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When referring to this thesis and any accompanying data, full bibliographic details must be given, e.g. Thesis: Author (Year of Submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University Faculty or School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. ii UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Creative Writing Structures of Meaning: Form and the mundane in the contemporary novel Maté Jarai Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2017 iii iv UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES: Creative Writing Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Structures of Meaning: Form and the Mundane in the Contemporary Novel By Maté Jarai In the contemporary novel, the mundane is proving addictive. The lengthy digressions and obsessive details of Karl Ove Knausgaard have hooked readers, while Brett Easton Ellis hailed Tao Lin as ‘the most interesting prose stylist of his generation’, while labelling his novel Taipei ‘boring’. But what strategies does the contemporary writer use to arouse interest in monotony? This thesis explores the question through a new novel Illuminato, whose protagonist Florián Hal struggles to find meaning, in what he feels is a pointless existence. The novel asks the reader to explore Florián‘s world experientially, and focus on the repetitiveness of his daily life. Through the novel, I ask how the contemporary mundane can prompt intrigue, immersion, and engagement from readers. The accompanying critical commentary considers strategies for writing the mundane, focusing on Tao Lin, Karl Ove Knausgaard and Scarlett Thomas. It assesses the techniques and devices these writers use in place of narrative climax or dramatic action, concentrating on their use of style, structure, and their interest in questions of fidelity, realism and form. It focuses on three distinct binaries of the contemporary mundane; Tao Lin’s interest in attention versus boredom, Knausgaard’s depiction of memory and the present, and Thomas’ contest between action and ideas. Each binary is examined with reference to the drafting and development of my own novel; in chapter one, from my protagonists’ distracted narration; in chapter two, the flashbacks used to represent his past; to the use of Plato’s cave allegory as a substitute for dramatic structure in chapter three. The doctoral project offers a work in dialogue with the contemporary mundane, while reflecting on its limitations, opportunities, and challenges. v vi Contents CONTENTS VIIII DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP IX ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS XI SYNOPSIS XIII ILLUMINATO 3 – PART ONE – 5 – PART TWO – 83 – PART THREE – 131 – PART FOUR – 189 STRUCTURES OF MEANING 213 CHAPTER ONE – THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT 213 CHAPTER TWO – BACK AND FORTH 233 CHAPTER THREE – WHAT’S THE ‘BIG IDEA’? 251 CONCLUSIONS 263 BIBLIOGRAPHY 271 vii viii DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, .............................................................................................. [please print name] declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. [title of thesis] ................................................................................................ ........................................................................................................................ I confirm that: 1. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; 2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; 3. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; 4. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; 5. I have acknowledged all main sources of help; 6. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; 7. [Delete as appropriate] None of this work has been published before submission [or] Parts of this work have been published as: [please list references below]: Signed: ............................................................................................................ Date: ............................................................................................................... ix x Acknowledgements I would like to thank my original supervisory team, Alison Fell and Rebecca Smith, for their knowledge, countless discussions, constant willingness to assist, but mostly for their belief in me and my writing from the very beginning of my university career; Dr Will May, who offered to take over as my supervisor after Alison’s retirement, and most crucially, after my initial commentary topic had to be abandoned, for showing enough faith in me and the work I’d put in, to be willing to help me change direction and make it to the finish line, researching an entirely new topic in conjunction with my novel, when in all honesty, I was really struggling to believe I would ever complete this project (without him don’t know if I would have); Dr Shelley Cobb for her help in structuring and academic writing and the completion of my first critical commentary; my fellow PhD students (or formerly so), Dr Claire Egan and Ros Ambler-Alderman and especially Dr Victoria Dawson, for their many readings of early drafts, constant encouragement and friendship; my parents, who have always supported me unconditionally in everything I’ve done, and whose unending hard work has allowed me to be in a position where the undertaking of this PhD has been possible; my brother for inspiring me every day in his hard-work, dedication to himself and his goals, and hunger for life; my friends all around the world for making me feel like I’m doing something special with this PhD, something to be proud of, especially Emily, who’s always been there for me over these last few years, each and every day, my best friend, and my constant source of love and inspiration. xi xii Synopsis Illuminato is the story of Florián Hal, a twenty-five-year-old man struggling to find meaning in his life. Florián’s parents died when he was ten years old, and he has always been missing a sense of self. The novel opens on a flight to Budapest. Florián travels through the city and ends up at the apartment of his grandmother, who he hasn’t seen in fifteen years. She is surprised yet happy to see him. He doesn’t share much about his recent past, only that he felt he needed to return to Budapest, the city of his birth, where he hasn’t been since his parents’ death. He begins to work for a man named István, trimming trees around the city. He tries to invest himself in this but after a few weeks realises he cannot. From here the novel flashes back six months, to the fictional British coastal town of Whitingsea. Florián is living with his girlfriend Angie, however, aside from this, he is very much on the fringes of society, interacting with the world around him as little as possible. Though dramatic events do follow, large portions of the narrative focus on this, his boredom and inability to engage with anything. Things spiral out of control when Florián accidentally kills a man in a hit and run incident. He is never caught or punished and he questions why this might be. Angie has had enough. After an argument, she decides to leave him and to go live on the fictional, Mediterranean Island of Dragoralla with her father. But Flo insists he still loves her, so he asks to go with her. She is willing to give him a final chance. Back in Budapest, Florián reconnects with a girl from his past, while continuing to struggle with his sense of present self. After a romantic night, however, the girl disappears, and he cannot remember her name, so cannot find her. The novel flashes back to Dragoralla. Angie hopes the change of scenery will show Florián another way of life and remind him of their love, though he becomes disillusioned very quickly. He can no longer live as he once lived, so he leaves Angie in the night and travels to Amsterdam in the xiii hope of finding his best friend Blaise, who left to travel the world some months earlier. Back in the present, in Budapest, Florián is losing his mind trying to find this girl, but he concedes he will never see her again. He is leaning closer to an unnamed dark path, one learned from a mystery man called ‘Fred’, only hinted at to this point. The final straw is when he returns home one night to find his grandmother, Gréti, dead. He finally gives up on the ‘normal human way of life’ completely. He is ready to try an alternative path, no matter how dark or insane it may seem. The novel flashes back to Amsterdam, and a few days before his arrival in Budapest. He doesn’t find Blaise. Instead he finds a man who calls himself Fred, a man who shares many of his own ideals. But most crucially, Fred reveals that he knows about the car accident that first set Florián’s delusion in motion. He knows that Florián has ‘begun to see things.’ Fred shows Florián the key to unlocking the ‘other side’, claiming that ‘all we know is a lie.’ Through a secret, arcane recipe of hallucinogenic drugs, combined with ‘acts’ that are in total opposition with ‘the moral, human way’ of being, Fred claims this ‘other side’ can be reached.