Metaphorical Figures for Moral Complexity

Abstract:

If literary narrative as a practice is well suited to capture morally complex situations, that is in large part due to the work of literary (that is, narrative and stylistic) form. This article examines the specific contribution that metaphorical language makes to the literary negotiation of moral complexity. The discussion is positioned vis-à-vis debates on the specific forms of moral knowledge that literature can provide, which I distinguish from both propositional meanings and the dilemmas entertained by analytic philosophers (for instance, the trolley problem). Instead, I draw on metaphor theory to suggest that metaphorical language can enrich the moral resonance of literature by deepening (and complicating) readers' engagement with fictional characters and the situations in which they are embedded. These metaphorical figures probe the experience captured by Cora Diamond under the rubric of the "difficulty of reality." This idea is illustrated through a close reading of Lauren Groff's short story "Flower Hunters," which skillfully orchestrates metaphorical language so as to encapsulate the protagonist's existential and moral impasse in times of ecological crisis.