'The dark shimmer of sex' Desire in literature

How does a writer put into words something as intangible and elusive as sexual desire? What makes a narrative evoke a sense of arousal and longing? If one man's meat is another woman's poison, how can the writer convey what is attractive about the object of desire to all readers? An empath...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rousso, Shani
Published: University of Exeter 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.489242
Description
Summary:How does a writer put into words something as intangible and elusive as sexual desire? What makes a narrative evoke a sense of arousal and longing? If one man's meat is another woman's poison, how can the writer convey what is attractive about the object of desire to all readers? An empathetic understanding of desire is not necessarily reached through the content of the narrative, but through its language, its form and its structure.