Ascetic modernism in the work of T.S. Eliot and Gustave Flaubert

While T S Eliot x2019;s status as a canonical modernist poet is secure, his legacy remains the subject of much critical debate. Gott examines Eliot x2019;s The Waste Land (1922) in conjunction with Gustave Flaubert x2019;s La Tentation de Saint Antoine(1874). He provides a highly original reading of both texts and argues that a stylistic affinity exists between the two works, which derives from the authors x2019; shared fascination for the ascetic saint.