> In it, the character says that she learned
> in kollidge that Henry James masturbated the comma.
>
> litcritters et al., what does that mean?
Well, as a former litcritter who veered away from the One True Church of Text and fell into heathen Pixeldom, I can say that Henry James wielded commas like Michaelangelo wielded the brush.
Here's the deal with James: he's outrageously and wonderfully homoerotic. All the relationships in his final, greatest novels are really same-sex, suitably veiled. The style can seem dense, sure, but its exquisitely subtle and precise -- Proust would pick up where James left off.
One final hint: the title of "The Golden Bowl", his masterpiece, refers to an actual object. And yes, there are financial, geopolitical and imperial puns associated with its ultimate fate (which I won't spoil).
-- DRR