Larissa Fergus
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My Sister Chaos: Women and Exile A novel and inter-layered exegesis Submitted by Larissa Fergus Bachelor of Arts (Dance) (Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne) Graduate Diploma in Professional Writing (Deakin University) Master of Arts (Women's Studies) (Deakin University) A Research Thesis in one volume submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Communication and the Arts Faculty of Arts, Education and Human Development Victoria University Australia 2010 I PREAMBLE My Sister Chaos: Women and Exile is a creative writing thesis in a single volume. It comprises a novel - My Sister Chaos - and exegesis. Both novel and exegesis are · centred around a research question: 'What are some ways of constructing and representing the idea of exile as it relates to women, particularly as lesbians and as artists?' The novel responds creatively to the question, and the exegesis engages it through the forms and processes of academic analysis. Four exegetical sections frame the novel and serve to guide the reader: an introduction, conceptual framework, methodology and conclusion. The parts of the exegesis which would otherwise be considered the literature review and analysis sections - that is, where themes are explored, links made and new ideas generated - are incorporated into the novel itself. That is, within the novel there are both fictional and exegetical elements inter-layered and serving to reinforce each other. There is no 'preferred reading order' for the exegesis and novel: they are presented in a single volume to be read from start to end. As the thes'is is situated primarily within the field of creative writing, the bulk of the material presented here is in a creative form, rather than that of traditional academic writing. This means that, in addition to the analytical, critical and linear thinking essential to the construction of argument or 'thesis,' a methodology involving associative thinking, with its reliance on symbols, patterning and synthesis, is also used to form, link and represent ideas. The novel is situated in the genre ofliterary fiction, with a sparse narrative style incorporating interior monologue, directly-quoted speech and substitutionary narration. It draws on a lesbian literary tradition, particularly in its experimental form. The act of map-making is used as a metaphor, not only of the quest for understanding, but of the difficulties and paradoxes in representing that which has been understood. The entire thesis is approximately 90,000 words, of which 63,000 are 'purely' fictional (the 'narrative' chapters within the novel), and 14,500 are 'purely' exegetical (the 2 'framing' chapters of the introduction, conceptual framework, methodology and conclusion). The exegetical layer within the novel makes up a further 12,500 words. That is, the overall proportion of 'creative' to 'exegetical' material is roughly 70:30. While the thesis is located squarely in the discipline of creative writing, the research also draws on the theoretical frameworks of other disciplines, particularly feminist human rights and socio-political theory, and lesbian feminist literary theory and philosophy. These frameworks contribute to, and aid the illumination of, the ideas raised in the creative process. The research itself is 'located' within both the exegetical and narrative components of this thesis. Each responds to the central ideas of the research question; the two 'methodologies' interacting and complementing each other to create conceptual links and associations, juxtapose images, identify patterns and generate new ideas. 3 4 ABSTRACT My Sister Chaos: Women and Exile is a creative writing thesis in a single volume. It comprises a novel - My Sister Chaos - and exegesis. Both novel and exegesis are centred around a research question: 'What are some ways of constructing and representing the idea of exile as it relates to women, particularly as lesbians and as artists?' The novel responds creatively to the question, and the exegesis engages it through the forms and processes of academic analysis. The research draws on the theoretical frameworks of feminist human rights and socio-political theory, as well as lesbian feminist literary theory and philosophy. Conceptual links and associations are created, images juxtaposed, and patterns identified to generate new ideas through the interaction of both creative and 'academic' methodologies. The broad question of how exile is experienced by women is layered with considerations of how women who reject 'the category of sex' live in a society founded upon that distinction, and how they, as artists, seek to understand and represent a world to which they do not 'belong.' 5 Doctor of Philosophy Declaration I, Larissa Fergus, declare that the PhD thesis entitled My Sister Chaos: Women and Exile is no more than I 00,000 words in length including quotes and exclusive of tables, figures, appendices, bibliography, references and footnotes. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma. Except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own work. ~t 1(11 ro Signature Date 6 Acknowledgements Thankyou first and foremost to my supervisor, Susan Hawthorne, Queen of Insight. Your enthusiasm, intellect, patience and passion are simply inspirational, and I could not have had a better guide. I undertook this thesis on an Australian Postgraduate Award for which I thank Victoria University and the principle of free education (may it survive its injuries). Thanks to the wonderful staff at VU who have made this process so much easier- especially Jane Trewin, Grace Schirripa and Lesley Birch. I'm particularly grateful to Natalie Gloster, for her unhesitating kindness and support at one of the most difficult periods of my candidature. To my extraordinary friends and colleagues, Ellen Jerie, Nikki Reicheldt, Monique Keel, Barb West, Fran Murphy, Mel Heenan, Rachael Green, Renee Imbesi and Fiona Mort - just writing this list makes me feel blessed. I can't thank you enough for your patience, humour, generosity and support over these past years. Suzanne Bellamy, the Woman Who Makes the Pots - for your revelations on life, creativity and how to afford them both, thankyou. I wrote this surrounded by your art. My fellow creative writing PhD students - Christine Gillespie, Lisa Pizaro, Kristy Davidson and Sussan Khadem ...: thankyou for the coffees, the conferences and the brilliant, bizarre trajectories of your conversation. May you never come down to earth. A Marie-Ange et Jean-Pierre Helbert, merci pour votre soutien continue par texto et votre hospitalite a Brielles. Comme c'est bien d'ecrire dans un environnement de tranquilite et avec de la bonne bouffe dans le ventre! Je pourrais bien m'y habituer ... Thanks to Janet Mackenzie, for proof-reading and copy-editing the narrative sections of the novel. To Mum and Aunty Gill - this whole endeavour has accompanied some of the hardest years of our lives and is dedicated to you. It has only been possible because of the strength, the love, and the deep, ceaseless curiosity you have always demonstrated and taught me. And to Monica, for caring for me, and for caring about what was important to me, which is more precious still. There's a part of my mind where I keep things to tell only you, and stories to make you laugh, next time we meet. Maryse, mon amour. I1 y a trop a dire, et tu sais tout. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: The Point of Beginning 11 The mapping metaphor 11 Framing intent 12 Overview of the thesis 13 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: Location, location, location 19 Practice as theory? Locating the research within the writing 20 Locate what? Conceptualising the 'subject' 25 METHODOLOGY: Process as subject 33 The 'how,' the 'why' and the 'what' 33 Parallel processes 34 ' Leading in' to the sister 35 Who speaks? 37 Divided chapters, divided selves 40 A fractal structure: topography, fugue, chaos 42 PART ONE: Topography 48 Chapter 1 49 Chapter 2 56 Chapter 3 64 Chapter 4 72 Chapter 5 81 Chapter 6 89 Chapter 7 98 Chapter 8 105 Chapter 9 119 Chapter JO 124 PART TWO: Fugue 127 Chapter 11 128 Chapter 12 132 Chapter 13 137 Chapter 14 146 Chapter 15 153 Chapter 16 161 Chapter 17 169 Chapter 18 182 Chapter 19 190 Chapter 20 193 8 Chapter 21 197 PART THREE: Chaos 207 Chapter 22 208 Chapter 23 215 Chapter 23 220 Chapter 24 226 Chapter 25 230 Chapter 26 234 Chapter 27 237 Chapter 28 239 Chapter 29 241 Chapter 30 244 Chapter 31 247 Chapter 32 252 CONCLUSION: Chaotic cartography 255 WORKS CITED 260 WORKS CONSUL TED 267 9 INTRODUCTION The Point of Beginning 10 INTRODUCTION: The Point of Beginning There really is a Point of Beginning. The Point of Beginning, it's called. You can actually visit it, which is strangely reassuring. It's marked by an engraved stone, but was originally a simple wooden stake, driven into the ground just north of the Ohio River. It was the starting location, in 1785, for the United States Public Land Survey, widely - and it would seem proudly - known as the 'greatest sub-division on Earth.' So much for reassurance. Of course the dividing and sub-dividing of land didn't start, nor stop, there. There are in fact hundreds, possibly thousands, of different Points of Beginning dotting the surface of the planet, marked by stakes, stones, metal discs, or, more often than not, designated to small parts of existing structures: the tops of flagpoles, church steeples, symbolic objects in the hands of public statues. A Point of Beginning exists wherever and whenever a large-scale land survey is embarked upon: it is the reference point from which all subsequent topographical measurements are taken. The mapping metaphor Every map needs a Point of Beginning.