Disch and Zelazny, 51–56
Female Man, The (Russ), 59
Feminism: and Delany, xxi, xxii–xxiii, 85–104
and Le Guin, xxiii–xxiv, xxxn13
vs. Russ’s sword-and-sorcery characters, 68–69, 70
and social position studies proliferation, 220. See also Sexism
“Fictional Architecture That Only Manages with Great Difficulty Not Once to Mention Harlan Ellison, A” (Delany), xiii, 167–82
Fiction as modeler of reality, 31–33. See also Fantasy fiction
Mundane fiction
Science fiction (SF)
Fictive densities vs. didactic purposes, 157
Fictive omissions in The Dispossessed, 118–23, 128–34, 145
Fifties, the, 185–92, 203–18, 219–26
Fifties Fiction (Lukin and Delany), xii
Fodor, Jerry, xvii
Forbidden words and subjects, 63, 144
Foreground in The Dispossessed, 117–23, 158–61
Formal linguistic relationships (style), 1–15, 46
Forman, Ed, 44
Forties, the, 187–88
Foucault, Michel, 200
Foundation, The, series (Asimov), 13, 27
Freedom and confinement, 77–83
French Naturalism, 18
French Symbolism, 14
F&SF (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction), 43–44, 73, 85–86
“Furies, The” (Zelazny), 47
Gallinger (fictional character), 51–52
Garnett, Constance, 111
Garrett, Randall, 233
Gender roles: culture-based expectations, 98–99, 119
in The Dispossessed, xxv, 114, 116, 118–19, 123–35, 137, 144–45
and stereotyping in The Family of Man exhibit, 214n
and superwoman character, 104
in sword-and-sorcery, 66–70. See also Sexism
General Temporal Theory in The Dispossessed, 121–22, 130–32, 134–35
Genocides, The (Disch), 44, 48, 49, 55
Gentle Knight, My Husband Walter White, A (Cannon), 190
Gibb, Hugh, 222
Gods Themselves, The (Asimov), 232
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 49
Gold, Horace, 26
Goldsmith, Cele, 53
Grassroots nature of academic democratization, 202–3n
“Graveyard Heart, The” (Zelazny), 56
Gurney, Bernard Gilbert, 9
Hacker, Marilyn, xxvii, 85, 89, 94–96
Hammett, Dashiell, 62
Hardcover science fiction, rarity of, 230–33
Harness, Charles, 26
Harvest Is Past: The Summer Is Ended, The (Disch), 44
Hefner, Hugh, 67
Heinlein, Robert A.: characters of, 149–50
Delany’s fictional answer to Star-ship Troopers, 102–3
and discourse of difference, 141
and marketing of science fiction, 230, 231–32
mysticism of, 13
speculative fiction coinage, 29
and subjunctivity of science fiction, 13
tragic threads in, 27
Hell is Forever (Bester), 19
Heraklion (ship), 173, 175, 178
Heterosexuality in The Dispossessed, 115, 119, 155
“He Who Shapes” (Zelazny), 47–48, 52–54
High/low culture dichotomy, xx–xxi, 227–41
History, suppression of by The Family of Man exhibit, 209–15
History of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus, The, 56
Homosexual in America: A Subjective Approach, The (Cory), 222
Homosexuality: Delany’s, xxiii
in The Dispossessed, xxvi, 117, 119, 120, 151–52, 155
and feminism, xxiii–xxiv
and social context for criticism, 217, 218–19, 220, 221–26
Horae Canonicae (Auden), 25
House of the Intellect (Barzun), 201–2, 203
House of the Intellect, displacement of, 201–18, 225–26
House Un-American Activities Committee, 189
Howard, Richard, 222
Human behavior/human nature: and cultural variation, 21–22, 71–72
science fiction’s vision of, 25–26, 64–65, 128–35
technological impact on, 66
Victorian vs. Modern views on, 21–24
Huysmans, Joris Karl, 18–19
Huyssen, Andreas, xx
Idea and science fiction, xxv, xxix, 45, 76, 90, 234–35
Ideal form of specific novel as measure of, 107
Ideohistories, 134–35
“Ides of Octember, The” (Zelazny), 53. See also “He Who Shapes”
Idiocentric omissions in science fiction dialectic, 122–23, 134–35, 139, 199
Imagery: as core of writing process, 35–41
in The Dispossessed, 108–14
in The Family of Man exhibit, 204–18
and formal relation’s attachment to meaning, 4–7
heart of, 111n
importance in quality of writing, 9–10
inmixing of signifiers in, 142–44
in reading model, 105–6
and reversal of content, 65–66
and subjunctivity of literature, 12–13
Immortality/suicide dichotomy in Zelazny, 50–51, 55
Incantatory function of science fiction vocabulary, 23
Incidents and actions in The Dispossessed, 114–55
Index Sanitatis (Begardi), 48
Indirect reportage in The Dispossessed, 123, 131, 132–33
Individuals, interchangeability problem, 149–50
Information: as formal relation, 2–7
style within, 12–13
Inmixing (intrusion) of signifiers into syntagms, 140–44, 156, 157, 159, 160–61, 164
In Search of Wonder (Knight), 26
Intellect, displacement of, 201–18, 225–26
Intelligence: vs. Intellect, 201–18, 225
interdisciplinary expansion of, 200–201
Intensive (Dionysian) symbolism, 47–48, 51
Interdisciplinary Studies, development of, 200–201
Internal vs. external fictive structures, 120n
Interracial marriage in the fifties, 189–90
Intrusion (inmixing) of signifiers into syntagms, 140–44, 156, 157, 159, 160–61, 164
“Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories, The” (Wolfe), 64
Istanbul, Turkey, 172–76
“I Thought She Was Afeard Till She Stroked My Beard” (Russ), 59, 71–72
Jewel-Hinged Jaw, The (Delany), xv–xxx
Jirel of Joiry (Black God’s Shadow) (Moore), xxxn9
Jong, Piet de, 174
Journalism, subjunctivity of, 10
Keats, John, 18
“Keys to December, The” (Zelazny), 51
Khatru Symposium on Women in Science Fiction, xxiii
Kinsey, Alfred, 219
Kittridge Shakespeare, 194
Knowledge: Disch on pain of acquiring, 50
Faustian vs. Archimedean views of, 57, 58
as key to salvation, 56
and linguistic interpretation of stories, xv
perils of too much, 55
responsibility of knowing, 50
as social construction, 199–200
Victorian vs. Modern views on, 21
waking vs. dream, 82–83
Lacan, Jacques, 140
Land of the Flies (dystopia), 25, 26, 27
Landscapes in The Dispossessed, 113–14
Language: classic American, 62–63
coldness, 60
and Delany’s critical approach, xv
as demonstration, 83
romantic, 63
science fiction as alternate, xix, xx–xxi, 161–64
and self-conscious communication, xxix
shadowing function of, 90
structural stability of, 106, 107, 112, 152–53
and style/content integration, 1–15
translation issues, 111–12
vision, analysis, and energy matrix, 152–53. See also Imagery
“Languages of Criticism and the Sciences of Man, The,” symposia, 192–93
Laws of Form (Brown), 65
Left-wing politics in the fifties, 189
Le Guin, Ursula K., xxiii–xxiv, xxxn13, 161. See also Dispossessed, The (Le Guin)
Lesbianism and feminism, xxiii–xxiv
“Letter to a Critic” (Delany), xiii, 227–41
“Letter to the Symposium on ‘Women in Science Fiction’ ” (Delany), xiii, 85–104
Lewis, C. S., 194
Life of Riot, The (Sherwin), 228–29
Linear vs. recursive analysis, xxv
Lire le Capital (Althusser). See Reading Capital
Literary criticism. See Criticism, literary
Literary culture (House of the Intellect), 201–18, 225–26. See also Academe
Literary technique and science fiction, x–xi, xxi, 44–45. See also Imagery; Symbolism
Locorum Comunium Colectunea (Manlius), 54
London, Great Britain, 176–82
Longer Views (Delany), xii, xxvii
Lord of Light (Zelazny), 52
Low/high culture dichotomy, xx–xxi, 227–41
Lukács, György, 159
Lukin, Josh, xii
Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, The (F&SF), 43–44, 73, 85–86
Mainstream fiction. See Mundane fiction
Man in the High Castle, The (Dick), 11
Mankind under the Leash (Disch), 48, 49
Manlius, Johannes, 54
Mann, Thomas, 49
Marketing of science fiction, 229–33
Marriage, 20th-century transformation of, 190
M*A*S*H, 188
Matriarchy vs. patriarchy, 87–88
McCarthy, Joseph, 189
McLuhan, Marshall, 24, 176, 177
Meaning: and changing discourse, 218–26
elements of, 105–6
as formal relation between sounds and objects, 2–7
and metaphor, 77
opacity of, 199
the signified in science fiction, 140, 141, 142, 143
subjunctivity of literary categories, 10–13
Mebane, Banks, 52
Men, and psychology of sword-and-sorcery, 68. See also Gender roles
Menstruation and sexism, 88
Merezhkovsky, Dmitri, 9
“Midcentury: An Essay in Contextualization” (Delany), xii, xiii, 185–226
Model of reality: in Alyx, 72
Archimedean, 58
complexities of creating, 29–31
dream vs. waking world, 80–82
fiction as modeler of reality, 31–33
and symbolism in literature, 55–56
in unconscious mind, 39–40
Zelazny’s connection of unreal with real, 53–54
Modern vs. Victorian science fiction, 20–26
Money vs. barter economy, 65–66
Money vs. credit economy, 66
Moral subjectivity, 22
Mordecai (fictional character), 50
More Than Human (Sturgeon), 14
Morgan, Robin, 91–92
Mortality, 78
Motion of Light in Water, The (Delany), 224
Multiculturalism, 215
Mundane fiction: American literary language, 63–64
and idea/behavior realities, 128, 134
influence on science fiction, 45–46
responsibility vs. science fiction, xxvi
and science fiction as language, xix
structural analysis vs. science fiction, 139–44, 156–61
subjunctivity of, 10–11
use of signs vs. science fiction, 124
use of term, x
women characters in, 93
Museum of Modern Art exhibit, The Family of Man, 203–18
Musical vs. didactic arrangement of The Family of Man exhibit, 204
Mysticism in science fiction’s vision, 13–15, 19, 122
Mythical themes, 49–51, 55–56, 87–88
Mythologies (Barthes), 200
Narrative of A. Gordon Pym, The (Poe), 18–19
Nationality in sword-and-sorcery fiction, 65
Naturalism, 18
Naturalistic fiction. See Mundane fiction
New Criticism, xx
New Jerusalem (utopia), 25, 26, 27
New Wave SF, 1
New Worlds, 23
New York City, New York, 175
New York Public library, 220
Nightmares, 78–79
Notation’s effect on writer’s vision, 35–41
Nova (Delany), 235
Nuclear attack anxieties of the fifties, 188–89
Objectivity, xi, 106–7, 122–23, 193
Objects, effect on human behavior, 24
Odo philosophy in The Dispossessed, 129, 135, 136, 164
Ohta, Toshi, 189–90
Old Wave SF, 1
Olson, Charles, 138
Opaque signifiers, 122–23, 134–35, 139, 199
Operators in reading model, 105–6
Optimism of science fiction, 26–27, 56
Orin (fictional character), 55
Paradigms, science fiction’s introduction of, 139, 143
Paradox Man, The (Harness), 26
Paraliterature, xix
Parallel-world story type, 11
Patriarchal society, 67, 87–88. See also Sexism
Pawns of Null-A, The (Van Vogt), 158
Personally observable world, 12n
Philanthropy, Barzun’s, 201–18
Philosophy and the Human Sciences, xvii
Phonic presence of words, 2n
Physically explainable universe, 12n, 13
Picnic on Paradise (Russ), 59–60, 71–72, 73–74, 75–76
Picture of Dorian Gray, The (Wilde), 19
Pilgrims Through Space and Time: A History and Analysis of Scientific Fiction (Bailey), xvi
Playboy, 67
Poe, Edgar Allan, 18–19
Poetry: Delany’s fondness for, 229, 238
and envisioning and notation process, 13, 39
science fiction’s relationship to, 2n, 13, 23, 26
social context and valuation of, 237–39
symbolism in, 48
and Zelazny’s literary style, 52
Poetry, 237–38
Pohl, Frederik, 45
Politics: vs. aesthetics as basis for criticism, xx
and democratization of intellect project, 215
internal vs. external structures of encounter with, 145–47
left-wing politics in the fifties, 189
Popular Culture, science fiction as commodity of, 227–41
Pornography, 236
Possibility, science fiction as literature of, 26, 48
Postmodernism, xx
Power structures, 88, 199–200. See also Gender roles; Race and racism
Priest, Chris, 180
“Prisoners’ Sleep” (Delany), xiii, 77–83
Progressivism, Victorian, 21, 24, 25
Promiscuity on Anarres, 117, 120
Proust, Marcel, 158
Psychological fantasy, Russ’s, 75–76
Publishing industry, 94–97, 177, 228–41
Pulp fiction, 62–70
Pulp Friction (Bronski), 221n
Quark, xxvii
“Quarks” (Delany), xii–xiii, 29–33
Queer practices, Delany’s alignment with, xxi. See also Homosexuality
Quicksand (Brunner), 230
Race and racism: civil rights movement, 189
dancing innovations in the fifties, 191–92
Delany as African-American, xxiii
Delany’s memory of Till murder, 208
in The Family of Man exhibit, 206, 214n
interracial marriage in the fifties, 189–90
Negro vs. black designation, 220
in science fiction, 27
vs. sexism, 89–90
and social context for criticism, 220
in South Africa, 137–38
Ralph 124C41+ (Gernsback), 23
Readers: and art trends, 46
criticism of science fiction by, xvi
and ideal writing model, 164
and publishing environment for science fiction, 228, 230, 235
as specialized audience for writers, 32, 57–58, 106, 240–41
and story, 4
synchronic/diachronic structures, 70–71
Reading, models and methods, xix, 35, 38, 105–8
Reading Capital (Lire le Capital) (Althusser), xxiv–xxv
Reality, model of. See Model of reality
Récit in The Dispossessed, 117–23
Reconstitution of novel’s elements, 108
Recursive vs. linear analysis, xxv
Reduplication effect, 26
References, judging accuracy of, 107–8
Referents: in The Dispossessed analysis, 110, 130–31, 153
in reading model, 105–6
in science fiction structures, 48, 140, 141
Refus, Conrad Mutianus, 46–47
“Reiterating the Difference” (Searle), 203
Religion in Disch and Zelazny, 55–56, 77
Render, Charles (fictional character), 52, 53
Reportage, subjunctivity of, 10
Representation vs. reproduction of worlds, 48, 216
Resolution, judging accuracy of, 107–8
Responsibility for communicating knowledge, xxvi, 50, 108
Return to Nevèrÿon series (Delany), xxii, xxvi
Revelation in Camp Concentration, 78
Reverse subjunctivity of fantasy, 11
Rhetorical modes: in criticism of The Family of Man exhibit, 208, 217, 218
the fifties’ influence, 185, 189, 192, 193, 215
and historical perspective, 218
in Le Guin, 122, 123, 134, 156, 161
in Russ, 61
Rhys, Jean, 92
Rock ’n’ roll and sexuality, 191–92
Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, The (Merezhkovsky), 9
“Romances of the Future” (Wells), 21
Romantic language, 63
Romantic problem for character to solve, and sexism, 102, 103
“Rose for Ecclesiastes, A” (Zelazny), 51–52
Rulag (fictional character), 147, 153–55
Russ, Joanna, xxi–xxii, 27, 59–76
Sabul (fictional character), 130–31, 136, 137
Sacchetti, Louis (fictional character), 49–50, 77, 79, 82–83
Sadik (fictional character), 150–51
Sallis, Jim, 176
Salvation, obstacles to, 55–56
“Salvation of Faust, The” (Zelazny), 57
Saussure, Ferdinand de, 200, 218
Scholes, Robert, 157
Science-fantasy story type, 11, 64–65
Science fiction (SF): academic analysis of, xvi–xxx, 27, 60, 75
as alternate language, xix, xx–xxi, 161–64
breadth of vision in, 26, 27, 48, 134
coinage of new words by, 23
content as identity of, 1
cultural relativism in, 64–65
defined, ix
discourse of, 61, 75, 123, 144, 159
experimental, 32–33
The Family of Man exhibit as, 209
historical perspective, 17–28
on human behavior/human nature, 25–26, 64–65, 128–35
ideal form of as competition for, 164–65
importance of ideas to, xxv, xxix, 45, 76, 90, 234–35
influences, 18–20
as literature of possibility, 26, 48
marketing of, 229–33
modeling of reality, 29–33
and mundane fiction, xix, xxvi, 45–46, 124, 139–44, 156–61
from representational to conceptual, 181
subjunctivity of, 11–13
and sword-and-sorcery, 63–64
technology’s role in, 110–11, 122
unique structural elements of, xxvi, 155–64
unreal and real worlds in, 8–9, 53–54
use of term, ix–x
Science Fiction Research Association, xvi
Science Fiction Studies, xvi
Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), 239–40
“Second Inquisition, The” (Russ), 59, 60, 72, 74, 75
Seeger, Pete, 189–90
Semantics. See Meaning
Sensuality in The Dispossessed, 112–13, 114–15
Sentence, uniquely science-fictional, 140–41
Sequency theory of time, 112
Series in speculative fiction, 70–72
Setting. See Anarres; Urras
Sex (female vs. male). See Gender roles
Sexism: and abortion, 85–86
in clothing, 97–98
and culture, 98–99
in Delany’s summer camp experience, 127–28
in The Dispossessed, 118–19, 130, 151–52, 153–55
emblems of exploitation, 86–87
and mind/brain topology, 90–91
origins of, 87–88
vs. racism, 89–90
in science fiction writing, 92–94, 102–4
in workplace, 94–97
Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Kinsey), 219
Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Kinsey), 219
Sexuality: vs. affection, 149
cross-cultural differences, 21–22
in The Dispossessed, xxv–xxvi, 112–13, 114–20, 123–24, 133, 148–50, 151–52, 155–56, 163
and feminism, xxiii–xxiv
fifties’ changes in, 189–92
and social context for criticism, 217, 218–19, 220, 221–26
SF (science/speculative fiction). See Science fiction (SF); Speculative fiction (SF)
SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America), 239–40
Shadowing function of language, 90
Shadow on the Hearth (Merril), 188–89
“Shadows” (Delany), xxvii
Sherwin, Judith Johnson, 228–29
Shevek (fictional character): and Bedap, 148–49, 150–53
and economics of novel’s context, 132–33
and General Temporal Theory, 121–22, 130–32, 134–35
and lack of gender egalitarianism, 118–19, 129
Le Guin’s successes with, 162–63
psychological thinness of, 120, 135–37, 145
and Rulag, 153–55
sexuality and cultural differences, 116–17
and stone imagery, 112
“Signature, Event, Context” (Derrida), 203
Signified, 140, 141, 142, 143, 160
Signifier: challenges for in The Dispossessed, 122–23, 124–28, 159–62
opaque, 122–23, 134–35, 139, 199
science fiction’s unique use of, 139–44
and sexism in The Dispossessed, 153–54
and translation, 111–12
Signs: in The Dispossessed, 120–35, 152–53, 158–62
interaction with personal experience, 106–7
Le Guin’s inadequate use of, 123–35
mundane fiction vs. science fiction’s use of, 124
in reading model, 105–6. See also Signified; Signifier
Silverberg, Robert, 233
Simak, Clifford, 236
Simp stereotype, 100
Simultaneity theory of time, 112
Sixties, the, 185, 189, 190, 220
Sladek, John, 180
Smith, Cordwainer, 47
Smith, Michael Valentine (fictional character), 149–50
Social construction: and changing societal discourse, 218–26
and criticism theory, 200
and democratization of intellect, 201–18
of erotic/sensual/exotic/sexual sensibilities, 115
knowledge as, 199–200
Social context: community, 220–21
criticism theory and society, 192–218
the fifties, 185–92
the forties, 187–88
homosexuality, 217, 218–19, 220, 221–26
racism, 220
the sixties, 185, 189, 190, 220
and value of poetry, 237–39. See also Culture
Social injustice and The Family of Man exhibit, 208–9
Social position studies, 200–201, 202, 220
Social status and intellectual confidence, 196–99
Sociology of science fiction settings, 145–47
Spacedrive theory, Shevek’s, 121–22
Speculative fiction (SF): content as identity of, 1
historical perspective, 17–28
influences, 18–20
modeling of reality, 29–33
use of term, ix–x. See also Science fiction (SF)
Spenserian stanza, 194–96
Spicer, Jack, 178
Starship Troopers (Heinlein), 102–3
Stars in My Pockets Like Grains of Sand (Delany), xxvi
Stars My Destination, The (Tiger, Tiger) (Bester), 14, 27, 142–43
State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo, 196–99
Stonewall riot, 185, 218, 220, 222
Story, defined, 4. See also Writing
Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein), 13, 149–50, 230, 231–32
Structural analysis: Cheney on, xx–xxi
by Delany, xv
external vs. internal fictive structures, 120n
language’s structural stability, 106, 107, 112, 152–53
science fiction vs. mundane fiction, 139–44, 156–61
societal influence of, 193–94
and subjectivity, 193
synchronic/diachronic structures, 70–71, 199–200, 218, 225
vs. textual analysis, 119–20
unique elements of science fiction’s, xxvi, 155–64. See also Dispossessed, The (Le Guin)
Structure, definitional issues, 119–20n
Sturgeon, Theodore, 4, 14, 26–27, 58
Style as integral part of content, 1–15, 46
Subjectivity: and art’s inherent social position, 216
of author’s analysis, xi
and fictive objectivity in The Dispossessed, 122–23
inevitability of, 106–7
moral, 22
and proliferation of social position studies, 200–201
structuralist view of, 193
Subjunctivity of literary categories, 10–13
Suburban Housing Development of Intellect, 202, 217–18, 220, 225–26
Superwoman character in science fiction, 103–4
Survey of British Literature, Volumes I & II, A, 194–96
Sword-and-sorcery fiction, xxii, xxx, 61–76
Symbolism, 14
Symbolism: Disch’s, 48–50, 55–56
and model of reality, 55–56
and Rulag in The Dispossessed, 153–54
Zelazny’s, 47–48, 50–54, 55, 56
Symbolist Movement in Literature, The (Symons), 47
Symons, Arthur, 47
Synchronic/diachronic structures, 70–71, 199–200, 218, 225
Takver (fictional character): and Bedap’s relationship with Shevek, 150–51
behavior vs. ideas of, 130–31
and lack of gender egalitarianism, 118–19
psychological thinness of, 120, 133, 155–56
Technology: General Temporal Theory in The Dispossessed, 121–22, 130–32, 134–35
and Gernsback’s focus on things, 23
and imagery’s reversal of content, 66
role in science fiction, 110–11, 122
Victorian vs. Modern views on, 21
Television, societal impact of, 188, 206
Textual analysis, 47, 119–20. See also Dispossessed, The (Le Guin)
Thematic analysis: of Alyx, 59–76
and content/style integration, 1–15
dream and waking worlds, 77–83
elements in speculative fiction, 29–33
historical perspective on speculative fiction, 17–28
mythical themes, 49–51, 55–56, 87–88
women as fictional characters, 92–94, 98–103
and writing process, 35–41
Theory, criticism: poststructuralism, xv, xx–xxi
and social construction, 200
and social context, 192–218
and ways of reading, xix. See also Signs; Structural analysis
“Thickening the Plot” (Delany), xiii, 35–41
Thingyness, science fiction’s initial focus on, 23
This Immortal (Zelazny). See And Call Me Conrad
Tiger, Tiger (The Stars My Destination) (Bester), 14, 27, 142–43
Till, Emmett, 208
Time imagery in The Dispossessed, 112
Tolkien, J. R. R., 198
Tones of voice, linguistic, 2n, 3
“To Read The Dispossessed” (Delany), xix, xxiii, xxiv–xxvi, 105–65
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Wittgenstein), 31–32
Tragedy in science fiction, 26–27
Transcendence in Russ, 72
Translation, linguistic issues of, 111–12
Transparent language, xxi–xxii, 60–63
Trench, Hubert, 9
Trouble on Triton (Delany), xxvi
“Two Best Thieves in Llahnkmar, The” (Leiber), 62
Ugliness and beauty in The Dispossessed, 112–13
Unconscious vs. conscious mind’s processing of story, 39–40
Universe: humans’ place in, 24
as overdetermined in Alyx, 71
Unreal and real worlds, science fiction’s connecting of, 8–9, 53–54
Urras (fictional planet): Anarresti creation of, 136
decadence of, 124
diet and culture of, 162
economics on, 132–33
gender roles on, 137, 138, 145–46
sensuality of, 112–13
sexuality on, 116–17
Shevek’s curiosity about, 114
soft metaphor for, 115–16
Utopian/Dystopian dichotomy, 24–28
Value judgment vs. comparison in criticism, 46
Vea (fictional character), 116–17
“Velocities of Change” (Delany). See “Midcentury: An Essay in Contextualization”
Ventris, Michael, 65
Vicious Evil Bitch stereotype, 99
Victorian vs. Modern science fiction, 20–26
Vision and visualization: breadth of science fiction’s vision, 26, 27, 48, 134
didacta’s integration with foreground vision, 158–61
science fiction on human nature, 25–26, 64–65, 128–35
writer’s development of, 35–41. See also Imagery
Vocabulary of criticism, content/style relationship, 1–15
Vokep (fictional character), 129
Weapon Shops of Isher, The (Van Vogt), 158
Wells, H. G., 20–21, 22–24, 234
We Who Are About To . . . (Russ), 72
White, Ted, 44
White, Walter, 190
Wilde, Oscar, 19
Wilhelm, Kate, 73
Wilson, S. Clay, 227
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 31–32, 82, 159
Wolfe, Gene, 64
Wolheim, Richard, xvii
Women: as fictional characters, xxx, 92–94, 98–103
friendships among, 69, 71, 102, 103, 104
in sword-and-sorcery fiction, xxii, 68–69. See also Feminism; Gender roles
Writers: artist problems for science fiction, x–xi
personal experience influence, 106–7, 158–59
publishing exploitation of, 233–36
relationship to readers, 32, 57–58, 106, 240–41
Writing: Delany’s travel context, 167–82
ideal model of, 164–65
imagery’s importance in, 9–10, 35–41
process of, 35–41
Wyn, A. A., 95
Zelazny, Roger: canon of, 50
and Delany, 43–44, 168, 175–76
literary method, 46–48
and mundane fiction, 45–46
mysticism in, 14
mythical themes in, 51–56, 57, 77
and style/content relationship, 8
symbolism in, 47–48, 50–54, 55, 56
tragic threads in, 27