John J. Su-Ethics and Nostalgia in the Contemporary Novel-Cambridge University Press (2005)

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E T H I C S A N D N O S T A L G I A I N T H EC O N T E M P O R A R Y N O V E L

I mag es o f lo ss a nd ye ar ni ng pl aye d a c ruc ia l ro le i n l it era ry t ex tsw ri tt en i n t he la te r pa rt o f th e t we nti et h c en tur y. D es pi te de epc ul tu ra l d if fe re nc es , n ov el is ts f ro m A fr ic a, t he C ar ib be an , G re atB r i t a i n , a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s h a v e s h a r e d a s e n s e t h a t t h e e c o n o m i c ,s oc ia l, a nd po lit ic al fo rc es a ss oc iat ed w it h la te m ode rn it y ha vee v ok ed w id es pr ea d n os t al gi a w it hi n t he c om mu ni ti e s i n w hi ch t he y w ri te . I n t hi s o ri gi na l a nd w id e- ra ng in g s tu dy , J oh n J . S u e xp lo re st he r el at io ns hi p b et we en n os ta lg ia a nd e th ic s i n n ov el s a cr os s t he

E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g w o r l d . H e c h a l l e n g e s t h e t e n d e n c y i n l i t e r a r y s t u d -i es t o p or tr ay n os ta lg ia a s n ec es sa ri ly n eg at iv e. I ns te ad , t hi s b oo k a rg ue s t ha t n os ta lg ic f an ta si es a re c ru ci al t o t he e th ic al v is io ns p re -s en te d b y c on te mp or ar y n ov el s. F ro m J ea n R hy s t o W ol e S oy in ka a n d f r o m V . S . N a i p a u l t o T o n i M o r r i s o n , S u i d e n t i fi e s n o s t a l g i a a sa c e n tr a l c o nc e r n i n t h e t w e nt i et h -c e n tu r y n o ve l .

j o h n j . s u i s A ss i st an t P ro fe ss o r o f E ng li sh a t M ar qu et te U ni ve r-s i t y . H e h a s p r e v i o u s l y p u b l i s h e d i n s u c h j o u r n a l s a s Modern Fiction Studies , Contemporary Literature , a n d Modern Drama .


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E T H I C S A N D

N O S T A L G I A I N T H E

C O N T E M P O R A R Y N O V E L

J O H N J . S U


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Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo

Cambridge University PressThe Edinburgh Building, Cambridge , UK

First published in print format

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© John J. Su 2005

2005

Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521854405

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

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Contents

Acknowledgments page vi

I n tr o du c ti o n: n o st a lg i a, e t hi c s , a n d c o nt e mp o ra r y Anglophone literature 1

1 N ar ra ti ve s o f r et ur n: l oc at in g e th ic s i n t he a ge o f g lo ba li za ti on 20

2 N o st a lg i a a n d n a rr a ti v e e t h i cs i n C a ri b b ea n l i te r at u re 53

3 “ Lo ss w as i n t he o rd er o f t hi ng s” : r ec al li ng l os s,

r ec la im in g p la ce i n N at iv e A me ri ca n f ic ti on 894 R ef ig ur in g n at io na l c ha ra ct er : t he r em ai ns o f t he

B r it i sh e s ta t e n o ve l 119

5 A p pe a si n g a n e m bi t te r ed h i st o ry : t r a u ma a n d n a t i on h oo di n t h e w r i t i n g s o f A c h e b e a n d S o y i n k a 140

C o nc l us i on : n o st a lg i a a n d i t s f u tu r es 173

Notes 180Bibliography 212Index 224

v


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Acknowledgments

While it is a standard convention to assert that a book would not have

b een pos sible without the help of many others, this is pe rhaps morel i t e r a l l y t r u e i n m y c a s e t h a n i n m o s t . I n t h e y e a r s b e f o r e v o i c e - r e c o g n i t i o nt e c h n o l o g y w a s w i d e l y a v a i l a b l e , I w a s h e a v i l y d e p e n d e n t o n t h e g e n e r o s -i t y o f o t h e r s t o b e m y “ h a n d s . ” A n d s o t h e s e p e o p l e b y r i g h t d e s e r v e m y fi r s t t h a n k s . W h i l e I c a n n o t l i s t a n d d o n o t e v e n k n o w a l l t h e p e o p l e w h oh a v e t y p e d f o r m e o v e r t h e p a s t t w e l v e y e a r s , I w o u l d p a r t i c u l a r l y l i k e t ot ha nk R ut h R ol an d, A la n T er le p, a nd m y b ro th er s W il li am , L aw re nc e,a n d R o b e r t S u . I f t o t y p e f o r m e m e a n s t o l o v e m e , t h e n t h e y h a v e l o v e d

me greatly. I would also like to recognize Jim Knox of the AdaptiveT ec hn ol og y S it e at t he U ni ve rs it y o f Mi ch ig an f or i nt ro du ci ng me tov o i ce-r eco gni t i o n t ech no l o gy .

I h a v e a g r e a t m a n y i n t e l l e c t u a l d e b t s t o a c k n o w l e d g e a s w e l l . F i r s t a n df o r e m o s t , I w o u l d l i k e t o t h a n k m y d i s s e r t a t i o n c o m m i t t e e a t t h e U n i v e r -s ity o f Mi ch ig an f or t he ir t ir el es s s upp or t, g en er os it y, an d a ss is tan ce .T o bi n S ie be rs , S im on G ik an di , B e tt y L ou is e B el l, a nd M ar ga re t S om er s

h a v e b e e n a n d c o n t i n u e t o b e i n s p i r a t i o n s f o r m e a s a t e a c h e r a n d w r i t e r ,a nd I ho pe s ome da y t o j us ti fy th e c ou ntl es s h ou rs th ey ha ve i nv es te din my educ ation. Toby, ab ove all, deserves my thanks. A ny s uc cess Ih ave ha d a s a s ch ol ar c an b e at tri but ed to hi s m en to rs hi p; a ny f ai lu re sI h a v e h a d I c a n o n l y c l a i m a s m y o w n . I w o u l d a l s o l i k e t o e x p r e s s m y g r a t i t u d e t o m y c o l l e a g u e s a t M a r q u e t t e U n i v e r s i t y , w h o h a v e h e l p e d m et o m ak e M il wa uk ee a h ap py h om e t he se p as t f ou r y ea rs . I n p ar ti cu la r, I

w o u l d l i k e t o t h a n k T i m M a c h a n a n d M i c h a e l G i l l e s p i e f o r t h e i r s u p p o r ta n d f r i e n d s h i p . A S u m m e r F a c u l t y F e l l o w s h i p g r a n t e d b y M a r q u e t t e w a sa ls o h el pf ul i n p ro vi di ng t ime f or m e t o w ri te . A mo ng t he m an y o the rsw h o h a v e r e a d a n d c o m m e n t e d o n p a r t s o f t h i s m a n u s c r i p t , I w o u l d l i k ee s pe ci al ly t o t ha nk A nd re w S of er , M ic ha el L ac ke y, A po ll o A mo ko , a ndC y n t hi a Pet r i tes.

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F in al ly , I wo ul d l ik e t o t ha nk a ll m y f ri en ds a nd fa mi ly fo r t he irge nerous tolerance and unquestioning support of a projec t that has beenm y pe rs on al o bs es si on o ve r th e p as t f ew y ea rs . Ab ov e a ll , I o we e ve ry th in g t o C in dy , w ho h as p at ie nt ly r ea d m ul ti pl e d ra ft s o f c ha pt er s a nd o ff e re d

me friendship and love. I hope to be able to re turn in some me as ure theg if ts I ha ve r ec ei ve d f ro m he r.

P ar ts o f th is m an us cri pt h av e ap pe are d e ls ew he re i n p ri nte d f or m. A nearlier version of my discussion of Ian McEwan and three other para-g ra phs f rom C hap te r One a p pe a re d a s “ H au n te d b y P l ac e : M o ra l O b li -gation and the Postmodern Novel,” in Centennial Review 42.3 (1998),589–616 . A previous version of the sections devoted to Jean Rhys and a

few other paragraphs in Chapter 2 a pp ea re d a s “ ‘O nc e I W ou ld Ha veGone Back . . . But Not Any Longe r’ : Nos talg ia and Narrative Ethics inWide Sargasso Sea ,” in Critique 44.2 (2003 ), 157–74. A n e ar li er v er si on o f Chapter 4 w as p re vi ou sl y pu bl is he d as “ Re fig ur in g N at io na l C ha ra ct er :T h e R e m a i n s o f t h e B r i t i s h E s t a t e N o v e l , ” i n Modern Fiction Studies 48.3(2002), 552–80.

Acknowledgments vii


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Introduction: nostalgia, ethics, and contemporary

Anglophone literature

n o s ta l gi a

T he l on gi ng t o r et urn to a l os t ho me la nd b ec om es a c en tr al f ea tur e o f t h e W e s t e r n lit e r a r y t r a d i t i o n l o n g b e f o r e t h e t e r m “ n o s t a l g i a ” w a s c o i n e dt o d e s c r i b e i t .1 H o m e r ’ s fi r s t i m a g e o f O d y s s e u s i s o f h i m s i t t i n g a l o n e o nt he i sl an d o f O gy gi a, w ee pi ng , p in ing f or h is b el ove d I th ac a. D es pi teoffers by the goddess Calypso to take him as a spouse and grant himi m m o r t a l i t y , O d y s s e u s d e s i r e s n o t h i n g m o r e t h a n t o r e t u r n t o t h e p l a c e o f his birth – even after Calypso fore tells of the hardships he mus t bear

b ef or e r ea ch in g h is h om e. T hi s fi rs t “ na rr at iv e o f r et ur n” e st ab li sh es a p att er n t hat c on ti nu es t o c om pe l w ri te rs e ve n n ow i n th e t we nt y- fir stc e n t u r y . I n t h e p a s t c e n t u r y , s o m e o f t h e m o s t d i s t i n g u i s h e d A n g l o p h o n ew ri te rs f ro m a cr os s t he g lo be h av e r ew ri tt en t he H om er ic t al e, i nc lu di ng t he e xp at ri at e I ri sh ma n J am es J oy ce , t he S t. L uc ia n D er ek W al co tt , a ndt h e A m e r i c a n C h a r l e s F r a z i e r . L o n g a f t e r i t h a s b e c o m e c l i c h é t o s a y t h a t“ yo u c an ’t g o h om e a ga in ” – l on g a ft er i t h as b ec om e w id el y r ec og ni ze dt hat n os tal gi c ho me lan ds f re que nt ly e xi st o nly i n t he i mag in at io n –l it er ar y t ext s c on ti nu e t o d ep ic t c ha ra ct er s d efi ne d b y t he ir lo ng in g t oreturn.

Although twentieth-century literary texts share the Homeric preoc-c up at io n w it h l os t h ome la nds , t he y a re pr od uc ed i n e nv iro nm en ts i nw hi ch n os tal gi a i s s ub je ct t o s ta rk c ri ti ci sm. P er ha ps t he mo st w id ely c i t e d a c a d e m i c s t u d y o f n o s t a l g i a , S u s a n S t e w a r t ’ s On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection , c h a r a c t e r i z e s i t

a s a “ s o c i a l d i s e a s e . ”2 What began in the seventeenth century as a physio-l og ic al d is e as e h ad b ec om e i n t he t we nt ie th c en tu ry a s oc ia l a il me nt t ha tl ea ds t o a n o bs es si on w it h ki ts ch a nd he ri ta ge i n i ts m os t b en ig n f or msa n d f a s c i s m i n i t s m o s t e x t r e m e v e r s i o n s . N o t h i n g i n The Odyssey suggestst h a t O d y s s e u s s h o u l d b e f a u l t e d f o r h i s l o n g i n g t o r e t u r n t o h i s h o m e l a n d ;to the contrary, his c re w criticize the inadeq uacy of his long ing as he

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t a r r i e s o n t h e i s l a n d o f C i r c e . B u t i n t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y W e s t e r n w o r l d , a d i a g n o s i s o f n o s t a l g i a t y p i c a l l y e a r n s a w r i t e r o r s c h o l a r c o n d e m n a t i o n ; t ob e n os tal gi c i s t o b e “o ut o f to uc h, ” r ea ct io nar y, e ve n x en op ho bi c. A s

Jackson Lears notes, nostalgia continues to be “the be ˆ te noire o f e ve ry

f or wa rd -l oo ki ng i nt el le c tu al , r ig ht , l ef t, o r c en te r. ”3

U nl ik e n os ta lg i a i nt h e H o m e r i c w o r l d , w h i c h d r i v e s O d y s s e u s t o r e m e m b e r h i s p a s t d e s p i t et h e l u r e s o f C a l y p s o , n o s t a l g i a i n t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d a sa f o r m o f a m n e s i a . T h u s , d e s p i t e t h e s u r g i n g i n t e r e s t i n t o p i c s r e l a t i n g t om e m o r y w i t h i n t h e h u m a n i t i e s o v e r t h e p a s t t w o d e c a d e s , t h e a n a l y s i s o f n os ta lg ia h as l ar ge ly b ee n n eg le ct ed . T o th e e xt en t th at i t e nte rs s uc hd is c us s io ns , i t t yp ic al ly f un ct io ns a s a f oi l. “ Me mo ry ” s ig ni fie s i nt im at e

p e rs o na l e x pe r ie n ce , w h ic h o f te n c o un t er s i n st i tu t io n al h i st o ri e s ; “ n os t al -g i a” s i gn ifi es i na ut he nt ic o r c om mo di fie d e xp er ie nc es i nc ul ca te d b y c ap -i ta li s t o r n at io na li s t i nt er es ts . I nd ee d, c ul tu ra l c ri ti cs l ik e b e ll h oo ks h av einsisted that the study of memory demands a rigorous rejection of n os ta lg i a, c al li ng f or a “ po li ti ci za ti on o f m em or y t ha t d is ti ng ui sh es n os -t alg ia, t ha t l on gi ng f or s ome th in g t o b e a s i t o nc e w as , a ki nd o f u se le ssa ct , f ro m t ha t r em em be ri ng t ha t s er ve s t o i ll um in at e a nd t ra ns fo rm t hepresent.”4

S uc h d is mi ss al s o f n os ta lg ia , h ow ev er , r is k o cc lu di ng c ru ci al a sp ec ts o f c on te mp or ar y A ng lo ph on e l it er at ur e. M em or y a nd n os ta lg ia a re i nt er -t w i n e d , f o r e x a m p l e , i n o n e o f t h e m o s t w i d e l y s t u d i e d w o r k s w r i t t e n i nr ec e nt d ec ad es , T on i M or ri so n’ s Beloved (1987). Early in the novel, thep ro ta go ni st S et he d is co ve rs t ha t e ve n t he p la nt at io n o n w hi ch s he w as a s la ve e vo ke s a c ert ai n n os tal gi a: “ an d s udd en ly t he re w as S we et H om er o l l i n g , r o l l i n g , r o l l i n g o u t b e f o r e h e r e y e s , a n d a l t h o u g h t h e r e w a s n o t a

leaf on that farm that did not make her want to scream, it rolled itself o u t b e f o r e h e r i n s h a m e l e s s b e a u t y . I t n e v e r l o o k e d a s te r r i b l e a s i t w a s a n dit made her w onder if hell was a pretty place too.”5 S e th e ’s r e fle c ti o nsd e mo n st r at e t h e s e n ti m en t al i ty a n d s e le c ti v it y c h ar a ct e ri s ti c o f n o st a lg i a;l a t e r i n t h e s a m e p a s s a g e , s h e n o t e s t h a t s h e c a n r e m e m b e r t h e s y c a m o r et re es a rou nd t he p lan ta ti on , n ot th e l yn ch ed c hi ldr en h an gi ng f ro mt he m. A s w il l b ec om e a pp ar en t i n C ha pt er 1 o f t hi s s tu dy , S et he e xp er i-

e nc es n os ta lg ia t hr ou gh ou t t he n ov el , p ar ti cu la rl y f or t he g at he ri ng s o f African Americans that occurred at the Clearing. Yet, there is no indica-t io n i n t he n ov el t ha t S et he s ho ul d b e c on de mn ed f or t he se l on gi ng s o rt hat th ey a re e ve n av oi da bl e. T he y c on sti tu te s ig ni fic an t pa rts o f h erm emo ry an d e xp er ie nc e. W ho s he i s, ho w s he ac ts , a nd t he c lai ms s hemakes upon readers cannot be unders tood without reference to hernostalgia.

2 Ethics and Nostalgia in the Contemporary Novel


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T hi s i n si gh t l ea ds m e t o c ha ll en ge t he p re do mi n an t c h ar ac te ri za ti on o f n os ta lg ia a nd t he w ay s i n w hi ch t hi s c ha ra ct eri za ti on h as i nfl ue nc ed t hes tud y o f c on te mp or ary A ng lop ho ne l ite ra tu re . D ra wi ng u po n a d iv er sea r r a y o f a u t h o r s i n cl u d i n g C h i n u a Ach ebe, Ka z u o I sh i gu r o , Pa u l e M a r sh a l l ,

Ia n Mc Ew an , N. S cot t Mo ma da y, T oni Mo rr is on , V . S. N ai pa ul, J ea nR hys , Jo an R ile y, L eslie Mar mo n S ilko, W ole S oyi nka, a nd Eve ly n

Waugh, Ethics and Nostalgia in the Contemporary Novel ex a m i n es h o w l o ssa nd ye ar ni ng h av e s ha pe d th e e th ic al v is io ns of l it er ar y t ex ts i n r ec en td ec ad es . D es pi te d ee p c ul tu ra l d if fe re n ce s, t he n ov el is t s i n t hi s s t ud y s h ar ea s en se t ha t t he e con om ic , s oc ia l, a nd p ol iti ca l f or ce s a ss oc ia te d w it h l atem od er ni ty h av e e vo ke d w id es pr ea d n os ta lg ia w it hi n t he c om mu ni ti es i n

w hi ch t he y w rit e. W he th er t he se a uth ors e mb ra ce o r r ej ec t t he n os ta lg ia s urr ou nd in g t he m, t he y al l c on sc iou sl y e xpl oi t n os tal gi a’ s t en de nc y t oi n te r we av e i ma gi na ti on , l on gi ng , a nd m em or y i n t he ir e f fo rt s t o e nv is io nr es ol ut io ns t o t he s oc ia l d il em ma s o f f ra gm en ta ti on a nd d is pl ac em en td es cr ib ed i n t he ir n ov el s. My s tu dy t hu s q ue st ion s t he t en de nc y b y m an y s c ho la rs t o d ow np la y o r r e pu di at e t he p re s en ce o f n os ta lg ia i n c on te mp or -a ry A ng lo ph on e l it er at ur e. I n t hes e n ov els , f an ta si es o f l os t o r i ma gi ne dh o m e l a n d s d o n o t s e r v e t o l a m e n t o r r e s t o r e t h r o u g h l a n g u a g e a p u r p o r t e d

p re mo de rn p ur it y; r ath er , t hey p ro vi de a m ea ns o f e st ab li sh in g e thi cali deal s t hat c an b e sh ar ed by d iv ers e g ro up s w ho h av e in c ommon o nly a l o n g i n g f o r a p a s t t h a t n e v e r w a s .

F r o m t h e o u t s e t , i t s h o u l d b e c l e a r t h a t t h i s s t u d y m a k e s n o c l a i m s t oa n a l y z e a l l f o r m s o f n o s t a l g i a , n o r w i l l i t c l a i m t h a t n o s t a l g i a i s n e c e s s a r i l y e t h i c a l . S u c h a c l a i m , o f c o u r s e , w o u l d b e f o o l i s h . T h e l o n g i n g t o r e t u r nto a lost place frequently conceals feelings of fear and anxiety, and

n os ta lg i a h as b e en r ep ea te dl y e xp lo it ed f or c om me rc ia l a nd n at io na li st icp u r p o s e s . B u t t h e p r e v a l e n c e o f n o s t a l g i a i n c o n t e m p o r a r y s o c i e t i e s a c r o s sthe globe de mands g reater attention. Indeed, a growing number of c ul tu ra l c ri ti cs a rg ue t ha t n os ta lg ia i s o ne o f t he d efi ni ng f ea tu re s o f t hep o s t w a r e r a . S t u a r t H a l l , f o r e x a m p l e , a s k s , “ W h o h a s n o t k n o w n , a t t h i sm ome nt , th e s ur ge o f a n o ve rw he lm in g n os tal gi a f or l os t o ri gi ns , f or‘ t im e s p a st ’ ?”6 T he s uc c es s o f p ol it ic al m ov em en ts i n u ti li zi ng n os ta lg ic

c on s tr uc ti on s , f ro m u lt ra na ti on al is m i n E as te rn E ur op e t o t he n eo co n-s er va ti ve “r et ur n t o f ami ly v al ue s” i n t he U ni te d S ta te s, s ug ge st s t hatt he y a re me et in g s ome ki nd o f n ee d, a lb ei t i n a n e xp lo it at iv e f as hi on .M y o w n s e n s e i s t h a t e v e n t h e m o s t i d e o l o g i c a l l y c o m p r o m i s e d f o r m s o f l on gi ng e xp re ss i n a tte nu ate d f as hi on a g en ui ne h uma n n ee d, an d s o Iw o u l d l i k e t o a s k t h e s o m e w h a t p e r v e r s e q u e s t i o n : c a n n o s t a l g i a e v e r a s s i s tethics?

Introduction 3


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T he a na ly si s p ro po se d h er e w il l r eq ui re r et hi nk in g c om mo n b ia se sa ga in st n os ta lg ia i n o rd er t o s ee i ts f ull r an ge o f c omp le xi ty. Eve r s in cet he t er m e nte re d t he W es te rn le xi co n i n 1688, n os ta lg ia h as p ro vi de d a m ea ns o f e xp re s si ng r es is ta nc e f or i nd iv id ua ls w ho o th er wi se l ac ke d t he

p ow er t o c ha ng e t he ir c ir cu ms ta nc es m or e d ir ec tl y. T he fi rs t n os ta lg ic sw er e t he i ll -t ra in ed a nd p oo rl y f ed m il it ar y c on sc ri pt s o f s ev en te en th -c e n t u r y E u r o p e , t a k e n f a r f r o m t h e i r h o m e s a n d f o r c e d t o fi g h t b a t t l e s i nw h i c h t h e y h a d l i t t l e o r n o p e r s o n a l s t a k e . N o s t a l g i a p r o v i d e d n o t o n l y a m e a n s o f e x p r e s s i n g r e s e n t m e n t ; m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , a s a n i l l n e s s , n o s t a l g i a p r o v i d e d i n s o m e c a s e s t h e o n l y l e g a l w a y f o r a s o l d i e r t o b e g r a n t e d l e a v ef ro m mi li tar y s er vi ce . A cc or di ng t o M ar ce l R in eha rd , e ve n a fte r t he

F re nc h M in is te r o f W ar o rd er ed t he s up pres si on o f l ea ve s f or c on va le s-c en ce i n 1793, n os ta lg ia w as s ti ll e xe mp te d.7 T hi s e xa mp le p oi nt s t o t hef a c t t h a t n o s t a l g i a i s a n h i s t o r i c a l p h e n o m e n o n t h a t a r i s e s i n r e s p o n s e t o a s et of s pe ci fic c ult ur al , po li ti cal , an d e co no mi c f or ce s. I n p ar ti cu lar ,nos talg ia responds to the new ideas of time and space introduce d by m o d e r n i t y ; a c c o r d i n g t o S v e t l a n a B o y m , “ n o s t a l g i a i s r e b e l l i o n a g a i n s t t h em ode rn i de a o f t ime , t he ti me of h is to ry a nd p ro gr es s. T he n os ta lg icdesires [. . .] to revisit time like space, refusing to surre nder to the

i rr ev er si bi li ty o f t im e t ha t p la gu es t he h um an c on di ti on .”8 B o ym ’ s c h ar -a c t e r i z a t i o n e n c o u r a g e s a f u n d a m e n t a l r e a s s e s s m e n t o f n o s t a l g i a a s a m o d eo f i nt er pr et in g e xp er ie nc e r at he r t ha n a p at ho lo gy . T o v ie w o ne ’s s ur -r ou nd in gs n os ta lg ic al ly m ea ns t o i nt er pr et t he p re se nt i n r el at io n t o a ni n a c c e s s i b l e o r l o s t p a s t . T h u s , t o “ i n d u l g e ” i n n o s t a l g i a n e e d n o t i m p l y a ne f f o r t t o e s c a p e p r e s e n t c i r c u m s t a n c e s o r t o d e c e i v e o n e s e l f a b o u t t h e p a s t ;rather, it can represent the conscious dec ision to reject the logic of

m ode rn it y an d w ha t B oy m r ef er s t o as th e “ tun ne l v is io n” o f s o- ca ll edp ro gr es s iv e i de ol og ie s . I t i s h er e t ha t n os ta lg ia a ss um es a n e th ic al d im en -s i o n f o r B o y m a n d L e a r s : n o l o n g e r a d i s e a s e , n o s t a l g i a r e p r e s e n t s i n t h el a t e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y a n e x i s t e n t i a l l i f e c h o i c e f o r i n d i v i d u a l s w h o a d m i r ei d ea l s a s so c ia t ed w i th p r em o de r n s o ci e ti e s .

T h i s s t u d y w i l l u l t i m a t e l y s u g g e s t a s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t r o l e f o r n o s t a l -g i a i n c o n t e m p o r a r y l i t e r a t u r e , a r g u i n g t h a t i t f a c i l i t a t e s a n e x p l o r a t i o n o f

e t h i c a l i d e a l s i n t h e f a c e o f d i s a p p o i n t i n g c i r c u m s t a n c e s . B u t e v e n a t t h i sp oi nt, i t s ho uld b e c le ar w hy I d epa rt f ro m S te war t’ s On Longing . My s tu dy a sp ir es t o p ro vi de b ot h a t he or et ic al i nv es ti ga ti on i nt o t he u se s o f n os ta lg ia an d a c on tri but io n t o l ite ra ry h is tor y th at i de nt ifi es c ruc ialf e at u re s o f t h e v a ri o us t h re a ds t h at c o ns t it u te c o nt e mp o ra r y A n gl o ph o nel i te r at u re . S t ew a rt ’ s p s yc h oa n al y ti c f o cu s l e ad s t o a d e hi s to r ic i ze d c h ar a c-t er iz at io n of n os tal gi a a s “s ad ne ss w it ho ut a n o bj ec t [ . . . ] t he d es ire f or



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desire.”9 T hi s f oc us c ert ai nly i llu mi nat es t he f un cti on o f n os ta lg ia i nl it er at ur e a nd c ul tu re a t c er ta in m om en ts i n t im e, p ar ti cu la rl y t he l at en i ne t ee n th c e nt u ry ; h o we v er , h e r t r an s hi s to r ic a l c l ai m s o v er l oo k h o w t h ef or ms no sta lg ia t ake s s hi ft i n r es po ns e to c ha ng in g h is to ri cal f ac tor s.

N os ta lg ic s p in e f or v er y s pe ci fic a nd c on cr et e o bj ec ts t hr ou gh out t hes ev en te en th a nd e ig ht ee nt h c en tu ri es : t he h om el an ds f ro m w hi ch t he y w e re s ep ar at ed . L ik ew is e , e xp re s si on s o f n os ta lg ia i n p os t- Wo rl d W ar I Inovels are consis tently portraye d as motivate d by a long ing for very d efi ni te ob je cts , e ve n i f n os ta lg ic c har ac te rs an d t he ir a ut hor s d o n ota lw ay s a rt ic ul ate t he ir i ma ge s o f l on ge d- fo r h ome la nds i n p re ci se o rc on si st en t te rm s. N ar rat ive pr ovi de s t he s pa ce t o w or k o ut an d r ev is e

t he se i mag es a s c har ac te rs b ec ome m ore ab le to r ec og ni ze th ei r d is ap-p oi nt me nt s a nd f ru st ra ti on s w it h t he ir p re s en t l iv es . N os ta lg ia , i n o th erw or ds , e nc ou ra ge s a n i ma gi na ti ve e xp lo ra ti on o f h ow p re s en t s ys te ms o f s oc ia l r el at io ns f ai l t o a dd re ss h um an n ee ds , a nd t he s pe ci fic o bj ec ts o f n os ta lg ia – l os t o r i ma gi ne d h om el an ds – r ep re se nt e ff or ts t o a rt ic ul at ealternatives.

Although Ethics and Nostalgia in the Contemporary Novel calls for a s i gn ifi ca nt r et hi nk in g o f s c ho la rl y a tt it ud es t ow ar d n os ta lg ia , t hi s s tu dy r e c o g n i z e s t h a t t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l o p p o s i t i o n b e t w e e n m e m o r y a n d n o s t a l -g i a h a s p l a y e d a c e n t r a l r o l e i n e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f c o n t e m p o r -a r y A n g l o p h o n e l i t e r a t u r e g e n e r a l l y , a n d e t h n i c / m i n o r i t y l i t e r a t u r e s m o r es p e c i fi c a l l y . S i n c e t h e e a r l y 1980s , a n u m b e r o f e x c e l l e n t a r t i c l e s a n d b o o k sh a v e a s s e r t e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f s t u d y i n g t h e s e l i t e r a t u r e s i n l a r g e p a r t b y c la imi ng t ha t th ey m ake a vai lab le p ar ti cu la r k in ds o f e xp er ie nc e t hat

r ea de rs w ou ld o th er wi se b e u na bl e t o a cc es s. S at ya M oh an ty o ff er s o neo f th e mo st e lo qu en t f or mu lat io ns o f t hi s ar gu me nt . D raw in g o n t het ra di ti on o f p hi lo so ph ic al r ea li s m, h e a rg ue s t ha t a g en ui ne ly m ul ti c ul -t ur al c ur ri cu lu m i s e ss en ti al t o g ai ni ng g re at er k no wl ed ge o f o th er s a ndo u r s e l v e s . “ S i n c e o u r d e e p e r e t h i c a l a n d a e s t h e t i c c o n c e p t s a r e n e c e s s a r i l y t h eo r y- l ad e n, i d eo l og i ca l , a n d c u lt u ra l ly i n fle c te d ,” M o ha n ty w r it e s , “ t her ea li st c an a rg ue t hat t he b es t f or m o f i nq ui ry i nt o t he n at ur e o f v alue,

a e s t h e t i c o r e t h i c a l , w i l l n e e d t o b e c o m p a r a t i v e a n d c r o s s - c u l t u r a l . ”

10

Thes c h o l a r l y f o c u s o n a c t s o f m e m o r y o r r e c o l l e c t i o n w i t h i n l i t e r a r y t e x t s h a sb e e n i m p o r t a n t i n t h i s r e g a r d , a n d fi n e w o r k h a s b e e n d o n e e x p l o r i n g h o w n ov el s s uc h a s Beloved r ec la im a nd r ep re s en t e xp er ie n ce s t ha t h av e b ee na c t i v e l y o r p a s s i v e l y f o r g o t t e n . I f “ m e m o r y ” b e c o m e s t h e t e r m t o d e s c r i b et h e s e u n r e c o g n i z e d e x p e r i e n c e s o r p e r c e p t i o n s o f t h e w o r l d , t h e n “ n o s t a l -g ia ” s ig n ifi es f al se a pp ro pr ia ti on s o f t he s e e xp er ie nc e s o r e f fo rt s t o r ec as t

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s u c h e x p e r i e n c e s w i t h i n A n g l o - A m e r i c a n o r E u r o p e a n c u l t u r a l n a r r a t i v e s . As Renato Rosaldo notes, Western nations have historically concealed

t he ir o pp re s si on o f o th er p op ul at io ns b y a pp ro pr ia ti ng t he ir e xp er ie nc esa nd r ep re s en ti ng t he m i n s en ti me nt al iz ed t er ms . T he t ra ns fo rm at io n o f

f or me r S ou th er n p la nt at io ns i nt o t ou ri st a tt ra ct io ns a nd t he c re at io n o f p o p u l a r f a b l e s o f t h e n o b l e b u t v a n i s h i n g N a t i v e A m e r i c a n r e p r e s e n t b u tt wo e xa mp le s i n th e U ni te d S tat es o f w ha t Ro sal do t er ms “ imp er ia li stn os ta lg i a. ” S uc h r ep re s en ta ti on s o f t he p as t d o n ot q ue st io n m ai ns tr ea mversions of history – as acts of memory can – but leg iti mi ze th em b y “ c on c ea l [i n g] c o mp l ic i ty w i th o f te n b r ut a l d o mi n at i on . ”11

T he d es ir e b y m an y s ch ol ar s o f l it er ar y a nd c ul tu ra l s tu di es t o d is ti n-

g ui sh r ig id ly b et we en “ ge nu in e” a nd “ in au th en ti c” r ep re se nt at io ns o f e x p e r i e n c e , h o w e v e r , i s c o m p l i c a t e d b y t h e f a c t t h a t s o m a n y c o n t e m p o r -a ry n ov el s c ha ra ct er iz e r ep re se nt at io ns o f t he p as t a s i ne vi ta bl y p ar ti al ,i nc om pl et e, a nd o ft en ac ti ve ly r ev is io na ry . In t he c as e o f Beloved , fore xa mp le , M or ri s on c la im s t ha t t he M id dl e P as sa ge r ep re se n ts a d efi ni ng e x pe r ie n ce f o r A f ri c an - Am e ri c an c o mm u ni t ie s g e ne r at i on s a f te r t h e s l av et ra de a nd s lav er y i ts el f w er e ou tla we d. T he o nl y c ha rac te r to ha ve a ny p e r s o n a l m e m o r i e s o f t h e t r a n s a t l a n t i c j o u r n e y , h o w e v e r , i s B e l o v e d , w h o

f un ct io ns s i mu lt an eo us ly a s t he g ho st o f S et he ’s m ur de re d d au gh te r a nda s a n e mb od im en t o f t he f or me r s la ve c om mu ni ty ’s c ol le ct iv e t ra um a.T he c ha ll en ge f ac in g M or ri so n’ s fi c ti on al c om mu ni ty , t he n, i s t he s am et hat s he h er se lf f ac es a s a w ri te r a t th e e nd of th e t we nt ie th c en tu ry : toe st ab li sh a s en se o f c oh er en ce o ut o f a s e t o f u nf at ho ma bl e e xp er ie nc esw i th o ut r e co u rs e t o p e rs o na l w i tn e s se s .12 And to the extent that narrativer ec on s tr uc ti on s a re m ot iv at ed b y t he d es ir e, i n K at hl ee n B r og an ’s w o rd s,

“ to r e- cre at e e th ni c i de nt ity th ro ug h an i ma gi na tiv e r ec upe ra ti on o f t h e p a s t a n d t o p r e s s t h i s n e w v e r s i o n o f t h e p a s t i n t o t h e s e r v i c e o f t h epresen t ,” t he n ot io n o f a ut he nt ic e xp er ie nc e b ec om es d if fic ul t t o m ai n-tain.13 S et he ’s r ec ol le ct io ns o f S we et H om e, c it ed e ar li er , h ar dl y s ee m“ a u t h e n t i c ” e v e n t o h e r ; y e t , t h e e t h n i c i d e n t i t i e s e n v i s i o n e d b y t h e n o v e la r e s h a p e d b y t h e s e a n d o t h e r s i m i l a r i m a g e s o f t h e p a s t – i m a g e s t h a t a r es e n ti m en t al , s e l ec t iv e , a n d n o t e n ti r el y a c cu r at e .

While neither Brogan’s distinction between Morrison’s “recuperatived es ir e” a nd “ no st al gi a” n or o th er s im il ar a tt em pt s t o d is ti ng ui sh rig idly b e tw ee n a ut he nt ic a nd i na ut he nt ic m em or ie s m ay b e s us ta in ab le ,14 heri mp re s si ve b oo k, Cultural Haunting: Ghosts and Ethnicity in Recent American Literature , i d e n t i fi e s t w o t h e o r e t i c a l p r o b l e m s t h a t w i l l f a c e t h i s

s tu dy . F ir st , i f Ethics and Nostalgia in the Contemporary Novel i s t o b u i l do n t h e w o r k o f B r o g a n , M o h a n t y , a n d o t h e r s , t h e n i t w i l l n e e d t o m a k e a



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c as e f or h ow “ in au th en ti c ” e xp er ie nc es o f t he p as t a ss oc ia te d w it h n os ta l-g i a c o n t r i b u t e u s e f u l k n o w l e d g e t h a t c a n b e e m p l o y e d b y b o t h c h a r a c t e r sa n d r e a d e r s t o r e d e fi n e p r e s e n t i d e n t i t i e s a n d v a l u e s . S e c o n d , i t w i l l n e e dt o s h o w h o w t h e a u t h o r s i n t h i s s t u d y u s e n o s t a l g i a i n t h e i r l i t e r a r y t e x t s

w i t h o u t e n d o r s i n g e s s e n t i a l i s m . A s B r o g a n s u g g e s t s , r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s o f t h epast can eff ace historical knowle dge not only when they are us ed toc on ce al t he e xp er ie nc es o f p ar ti cu la r p op ula ti on s b ut a ls o w he n th ey o v e r s i m p l i f y o r e s s e n t i a l i z e t h e m a t e r i a l t h e y d e p i c t . D r a w i n g o n t h e w o r k o f Mi ch ae l F is ch er , We rn er S ol lo rs , an d o th er t he ori sts o f e th ni ci ty ,B ro ga n a rg ue s t ha t t he d ev el op me nt o f g re at er h is to ri ca l c on s ci ou sn es si s c ruc ia l t o t he f or ma ti on o f h eal thy e th ni c i de nt it ie s. E ss en ti ali sti c

portrayals of identity – which she links to nostalgia – inhibit suchc on s ci ou sn es s, p ro mo ti ng s ta ti c a nd h om og en e ou s i de nt it ie s t ha t n ev ere xi st ed h is to ri ca ll y. S uc h r ec on st ru ct io ns a re d et ri me n ta l t o e th ni c c om -m un it ie s b ec au se t he a ss er ti on o f a t ime le ss a nd u nc ha ng in g e ss en ced ra ma ti ca ll y l im it s t he a bi li ty o f i nd iv id ua l m em be rs o r g ro up s t o f ee lc om fo rt ab le r ed efi ni ng e th ni c i de nt it ie s i n t he f ac e o f c ha ng in g s oc ia lcircumstances.

R ob er ta R ub en st ei n’ s n ot io n t ha t l it er ar y n ar ra ti ve s u se n os ta lg ia t o

“fix” the pas t provides at le as t a partial answ er to the s econd theore-t ic al p ro ble m. Fo cu si ng o n c on te mpo ra ry A me ri ca n w ome n w ri te rs ,R ub en st ei n a rg ue s t ha t n os ta lg ia d oe s n ot n ec es sa ri ly l ea d t o r eg re ss iv ea t t i t u d e s b u t c a n i n c e r t a i n i n s t a n c e s e n a b l e c h a r a c t e r s a n d r e a d e r s a l i k e t or e v i s e t h e i r p e r c e p t i o n s o f t h e p a s t i n t w o c o m p l e m e n t a r y s e n s e s . “ T o ‘ fi x ’s o m e t h i n g i s t o secure i t m o r e fi r m l y i n t h e i m a g i n a t i o n a n d a l s o t o correct – a s i n revise or repair – i t , ” R u b e n s t e i n a r g u e s .15 T o t a k e h e r o w n a n a l y s i s

o f M o r r i s o n ’ s fi c t i o n a s a n e x a m p l e , R u b e n s t e i n a r g u e s t h a t n o v e l s s u c h a s Jazz i m ag in at iv el y r ec on st ru ct a nd t he re by “ se cu re ” c ol le ct iv e h is to ri es

t h a t h a v e b e e n l o s t t o c o n t e m p o r a r y A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n s ; a t t h e s a m e t i m e ,M or ri so n’ s n ar ra ti ve s o pe n u p n ew i nt er pr et at io ns o f t he se h is to ri es a ndt he re by e na bl e c ha ra ct er s a nd r ea de rs t o “ re vi se ” t he ir o wn l on gi ng s i nw ay s t ha t e na bl e m or e h ea lt hy r el at io ns hi ps . T he a pp ar en tl y s ta bl e o rfi x e d p a s t s p r o d u c e d b y t h e c h a r a c t e r s ’ n o s t a l g i c l o n g i n g s a r e t h u s n o t i n

f a c t e s s e n t i a l i s t i c b e c a u s e t h e n a r r a t i v e s i n w h i c h t h e y a p p e a r d e m o n s t r a t ea s el f- c on s ci ou s a wa re ne s s t ha t t he p as t i s c on ti nu al ly r ev is ed i n t he v er y p r o c e s s o f t e l l i n g . H e n c e , M o r r i s o n a n d h e r c o n t e m p o r a r i e s c r e a t e n a r r a -t i v e s t h a t e n d o r s e a k i n d o f c o n s t r u c t i v i s m t h a t s e e s t h e p a s t a s p r o d u c e da n d r e pr o du c ed t h ro u gh s u bs e q ue n t r e te l li n g s.

The notion of “fixing” the past doe s not directly address the firstt he or et ic al p ro bl em B ro ga n p re se nt s, h ow ev er , a nd i t i s t hi s s en se t ha t

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n os ta lg i c t hi nk in g e nd or se s c on se rv at iv e s oc ia l s ys te ms r at he r t ha n e nv i-s i on in g a lt er na ti ve s t ha t m ot iv at es a s tr on g c ri ti qu e f ro m c er ta in s tr an dso f f em in is m. J an ic e D oa ne a nd D ev on H od ge s, f or e xa mp le , a ss er t t ha tn os ta lg i a s up po rt s p at ri ar ch y; w i th in l it er ar y t ex ts , t he p re se nc e o f n os -

talgia represe nts “a re treat to the pas t in the fac e of w hat a numbe r of w r i t e r s – m o s t o f t h e m m a l e – p e r c e i v e t o b e t h e d e g e n e r acy o f A m e r i c a nc ul tu re b ro ug ht a bo ut b y t he r is e o f f em in is t a ut ho ri ty .”16 M o re d i re c tl y c ha ll en gi ng th e c la ims o f t hi s s tud y, L yn ne H uf fe r a ss er ts i n Maternal Pasts, Feminist Futures: Nostalgia, Ethics, and the Question of Difference t ha t t he a rt ic ul at io n o f e th ic al m od el s o f h um an r el at io ns hi ps d em an dst he r ej ec ti on o f n os ta lg ia . N os ta lg ia h in de rs e th ic s b ec au se i t p re ve nt s

i nd iv id ua ls f ro m e xp lo ri ng n ew k in ds o f r el at io ns hi ps t ha t a re u nb ur -d en ed b y t he h is to ry o f g en de r e xp lo it at io n. “ Be ca us e n os ta lg ia i s n ec e s-s arily static and unchanging in its attempt to retrie ve a lost utopians pa ce ,” H uf fe r a rg ue s, “ it s s tr uc tu re u ph ol ds t he s ta tu s q uo .”17 Huffer’sa rg um en t s ug ge st s t ha t e ve n i f n os ta lg ic t hi nk in g d oe s n ot n ec es sa ri ly e ndo rs e e ss en ti ali sm , i t c an no t he lp t o e nvi si on g en ui ne s ol uti on s toc ultural cris es b ecaus e it presupposes that s olutions can be found ine xi st in g o r p as t s oc ie ti es . S in ce p atr ia rc hy i s a n u nde ni ab le hi sto ri ca l

r ea li ty , th e l on gi ng t o r es to re a n i de ali ze d p as t w il l o nl y r ea ss ert s exi stso ci a l r el a ti o n s.

Arguments that nostalgia necessarily inculcates amnesia or reactionary p ol iti cs w ill b e c oun te re d b y r ea di ng t he n ov el s t hi s s tu dy d is cus se s.Huffer, however, points to w hat may b e the most se rious critiq ue of n o s t a l g i a i n c o n t e m p o r a r y A n g l o p h o n e l i t e r a t u r e : t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t n o s -t alg ia i nh ib it s c har ac te rs , au tho rs , a nd r ead er s f ro m g ai ni ng g re at er

knowledg e about the worlds they inhabit. If this is the case, then thev er y u to pi an p re mi se o n w hi ch m an y f or ms o f n os ta lg ia a re p re di ca te db e co me s q ue s ti on ab le . M os t o ft en , n os ta lg ic s a re f au lt ed f or i ma gi ni ng a u t o p i a n w o r l d t h a t n e v e r e x i s t e d a n d t h a t c o u l d n e v e r e x i s t i n t h e f u t u r e .T he se c ri ti qu es , i n o th er w or ds , d o n ot n ec es sa ri ly q ue st io n w he th er o rn ot i t w oul d b e p re fe ra bl e t o l iv e i n s uc h w or lds ; r at he r, t he y q ue st io nt he ir a ut he nt ic it y a nd t he f ea si bi li ty o f a ch ie vi ng t he m. H uf fe r, i n c on -

t ra st , a rg ue s t ha t n os ta lg ia l ea ds i nd iv id ua ls t o i ma gi ne w or ld s t ha t a ren o t , i n f a c t , u t o p i a n . T h e w o r l d s o f n o s t a l g i a , o n t h i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g , a r es i mp ly p re se nt o ne s d re ss e d i n s li gh tl y d if fe re nt t er ms . T he f un da me nt als o ci al r el at io ns a nd t he v al ue s a ss o ci at ed w i th t he m a re a ct ua ll y d ep re s s-i ng ly f am il ia r. T he r ea l d an ge r o f n os ta lg ic n ar ra ti ve s i s t ha t t he y o ff err ea de rs t he i ll us io n o f u to pi an i de al is m w it ho ut p ro vi di ng k no wl ed ge o f l e gi t im a te a l te r na t iv e s t o p r es e nt c i rc u ms t an c e s.



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T h i s o b j e c t i o n i s p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t t o k e e p i n m i n d b e c a u s e a l l t h ea ut ho rs e xp lo re d i n s ub s eq ue nt c ha pt er s u se n os ta lg ia t o a rt ic ul at e t he ird i s a p p o i n t m e n t w i t h t h e p r e s e n t . O n e o f t h e c e n t r a l c l a i m s o f t h i s s t u d y ,h o w e v e r , i s t h a t m o r e u t o p i a n v i s i o n s o f c o m m u n i t y i n t h e i r l i t e r a r y t e x t s

a re p os s ib le only t hr oug h n os ta lg ic e vo ca ti ons o f l os t o r n on exi ste ntc o m m u n i t i e s . T h i s i s s u e i s m o s t e x p l i c i t l y a d d r e s s e d i n C h a p t e r 2, w h i c he x p l o r e s h o w t h e n o s t a l g i a o f A n t o i n e t t e M a s o n , t h e C r e o l e p r o t a g o n i s t o f

Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea , p r o v i d e s t h e m e a n s f o r R h y s t o e x p l o r e a n du l t i m a t e l y a r t i c u l a t e a v i s i o n o f c o m m u n i t y p r o h i b i t e d b y c o l o n i a l i d e o l o -g ie s o f r ac ia l d if fe re nc e. A nt oi ne tt e c an u nd er st an d h er o wn l on gi ng f ori nt im ac y w it h a b la ck g ir l n am ed T ia o nl y r et ro sp ec ti ve ly , m an y y ea rs

l at er w he n s he i s h er se lf t he v ic ti m o f R oc he st er ’s n ee d f or r ac ia l p ur it y.T h e i m p l i c a t i o n o f R h y s ’ s n o v e l a n d t h e o t h e r s i n t h i s s t u d y i s t h a t h u m a nl on gi ng c an f re qu en tl y b e a rt ic ul at ed i n p re ci se t er ms o nl y a ft er t he f ac tand in the face of disappointment. And this claim points toward ana ns w er t o t he fi rs t t he or et ic al p ro bl em B ro ga n p re s en ts , h ow “ in au th en -t ic ” e xp er ie nc es c an s er ve a s s ou rc es o f k no wl ed ge . N os ta lg ia p ro vi de s a m o d e o f i m a g i n i n g m o r e f u l l y w h a t h a s b e e n a n d c o n t i n u e s t o b e a b s e n t .T o t h e e x t e n t t h a t i t e n a b l e s i n d i v i d u a l s o r l i t e r a r y c h a r a c t e r s t o a r t i c u l a t e

i n c le ar er a nd m or e p re c is e t er ms u na ck no w le dg ed d is ap po in tm en ts a ndf ru st ra ti on w it h p re se nt c ir cu ms ta nc es , n os ta lg ia d oe s p ro vi de u se fu lk no wl ed ge a bo ut t he w or ld .

T h e t h e o r e t i c a l p r o b l e m s t h i s s t u d y w i l l f a c e , a s m u c h a s t h e r e s o l u t i o n sI have begun to trace out here, help to s ituate the novels dis cussed ins ub se qu en t c hap te rs w it hi n a l ar ge r l it er ar y h is to ry. If n os ta lg ia i s anh is to ri ca l p he no me no n t ha t a ri se s o ut o f a nd r es po nd s t o d if fe re nt c ri s es

o v e r t i m e a n d s p a c e , i t s l i t e r a r y u s e a n d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s h o u l d a l s o b e s e e na s h is to ri ca ll y i nfl ec te d. I nd ee d, t he p re se n ce a nd p er ce iv ed f un ct io n o f n os ta lg ia i n A ng lo ph on e n ov el s s hi ft s d ra ma ti ca ll y f ro m V ic to ri an t om o d e r n t o c o n t e m p o r a r y e r a s . T h e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y n o v e l g i v e s n o s t a l -g ia a d is ti nc t c ul tu ra l p ur po se f or t he fi rs t t im e, a cc or di ng t o N ic ho la sD a m e s ; w i t h i n t h e fi c t i o n a l w o r l d s o f J a n e A u s t e n , C h a r l e s D i c k e n s , a n dt h ei r c o nt e mpo r ar i es , n o st a lg i a e n ab l e s “ t he a m el i or a ti o n o r c a nc e ll a ti o n

o f t h e p a s t . ”

18

T h a t i s , V i c t o r i a n l i t e r a t u r e a n t i c i p a t e s t h e s o - c a l l e d “ c r i s i so f m e m o r y ” t h a t p r e o c c u p i e s l i t e r a t u r e t h r o u g h o u t t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y ,b u t t h e t h r e a t m e m o r y r e p r e s e n t s i s v e r y d i f f e r e n t . V i c t o r i a n n o v e l i s t s a r ec on ce rn ed w it h a n e xc es s o f m em or y, n ot i ts l ac k. D am es c om pe ll in gl y e xp lo re s h ow V ic to ri an n ov el s w or k t o e li mi na te e xc es si ve a nd c ha ot icreminiscenc es by promoting a certain kind of life : “a life no longerb urdened b y the past, a life lived as a coherent tale, summarizable,

Introduction 9


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p o i n t ed , a n d fi n a l l y m o r a l i z a bl e. ”19 T h i s p a r t i c u l a r f o r m o f n o s t a l g i a a r i s e si n a n e n v i r o n m e n t i n w h i c h a m n e s i a i s n o t a t h r e a t , a s i t w i l l b e w i t h t h ea u t h o r s i n t h i s s t u d y . A l l t h e a u t h o r s e x a m i n e d h e r e i n s i s t t h a t t h e c u l t u r e si n w hi ch t he y w ri te ar e do mi nat ed b y a mn es ia , a nd n os tal gi a i n th ei r

l i t e r a r y t e x t s r e f o c u s e s a t t e n t i o n o n w h a t h a s b e e n f o r g o t t e n . I n d e e d , i t i se m b l e m a t i c o f t h i s s h i f t t h a t t h e w o r d “ a m n e s i a ” i s n o t c o i n e d u n t i l l a t e i nt h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y . E x c e s s i v e r e m e m b r a n c e r e p r e s e n t s a g r e a t e r t h r e a tt o V ic to ri an n ov el is ts b ec au se i t c om pl ic at es e ff or ts t o i so la te c oh er en tm o r a l l e s s o n s f r o m t h e p a s t a n d a l s o b e c a u s e i t e n c o u r a g e s i n d i v i d u a l s t od we ll e xc es si ve ly o n t he p as t r at he r t ha n p la n f or t he f ut ur e. N os ta lg ia e n a b l e s a k i n d o f c o n s t r u c t i v e f o r g e t t i n g a n d s t a b i l i z a t i o n o f t h e p a s t t h a t

i s p ar ti cu la rl y s ui ta bl e f or n ar ra ti ve s w ho se f oc us i s e st ab li sh in g r ea di ly r ec og ni za bl e m od el s o f m or al b eh av io r t ha t c an b e i mi ta te d b y r ea de rsa n d a p p l i e d t o f u t u r e s i t u a t i o n s . P u t m o r e e p i g r a m m a t i c a l l y , n o s t a l g i a i nV i c t o r i a n fi c t i o n a n d c u l t u r e d o e s n o t r e p r e s e n t a n o b s e s s i o n w i t h t h e p a s tb ut , a cc or di ng t o D am es , t he m ea ns o f l ib er at in g o ne se lf f ro m i t.

While the differences between the uses of nostalgia in high modernista nd c on te mp or ar y li te ra ry t ext s w ill b ec om e mo re f ull y ap par en t i nChapter 4 c o m p a r i s o n o f E v e l y n W a u g h ’ s Brideshead Revisited a n d K a z u oIshiguro’s The Remains of the Day , s ome k ey d is ti nc ti on s c an b e h ig h-lighted here with reference to a statement made by Ishiguro in ani n te r vi e w w i th B r ia n S h af f er :

I d o u nd er st an d w hy p eo pl e a re a ga in st n os ta lg ia , p ar ti cu la rl y i n p la ce s l ik eB ri ta in a nd F ra nc e, b ec au se n os ta lg ia i s s ee n h er e a s a b ad p ol it ic al f or ce t o t hee x t e n t t h a t i t ’ s a p p l i e d t o a n a t i o n ’ s m e m o r y . [ . . . ] A n d I w o u l d g o a l o n g w i t ht h a t t o a l a r g e e x t e n t ; I a c c e p t w h y n o s t a l g i a h a s a b a d n a m e i n g e n e r a l , a t l e a s t

o n t h e p o l i t i c a l a n d h i s t o r i c a l l e v e l . B u t t h e p u r e e m o t i o n o f n o s t a l g i a i s a c t u a l l y q u i t e a v a l u a b l e t h i n g t h a t w e a l l f e e l a t t i m e s . [ . . . ] I t ’ s s o m e t h i n g t h a t a n c h o r su s e m o t i o n a l l y t o a s e n s e t h a t t h i n g s s h o u l d a n d c a n b e r e p a i r e d . W e c a n f e e l o u rw a y t o w a r d s a b e t t e r w o r l d b e c a u s e w e ’ v e h a d a n e x p e r i e n c e o f i t ; w e c a r r y s o m es or t o f d is ta nt m em or y of t hat world s omewhere eve n though it is a flawe dm e mo ry , a fl aw e d v is io n.20

T he fi rs t a nd mo st ob vi ou s t hi ng to n ote ab ou t t hi s s ta te me nt i s t he

e xp li ci t e nd or se me nt o f a k in d o f s en ti me nt al it y f ro m w hi ch h ig h m od -e rn is m s ou ght t o d is ti ng ui sh i ts el f. T hi s i s n ot t o s ay t ha t n os ta lg ia i sa bs en t f ro m t he w or ks o f h ig h m od er ni sm ; R ob er t A lt er , I an B au co m,a nd J ef fr ey P er l h av e m ad e c om pe ll in g c as e s f or d is ce rn in g a p ro fo un dl y n os ta lg ic s tr ai n w it hi n m od er ni st w ri ti ng s i n B ri ta in a nd c on ti ne nt alE ur op e. M od er ni st n os ta lg ia i s n on et he le s s f re q ue n tl y c on c ea le d b y t hem or e o bv io us r he to ri c o f i co no cl as m. E ve n t ha t m os t t ra di ti on - ob se s se d



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o f m ode rn is ts , T . S . El io t, d es cri be s a n at ti tu de t ow ar d t he p as t ve ry d if fe re nt f ro m I sh ig ur o’ s. O ve r t he c ou rs e o f h is c ar ee r, E li ot r ep ea te dl y c ri ti qu es t he “ em ot io na li sm ” o f h is V ic to ri an p re de ce ss or s i nc lu di ng ,most notably, T homas Hardy. The c orrect attitude tow ard the pa st

d em an ds “ a c on ti nu al e xt in ct io n o f p er so na li ty ,” h e f am ou sl y w ri te s.21

E li ot w ou ld h av e b ee n d ee pl y u nc om fo rt ab le w it h I sh ig ur o’ s s en se t ha ts e n t i m e n t a l l o n g i n g s c o u l d g u i d e i n d i v i d u a l s t o e n v i s i o n “ a b e t t e r w o r l d . ”T h e u s e f u l p a s t , t r a d i t i o n , i s a v a i l a b l e o n l y t o t h e s e l e c t f e w , a n d t o o b t a i nit requires “great labour” and knowledge of the entire “mind of Europe.”22

P er ha ps a n e ve n m or e s tr ik in g d if fe re nc e b et we en I sh ig ur o a nd h ig h

m od er ni st s i s a pp ar en t i n t he ir a tt it ud es t ow ar d t he p re se nt . I sh ig ur ol oo ks t o n os ta lg ia t o h el p “ re pa ir ” t he p re se nt , b ut m ak es n o c la im t ha th i s w o r k c a n o r e v e n s h o u l d e s t a b l i s h a r a d i c a l b r e a k w i t h i t . H i s r h e t o r i cs u g g e s t s n o t h i n g l i k e E z r a P o u n d ’ s d e m a n d f o r r a d i c a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n : “ Iw a n t a n e w c i v i l i z a t i o n . ”23 N o r d o e s h e p r o v i d e a n e q u i v a l e n t t o V i r g i n i a

Woolf’s insistence that she and her fellow writers stand across a greatd ivi de f ro m t he ir Ed wa rd ia n pr ed ec es so rs , a d ivi de t hat i s c ul tu ral asm u c h a s l i t e r a r y : “ i n o r a b o u t D e c e m b e r , 1910, h u m a n c h a r a c t e r c h a n g e d .

[ . . . A ] n d w h e n h u m a n r e l a t i o n s c h a n g e t h e r e i s a t t h e s a m e t i m e a c h a n g ei n r el ig io n, c on du ct , p ol it ic s, a nd l it er at ur e. ”24 N os ta lg ia i n m od er ni s tw riting, in othe r w ords, is intimately c onnec ted to the movement’si c o n o c l a s t i c i m p u l s e s . N o s t a l g i a i n t h e s e t e x t s m a r k s t h e p a r t i a l o r v e s t i g i a lrecovery of a past that has been betrayed and effaced by bourgeoism od er ni za ti on . P ut a no th er w ay , n os ta lg ia e na bl es t he m od er n a rt is tand reader to separate themselves from the more immediate pas t b y

e s ta bl is hi ng a m ed ia te d r el at io ns hi p t o a d is ta nt p as t. T hi s m or e d is ta ntpast may be ass oc iated w ith ancient civilizations, for Eliot, or early n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y c o u n t r y E n g l i s h n e s s , f o r E . M . F o r s t e r . B u t i n a l l t h e s ec as es , n os tal gi a pr omi se s a t l eas t a te mp or ar y r es pi te f ro m a n i nd us -t ri al iz ed a nd h om og en iz in g m od er n w or ld . T o o ve rs im pl if y, i f n os ta lg ia i n V ic to ri an l it er at ure f un cti on s t o l ib er ate r ead er s f rom t he p as t, i tf un ct io ns i n m od er ni st l it er at ur e t o l ib er at e r ea de rs f ro m t he p re se n t.

Although it will take the entirety of this study to elaborate the dis-t in ct iv e f ea tu re s o f n os ta lg ia i n c on te mp or ar y A ng lo ph on e l it er at ur e,I s h i g u r o ’ s c o n c e s s i o n a b o u t t h e d a n g e r s o f e n g a g i n g i n n o s t a l g i c r e m i n i s -c e nc es a le rt s r ea de rs t o o ne k ey a sp ec t: t he s e lf - co ns ci ou s a wa re ne s s t ha tt he se n ar ra ti ve s a re e ng ag in g i n a p ot en ti al ly c om pr om is ed a nd i de ol o-g ic al ly q ue st io na bl e e nt er pr is e. W ha t i s s o f as ci na ti ng a bo ut I sh ig ur oand the other authors in this s tudy is that the y s eem to be quite aware

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o f t h e d a n g e r s o f n o s t a l g i a and yet nonetheless make it a central part of their narratives . E a c h o f t h e n o v e l s t o b e s t u d i e d m a k e s i t a b u n d a n t l y c l e a r t or ea de rs t ha t t he l os t h om el an ds f or w hi ch c ha ra ct er s n os ta lg ic al ly l on g a re d ee pl y fl aw ed o r n ev er e ve n e xi st ed . Y et t he n ov el s n on et he le ss a ss er t

t he e th ic al v al ue o f a rt ic ul at in g d is ap po in tm en t a nd f ru st ra ti on w i th t hep re se nt b y i ma gi ni ng a m or e s at is fy in g p as t. I n o th er w or ds , n os ta lg ia r ep re se nt s a n ec es sa ry an d of te n p ro du ct ive f or m o f c on fro nt in g l os sa nd d is pl ac em en t. I nd ee d, t he k no wl ed ge g ai ne d f ro m n os ta lg ic f an ta -s ie s i s c ru ci al t o t he e th ic al v is io ns o f c on te mp or ar y A ng lo ph on e n ov e-l i s t s . T h e e n g a g e m e n t w i t h t h e p a s t a s s u m e s i t s f u l l e s t e t h i c a l d i m e n s i o n sf o r t h e s e n o v e l s w h e n t h e y d r a w u p o n n o t o n l y m e m o r y b u t a l s o n o s t a l -

g i a , w h e n t h e y c l a i m t o r e c o v e r n o t o n l y w h a t s h o u l d h a v e b e e n r e m e m -b er ed a nd p re se rv ed b ut a ls o r el at io ns hi ps a nd c om mu ni ti es t ha t could have been .

eth i cs

S u c h a c l a i m d e m a n d s s o m e i m m e d i a t e c l a r i fi c a t i o n a b o u t b o t h t h e u s a g eo f t he t er m “ eth ic s” a nd t he p ote nt ia l c on tr ib uti on o f l it er at ure t o i t.

Following the lead of b oth narrative e thicists and theorists of post-m ode rn is m, my n oti on o f e th ic s do es n ot s ig ni fy n orm ati ve c ode s o f b eh av io r o r d ep ic ti on s o f v ir tu e. A s w il l b ec om e a pp ar en t i n C ha pt er s 1and 2, c on te mp or ar y l it er at ur e l ar ge ly f ai ls t o o ff er a s ig ni fic an t c on tr i-b ut io n t o th es e m or e t rad it io nal n ot io ns o f e th ic s. T o t hi s e xt en t, I a mi n s ub st an ti al a gr ee me nt w it h e th ic is ts i n t he L ev in as ea n t ra di ti on w hou n d e r s t a n d e t h i c s i n t e r m s o f t h e i n t e r a c t i v e e n c o u n t e r s b e t w e e n i n d i v i d -

u al s. “ ‘E th ic s, ’ i n t hi s a lt er na ti ve s e ns e, ” A da m Z ac ha ry N ew to n w ri te s,“ si g ni fie s r ec ur si ve , c on ti ng e nt , a nd i nt er ac ti ve d ra ma s o f e nc ou nt er a ndr e c o g n i t i o n , t h e s o r t w h i c h fi ctio n b o t h c r y s t a l l i z e s a n d r e c i r c u l a t e s i n a c t so f i n te r pr e ti v e e n ga g em e nt . ”25 R ej ec ti ng a p hi lo so ph ic al t ra di ti on t ha tt r a c e s f r o m A r i s t o t l e , K a n t , a n d H u m e t h r o u g h H a b e r m a s m o s t r e c e n t l y ,t hi s n ew er m ov em en t a ba nd on s t he i de a t ha t i nd iv id ua ls c an o r s ho ul de ve n tr y t o a rri ve a t u ni fo rm a nd u ni ve rs al c ri te ri a o f mo ra l b eha vi or

t hr ou gh a p ro ce ss o f r at io na l d el ib er at io n. T he r ej ec ti on o f n or ma ti vee thics here does not imply that pe ople are unable to gain s ignificantk no wl ed ge a bo ut t he n ee ds o f o th er s; r at he r, i t s ug ge st s t ha t s uc h k no w-l ed ge i s a lw ay s p er so n- spe ci fic an d c an no t b e u ni ve rs al iz ed. A s s uc h,e th ic al r el at io ns a re c on ti nu al ly b ei ng r ed efi ne d a nd n eg ot ia te d b as ed o nw i th w ho m o ne i nt er ac ts . L i te ra ry n ar ra ti ve s a re e th ic al ly s i gn ifi ca nt , i nt h i s c o n t e x t , b e c a u s e t h e y c a n c u l t i v a t e w i t h i n r e a d e r s g r e a t e r a t t e n t i v e n e s s



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t o t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h o t h e r s a s “ i n t e r p r e t i v e e n g a g e m e n t s ” c o n c e r n i n g p o te n ti a ll y c o nfl i ct i ng n e e ds a n d v a lu e s.

T he n ov el is ts i n t hi s s tu dy t he ms e lv es e nc ou ra ge e xp lo ra ti on s o f t he irl i t e r a r y t e x t s i n e t h i c a l t e r m s . W h i l e n o n e o f t h e m a t t e m p t s t o f o r m u l a t e a

c on si st en t s ys te m of e thi cs , C hi nua A ch eb e, N . S co tt M om ada y, a ndT o n i M o r r i s o n e x p l i c i t l y s p e a k o f t h e m o r a l a n d e t h i c a l f u n c t i o n s o f t h e i rnarratives . T he novel is “a f orm steeped in morality,” ac cording to

Achebe, and it is the novelist ’ s t a s k t o r e c o l l e c t i n s t a n c e s o f p a s t i n j u s t i c ea n d t o q u e s t i o n a u t h o r i t y .26 T h e o t h e r a u t h o r s i n t h i s s t u d y m a k e a t l e a s ti mpl ic it e thi cal c lai ms i n t he ir n ove ls , f or al l t he ir n ar rat ive s p ort ra y c ha ra ct er s r ec on s tr uc ti ng e xp er ie nc es a nd e ve n ts t ha t h av e b ee n e ff ac ed

o r a ct iv el y f or go tt en b y t he c ul tu re s i n w hi ch t he y r es id e. T o t he e xt en tt hat N ew ton ’s a rg ume nt i s c or re ct – t hat e thi cs de pe nd s o n a cq ui ri ng s ig ni fic an t k no wl edg e ab ou t t he e xp er ie nc es o f o th er s – t he fi ct io nalr ec on st ru ct io ns o f t he p as t p or tr ay ed b y t he n ov el s i n t hi s s tu dy i mp ly t ha t e xi st in g c ul tu ra l n ar ra ti ve s p re ve nt i nd iv id ua ls f ro m g ai ni ng t hek n ow l ed g e n e c es s ar y t o d i sc e rn t h ei r r e s po n si b i li t ie s t o o t he r s.

S c h o l a r s h i p o n e t h n i c A m e r i c a n l i t e r a t u r e s , i n p a r t i c u l a r , h a s d r a w n o nthese insights to argue that fic tion is ethically s ignificant b ecaus e it

c ha ll en ge s m ai ns tr ea m i de as o f h ow a nd w ha t i nd iv id ua ls k no w a bo utt h e w o r l d ; p u t i n m o r e t h e o r e t i c a l t e r m s , t h e m e m o r i e s d e p i c t e d i n n o v e l sch a l l en ge t h e ep i st em o l o gi es u n d er l y i n g i n st i t u t i o n a l l y en d o r sed h i st o r i es.D av id P al um bo -L iu , f or e xa mp le , a rg ue s t ha t m em or y e st ab li sh es t heo nl y e pi ste mo lo gi cal f ou nda ti on t hat c an p ro vi de a d is co urs e s tab lee n o u g h t o c o n s t i t u t e a l e g i t i m a t e c r i t i q u e o f c o l o n i a l a n d i m p e r i a l h i s t o r -i e s : “ A l l n o t i o n s o f e t h n i c w r i t i n g a s r e v i s i o n o f h i s t o r y p o i n t t o t h i s t e r m

[ m e m o r y ] , f o r i t i s t h r o u g h m e m o r y a l o n e , a s t h e r e p o s i t o r y of t h i n g s l e f to u t o f h i s t o r y , t h a t t h e e t h n i c s u b j e c t c a n c h a l l e n g e h i s t o r y . ”27 M e m o r y i ss o s ig ni fic an t t o e th ni c w ri ti ng b ec au se i t i mp li es a m or e d ir ec t r ap po rtw i t h t h e p a s t t h a n h i s t o r i c a l n a r r a t i v e s c a n p r o v i d e . I n t h i s w a y , m e m o r y i s fi g u r e d t o b e a m o r e g e n u i n e a n d a u t h e n t i c e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e p a s t t h a nh i s t o r y ; t h e m a t e r i a l i t r e p o r t s , w h i c h h i s t o r y s u p p r e s s e s , a p p e a r s t o b e t h e“truth” of the past. The longing to reconnect with anc estral figure s

d ep ic te d i n s o m an y c on te mp or ar y e th ni c A me ri ca n n ov el s c an b e r ea di n t h i s c o n t e x t a s d e s c r i b i n g t h e l o n g i n g a m o n g e t h n i c A m e r i c a n c o m m u -n it ie s t o g ai n k no wl ed ge a bo ut t he ir c ul tu ra l t ra di ti on s a nd e xp er ie nc est ha t m ai ns tr ea m h is to ri es d o n ot p ro vi de . T he a nc es to r fi gu re b ec om est h e c r u c i a l m e d i a t o r b e t w e e n a l a t e i m p e r i a l o r p o s t c o l o n i a l p r e s e n t a n d a p r e c o l o n i a l p a s t , a n d t h e r e c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e a n c e s t o r fi g u r e e n a b l e s t h er ec ov er y a nd t ra ns mi s si on o f m em or y t o t he n ex t g en er at io n.

Introduction 13


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T he i mp li ca ti on o f s uc h r ea di ng s, t ha t t he e th ic al p ot en ti al o f fi ct io nr e s i d e s p r i m a r i l y i n i t s c a p a c i t y t o r e c o v e r a n d d i s s e m i n a t e l o s t m e m o r i e s ,s uf fe rs f ro m t he c on ce rn s s ta te d e ar li er a bo ut t he d if fic ult y of di sti n-g u is h in g b e tw e en a u th e nt i c a n d i n au t he n ti c e x pe r ie n c es . T h e c o nn e ct i on

b et we en e th ic s a nd e pi ste mo log y s ug ge st ed b y P al um bo -L iu’ s w or k,h o w e v e r , w i l l b e c r u c i a l t o t h i s s t u d y . T h e e x p l o r a t i o n o f l i t e r a r y n o s t a l g i a i n s ub s eq ue nt c ha pt er s f oc us es o n i ts t en de nc y t o e nc ou ra ge e xp lo ra ti ono f u n ac k no w le d ge d d i sa p po i nt m en t a n d f r us t ra t io n . M r . S t ev e ns ’ n o st a l-g ic f an ta si es f or t he l os t g lo ry o f t he E ng li sh c ou nt ry h ou se i n I sh ig ur o’ sThe Remains of the Day , f or e xa mp le , i ni ti at e a n e xp lo ra ti on t ha t u lt im -a t e l y l e a d s S t e v e n s t o r e c o g n i z e h i s o w n e t h i c a l f a i l i n g s . S t e v e n s ’ i n t e r n a l -

i za ti on o f t he E ng li sh c la ss s tr uc tu re p re ve nt s h im f ro m t ol er at in g d ir ec tc r i t i c i s m s o f h i s e m p l o y e r ’ s N a z i s y m p a t h i e s o r r e c o g n i z i n g h i s o w n t a c i ts up po rt f or N az is m. O nl y a ft er S te ve ns i nd ul ge s i n n os ta lg ia f or t he l os tp as t i s h e a bl e t o r ec og ni ze L or d D ar li ng ton ’s an d h is ow n i de olo gi ca lb l i n d n e s s , f o r h i s n o s t a l g i a f o r e g r o u n d s t h e d i s p a r i t y b e t w e e n t h e w o r l d a sit is a nd as it could have been . T hi s d is pa ri ty , t hr ou gh ou t t hi s s tu dy ,r ep re se nt s a s ig ni fic an t k in d o f k no wl ed ge t ha t p ro vi de s t he b as is f or t hen ov el s a nd t he ir c ha ra ct er s t o e nv is i on w ha t m or e e th ic al s oc ia l r el at io ns

m ig ht b e. A nd pr ec is el y b ec au se n os ta lg ic f an ta si es s o o ft en t ak e n on -t hr ea te ni ng o r c on ve nt io na l f or ms i ni ti al ly , i nd iv id ua ls l ik e S te ve ns g ai nk no wl ed ge a bo ut t he ms el ve s a nd t he ir w or ld t ha t t he y w ou ld o th er wi seh a ve r e pr e ss e d .

co n tempo ra ry a n gl o ph o n e l i tera ture

F ol lo wi ng th e l ea d o f t hi nk er s s uc h as Mi ch ae l V al de z Mo se s, S imo nG ik an di , a nd E dw ar d S ai d, m y p ro je c t d oe s n ot r es tr ic t i ts el f e xc lu si ve ly t o e it he r “F ir st W or ld ” o r “ Th ir d W orl d” l ite ra tur es b ut e xpl or es t hec on ve rg en ce s a nd c on ve rs at io ns a mo ng a v ar ie ty o f l it er ar y t ra di ti on s.M o s e s , i n p a r t i c u l a r , m a k e s a s t r o n g c a s e f o r a s t u d y o f g l o b a l A n g l o p h o n el i t er a t u r e t h a t st i l l p r eser v es cu l t u r a l d i ffer en ces. Va r i o u s p o st co l o n i a l i sm s,o n h i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g , a r e n o t s i m p l y a l t e r n a t i v e s t o g l o b a l m o d e r n i t y b u t

a l s o s i g n i fi c a n t a s p e c t s o f m o d e r n i t y ’ s r i s e a n d d i f f u s i o n : “ B u t i f m y t h e s i sh as m er it, ” Mo se s w ri te s, “ the n th e v er y e xi st en ce o f a s in gl e a nd he ge -m o n i c E u r o c e n t r i c c o n c e p t i o n o f l i t e r a t u r e i s r e n d e r e d o b s o l e t e , i n s o f a r a s

Western literature itself becomes part of a larger body of work that is truly g lo ba l, h yb ri d, a nd c os mo po li ta n. [ . . . ] A s I s ee i t, c on te mp or ar y p os t-c o l o n i a l a n d T h i r d W o r l d l i t e r a t u r e s a r e n o t r a d i c a l a l t e r n a t i v e s t o g l o b a lm od er ni ty b ut d is ti nc ti ve a nd e xt re me ly s ig ni fic an t r efl ec ti on s o f i ts r is e



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a n d d i ffusi o n . ”28 T h e c u m u l a t i v e e f f e c t s o f i n d u s t r i a l d e v e l o p m e n t , c o l o -n ia li sm , a nd g lo ba li za ti on h av e e st ab li sh ed a c om pl ex w eb o f i nt er re la -t io ns a nd i nfl ue nc es am on g A ng lop hon e c ul tu re s s uc h t hat t he f ul le sta pp re ci at io n o f i nd iv id ua l w or ks d ep en ds o n u nd er st an di ng n ot o nl y

i m me d ia t e c u lt u ra l c o nt e xt s b u t a l so i n te r na t io n al o n es .I f t he c om pa ra ti ve a pp ro ac h M os es e nd or se s o ff er s m uc h p ro mi se f or

l it er ar y s tu di es , i t p re se nt s a d if fic ul t s et o f t he or et ic al p ro bl em s a s w el l. Any project that interconnects a wide range of literary traditions inevit-

a b l y r i s k s e f f a c i n g c u l t u r a l p a r t i c u l a r i t i e s . T h i s r i s k b e c o m e s a p p a r e n t e v e nw he n a dd re ss in g a pp ar en tl y s imp le q ue st ion s o f te rm in olo gy – h ow s h o u l d t h e l i t e r a r y c o n v e r g e n c e s t h a t M o s e s a n d o t h e r s n o t i c e b e l a b e l e d ?

Should scholars even ris k a labe l at all? Strictly temporal labels like“ tw en ti et h- c en tu ry l it er at ur e” a re s o b ro ad ly i nc lu si ve a nd s o a rb it ra ry i n t e r m s o f d a t i n g t h a t t h e y a p p e a r o f l i m i t e d v a l u e b y t h e m s e l v e s . T e r m st ha t c ha ra ct er iz e i de ol og ic al o r a es th et ic c om mi tm en ts h av e t he ir p ro b-l e m s a s w e l l – t h i s h a s b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d m o s t n o t a b l y w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h et er m “ po st mo de rn is m. ” L ik e o th er r ec en t f or mu la ti on s s uc h a s “ po st -c o lo n ia l is m ,” “ g lo b al i za t io n, ” a n d “ c os m op o li t an i sm , ” t h e t e rm “ p os t mo d -e rn is m” i s u se d t o d es cr ib e a s et o f e co no mi c, s oc ia l, a nd p ol it ic al f or ce s

t ha t c i rc ul at e a cr os s c on ti ne n ts a nd n at io na l b ou nd ar ie s. B ut a s t he t er mh a s g a i n e d g r e a t e r u s a g e , i t h a s l o s t s o m u c h s p e c i fi c i t y t h a t b y t h e 1990si t w a s n o l o n g e r e v e n c l e a r w h e t h e r t h e t e r m m a r k e d a n h i s t o r i c a l p e r i o do r a t ra ns hi st or ic al t en de nc y. A s a r es ul t, a r an ge o f s ch ol ar s i nc lu di ng

Anthony Appiah, Homi Bhabha, Linda Hutcheon, and Helen Tiffinh av e m ad e c om pe ll in g c as es f or t he d an ge rs o f a pp ly in g t he l ab el “ po st -m o d e r n ” t o a u t h o r s l i k e A c h e b e a n d M o r r i s o n ; s u c h l a b e l s , t h e a r g u m e n t

g oe s , t hr ea te n t o a pp ro pr ia te t he se a ut ho rs w i th in a t ra di ti on o f W e st er nmetaphysics th at h as h is to ri ca ll y s il en ce d m in or it y a nd n on -W es te rnpopulations.29 As a result of this critical barrage, postmodernism isd is ap pe ar in g f ro m t he a ca de mi c l exi con a nd h as b ec ome to o f ra ug ht a t e r m t o b e u s e f u l f o r m y o w n a n a l y s i s .

T h u s , a l t h o u g h U r s u l a K . H e i s e o f f e r s a p r e c e d e n t f o r d e fi n i n g t h e t e x t si n t h i s s t u d y a s p o s t m o d e r n , m y s t u d y a do pt s w it h r es e rv at io ns t he t er m

“ c on t em p or a ry A n gl o ph o ne l i te r at u re . ”

30

T hi s s el ec ti on r ec og ni ze s t heconce rns e xpre ssed b y critics of b roadly inclus ive lab els , but it alsor ec og ni ze s t ha t t ry in g t o a vo id t er ms a lt og et he r w ou ld b e t oo a wk wa rda nd di si ng en uou s. T hi s s tud y i nc lu de s e th ni c A me ri can , C ar ib be an ,B ritish, and A fric an authors b ecaus e I b elie ve they share importantc on ce rn s t ha t s pe ak t o e ac h o th er . T he t er m “ co nt em po ra ry A n gl op ho nel i t e r a t u r e ” i d e n t i fi e s s o m e f a i r l y b a s i c p a r a m e t e r s o f t i m e a n d l a n g u a g e f o r

Introduction 15


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t hi s a na ly si s: i t c ov er s th e pe ri od i mme di ate ly a ft er W or ld W ar I I an de n d s i n t h e 1990s . I t f o c u s e s o n a u t h o r s w h o s e p r i m a r y l i t e r a r y l a n g u a g e i sE ng li sh , a nd i t a ls o e mp ha si ze s t ha t t he i nt er co nn ec ti on s b e tw e en d if fe r-e n t n a t i o n a l a n d e t h n i c l i t e r a r y t r a d i t i o n s a r e a d e fi n i n g t r a i t o r c o n c e r n o f

this period as a whole . Put another way, my choice of terminology ism ea nt t o a ss e rt t hi s s tu dy ’s c om mi tm en t t o e xp lo ri ng A me ri ca n, B ri ti sh ,a nd v ar io us p os tc ol on ia l l it er at ur es n ot o nl y o n t he ir o wn t er ms b ut a ls owith respect to each other. There is a very definite, if sometimesc on fli ct in g, s en se o f m od er ni ty o r t he “ mo de rn e xp er ie nc e” a mo ng t hea ut ho rs i n t hi s s tu dy , a nd t he y a re c on ce rn ed w it h fi nd in g a lt er na ti ve sto it. Since the 1960s , t he re h as a ri se n a c ro ss -c ul tu ra l c ol le ct io n o f r e-

s pons es to this notion that be ar strong resemblance s to eac h other,res pons es which I will des crib e as a form of nostalgia. If the authorst h e m s e l v e s d o n o t a l w a y s a c k n o w l e d g e a c o m m o n s t r a i n , t h e y n o n e t h e l e s sall live in cultures suffused by nostalgia. Each author, in turn, hass t r u g g l e d w i t h t h e l o n g i n g f o r l o s t o r i m a g i n e d h o m e l a n d s a n d t h e e x t e n tt o w h i c h i t s h o u l d i n f o r m h i s o r h e r v i s i o n . T a k e n t o g e t h e r , t h e i r l i t e r a r y t ex ts r ep re se nt a “ st ra nd ” o f c on te mp or ar y A ng lo ph on e l it er at ur e t ha tb e co me s i nc re as in g ly s i gn ifi ca nt i n t he l at te r p ar t o f t he c en tu ry .

Chapter 1 e xp lo re s t he e th ic al s i gn ifi ca nc e o f n os ta lg ic h om el an ds i nt he se l it er ar y t ex ts i n r el at io n t o t he b ur ge on in g p hi lo so ph ic al a nd s oc ia ls c i e n c e s c h o l a r s h i p o n p l a c e . B u i l d i n g o n D o r e e n M a s s e y ’ s c r u c i a l i n s i g h tt h a t p l a c e s a r e n o t s i m p l y p h y s ica l l o c a t i o n s b u t p a r t i c u l a r “ a r t i c u l a t i o n s ”o f a n e t w o r k o f s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s ,31 t hi s c ha pt er a rg ue s t ha t t he r ec ol le c ti onor imagination of a lost home envisions an alternative set of socialr el at io ns w it h w hi ch i nd iv id ua ls c an i de nt if y. T he i ma gi na ti on o f p la ce ,

t he n, t ra ns la te s o ft en a mo rp ho us f ee li ng s o f d is ap po in tm en t w it h t hep re se nt i nto a c on cr et e i mag e of a m or e s at is fy in g c omm un ity . S uc he f fo rt s t o “ re ar ti c ul at e” s oc i al r el at io ns , p ar ti cu la rl y w it h r es pe ct t o r ac e,h av e b ee n a c en tr al t as k o f e th ni c A me ri ca n l it er at ur e, a nd t hi s c ha pt erb egins with an exploration of one of the most celebrated Americana ut ho rs s in ce W or ld W ar I I, T on i M or ri so n. M or ri so n’ s n ov el s e nv is i ona p ro ce ss o f c on so li da ti ng t he v ar io us n os ta lg ic l on gi ng s o f h er fi ct io na l

African-American communities into a shared idea of how social relationsc o u l d h a v e b e e n o r g a n i z e d d i f f e r e n t l y , a n d t h i s p r o c e s s p r o v i d e s a m o d e lf or t ra ns fo rmi ng r ac e r el ati on s m or e g en er all y i n t he c on te mpo ra ry U ni te d S ta te s. T he c ha pt er t he n p ro ce ed s t o c la im t ha t s im il ar e ff or ts a tr ea rt ic ul at io n a re a pp ar en t a cr os s a s pe ct ru m o f c on te mp or ar y A ng lo -p h o n e n o v e l i s t s f r o m t h e B r i t i s h I a n M c E w a n t o t h e J a m a i c a n - b o r n J o a nR i l e y . T a k e n t o g e t h e r , t h e s e n o v e l i s t s p o i n t t o a b r o a d e r s h i f t a w a y f r o m



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m o d e r n W e s t e r n p h i l o s o p h y ’ s e t h i c a l p r e o c c u p a t i o n s – i n d i v i d u a l a u t o n -o my , r at io na l d el ib er at io n, a nd f re ed om f ro m s oc ia l m or es – t ow ar d a nu nd er st an di ng o f e th ic s i n t er ms o f an o ng oi ng pr oc es s o f n eg oti at in g a m on g c o nfl i ct i ng v i si o ns o f c o mm u ni t y.

Chapter 2 e x p l o r e s m o r e c l o s e l y t h e p o t e n t i a l c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f n o s t a l g i cn ar ra ti ve s t o e th ic s. O ne o f t he c en tr al c ha ll en ge s e th ic s h as f ac ed s in cet h e K a n t i a n e r a i s t o e s t a b l i s h c o m p e l l i n g m o r a l c l a i m s f o r t h e v i c t i m s o f p os t- En li gh te nm en t i de as o f u ni ve rs al h um an “ Pr og re ss .” J ea n R hy s’Wide Sargasso Sea i n t r i g u i n g l y a s s e r t s t h a t n o s t a l g i a a d d r e s s e s t h i s p r o b l e mb y e nc ou ra gi ng r et ro sp ec ti ve r efl ec ti on s o n h ow c ol on ia l p ol ic ie s a ndnarratives have failed to addres s human needs. Rhys is not alone in

p ro po si ng s uc h a s ol ut io n; s im il ar c la im s h av e b ee n a c en tr al f ea tu re o f C a r i b b e a n l i t e r a t u r e s i n c e t h e 1950s , a n d t h i s c h a p t e r a r g u e s t h a t n o s t a l g i cf an ta si es p la y a n i mp or ta nt r ol e i n o ve rc om in g i nt er na li ze d b e li ef s a bo utt h e c o l o n i a l p r o j e c t a n d i t s v i s i o n o f p r o g r e s s . T h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c t e n d e n c y o f n os ta lg ia t o i nt er we av e a d is ap po in ti ng p re se nt a nd a t an ta li zi ng , i f u nr ea li ze d a nd i ma gi na ry , p as t c an f or eg ro un d e xp er ie nc e s o f s uf f er in g e f fa ce d b y c ol on ia l n ar ra ti ve s . R hy s, V . S . N ai pa ul , P au le M ar sh al l, a ndo t h e r C a r i b b e a n a u t h o r s u s e n o s t a l g i a t o c r e a t e w h a t P a u l R i c o e u r c a l l s a

“ pa ra ll el h is to ry o f v ic ti mi sa ti on ,” a lt ho ug h t he e th ic al f oc us o f t he sen o v e l s d i f f e r s s i g n i fi c a n t l y f r o m h i s . W h e r e a s R i c o e u r f o c u s e s o n “ r e s u s c i -t a t i n g a n d r e a n i m a t i n g t h e u n k e p t p r o m i s e s o f t h e p a s t , ” R h y s , N a i p a u l ,a n d M a rs h al l dra w a tt en ti on t o u nf ul fil le d p ro mi se s a ss oc ia te d w it h a ni m ag i n ed p a st .32

Chapter 3 e xplores the imagined pas ts created b y literary texts inr el at io n t o r ec en t d eb at es a mo ng h is to ri an s o ve r t he s i gn ifi ca nc e o f w ha t

h as b e en c al le d “ co un te rf ac tu al h is to ri c al s pe cu la ti on ” o r, m or e p ro sa ic -a ll y, h is to ri ca l n ar ra ti ve s b as ed o n h yp ot he ti ca l s ce na ri os o f w ha t c ou ldh ave b ee n. N at ive A me ri ca n n ov el is ts i nc lu di ng N . S co tt Mo mad ay ,

James Welch, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Linda Hogan use literary narra-t iv es t o i nt er we av e f ra gm en ta ry m em or ie s, h is to ri ca l d oc um en ts , a ndimag ination in ways that re sonate with the efforts of historians andl it er ar y s ch ol ar s s uc h as E di th W ys cho gr od a nd G ar y Sa ul M ors on t o

recover a richer sense of the contingency of the past by discerning a lt er na ti ve p at hs t ha t h is to ri ca l e ve nt s c ou ld h av e t ak en . T he se e f fo rt s t o“ si de sh ado w” h is to ry o r to r ec ov er th e “ ne ga te d po ss ib le s” o f t he pa sta ss oc ia te e th ic s w it h f re ed om f ro m d et er mi ni st ic h is to ri ca l n ar ra ti ve s.M om ad ay , W el ch , S il ko , a nd H og an l ik ew is e c ha ll en g e t he d et er mi ni smr eg ar di ng t he “ de cl in e” o f N at ive A me ri can c ult ure s p os it ed b y b ot hm a i n s t r e a m A m e r i c a n a n d c e r t a i n t r i b a l h i s t o r i e s . M o t i v a t e d b y t h e s e n s e

Introduction 17


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t h a t t h e l a s t g e n e r a t i o n t o h a v e p e r s o n a l l y w i t n e s s e d m a n y t r i b a l r i t u a l s i sd y i n g e v e n a s h e i s b e g i n n i n g h i s c a r e e r a s a n o v e l i s t , M o m a d a y s e e k s t ob u i l d s o l i d a r i t y a m o n g d i v e r s e N a t

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John J. Su-Ethics and Nostalgia in the Contemporary Novel-Cambridge University Press (2005)