The following thesis consists in an attempt at synthesising several problems connected with narrating historical representations by means of metaphors. It examines the functions metaphorical narratives may attend in order to (de)construct historical identities as well as the places metaphors may occupy in the order of discourses. Divided into three chapters, the dissertation deals with the ‘spectacular’ and the ‘performative’ potential of figurative speech assembled in historical narrations that are, in quite distinct fashions, presented in selected novels by Julian Barnes, Graham Swift and Kazuo Ishiguro. The methodological profile of the analysis conducted in this thesis is centralised on the deconstructionist notion of metaphor as well as certain poststructuralist conceptions of power relations. But despite the fact that most theoretical inspirations are drawn from the philosophy of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault there appear also other names and theoretical sources. Among these quite a substantial role can be assigned to literary criticism developed between 1950s and 1990s in Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe, feminist critique along with its various orientations, psychoanalytic writings as well as texts authored by philosophers and critics linked more to structuralist tradition and New Criticism rather than deconstruction such as Paul Ricoeur, Roland Barthes, Mikhail Bakhtin, Wolfgang Iser, Stanley Fish or Walter Benjamin. The first chapter, Metaphoricised Historiography, as its title implies, serves as a short introduction to the intricacies of post-war British history and its impact on literature. The next chapter entitled History as Spectacle deals with recontextualising and manipulating historical scenes. And the last chapter, History as Performance, addresses a certain type of historical sensitivity. It is discussed on the examples of visual arts and the situation of historical painting in the context of being objectified in endless interpretative circulation in galleries and museums. On the whole, the dissertation tries to estimate the significance of metaphors in discourses narrating historical identities.
Table of Contents
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE Metaphoricised Historiography
I. 1. HISTORY IN POST-WAR BRITISH NOVEL: A DIAGNOSIS
I. 2. NARRATING TERRITORY
I. 3. SENSE(LESS)NESS OF METAPHOR IN A HISTORICAL DISCOURSE
CHAPTER TWO History as Spectacle
II. 1. USURY AND ABUSE OF IDENTITY
II. 2. (DE)SIMULATING METAPHYSICAL VIOLENCE
II. 3. THE SPECTACLE IS OVER: METAPHORICAL (?) IMPLICATIONS FOR HISTORICAL ENDISM
CHAPTER THREE History as Performance
III. 1. THE CRISIS OF AUTHORITY: INTERPRETATION OR DECONSTRUCTION?
III. 2. THE ART OF HISTORY
III. 3. SCHIZOPHRENIC DISCOURSES
Conclusion
Objectives and Research Themes
This dissertation explores the role of metaphor in (de)constructing historical master-narratives within selected post-war British novels by Julian Barnes, Graham Swift, and Kazuo Ishiguro, focusing on how these authors reformulate national identity and question the rationale of history through varied deconstructionist and cultural analytical strategies.
- The metaphorical status of history and identity in post-war literature.
- The impact of post-colonial crises and shifting cultural power relations on British identity.
- The use of "historiographic metafiction" as a method for questioning historical credibility.
- Narrative strategies, including unreliable narrators and the revaluation of personal faults.
- The tension between master-narratives and personal "mini-narratives."
Excerpt from the Book
I. 2. NARRATING TERRITORY
The examination of narrative tools recruited in order to define the histories, properties, and boundaries of cultural territories can be performed for two main reasons. Firstly, it provides an idea of the geography of discourse; more precisely, it accounts for the narrative structures organising ideologies processed with respect to physical spaces. History has the potential to designate borders between territories; nonetheless, stories can metaphoricise and, hence, convert its meaning. Therefore, Barnes, Swift, and Ishiguro write about history which is merely metaphorical. Their stories draw up an architecture of discourse immersed in fantasy and encamped on mythical lands. And secondly, such an analysis allows to explain the fashion in which spatial metaphors emerge and, as a consequence, make a contribution to historical vocabulary that designs, in this case, intracontinental relations. The mechanism thanks to which different aspects of history are chronicled by means of territorial relations is primarily a type of narration. European history shows that narrating territory is prior to mapping. In other words, historical roles are assigned on the basis of discourses narrating territories that have been culturally and geopolitically classified as “other” than the West. Finally, metaphorical modes of narration reflect how European history is written down and recollected by Westerners.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Outlines the thesis's focus on the modern condition of historicity and the redefinition of "Englishness" in post-war literature through deconstructionist theory.
CHAPTER ONE Metaphoricised Historiography: Categorizes notions of identity and history while analyzing how social crises in 1980s Britain influenced collective identity and the rise of historiographic metafiction.
CHAPTER TWO History as Spectacle: Examines how historical events are turned into repetitive spectacles, using the concept of homelessness to explore the friction between individuality and historical pressure.
CHAPTER THREE History as Performance: Investigates the act of interpreting history through performance, focusing on memory, the crisis of authority, and the use of schizophrenic discourse to challenge master-narratives.
Keywords
Metaphor, Historiography, Deconstruction, Post-war British Novel, Narrative, Identity, History, Memory, Spatiality, Hegemony, Metafiction, Cultural Studies, Discourse, Representation, Power Relations
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this dissertation?
The thesis investigates the status and function of metaphor in (de)constructing historical master-narratives in the novels of Julian Barnes, Graham Swift, and Kazuo Ishiguro.
What are the central thematic areas?
Key themes include the redefinition of national values in post-war Britain, the politics of community versus global history, the role of narrative in shaping identity, and the relationship between physical space and historical memory.
What is the main research objective?
The work aims to examine and summarize the metaphorical operations of historical narratives and how protagonists engage with or subvert hegemonic historical discourses.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author uses strategies drawn from deconstructionist theory, culture studies, and literary criticism to analyze how language and metaphor organize historical representations.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The body covers "Metaphoricised Historiography," "History as Spectacle," and "History as Performance," analyzing authors like Barnes, Swift, and Ishiguro through specific narrative and sociopolitical frameworks.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Keywords include metaphor, historiography, deconstruction, narrative, identity, hegemony, and cultural studies.
How does the author analyze Ishiguro’s narrators?
The thesis discusses Ishiguro’s use of "unreliable narrators" and introspective attitudes, linking their psychological profiles to the historical mechanisms and responsibilities they seek to evade or re-evaluate.
What role does "homelessness" play in the second chapter?
Homelessness is analyzed as a metaphorical concept that signifies independence from traditional historical place and challenges existentialist predicaments associated with community living.
How does the author relate the concept of "ecriture" to Barnes's work?
The author connects Barnes’s use of writing to Derrida’s model of "ecriture," where written texts signify a performance devoid of individual voluntary consent, acting as a constraint on meaning.
- Quote paper
- Master of Arts Daria Przybyla (Author), 2007, The status of metaphor in (de)constructing historical master-narratives in the novels of Julian Barnes and Graham Swift and Kazuo Ishiguro, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/77069
