# Professing Darkness: Cormac McCarthy's Catholic Critique of American Enlightenment - Hardcover

by **D. Marcel DeCoste** (Author)

_Professing Darkness_ confirms the centrality of Catholic thought, imagery, and sacrament to the spiritual and ethical outlook of the work of Cormac McCarthy and, more specifically, its consistent assessment of Enlightenment values and their often-catastrophic realization in American history. D. Marcel DeCoste surveys McCarthy's fiction from both his Tennessee and Southwest periods, with chapters devoted to eight of his published novels--from _Outer Dark_ to _The Road_\--and a conclusion that examines the writer's screenplay for _The Counselor_ and the duology of _The Passenger_ and _Stella Maris._

DeCoste's attentive, wide-ranging interpretations demonstrate that McCarthy's work mounts a sustained critique of core Enlightenment ideals and their devastating results in the American context, especially for Indigenous peoples, the environment, the viability of community, and the integrity of a self irreducible to the status of a commodity. _Professing Darkness_ shows that Roman Catholic understandings of Penance and Eucharist, along with specific Catholic teachings--such as those regarding the goodness of Creation, the nature of evil, the insufficiency of the self, and the radical invitation to conversion--enable McCarthy's revelatory engagement with American Enlightenment.

An important contribution to the ever-expanding critical literature on a towering contemporary author, _Professing Darkness_ offers an innovative reading of both the spiritual and political valences of McCarthy's writing.

### Author Biography

**D. Marcel DeCoste**, professor of English at the University of Regina, is the author of _The Vocation of Evelyn Waugh: Faith and Art in the Post-War Fiction._

**Number of Pages:** 284

**Dimensions:** 0.75 x 9 x 6 IN

**Publication Date:** May 01, 2024

## Details

- **Price:** 53.95 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 53.95 USD | In stock |

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- Professing Darkness: Cormac McCarthy's Catholic Critique of American Enlightenment - Hardcover

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