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Jonathan Franzen's Freedom in the Post-Postmodernist

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Jonathan Franzen's Freedom in the Post-Postmodernist Corso di Laurea magistrale in Scienze del Linguaggio Tesi di Laurea Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom in the Post-postmodernist Era Relatrice Prof.ssa Pia Masiero Correlatore Prof. Simone Francescato Laureanda Francesca Innocente Matricola 870306 Anno Accademico 2018 / 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 1. Jonathan Franzen: Great American Novelist? ......................................................... 5 1.1 The Essay in Dark Times: writing essays is firefighters’ business .................... 7 1.2 On Purity .......................................................................................................... 12 2. Freedom: too much of a good thing ....................................................................... 16 2.1 Political turmoil ................................................................................................ 17 2.2 The Cerulean Warbler and other stories ........................................................... 19 2.3 Geographical coordinates ................................................................................. 22 2.4 Autobiography and the power of storytelling .................................................. 23 2.5 Closure is the key ............................................................................................. 25 3. Post-postmodernism ............................................................................................... 29 3.1 Manifestos ........................................................................................................ 29 3.2 Conservatism, compromise, realism: are we looking forward or backward? .. 33 3.3 Irony, sincerity or both? ................................................................................... 37 4. Freedom: an analysis of the novel ......................................................................... 41 4.1 Family and parents-children relationships ....................................................... 41 4.2 Making the world a better place: the environment, politics and other troubles 57 4.3 Narcissism and American exceptionalism – a winning combination? ............. 69 4.4 “In touch with the void”: reconnecting with and through others ..................... 80 5. Post-postmodernist thoughts: “If we are so free, why aren’t we happy?” ........... 100 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 110 Works Cited ............................................................................................................. 113 INTRODUCTION In the past few decades, the alleged death of postmodernism and the need for a new kind of literature has shaped the American contemporary literary scene; different writers have distinguished themselves for their different approaches towards the form and content of their works, together with their personal idea of literature. Jonathan Franzen started his career in 1988 with The Twenty-Seventh City and was dubbed Great American Novelist on Time magazine’s cover in 2010, right before the debut of his fourth novel, Freedom. During these years, he dedicated his time to non-fiction essays which, despite being criticized, have been able to connect with the audience, focusing on (literary and non-literary) matters deemed important to convey his beliefs. I believe that developing the existent academic discourse on Jonathan Franzen’s works, specifically considering his contribution to what has been called post-postmodernism, is of high importance, as Franzen explicitly deals with what being a writer entails in today’s society, as well as personal experiences which have molded his own world – his travels around the world to satisfy his bird-listing compulsion, but also his reflections about books and authors that have struck or helped him. I believe that Freedom, his fourth work of fiction, can be considered a representative of the literary trend that has followed postmodernism: the so-called post-postmodernism. An analysis of the novel meant to highlight the specific and unique combination of features that can be linked with this literary (but mostly cultural) trend and its on-going definition is still missing. By focusing on Freedom, this study aims to answer the following questions: how is it relevant to nowadays post-postmodernist literary trend? In what unique way has Franzen joined his contemporaries to shape this new phenomenon and why can his contribution be considered significant in this instance? In chapter 1, I will present Jonathan Franzen and his professional career as a writer, focusing not only on his novels, but also taking into account his wide non- fiction production, made up of essays that have marked – often eliciting critical reactions – his stance concerning literature, how its role has changed and what has come to represent in today’s society, together with the role of the writer and his 1 relationship with his work and his audience. Not only are Franzen’s ideas relevant to his own works, but they are also helpful to understand how to position him within the post-postmodern debate. Freedom has been the object of extensive discussion among critics and scholars, mainly due to its realist turn, as it has been interpreted by many, and because it has signaled a sort of conversion on Franzen’s part, or, more appropriately, his final rejection of postmodernism. Chapter 2 aims to sum up all the main themes and features that have already been analyzed by scholars and critics. This “map of the territory” will be the starting point for my own analysis. Post-postmodernism is still a growing trend, changing its face as we speak, thanks to artists and writers who have reinterpreted it according to their sensibility and the influence of their surrounding environment. In chapter 3, I wish to give an essential framework of how post-postmodernism originated, how it has been defined by writers through manifestos and how it has been described so far according to its prominent features, among which a rejection of postmodernist rebellious impulse and a return to a more realist storytelling emerge. As I will emphasize, the term realism takes on a new meaning during the 21st century thanks to the rise of post-postmodernism and the need to re-appropriate the single-entendre values which went lost in postmodernist times. On the basis of these premises, I set out to analyze Freedom, focusing especially on the main characters – Patty, Walter and Joey Berglund – and their psychological characterization. I am particularly interested in considering the family ties that affect their lives throughout the whole book, but also the communities in which they find themselves and the socio-political background that characterizes the United States in the first years of the new millennium. Political and environmental issues are intertwined with the personal lives of the characters, who experience a tormented sense of self and proceed to make a series of mistakes that will reveal their weaknesses. Yet, despite all the troubles they go through, reconciliation will be achieved, and they will make amends both with themselves and with others. Freedom’s closure, I will argue, is particularly relevant to link the novel to the post-postmodernist scenario. Besides looking at its realist elements, in chapter 5 I will try to show how the three so-called “symptoms” of post-postmodernism, identified by 2 Nicoline Timmer in her study of three contemporary writers, can be found in Franzen’s work. The lack of decision-making tools, the impossibility of feeling caused by excessive and overwhelming pain, and the structural need for a we are the main elements with which she defines the present human condition. I believe that Freedom expresses all three of them, articulating them in a unique way, and, through a reflection upon the theme to which the title refers, it has the power to share with readers a renewed need for those values which make us human. 3 4 1. JONATHAN FRANZEN: GREAT AMERICAN NOVELIST? In August 2010, right before Freedom came out, Jonathan Franzen appeared on the cover of Time magazine, dubbed as Great American Novelist – a privilege that not many writers have had in their lifetime. In his article, Lev Grossman emphasizes one of the author’s features that may be considered his trademark through his whole career, despite the shifts and turns he has been through: his self-consciousness. Being conscious of himself and even more “of your self too” (where “your” refers to the reader’s) is what makes him such a good writer, one who does not give up when he finds himself stalled, doubting whether he has chosen the right track, whether art is a viable tool to affect the world or, at least, to bring some sort of pleasure to it (Grossman). I believe that Franzen’s self-consciousness has indeed been important for his professional development, as it has undoubtedly helped him to realize what he was writing about, how he was doing it, and who he was writing for. National greatness, a significant milestone for an American writer, consists both in the writer’s ability to understand his audience and the socio-cultural context of his time and in his willingness to convey his own point of view about it, to spread a message that urges people to think about some important issues and their consequences at large. National greatness, I would argue, is a way for a writer to reach his audience deeply and inspire a change – even if
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