The Discerning Narrator - Conrad, Aristotle, and Modernity

The Discerning Narrator sheds new light on Joseph Conrad’s controversial critique of modernity and modernization by reading his work through an Aristotelian lens. The book proposes that we need Aristotle - a key figure in Conrad’s education - to recognize the profound significance of Conrad’s artistic vision.

Offering Aristotelian analyses of Conrad’s letters, essays, and four works of fiction, Alexia Hannis illuminates the philosophical roots and literary implications of Conrad’s critique of modernity. Hannis turns to Aristotle’s ethical formulations to trace what she calls "the discerning narrator" in Conrad’s oeuvre: a compassionate yet sceptical guide to appraising character and conduct. The book engages with past and current Conrad scholarship while drawing from Aristotle’s Poetics, Politics, and Nicomachean Ethics, as well as classical scholars to offer original philosophical analyses of major