"This is one of the best books of the last decade. . . remarkably original and important. Robbins's deep concern for literary and cultural theory supports and focuses his close attention to reading specific works as they arise from and function within a history lived and made by human beings. I don't know a better example of the connections between literary and cultural studies."--Jonathan Arac, University of Pittsburgh

Preface ix
Introduction: The Secret Pressure of a Working Hand 1
1. From Odysseus' Scar to the Brown Stocking: A Tradition 25
2. Impertinence: The Servant in Dialogue 53
3. Exposition: The Servant as Narrator 91
4. Agency: The Servant as Instrument of the Plot 131
5. Recognition: The Servant in the Ending 167
Conclusion: Commonplace and Utopia 205
Notes 227
Bibliography 239
Index 255

Bruce W. Robbins is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Rutgers University.