Genius and Madness in the Novel

Perhaps because the authors of literary works have often been described as suffering from the “divine madness” of inspiration, literature has often depicted the borderline between productive genius and dangerous insanity as a thin and porous one. Through an encounter with such novels as Frankenstein, The Bell Jar, The Hours, and Lolita, as well as works by James, DeLillo, and Calvino, we will investigate why and how our society insists that those capacities which allow the mind to create triumphantly are also feared as the selfsame ones that may alienate it from happiness and a healthy grasp of reality.