TL;DR
Liza Libes argues that postmodern theory, adopted in university English departments since the mid-20th century, shifted literary tastes toward ambiguity and away from works that teach objective moral lessons. She contends this intellectual shift has influenced publishing to favor novels that refuse clear moral conclusions, leaving fewer books that aim to instruct readers about how to live.
What happened
In a column published Dec. 26, 2025, Liza Libes traces a line from early 20th-century humanist criticism to contemporary literary culture, arguing that postmodern theory has undermined literature’s traditional role as a vehicle for moral education. She criticizes recent popular fiction—singling out Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation—for presenting protagonists who undergo no meaningful ethical development. Libes invokes figures and texts associated with postmodernism — Jacques Derrida’s critique of Western metaphysics, Roland Barthes’s rejection of authorial intent, and Jean-François Lyotard’s skepticism toward grand narratives — to explain how academic training reshaped readers’ expectations. According to her account, graduates steeped in these ideas brought a preference for open-ended, interpretive fiction into publishing, encouraging books that observe rather than prescribe. Libes contrasts that trend with classic novels such as Anna Karenina, which she says endure because they offer moral instruction alongside literary craft.
Why it matters
- If one accepts Libes’s argument, changes in literary theory can influence what gets published and promoted, shaping cultural conversations about ethics and meaning.
- A publishing preference for ambiguous narratives may affect readers’ exposure to stories that model moral development or offer explicit ethical lessons.
- Academic fashions in interpretation can have downstream effects beyond classrooms, including editorial decisions and market tastes.
- Debates about the purpose of literature touch on broader questions about how societies transmit values and understand human flourishing.
Key facts
- Article author: Liza Libes; published Dec. 26, 2025 on the James G. Martin Center site.
- Libes critiques Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2018 novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation for ending without its protagonist learning a moral lesson.
- She references early 20th-century critic Irving Babbitt and his view that literature should cultivate moral imagination.
- The piece cites postmodern theorists and texts commonly associated with the movement: Jacques Derrida’s De la grammatologie (1967), Roland Barthes’s essay 'The Death of the Author,' and Jean‑François Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition.
- Libes argues that by the 1960s universities shifted away from moral and traditional frameworks, which she says paved the way for postmodern approaches in literary studies.
- She claims the publishing industry now favors ambiguity and identity-based readings over clear ethical narratives.
- Contemporary writers mentioned as examples of the trend include Sally Rooney and Ben Lerner; classic novels cited as exemplars of moral literature include Anna Karenina, The Great Gatsby, and East of Eden.
- Libes bases her perspective in part on five years of experience in Ivy League English departments, as stated in the piece.
What to watch next
- Changes in university English curricula and course emphases over time (not confirmed in the source).
- Acquisition and editorial trends at major publishers regarding novels with explicit moral arcs versus ambiguous endings (not confirmed in the source).
- How critical awards and bestseller lists respond to works that foreground ethical development compared with those that prioritize ambiguity (not confirmed in the source).
Quick glossary
- Postmodernism: A broad intellectual movement skeptical of universal narratives and fixed meanings, influential across philosophy, art, and literary theory in the mid-to-late 20th century.
- Authorial intent: The idea that an author’s intended meaning or purpose should figure in how a text is interpreted; contested by some schools of criticism.
- Grand narrative: A large-scale, overarching story or theory that claims to explain historical or cultural phenomena; postmodern thinkers often critique such narratives as reductive or oppressive.
- Moral imagination: The capacity to conceive and evaluate ethical possibilities and consequences, often cited as a purpose of literature in humanist criticism.
- Nihilism: A philosophical position that denies or questions the existence of inherent meaning or value in life or the world.
Reader FAQ
Does the article prove postmodernism destroyed great literature?
The author makes a case that postmodernism changed academic and publishing priorities; she presents this as an argument rather than empirical proof.
Which thinkers does the piece cite as influential to this shift?
The article refers to Jacques Derrida, Roland Barthes, Jean‑François Lyotard, and critic Irving Babbitt.
Is Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel singled out as an example?
Yes—My Year of Rest and Relaxation is used as an example of a contemporary novel whose protagonist, the author argues, learns nothing by the end.
Will books without clear moral messages disappear, as the writer predicts?
Not confirmed in the source.
John Michael Thomson, Unsplash How Postmodernism Killed Great Literature University English departments have made books that don’t matter. Dec 26, 2025 Liza Libes LinkedIn X Facebook Email Print Last week,…
Sources
- How Postmodernism Killed Great Literature
- Postmodernism and Fragmented Narratives in World …
- Postmodern literature
- Postmodernism – Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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