The Mad Man
Encyclopedia
The Mad Man is a sexually drenched literary
novel by Samuel R. Delany
, first published in 1994 by Richard Kasak. In a disclaimer that appears at the beginning of the book, Delany describes it as a "pornotopic fantasy". It was originally published in 1994, republished and slightly revised in 1996, and republished again with significant changes in 2002. Delany considers the 2002 version the definitive edition.
City in the early 1980s, John Marr, a black gay
graduate student, is researching a dissertation on Timothy Hasler, a Korean-American philosopher and academic
stabbed to death under unexplained circumstances outside a gay bar
in 1973. As details emerge, Marr finds his lifestyle converging with that of Hasler, and he becomes increasingly involved in intense sexual encounters with homeless men, despite his growing awareness of the risks of HIV
.
(1975). As such, it combines a number of perspectives: a realistic portrayal of academic research, New York
street life and both pre- and post-HIV gay activity, as well as explicit portrayals of fellatio
, coprophilia
, urophilia
, and mysophilia. It also contains magic realist
elements, such as the bull-like monster that appears in Marr's nightmares. Also, it employs autobiographical aspects distinctive to Delany's work, having to do with his more recent life as an academic. The relationship between the intellectual
Marr and a street person, Leaky Sowps, mirrors those in many of his previous novels, as well as his real-life partnership of 17 years (as of 2007) with Dennis Rickett, formerly homeless for six years, before they met. Scenes in The Mad Man occur during "wet night" at the Mine Shaft, a gay bar that actually existed in New York's meat-packing district in the 'seventies and 'eighties, which actually held such a monthly event. Other scenes detail visits to the pornographic movie theaters in the 42nd Street area, where much gay activity occurred from the sixties until they were shut down in the mid-nineties. Marr writes letters to friends containing passages that are verbatim transcripts of actual letters Delany wrote at the time; some of the originals are collected in his 1984: Selected Letters (Voytant, 2000). As such, the novel has great value as a gay history of the passage between the seventies and nineties in New York, as well as portrayals of the complex and changing attitudes towards AIDS by sexually active gay men over those years.
, which appeared in The New Yorker
over two issues, starting in June, 1994. (Brodkey's article was reprinted in slightly revised form as a book, This Wild Darkness: The Story of My Death
(Henry Holt and Company, 1996). The article begins, "I have AIDS. I am surprised that I do. I have not been exposed since 1977, which is to say that my experiences, my adventures with homosexuality took place largely in the 1960s and 70s, and back then I relied on time and abstinence to indicate my degree of freedom from infection and to protect others and myself . . ." Once past its "Proem," Delany's novel opens with the identical statements, but placed in the negative: "I do not have AIDS. I'm surprised that I don't . . ." As critic Reed Woodhouse (in Unlimited Embrace: A Canon of Gay Fiction, 1945—1995, University of Massachusetts Press, 1998),wrote, "What one hears in Delany's sentence is the sound of the gauntlet being thrown down, for he wants to completely reverse the story Brodkey tells: the story, that is, of an 'innocent victim' who may have played around a little but very long ago and certainly not doing those things. John Marr, by contrast, is presented as a 'guilty victor', so to speak, in that he has done all those things (though not, it is true, unprotected anal intercourse) and has yet survived."
The character of Timothy Hasler dies in a knife fight in a bar at age 29, an incident that is very similar to the death of English playwright Christopher Marlowe
.
Delany discusses some of the background behind the novel in "The Phil Leggiere Interview: Reading The Mad Man", which appears in his essay collection Shorter Views
.
Literary fiction
Literary fiction is a term that came into common usage during the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish "serious fiction" which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction . In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more upon...
novel by Samuel R. Delany
Samuel R. Delany
Samuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
, first published in 1994 by Richard Kasak. In a disclaimer that appears at the beginning of the book, Delany describes it as a "pornotopic fantasy". It was originally published in 1994, republished and slightly revised in 1996, and republished again with significant changes in 2002. Delany considers the 2002 version the definitive edition.
Plot summary
In New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
City in the early 1980s, John Marr, a black gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
graduate student, is researching a dissertation on Timothy Hasler, a Korean-American philosopher and academic
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
stabbed to death under unexplained circumstances outside a gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
in 1973. As details emerge, Marr finds his lifestyle converging with that of Hasler, and he becomes increasingly involved in intense sexual encounters with homeless men, despite his growing awareness of the risks of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
.
Major themes
The Mad Man, spanning 501 pages in its first hardcover edition, is Delany's longest and most ambitious novel since DhalgrenDhalgren
Dhalgren is a science fiction novel by Samuel R. Delany. The story begins with a cryptic passage:to wound the autumnal city.So howled out for the world to give him a name.The in-dark answered with wind....
(1975). As such, it combines a number of perspectives: a realistic portrayal of academic research, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
street life and both pre- and post-HIV gay activity, as well as explicit portrayals of fellatio
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
, coprophilia
Coprophilia
Coprophilia , also called scatophilia or scat, is the paraphilia involving sexual pleasure from feces...
, urophilia
Urolagnia
Urolagnia is a paraphilia in which sexual excitement is associated with the sight or thought of urine or urination. The term has origins in the Greek Language .Those who enjoy urolagnia may enjoy urinating on another person or persons, or being urinated upon...
, and mysophilia. It also contains magic realist
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
elements, such as the bull-like monster that appears in Marr's nightmares. Also, it employs autobiographical aspects distinctive to Delany's work, having to do with his more recent life as an academic. The relationship between the intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
Marr and a street person, Leaky Sowps, mirrors those in many of his previous novels, as well as his real-life partnership of 17 years (as of 2007) with Dennis Rickett, formerly homeless for six years, before they met. Scenes in The Mad Man occur during "wet night" at the Mine Shaft, a gay bar that actually existed in New York's meat-packing district in the 'seventies and 'eighties, which actually held such a monthly event. Other scenes detail visits to the pornographic movie theaters in the 42nd Street area, where much gay activity occurred from the sixties until they were shut down in the mid-nineties. Marr writes letters to friends containing passages that are verbatim transcripts of actual letters Delany wrote at the time; some of the originals are collected in his 1984: Selected Letters (Voytant, 2000). As such, the novel has great value as a gay history of the passage between the seventies and nineties in New York, as well as portrayals of the complex and changing attitudes towards AIDS by sexually active gay men over those years.
Allusions/references to other works
Delany said that the novel was inspired by his outrage at an article on AIDS by Harold BrodkeyHarold Brodkey
Harold Brodkey, born Aaron Roy Weintraub was an American writer, and novelist.-Life:Brodkey was raised in University City, Missouri outside St. Louis...
, which appeared in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
over two issues, starting in June, 1994. (Brodkey's article was reprinted in slightly revised form as a book, This Wild Darkness: The Story of My Death
This Wild Darkness: The Story of My Death
This Wild Darkness is a compilation of essays written by Harold Brodkey as he neared death from AIDS and first published in 1996. The memoirs were written from when he was first diagnosed with AIDS until it left him too feeble to write, as he details in the later entries. Many were first printed...
(Henry Holt and Company, 1996). The article begins, "I have AIDS. I am surprised that I do. I have not been exposed since 1977, which is to say that my experiences, my adventures with homosexuality took place largely in the 1960s and 70s, and back then I relied on time and abstinence to indicate my degree of freedom from infection and to protect others and myself . . ." Once past its "Proem," Delany's novel opens with the identical statements, but placed in the negative: "I do not have AIDS. I'm surprised that I don't . . ." As critic Reed Woodhouse (in Unlimited Embrace: A Canon of Gay Fiction, 1945—1995, University of Massachusetts Press, 1998),wrote, "What one hears in Delany's sentence is the sound of the gauntlet being thrown down, for he wants to completely reverse the story Brodkey tells: the story, that is, of an 'innocent victim' who may have played around a little but very long ago and certainly not doing those things. John Marr, by contrast, is presented as a 'guilty victor', so to speak, in that he has done all those things (though not, it is true, unprotected anal intercourse) and has yet survived."
The character of Timothy Hasler dies in a knife fight in a bar at age 29, an incident that is very similar to the death of English playwright Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
.
Delany discusses some of the background behind the novel in "The Phil Leggiere Interview: Reading The Mad Man", which appears in his essay collection Shorter Views
Shorter Views
Shorter Views is a 2000 collection of essays on race, sexuality, science fiction, and the art of writing by author, professor, and critic Samuel R. Delany....
.