Research Catalog

Noble numbers, subtle words : the art of mathematics in the science of storytelling

Title
Noble numbers, subtle words : the art of mathematics in the science of storytelling / Barbara M. Fisher.
Author
Fisher, Barbara, 1917-
Publication
Madison, NJ : Fairleigh Dickinson University Press ; Cranbury, NJ : Associated University Presses, 1997.

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Description
168 pages : illustrations; 24 cm
Summary
  • This study approaches the use of mathematics in fiction in an entirely new way, as a potent instrument of language. Following Wittgenstein's description of mathematical constructs as a component of ordinary language, Fisher shows how number, geometric figuration, algebraic coding, and transcendent abstractions have been made to function as practical narrative tools.
  • Far from rehearsing the various paradigms of numerology, whether Pythagorean, Elizabethan, or Cabalistic, this book explores the tactical deployment of mathematical objects as shaping and framing agents. It reveals how mathematical objects may be subordinated to the storyteller's art.
Subject
  • Numbers in literature
  • Symbolism of numbers in literature
  • Mathematics in literature
  • Literature > History and criticism
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (p. 150-159) and index.
Contents
1. The Telltale Figure -- 2. Zero Reason, Infinite Need -- 3. The Mathematics of Pandaemonium -- 4. Jamesian Geometry -- 5. Borges: "Algebra and Fire" -- 6. "Ten Minutes for Seven Letters": Beloved.
ISBN
083863740X (alk. paper)
LCCN
96047598
OCLC
  • 35792357
  • ocm35792357
Owning Institutions
Columbia University Libraries