ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents an overview of closing thoughts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book engages with comparative literature in three senses of the term: in its common sense; in the sense denoted if the terms study of are inserted between the adjective and noun; and in the sense denoted if the adjective is understood to qualify the noun (as literature which demands that the performance of comparison play a particularly important part in its appreciation). The novels examined in this book impressed as the comparative literature - not by virtue of presenting significant contrasts, which most literature does, but by virtue of presenting parallels and divisions more sustained and ostentatious than those presented by other literature. To return to the metaphor of conversation, the book aims to bring together texts which were capable of conducting a focused conversation, which was worth overhearing.
