Claire Dederer's 'Monsters' Examines the Conflict Between Admiring Art and Condemning Artists' Misdeeds

American critic Claire Dederer's new book 'Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma' confronts the ethical challenges of appreciating art created by individuals with problematic personal histories. Published by Sceptre with a £20 hardcover price, the work explores how contemporary cancel culture grapples with canonical artists whose behaviors now appear monstrous. Dederer examines figures like Roman Polanski, convicted in 1977 for statutory rape, alongside Woody Allen, Michael Jackson, Pablo Picasso, and Ernest Hemingway for their alleged abuses. She also considers Richard Wagner and Virginia Woolf for antisemitism, plus Laura Ingalls Wilder for racism in her 'Little House on the Prairie' series from 1932 to 1943. The book emerges from the cultural context of #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements during the Trump era. Dederer analyzes Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel 'Lolita' to discuss how authors inhabit morally repugnant characters. She extends her inquiry to female artists like Doris Lessing and Joni Mitchell, who prioritized their art over motherhood. Ultimately, Dederer argues that consuming art doesn't define one's moral character, suggesting redemption over cancellation. The critic maintains that artworks, not artists' personal flaws, should remain the central focus of discussion.