Lust as Prerequisite: Eroticism in The Story of the Stone

In chapter 1 of The Story of the Stone, the internal narrator notably censures erotic fiction and draws a line between his own narrative and the filthy obscenities. Yet the novel does the exact opposite. In the Stone, eroticism is not only part of a physiological act, but it is also highlighted as a narrative act, in which a network of textual and intertextual references is made to emphasize the significance of physical desire. Focusing on this network, this article examines the importance of eroticism in the making of the novel and explores how the Stone reinterprets and positions itself in the genealogy of lust.