Fish in Dark Water

FISH IN DARK WATER Intertextuality and Interpretation In the Work of Diana Wynne Jones Deborah W. Gascoyne School of English, Communication and Philosophy Cardiff University This thesis is submitted to Cardiff University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2019 i STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Signed _________________________ Date ___July 29, 2019________________________ STATEMENT 2 This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is it being submitted concurrently for any other degree or award (outside of any formal collaboration agreement between the University and a partner organisation) Signed _________________________ Date ___July 29, 2019________________________ STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available in the University’s Open Access repository (or, where approved, to be available in the University's library and for inter-library loan), and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations, subject to the expiry of a University-approved bar on access if applicable. Signed _________________________ Date ___July 29, 2019________________________ DECLARATION This thesis is the result of my own independent work, except where otherwise stated, and the views expressed are my own. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The thesis has not been edited by a third party beyond what is permitted by Cardiff University's Use of Third Party Editors by Research Degree Students Procedure. Signed _________________________ Date ___July 29, 2019______________________ WORD COUNT __68240 words____________ ii Abstract Children’s fantasy author, Diana Wynne Jones, is known for the complex use of intertextuality in her work. This thesis investigates the question of what intertextuality does in her work as a whole. It demonstrates that Jones uses intertextual references figuratively throughout her work to open windows of interpretation for an alert reader that may enhance and illuminate her themes. Intertextuality can take many forms, and Jones employs everything from direct allusion through parody and dialogism and Barthes’ ‘circular memory of reading’. Jones’s allusions are, first of all, subversive, and almost always not simply retellings but demonstrations that traditional story and genre do not necessarily legislate the outcome. Secondly, the cognitive space in which intertextual meaning may be found echoes a Romantic double vision in which both the real and the fantastic may overlap, and which emphasizes the importance of the creative imagination. Intertextual references can be both an analogue for the use of the imagination and a way to develop individual imaginative power through the reading experience. The interpretive world that is opened with the recognition of an intertextual key creates an experience for readers that can be aligned with enchantment and the sublime. Negotiating Jones’s enchanted world gives power to readers. iii Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my ‘found family’: the friends who have supported me through this process. I reserve special thanks for Richard Hiebert and Dierdre Baker, who share my love of Diana Wynne Jones and who told me one day at lunch that I should ‘go for it’ if I wanted to do this work, and to Kathryn Pankowski, who has endured endless discussions of fantasy and the sublime over these past years. I must thank the faculty and administration of Camosun College, Victoria, B.C., my place of employment, who not only approved professional development funding but were endlessly patient in granting unpaid leaves of absence that enabled me to both have the time and pay the fees for this programme. Above all, I wish to thank my supervisor, Catherine Butler, who has always known what questions to ask and whose advice throughout has been generous and always cogent. She has helped me to navigate this complex journey, and my work is all the better for her editorial suggestions. Any weak points or errors that remain are certainly my own. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Chapter One: Theoretical Overview .................................................................................... 1 General Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Fantasy, Metafiction, Metafictional Fantasy ................................................................................ 5 The Postmodern ........................................................................................................................ 11 Intertextuality ........................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter Two: ‘The truth has no particular shape’: Subversive Allusions ............................. 40 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 40 Retelling as Rehabilitation: The Magicians of Caprona, Archer’s Goon, and The Time of the Ghost .................................................................................................................................................. 42 The ‘Cauldron of Story’: A Tale of Time City, The Game, and Dogsbody ...................................... 45 Theme and Variations: Fire and Hemlock ................................................................................... 48 ‘Real medievalizing fun’: Hexwood ............................................................................................ 52 Chapter Three: Subverting ‘The Rules’ ................................................................................ 65 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 65 Family Rules: Power of Three and The Magicians of Caprona ..................................................... 69 The Tyranny of Genre: The Tough Guide to Fantasyland and Dark Lord of Derkholm .................. 73 Learning not to Be slaves: Year of the Griffin .............................................................................. 79 ‘People aren’t just a set of rules’: Black Maria and The Pinhoe Egg ............................................ 81 Conclusion: Magic and Manipulation ......................................................................................... 86 Chapter Four: ‘Polyphonic Assistants’: Reading and Mis-reading ....................................... 91 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 91 Word Games .............................................................................................................................. 92 Defamiliarization and Point of View ........................................................................................... 98 A Tragedy of Mis-Reading: ‘The True State of Affairs’ ............................................................... 104 Chapter Five: Worlds of the Imagination: Multiverse, Chronotope, and Heterotopia ........ 113 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 113 Worlds Enough and Time: The Multiverse ................................................................................ 114 Over the Rainbow: The Mythosphere ...................................................................................... 120 v Bigger on the Inside: Heterotopias ........................................................................................... 126 Chapter Six: “The Place Where the Stories Are”: Enchantment and Enchanted Spaces ..... 136 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 136 ‘A small island of otherwhere’: Gardens ................................................................................... 138 Enchanted Places ..................................................................................................................... 140 Metamyth: The Dalemark Quartet ........................................................................................... 146 Chapter Seven: The Sacrificial Hero .................................................................................. 159 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 159 Power and Pain ........................................................................................................................ 160 ‘The only way to win is to lose’: Fire and Hemlock ................................................................... 165 The Fisher King Revived: Hexwood ........................................................................................... 173 ‘You wouldn’t believe how lonely you get’: The Homeward Bounders ...................................... 180 Chapter Eight: Conclusion ...............................................................................................

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