literary criticism class #4. the aspern papers (1) published in 1888, the aspern papers is a...
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Literary Literary CriticismCriticism
Class #4Class #4
The Aspern Papers (1)The Aspern Papers (1)• Published in 1888, The Aspern Papers is a novelette by Henry
James that originates from the later stages of his first great period of writing. It concerns an American editor who is greatly enamoured with the works of the early nineteenth century Romantic poet Jeffery Aspern. We follow him to Venice where he seeks the love letters that Aspern wrote to his mistress, Miss Bordereau (or Juliana as he had called her). The editor takes on a pseudonym to protect his identity from her, and finds her living in poverty alienated from the world with her niece. He is accepted as their lodger since Bordereau wishes to protect the future of Miss Tina (the niece). http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/28/59/frameset.html
The Aspern Papers (2)The Aspern Papers (2)• In time he explains his peculiar mission to Miss Tina.
As Bordereau begins to deteriorate due to a serious illness he leaps at the opportunity and rifles through her desk only to be surprised by the lady herself before she suffers a relapse. What follows is a sad case of the blackmail of a heart as the old lady dies and Miss Tina’s love for him becomes clear and she says she could only give the letters to a relative? In the end much falls prey of the doomed unrequited love but maturity and restraint hold sway in the end.
• http://www.bibliomania.com/0/0/28/59/frameset.html
The Aspern Papers (3)The Aspern Papers (3)• A more elaborate summary:
http://mb.sparknotes.com/mb.epl?b=53&m=991523&h=aspern,papers
Structuralist Reading (1)Structuralist Reading (1)•Binary oppositions: Consider
how characters represent opposed values or qualities. The narrator and Juliana hold different conceptions of art, for example.
Structuralist Reading (2)Structuralist Reading (2)•Propp’s morphology: Could the tale be seen as a version of the fairy tale Propp describes?
Structuralist Reading (3)Structuralist Reading (3)•Semiotics: Observe how signs
work in the story. For example, the narrator is characters with signs of detective fiction, tourism, romance, and of military conquest.
Structuralist Reading (4)Structuralist Reading (4)• Semiotics: misunderstanding
caused by using different codes in communication.– Tina vs. the narrator– Juliana vs. the narrator
Structuralist Reading (5)Structuralist Reading (5)• Semiotics: the Aspern papers as a sign.
– The irretrievability of the past– America when it was young– Venice before crowds of tourists came– What they signify for Juliana and the
narrator respectively
• Ryan, Michael. Literary Theory: A Practical Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. 33.
•Narratology
NarratologyNarratology•A branch of structuralism•Definition: “the study of narrative structures” (Barry 322)
Basic DistinctionBasic DistinctionStoryFabulaHistoire
Plot/DiscourseSjuzhetrecit
The “what” of a narrative
The “how” of a narrative
Chronology Causality
“The king died, and then the queen died.”
“The king died, and then the queen died of grief.”
Three main charactersThree main characters
•Aristotle•Vladimir Propp•Gérard Genette
AristotleAristotle• The hamartia: tragic flaw• The anagnorisis:
recognition (of the flaw)• The peripeteia: a
“reversal” of fortune (consequence of the flaw)
• The hamartia: tragic flaw• The anagnorisis:
recognition (of the flaw)• The peripeteia: a
“reversal” of fortune (consequence of the flaw)
Food for thoughtFood for thought•Could we find the three elements in “The Aspern Papers”? “我愛黑眼珠” ?
Vladimir ProppVladimir Propp•1895-1970•The Morphology of the Folktale (1928)
•Morphology = the study of forms
Vladimir ProppVladimir Propp•“Propp’s work is often considered to mark the “birth of modern narratology and the structural analysis of narrative” (Prince 37).
ProppPropp — “ — “FunctionsFunctions””
•Definition: “the fundamental components of the underlying structure of any (Russian) fairy tale.” (Prince 36)
ProppPropp — “ — “FunctionsFunctions””
•Claimed that all folktales he studied are constructed by selecting a few items from a repertoire of 31 “functions” (Barry 227).
ProppPropp — “ — “FunctionsFunctions””
•Asserted that “the functions always occur in the order listed” (Barry 228)
Propp – “Propp – “RoleRole””
•Propp isolated 7 dramatis personae, or basic functional roles, each corresponding to a certain sphere of action, or a typical set of functions.
Propp – Propp – RolesRoles • The villain• The donor (provider)• The helper• The princess (a sought-for person) and
her father• The dispatcher• The hero (seeker or victim)• The false hero
Propp – RolesPropp – Roles
• “One character may play more than one of these roles in any given tale (e.g., villain may also be false hero, donor may also be dispatcher); or one role may employ several characters (multiple villains, for instance . . .” (Scholes 65).
Food for thoughtFood for thought•Identify the functions and roles in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, or “The Aspern Papers”.
A DerivativeA Derivative•Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1949.
Joseph CampbellJoseph Campbell• “ The standard path of the
mythological adventure of the hero is a magnification of the formula represented in the rites of passage: separation—initiation—return: which might be named the nuclear unit of the monomyth” (Campbell 30).
Joseph CampbellJoseph Campbell• A hero ventures forth from the world of
common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man” (Campbell 30).
Campbell’s Campbell’s MonomythMonomyth (1) (1)
I. Departure (or separation)I. InitiationII. Return
Campbell’s Campbell’s MonomythMonomyth (1) (1)I. Departure (or separation)• 1. The Call to Adventure (or the signs of the
vocation of the hero)• 2. Refusal of the Call (or the folly of the flight
from the god)• 3. Supernatural Aid • 4. The Crossing of the First Threshold• 5. The Belly of the Whale (or the passage into
the realm of night)
Campbell’s Campbell’s MonomythMonomyth (2) (2)II. Initiation • 1. The Road of Trials (or the dangerous aspect of the
gods)• 2. The Meeting with the Goddess (or the bliss of
infancy regained)• 3. Woman as the Temptress (or the realization and
agony of Oedipus)• 4. Atonement with the Father• 5. Apotheosis (deification)• 6. The Ultimate Boon
Campbell’s Campbell’s MonomythMonomyth (3) (3)III. Return (or reintegration with society)• 1. Refusal of the Return (or the world
denied)• 2. The Magic Flight (or the escape of
Prometheus)• 3. Rescue from Without• 4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold (or
the return to the world of common day”• 5. Master of the Two Worlds• 6. Freedom to Live (or the nature and
function of the ultimate boon)
Food for thoughtFood for thought•Does Campbell’s monomyth
exist in 我愛黑眼珠 or “The Aspern Papers”?
Potential problems: Potential problems: CharacterCharacter
Phelan, James. Reading People, Reading Plots. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1989.
Argument: “characters can be multichromatic . . . it is a literary element composed of three components” (3).
Components of CharacterComponents of Character(1) Synthetic: Characters are language
constructs.(2) Mimetic: Characters as individuals.
Characters are images of possible people. (3) Thematic: Characters as representative
entities. A character is often taken as a representative figure that stands for a class.
(Phelan 2-3)
Group activityGroup activity•Discuss these components in 李龍第 ( 【我愛黑眼珠】 ), Miss Tina or the narrator in “The Aspern Papers”.
Food for ThoughtFood for Thought•Which component is underscored in structuralism? Which is more likely to be neglected?
•Gérard Genette
GGérard Genetteérard Genette• Narrative Discourse. 1972. Trans. Jane E.
Lewin. Itaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1980.• Narrative Discourse Revisited. 1983.
Trans. Jane E. Lewin. Itaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1988.
• 【辭格 III 】 , 廖素珊、楊恩祖譯 , 時報出版 , 2003
GenetteGenette• 1. Is the basic narrative mode “mimetic”
or “diegetic”?• 2. How is the narrative focalized?• 3. Who is telling the story?• 4. How is time handled in the story?• 5. How is the story “packaged”?• 6. How are speech and thought
represented? (Barry 231-39)
Genette (1) –Genette (1) – Mode Mode
Mimetic DiegeticShowingStaging a sceneSlow motion
TellingSummarizingFastforward
“What is done and said is ‘staged’ for the reader, creating the illusion that we are ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’ things for ourselves.”
“ A rapid summary of a long sequence of events, but all taking place ‘off-stage’, as it were.”
(Barry 231-32)
Genette (1) –Genette (1) – Mode ModeMimetic Diegetic當他從美國回來,跑到我南京的家來,衝著我倏地敬個軍禮,叫我一聲師娘時,我著實吃他唬了一跳。郭軫全身都是美式凡立丁的空軍制服,上身罩了一件翻領鑲毛的皮夾克,腰身勒得緊峭,褲袋上卻繫著一個 Ray-Ban 太陽眼鏡盒兒。一頂嶄新高聳的軍帽帽沿正壓在眉毛上 ; 頭髮也蓄長了,滲黑油亮的髮腳子緊貼在兩鬢旁。才是一兩年功夫,沒料到郭軫竟出挑得英氣勃勃了。 「怎麼了, 小夥子?這次回來, 該有些苗頭了吧?」我笑著向他說道。 「別的沒什麼, 師娘, 倒是在外國攢了幾百塊美金回來。」郭軫說道。 「夠討老婆了!」我笑了起來。 「是呀,師娘,正在找呢。 」郭軫也朝著我齜了牙齒笑道。 ( 白先勇 【一把青 】 臺北人 76-77)
我們撤退到海南島的時候,偉成便病歿了。可笑他在天上飛了一輩子,沒有出事,坐在船上,卻硬生生的病故了。他染了痢疾,船上害病的人多,不夠藥,我看著他屙痢屙得臉發了黑。他一斷氣,船上水手便把他用麻包袋套起來,和其他幾個病死的人一起丟到了海裏去,我只聽得「 嘭」一下,人便沒了 . . . . 來到台灣,天天忙著過活,大陸上的事情,竟逐漸淡忘了。老實說,要不是在新生社又碰見朱青,我是不會想起她來了的。 ( 白先勇 【一把青 】 臺北人 93)
Genette (2) –Genette (2) – Focalization Focalization
External focalization
The viewpoint is outside the character depicted. (observable to a witness of the event)
Internal focalization
What the character think and feel. (inaccessible to a witness)
Zero focalization
Omniscient narration; “The narrated is presented in . . . a nonlocatable, indeterminable perceptual or conceptual position” (Prince 103)
(viewpoint or perspective)
Genette (2) –Genette (2) – Focalization FocalizationExternal focalization
小畢國三時偷錢…那晚畢伯伯盤問小畢的大喉嚨,我們在隔壁聽的清清楚楚。小畢從頭到尾沒吭一句,畢伯伯氣極,拿皮管子下了狠手打他,小畢給打急了連連叫道:「你打我!你不是我爸爸你打我!」 劈拍兩聲耳光,是畢媽媽摔的,屋子裏沉寂了下來。 畢伯伯吱呀一聲跌坐在藤椅裏。我打賭我們這半邊眷村都在聆聽他們家的動靜,後山的松風低低吹過,院中忘了收的舊雜誌給吹的拆拆作響。 ( 朱天文 【小畢的故事 】 花憶前身 110)
Internal focalization
*「李龍第想著晴子黑色的眼睛,便由內心裡的一種感激勾起一陣絞心的哀愁。」 (七等生 【我愛黑眼珠】 173)*「李龍第的眼睛投注在對面那個赤足襤褸的蒼白工人身上;這個工人有著一張長滿黑鬱鬱的鬍髭和一雙呈露空漠的眼睛的英俊面孔,中央那隻瘦直的鼻子的兩個孔洞正像瀉出疲倦苦慮的氣流,他的手臂看起來堅硬而削瘦,像用刀削過的不均的木棒。」 (七等生 【我愛黑眼珠】 175)
Zero focalization *「黑漆中,屋頂上的人們紛紛在蠢動,遠近到處喧嚷著聲音;原來水退走了。這場災禍來的快也去的快。天明的時候,只留下李龍第還在屋頂上緊緊地抱著那個女人。 」 (七等生 【我愛黑眼珠】 185)
(viewpoint or perspective)
Genette (3) – Genette (3) – VoiceVoiceauthorial persona(covert)(effaced)
*A mere “telling medium” which strives for neutrality and transparency.*Ex. 【我愛黑眼珠】、 Ceremony
character-narrator(overt)(intrusive)(dramatized)
Hetero-diegetic
*The narrator is a character outside the story s/he narrates.*Ex. Wuthering Heights, The Great Gatsby
Homo-diegetic
*The narrator is a character in the story s/he tells.*Ex. “The Oval Portrait”, “The Aspern Papers”, Heart of Darkness
Genette (4) – Genette (4) – OrderOrder
AnalepsisBack-takeFlashback
他從窗縫中,看到他兒子房中的燈光仍然亮著,俊彥坐在窗前,低著頭在看書,他那年輕英爽的側影,映在窗框裡。余教授微微吃了一驚,他好像驟然看到了自己年輕時的影子一般,他已經逐漸忘懷了他年輕時的模樣了。他記得就是在俊彥那個年紀,二十歲,他那時候認識雅馨的。那次他們在北海公園,雅馨剛剪掉辮子, 一頭秀髮讓風吹得飛了起來, 她穿著一條深藍的學生裙子站在北海邊, 裙子飄飄的, 西天的晚霞, 把一湖的水照得火燒一般, 把她的臉也染紅了。 ( 白先勇 【冬夜 】 臺北人 315)
ProlepsisFore-takeAnticipation
懷孕七個月的事揭曉出去以後,這一房一廳便頓時熱鬧起來,不但在緊接而來的五天內,得到了社會全體的關懷。還在一個月後,承受了領導豐富的恩情,同時也使過客的我,在不意之間,目擊了社會主義制度下的說服工作。( 李渝 【豪傑們 】 應答的鄉岸 107)
Genette (5) – Genette (5) – Story Levels Story Levels Frame narratives
Single-ended The frame is not returned to at the end of the embedded. (e.g. The Turn of the Screw)
Double-ended The frame is re-introduced at the end of the embedded. (e.g. Heart of Darkness)
Intrusive(an alienation device)
The embedded is occasionally interrupted to revert to the frame. (e.g. Heart of Darkness)
Embedded narratives
Or the meta-narrative, a narrative within the narrative. It’s the main story. (e.g. individual tales of The Canterbury Tales.)
Genette (6) – Genette (6) – SpeechSpeechDirect Speech
Tagged 她一面吃一面問他:「你叫什麼名字?」「亞茲別。」李龍第脫口說出。 (182)
Untagged 「他真的不是你的妻子﹖」「絕不是。」「那麼你的妻子呢?」「我沒有。」 (181)
Selectively tagged
李龍第低下頭問她:「我要是拋下妳,妳會怎麼樣?」「我會躺在屋頂上慢慢死去,我在這大都市也原是一個人的,而且正在生病。」(183)
Indirect Speech
Tagged indirect speech
李龍第抬頭注意對面的晴子在央求救生舟把她載到這邊來,可是有些人說她發瘋了… (183)
Free indirect speech
他完全被那群無主四處奔逃擁擠的人們的神色和喚叫感染到共同面臨災禍的恐懼。假如這個時候他還能看見他的妻子晴子,這是上天對他何等的恩惠啊。 (177)
(七等生 【我愛黑眼珠】 )
Free Indirect DiscourseFree Indirect Discourse•FID = narrated monologue;
pensée avec
•FID is often taken to contain mixed within it markers of two voices (a narrator’s and a character’s).
Free Indirect DiscourseFree Indirect Discourse•Definition: “the technique for
rendering a character’s thought in his own idiom while maintaining the third-person reference and the basic tense of narration” (Cohn 100).
Free Indirect DiscourseFree Indirect Discourse• FID is often marked by such contextual
features: (1) general markers of colloquialism (such as ejaculations, lexical fillers); (2) more specific markers of a group or class to which a character belongs; (3) a character’s personal idiom; (4) markers of social-role relationships (Prince 35-36).
Example #1Example #1(1)Direct discourse: Tom said, “Gosh, I am tired.”(2) Indirect discourse: Tom said that he was tired.(3) Free indirect discourse: Gosh, he was tired.
(Fludernik 74)
Example #2Example #2• She [Lily] started up and looked forth on the
passing streets. Gerty!—they were nearing Gerty’s corner. If only she could reach there before this laboring anguish burst from her breast to her lips—if only she could feel the hold of Gerty’s arms while she shook in the ague-fit of fear that was coming upon her!
(The House of Mirth I, xiii; Wharton 1962: 173) (quoted in Fludernik 78)
Example #3Example #3 The trader was not shocked nor amazed .
. . . He had seen Death many times . . . and so he only swore that the gal was a baggage, and that he was devilish unlucky, and that, if things went on in this way, he should not make a cent on the trip.
(Uncle Tom’s Cabin, xii; Stowe 1981: 130) (quoted in Fludernik 116)
Recommended References Recommended References on Free Indirect Discourseon Free Indirect Discourse
• http://osf1.gmu.edu/~dkaufman/narrative.htm
• http://www.ualberta.ca/~dmiall/ShortStory/Mansfield-Woolf.htm
• http://www.literaryencyclopedia.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=444
““Joined-Up” NarratologyJoined-Up” Narratology
Aristotle Theme
Propp Plot
Genette Narration
Barthes Reader’s “de-coding”
ReferencesReferences• Cohn, Dorrit. Transparent Minds. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton UP, 1978.• Fludernik, Monika. The Fictions of Language
and the Languages of Fiction. London: Routledge, 1993.
• Prince, Gerald. Dictionary of Narratology. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1987.
• Scholes, Robert. Structuralism in Literature. New Haven: Yale UP, 1974.
•The End