Perversions of the Epistolary Instinct: Desire and Form in the Letters of Philostratus

summary:

Philostratus's Letters have posed problems for scholarly interpretation due to their unconventional use of the epistolary form. I argue, however, that this collection offers profound reflections on the interrelation of epistolarity and desire. Letters can substitute absent lovers and become vehicles for indirect but sensuous contact. These erotically charged roles of the letter resonate with the desires of the writer, who does not seek presence and sexual union, but traces of the absent bodies of his beloveds. Ultimately, I suggest that the writer uses letters not to overcome distance, but to create space for new forms of desire and writing.