Shaped by Stories: The Ethical Power of Narratives

Front Matter

Shaped by Stories Marshall Gregory Y Shaped by Stories The Ethical Power of Narratives Y University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana Copyright © 2009 by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved Manufactured in the United States of America “The Catbird Seat” originally published in book form by James Thurber. Copyright © 1945, 1973 by Rosemary A. Thurber. Reprinted by arrangement with Rosemary A. Thurber and the Barbara Hogenson Agency, Inc. All rights reserved. “The Grave” from The Leaning Tower and Other Stories. Copyright © 1944, 1972 by Katherine Anne Porter. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company and of Random House UK. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gregory, Marshall W., 1940– Shaped by stories : the ethical power of narratives / Marshall Gregory. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn-13: 978-0-268-02974-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) isbn-10: 0-268-02974-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. English literature—Study and teaching. 2. American literature—Study and teaching. 3. Ethics in literature. 4. Literature and morals. I. Title. pr35.g75 2009 820.9'353—dc22 2009027705 ∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. To Valiska, the one and only From the time we are born, the narrative cradle of story rocks us to the collective heartbeat of our species, ushering us across the threshold of consciousness and into the domain of humanity. — c h a p t e r 1 ...