JAC : A Journal Of Composition Theory ISSN : 0731-6755
MYTH AND MYTHMAKING IN POSTCOLONIAL FRANCOPHONE AFRICAN
LITERATURE
Dr.Chinmoypritam Muduli, Assistant Professor, Department of English and Other Foreign Languages, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Ramapuram Campus, Chennai.
Abstract
Although rooted in the tradition of every society and its culture, folk literature has undergone a transformation over time. It continuously adapts to different contexts to highlight the human experience, feeling, attitude, and knowledge. And it is observed in postcolonial Francophone literature that African writers rely heavily on a large number of elements of oral tradition (such as myths) not only to reformulate the cultural policy of the African postcolonial world, but also to create an epistemic condition in the construction of identity and history denied to these people by the colonizers. This Paper attempts to shed some light on the issue of myth and mythmaking and their treatment as a narrative element, from a postcolonial standpoint, in the novels by African, particularly in reference to Werewere Liking (Cameroon), Joseph Mwuantuali (Congo), Veronique Tadjo (Ivory Coast), and Gisele Halimi (Tunisia). It is this very relationship between the ‘old’ (African) oral tradition and the ‘new’ (African) writings in the French language that I wish to examine in order to see how these authors attempt to reassert and restore African reality, self-autonomy, and identity; that, beyond the problems of marginalization of the African in the story, their novels attempt, above all, a fictional reconstruction of “the social, political and ideological history and experience” of the African society as a whole.
Keywords: myth, mythmaking, postcolonialism, identity, history, gender.
Folk literature, in particular myth, has always been a story, “a great source of inspiration” (Eapen ii),
for writers, and “a support system for the various happenings in life” (Eapen 6) in African cultures.
Though rooted in the tradition of every society and its culture, the use of myth has undergone a
transformation over time. They are continuously adapted to the contemporary context to highlight
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the human experience, feeling, attitude, and knowledge. And it is observed in postcolonial
Francophone literature that African writers rely heavily on such myths not only to reformulate the
cultural policy of the African postcolonial world, but also to create an epistemic condition in the
construction of identity and history denied to these people by the colonizers.1
This Paper attempts to shed some light on the issue of myth and mythmaking as narrative element,
from a postcolonial standpoint, in six African novels in French: Orphée-Dafric by Werewere
Liking (Cameroon); L’Impair de la Nation by Joseph Mwuantuali (Congo); Reine Pokou by
Veronique Tadjo (Ivory Coast); and La Kahina by Gisele Halimi (Tunisia). It is this very
relationship between the ‘old' (African) oral tradition and the ‘new' (African) writings in the French
language that I wish to examine in order to see how these authors attempt to reassert and restore
African reality, self-autonomy, and identity; that, beyond the problems of marginalization of the
African in the story, their novels attempt, above all, a fictional reconstruction of “the social,
political and ideological history and experience” (Gadjigo 37) of the African society as a whole.
Discussion On Myth And Myth-Making
Myths are traditional or legendary stories, usually concerning gods and heroes, with or without a
determinate basis of fact or a natural explanation, that explain the nature of the universe and the
relationship human beings entertain with it. These narratives express the practise, rite, institution
and values of a particular society (Cucca 166).
Myth making or mythopoeia, on the other hand, is an “act of making (creating) mythologies. This
form of narrative genre aims to integrate traditional mythological themes and archetypes in order to
add credibility and depth to fictional works and movies” (“Mythopoeia”). “Writers select a myth –
traditional, religious or imaginatively created – and exploit the metaphorical resources of the whole
or part of the myth to create a story which is relevant to the modern age...The objective of
mythopoesis is to use the old myth to address a particular concern of society and thus make the old
1 In his books The Invention of Africa (1988) and The Idea of Africa (1994), V. Y. Mudimbe argues that, since the Hellenistic age, Africa has "been represented in Western scholarships by ‘fantasies' and ‘constructs'" (1994: xv).
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myth relevant to the contemporary age” (Aning 47). Clearly, “we humans need myth” (Howe).
However, myth in the contemporary sense can be understood in several ways. As Gregory
Schrempp rightly points out:
"Myth" refers to colorful stories that tell about the origins of humans and the cosmos.
Attitudes towards myth vary greatly. Some regard it as a source of spiritual growth, while
others see only falsehood. Some see in myth the distinct character of particular cultures,
while others see universal patterns. Some regard myth as "contemporary" and "alive",
while others think of it as "ancient" and/or "dead" (Magoulick).
It is for this very reason that we are interested in myths and mythmaking, and attempt to bring to the
light of day. In this postmodern world, myths take on a whole new form and continue to intrigue us
for their symbolic, metaphoric and narrative values.
Elsewhere, Martha Weigle explains that myths are needed in times of identity crisis:
“Significant psychic transformation – whether an important decision, critical insight,
creative task, schizophrenic break, or change in consciousness – is heralded and expressed
by cosmogonic myths and motifs in dreams and various verbal and visual creations. Only
apparent incompatibility needs myth to resolve or make sense of social dilemmas”(10).
Thus, “Culture heroes, whether human or animal, female or male, bring or bring about
valuable objects, teachings and natural changes which make possible human society and
survival” (Weigle 53).
According to Carolyne Larrington, “myth’s definition has to stretch. Myth is, rather, a continnum, a
collection ‘of a web of meanings’...The power of the story to shape the characters of its listeners,
and the power of the listeners to reshape the story in the retelling, is at the hub of it.” Thus, in this
study, African writers are the characters and the re-tellers, and the myths they examine are symbolic,
archetypal and mnemonic in nature (97).
Their novels, in this case, are supreme mediums of myth and “versions of myth-making”
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(MacConnell 6), given that they activate archetypes, which allow the audience to relate and identify
with the character and the situation, both socially and culturally. In doing this, these novels are able
to create an epistemic condition in the construction and reaffirmation of identities, history and
cultural values to their audience. Hence, discussing about myths and novels has much to do with
discussing about ourselves and the world around us; and how we represent and position ourselves
within this view (Cucca 167-68). Their transformation, construction and manifestation in
contemporary literary works have a lot to do with questions of history, ethnicity, cultural identity,
and nationality. In this context, and solely within the confines of this work, to be interested in
representations of narratives and images of the past is to be interested about the notion of
Africanness and how it is constructed and perceived from a contemporary standpoint (Higham 3-4).
In the novels selected, we shall see how the African writer tries to recover and bring in
mythological systems of thought and narratives to the fore by the means of foreign languages to
reconstruct identity in order to derive from such an image his or her own history and a source of
reference. But this identity is not a point back in time, but a process of repositioning and being
repositioned in the present through the memory of the past.
Myth as Symbol: the Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice
Forming an important part of this literary assertion are Werewere Liking’s Orphée-Dafric (1981)
and Joseph Mwuantuali’s L’Impair de la Nation (2007). Both these novels use myth as a symbol,
turning to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, with the aim not only to discover and preserve the
African culture and politics, but also to find answers to current problems particularly concerning the
community and the individual. In Orphée-Dafric, Liking weaves the greco-roman myth into a
modern tale of quest and adventure for wisdom and rebirth. Interestingly, the myth or quest of
Orpheus occurs frequently in cultures of numerous African societies, and here it takes a symbolic
meaning, that is Orpheus’ descent into hell is a necessary one, according to the author, so that
Africa can lift itself out of the abysmal state. Moreover, in making reference to rites and customs of
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the Bassa people, Liking merges the universal myth into a local one, thereby ‘tropicalising’ the
ancient classic myth. For example, the author reserves the Greek name of “Orpheus” for the male
protagonist, while also keeping the Bassa name of “Nyango” for the female counterpart. It is also
interesting to note that the story takes the form of a double narration - a story within a story.
Orphee is witness to the death of his wife Nyango during a ride on a kayak, only to find out that it
was all a dream during his wedding night. In this dream, the former decides to go in search of her in
the unknown and mysterious land of his ancestors. His love for Nyango thus becomes the driving
force in his voyage towards supreme realisation. The protagonist passes through three stages: the
novice, the disciple and the initiated.
Similarly, in Joseph Mwuantuli’s L’Impair de la Nation, Ndenga and Loulou, the protagonists, must
necessarily make a journey down to Hades, a double voyage one might say: first, a return to their
native country, and second, a withdrawal into one’s self before advocating for the renaissance of
Africa. In the first part of the novel, the author draws inspiration from the Senegalese culture and
introduces us to the mystic world of traditional African societies. In the second part, the protagonist
resurfaces, transformed, ready to take part and act in the world. In truth, the political and cultural
success of the protagonists, and of Africa in general, rests not only on their (Ndenga and Loulou)
ability to feed their sense of modernity by the cultural lifeblood of Africa and the esoteric
knowledge of their ancestors, but also to account for and accept the politico-economic action of
women (like the Association of Nana Benz or the Mama Moziki 100 Kilos) as a prerequisite for
their renaissance.
From a thematic point of view, the adaptation of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in the African
context allows to shift attention from the chaos and confusion to a metamorphosis of a society that
is more wholesome, humane, and compatible, and where conflicting values are resolved. The myth
of Orpheus serves as a medium to re-examine and re-evaluate society. Its use in the two novels
allow the reader to better comprehend the situation of the world – the first necessary step or stage
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towards the redefinition and transformation of oneself. To this end, the myth is universal; it is an
educational tool, a moral story full of hope, and above all a means to find ever new meaning to our
political, social, intellectual and spiritual life. In this case, the myth becomes a life force.
To the African writers, Orpheus personifies patriotism, nationalism and pure love. The adventure of
Orpheus in the two novels represents ‘purification’ – a descent to the depth of the world of dreams
and unconsciousness, resulting in the rediscovery of oneself. The transformation of the self,
according to Liking, is an essential first step towards a change in society.
Myth as Archetype: The Female Warrior or the Amazon
Elsewhere, Veronique Tadjo and Gisele Halimi make use of the archetypal myth of the female
warrior (the Amazon) in their novels Reine Pokou and La Kahina, respectively. Interestingly, the
development and promotion of the Amazon warrior in the African society comes at a time where
white Western feminism is considered as normative, at the exclusion of experiences of black
women in Africa (“African Feminism”). In a world of ‘McDonalization’ where cultures of third-
world countries are fast disappearing one after another, these feminist myth-makers attempt not
only to revise the image of the woman and gender, but also to examine and transform the political
and personal will, culture, life and literature of or by the subaltern; to create characters which defy
all conventions so as to suggest possible alternatives for the lives of women in our society in
matters of marriage, sexual liberty, maternity, autonomy, place in the family and in public, and
feminity.
For example, in the novel Queen Pokou (Reine Pokou), Tadjo reinvents an ancient myth of the
people of Akan and weaves it into a historic setting in the eighteenth century. Legend has it that
Queen Pokou had to sacrifice her only son for her people escaping a genocide before crossing the
river, which successfully led to the creation of the Baoule kingdom. However, in the novel, queen
Pokou does not play the role of Moses of the Old Testament: the author constantly reworks the
intention of the character. The image of a leader sacrificing her son in order to seek power and glory
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is replaced by a mother who fights to keep her son alive instead. Contrary to the legend, Veronique
Tadjo in her eponymous novel, lets her imagination run free and seeks to find again a meaning to
this myth in its multiplicity. In telling the story of the Amazone heroine, the author not only sheds
some light on the relation between a mother and son, but also reminds us of the constant struggle
and challenges faced by women all over.
Similarly, Gisele Halimi, in La Kahina, focuses on the Berber female warrior or mythical political
leader in the North of Africa. The author wishes to honour a unique character in history, by
presenting a role model – a standar-bearer of cultural values – to the working women. What is
extraordinary is that Kahina was a woman and the Berbers never took order from a woman. If she
was successful, it is because of her “masculine” and fighting qualities developed at a young age
against the wishes of her parents, of her courage to fight against sociocultural norms and gender
roles and responsibilities. According to Halimi, this Amazon heroine is a feminist avant-garde
symbol who, for women today and for African women in particular, shows the way of absolute
freedom of the body. Also, as a feminist political leader, this heroine was “detached from all
emotional and physical influences” (Interview with Gisele Halimi).
A reading of these two novels most definitely encourages us to ask questions and have provocative
ideas in regard to female protagonists; and in doing so, undermining and circumventing
conventional points of view widely accepted on the issues of women and their liberty. With the help
of the characters, the authors paint the reality of life, and point out that human beings must be able
to make choices and take different decisions at every crossroad in their life. These choices and
decisions, to a large extent, have forged the personalities and psyche of these female protagonists.
While women are otherwise perceived as docile, Halimi and Tadjo have painted instead a dynamic
and vibrant figure. While female warriors seldom garner interest in academic research and literature,
the authors here aim to give a voice to a group of women who quest for their true purpose, willing
to go their way at a time when possibilities in life were all too few. While recounting their stories,
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the authors make us aware of the ability to perceive life with respect to myth rather than reason. As
Nina Auerbach remarks: “Woman's freedom is no longer simple initiation into historical integrity,
but the rebirth of mythic potential. The mythologies of the past have become stronger endowments
than oppressions" (184).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Werewere Liking, Joseph Mwantuali, Veronique Tadjo and Gisele Halimi, amongst
other modern-day Francophone “griots”2 use myth in an attempt to “restore”3 African reality, self-
autonomy, and subject-hood. In the quest for racial and cultural identity, these writers have been
successful to utilize myth as a positive force to bring about an African cultural expression. Their
efforts to historicize and rewrite their folklore offer readers a perspective of reality, absurdity,
consternation and struggle of African life.
Eminent sociologist Peter Berger once said:
“the inherited world-view of any culture or society is a created one. Humans do not come
into the world with a given relationship to it; we create our purpose and impose our own
significance upon the world. This insight into the "constructed" nature of culture is,
indeed, a fundamental insight of postmodernism” (Walsh-Pasulka).
In the face of confusion, fragmentation and dislocation, the postmodern I seeks certain coherence
and set of reference to his/her actions and choices – necessary for his/her own identity construction
and guidance in the areas of personal, social, and political life. And these novels prove to be an
excellent medium or a platform for imparting such values and guidance and constructing identities
through the use of myths. The needs of the present are sought in the images of the past, with the
return of certain narratives and characters which break cultural boundaries and resolve conflicts: the
story of Orpheus and Ndenga, of Queen Pokou or that Kahina forces a comparison with our own
2 “Griots are historians, praise-singers, and musical entertainers. They are the guardians of the knowledge of their people's ancestry and genealogy… Griots are entrusted with the memorization, recitation, and passing on of cultural traditions from one generation to the next.” (“The Oral Traditions of Africa") 3 "Restore" means "to give back that which has been stolen," "to reproduce faithfully," as well as "to reconstruct" or "to restore a painting or a text." (Toumson 15)
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lives and allows a positive articulation not only for a particular section of people concerned, who
see larger-than-life and emancipated models in the characters, but also for groups that perceive
themselves as weak in general (Cucca 174). Such novels act “as bridges between the real and the
symbolic through the staging of cultural myths that have the power to convene universal values
already shared and experienced in the real world” (Cucca 176).
Works Cited
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Aning, J. “Armah’s linguistic mythopoesis.” Journal of Science and Technology 20.6 (June 2015):
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Auerbach, Nina. Woman and the Demon: the Life of a Victorian Myth. Harvard University Press,
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Cucca, Valentina. “Biopics as Postmodern Mythmaking.” Akademisk kvarter, 2 (2011). Print.
Eapen, Indhu M. “Myth and the Postcolonial: A Study of Selected Novels.” Thesis. The English
and Foreign Languages University, 2010. Print.
Gadjigo, Samba. “Literature and History: The Case of Cheikh Hamidou Kane's “Ambiguous
Adventure”” Research in African Literatures 22.4 (1991): 29-38. Print.
Higham, N. J. King Arthur: Myth-Making and History. Abingdon: Routledge, 2009. Print.
Howe, John. “Myth-making for the Modern Man.” John Howe. N.p., 22 Nov. 2017. Web. 30 Dec.
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MacConnell, Frank D. Storytelling and Mythmaking : Images from Film and Literature. New York ;
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Oxford University Press, 1979. Print.
Magoulick, Mary. “What Is Myth?” Folklore Connections. N.p., 2004. Web. 30 Dec. 2019.
Mudimbe, V. Y. The Idea of Africa. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1994. Print.
Mudimbe, V. Y. The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge.
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“Myth.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
“Mythology.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.
“Mythopoeia.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Dec. 2019. Web. 29 Dec. 2019.
Rowe, Marsha, and Carolyne Larrington. “The Feminist Companion to Mythology.” Feminist
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Web. Nov 2015. URL: Africa-Article/>. Toumson, Roger. “Interview with Simone Schwarz-Bart” Textes, Etudes, et Documents: Pluie et vent sur Telumie Miracle, Fort-de-France: Editions Caribiennes, 1979, Print. Walsh-Pasulka, Diana. “Film Review : The Matrix Reloaded.” Journal of Religion and Film, Vol. 7. no. 2, 2003. Weigle, Marta. Creation and Procreation: Feminist Reflections on Mythologies of Cosmogony and Parturition. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991. Print. Weigle, Marta. Spiders & Spinsters: Women and Mythology. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1982. Print. Volume XIII Issue III MARCH 2020 Page No: 774 JAC : A Journal Of Composition Theory ISSN : 0731-6755 DISCOURSE OF MYTH AND DEMYTHIFICATION IN GORE VIDAL’S JULIAN Dr.G.Dhanavel, Assistant professor, Sri Balaji Arts and Science College, Chennai. Abstract Gore Vidal is one of the greatest twentieth century American novelists. He wrote almost every genre except poetry. He wrote short-stories and novels, and he was also considered as a master essayist. His powerful satire of the religious, mythological, historical, sexual, literary and academic ideologies of America in the characteristic method of textual play of conflictive discourses which engenders a decenterd worldview thus proves beyond doubt that he is a deconstructive satirist. This paper deals with Gore Vidal’s parody on the myths perpetuated by religious ideologies as perceived in Vidal’s Julian. It shows how Vidal uncovers the fraudulency of the religions, especially Christianity and the various cults that emanate from them. He also deconstructs Christ by exploiting the volatility of these signifiers which do not have any objective signified, and by a reversal of the Christ/Antichrist opposition in John Cave. The deconstruction of these figures also effects the subversion of the doctrines of Christianity and mocks at those who believe in them. The affectation, hypocrisy and superstition found m historical Christianity and bred by the religions and cults are also delineated. It also elucidates the effects of the commercialization of religion, its power and hegemony over the masses that could result in a totalitarian religious order or unleash a potent destructive force that can destroy the world, through the machinizations of a crazy cult leader. Vidal’s uncovering of the evils within the ideology of the system of organized religions ruptures any blind adherence to them. Keywords: Christianity, Myth, Religion, Demythification Volume XIII Issue III MARCH 2020 Page No: 775 JAC : A Journal Of Composition Theory ISSN : 0731-6755 Gore Vidal is one of the greatest twentieth century American novelists. He wrote almost every genre except poetry. He wrote short-stories and novels, and he was also considered as a master essayist. His powerful satire of the religious, mythological, historical, sexual, literary and academic ideologies of America in the characteristic method of textual play of conflictive discourses which engenders a decenterd worldview thus proves beyond doubt that he is a deconstructive satirist. But this has so far been lost on critics, clouded by his reputation as a popular writer. This is further compounded by the fact of his versatility as writer. The ease with which he succeeds in every field he enters has baffled many critics. More than either of these factors, however, the radical indeterminacy of his works has made it difficult for critics to categorize him. It is the decentered view of the world combined with the radical indeterminacy in his novels and essays which makes it difficult for critics to categorize Vidal. The indeterminacy of his novels is further evidenced in the dual nature of his works which also defies a critic’s attempt at any final say on Vidal’s art. Having been persistently anti-American, anti-institutional, anti-Christian and anti-traditional, His purported allegiance to the eighteenth century aesthetic of the novel has puzzled many critics. One would have expected a person so anti-traditional to have accepted the vanguard of experimental art. Yet Vidal with his iconoclastic outlook of life and his ridicule of all that is traditional only mocks at experimental art/postmodern theory. This is rather difficult for critics to reconcile with. The popularity, moreover, of Vidal’s writings is a sore in the eyes of the academicians. For years, his books have been on the list of bestsellers. But, he has also proved to his critics and readers alike that his books are not mere slapstick entertainers without substance. The painstaking research of the historical novels and scholarship of all the works in general, as well as the parody of the academic/experimental novels show that even Volume XIII Issue III MARCH 2020 Page No: 776 JAC : A Journal Of Composition Theory ISSN : 0731-6755 Vidal is academic to an extent and can play with the academic as the academic plays with words. Again, his mobile skills defy unambiguous labeling. Religion is a very common subject of satire. The serious demands religion imposes on man and affectation and hypocrisy that it engenders has always been the butt of ridicule. Both clergy and laymen are thus favourite targets of attack. Yet not many have attacked, mocked or ridiculed Godhead itself. Traditionally, it is a forbidden subject and is considered an act of hubris. But the sense of ennui, meaninglessness of life, and the consequent declaration of the “death of god” by the existentialist, during the post-war period, saw the myth of godhead exploded and made possible a satirical attack of godhead itself. In Julian (1964) Vidal deconstructs the myths of Christ and attacks the religious ideologies of Christianity. Through a subversive portrayal of the deity in the protagonist of the novel, Vidal undoes the deityship of Christ, contests their doctrinal claims, and simultaneously ridicules the adherents of these faiths. In the process Vidal uncovers the superstition, hypocrisy, affectation, and destructive force of the religious cults that prosper on the gullibility of masses. Vidal’s process of ‘demythification’ in his novels strikes at the very heart of godhead and the spuriousness of religion itself, thereby positing a re-examination of religious beliefs that man so blindly adheres to. Religion has played a major role in shaping the character, society, and culture of America. As the Pilgrim Fathers flew from persecution into the New World, they also created myths that assured them of God’s special protection and care. America was, to them, the Promised Land, and they saw themselves as the covenant people. While the country evolved through the centuries, religion too evolved into h plurality, but the essence of the Christian beliefs was never lost. America still visualised itself as the nation “under God” and religion directed the social, political, and even economic considerations of the country, indeed of life itself. The decades of the 1950s were no exception either. When Vidal wrote Julian, Volume XIII Issue III MARCH 2020 Page No: 777 JAC : A Journal Of Composition Theory ISSN : 0731-6755 America was revelling in the optimism of its post-war materialistic boom. Having emerged unscathed from the war and establishing itself as a world power economically, militarily and scientifically, America, proved itself, as it were, to be a nation “under God.” As dollars after dollars rolled out from the mint with the legend “In God We Trust,” America experienced a religious revival. Simultaneously there occurred a media explosion making the world a “global village.” Revivalists were quick to grab this opportunity and turned the television into a pulpit, where sinners could be saved by the “blood of the Lamb.” Consequently, religious organizations on the lines of industries and enterprises cropped up their influence as ever permeating the culture of the States. Each of them proclaimed a saviour, knowledge of afterlife, a second coming, and the end of the world with different yet appealing flavours. In spite of the seeping materialism and scientific spirit America accommodated various mystic theologies propounding life after death that was, in Vidal’s view more often than not, ridden with deep-seated superstitious beliefs. Julian is written in this background but it is primarily products of Vidal’s reading of the life of Christ in the Gospels, and Ecclesiastical history. The life of Christ exists as extant myths in the national consciousness of the nation, America. This enabled Vidal to accomplish with the participation of the reader, the deconstruction of the myths. Vidal’s strategy follows the method explained in the last chapter. As he converts his reading into writing, that is, the history of Christianity and the myths of Christ into the novel, Vidal retain the original significance or the formal structure of the history/myth while introducing an opposing signification, thereby rupturing the original mythical/historical text. Julian supplements Messiah in its questioning of Christianity. Its method is that of direct denunciation and the traditional ironic differences of ideal and practice/appearance and reality. But the story emerges through the separate discourses of three narrators, which question, relativize each other and render the text problematic. In the context of Christianity, Volume XIII Issue III MARCH 2020 Page No: 778 JAC : A Journal Of Composition Theory ISSN : 0731-6755 however, Vidal brings such binaries as Old Testament/New Testament, Christianity/Hellenism into play to rupture the deityship of Christ and the doctrines of Christianity. In the process he also works on the image of Julian, redeems him to that of a secularist while simultaneously undercutting it by a contradictory ironic discourse of his belief in Mithraism. He thus renders the figure of Julian problematic by juxtaposing his opposition to Christianity with secularism which is in turn undermined by Julian’s faith in Mithraism. The mythical/historical content of all the three novels traverses, crosses and informs each other. But Vidal uses this mythical/historical content in the postmodernist manner. Traditionally mythology and literature were indistinguishable. The primal literature of many nations is thus totally mythological. For example, Greek and Indian literatures cannot be differentiated from their mythology. They are the same. In their use of such a mythology, great masters drew heavily from it in the allusive and archetypal mode. Myths in literature were a matter of common usage that more often than not provided the plot-structure and story element of many works. It became a wholesome part of the content of these works thus lending to them universality. In the modern age, however, myths emerged as a technique in the works of modern writers. Coining the term ‘mythical method’ for this technique, Eliot in his essay on Ulysses in 1923 defined it as a way of controlling and ordering the chaos of contemporary history. Since there was no order m reality, the artist sought, through the mythical method, to create order for himself in his work of art. He provided a semblance of self- satisfying order to fill the lack in reality. But the postmodernist with his decentered view of the world and his acceptance of chaos, sees this as an escape from reality. He disparages this tendency of creating self-sustaining orders of art which cannot resolve the chaos of reality. The postmodernist therefore carries out the “dismemberment of Orpheus.” He incorporates myth in his work only to rupture its order, its semblance of unity and to Volume XIII Issue III MARCH 2020 Page No: 779 JAC : A Journal Of Composition Theory ISSN : 0731-6755 demonstrate the fact that no myth can suffice man’s needs. It is this kind of ‘demythification’ that Vidal indulges in, in Julian. Julian targets the history of Christianity. By reading into the past and uncovering Christianity inside out, Vidal not only exposes the hitherto spotless image of the religion but also reveals Julian, the ‘apostate,’ in a new light. The differences between ideal and practice, divisions in the church, the evolution of doctrines which end in absolutism, the contradictions between the Old and New Testaments and the appropriation of Hellenism portray Christianity as an evil, while Julian’s anti-Christian image is redeemed to that of a secularist. Julian’s questioning of Christianity starts on a personal level. At an early age his father is killed by Constantius who is supposed to be a devout Christian. On another occasion in childhood, Julian witnesses two old men being man-handled by priests for being heretics. These events of his childhood sow the seeds of rebellion in him against Christianity. He reflects: “Even a child could see the divisions between what the Galileans say they believe and what, in fact, they do believe as demonstrated by their action” (31). Later the divisions that arise from doctrinal quarrels and the violence they engender establish his opposition to the religion. The Athanasian and Arians differed on the interpretation of Jesus’ relationship to the Father and engaged in continuous quarrels over it. Protestantism and Catholicism also took root in Julian’s lifetime and resulted m much strife, violence, and bloodshed. Moreover, these divisions based on differing doctrines were themselves made by extrapolatary interpretation of the scripture in a series of Ecumenical councils. The dogmatism, absolutism, and intolerance of others made Christianity a very disturbing and peace-breaking religion. Julian’s analysis of early Christianity is very much Vidalian. He calls it “an age diseased by the quarrels and intolerance of sect...” (22). Castigating the religion with utmost contempt, he says: “No evil ever entered the world quite so vividly or on such a vast scale as Christianity did” (129). Elsewhere Vidal makes the point that American society has been shaped morally Volume XIII Issue III MARCH 2020 Page No: 780 JAC : A Journal Of Composition Theory ISSN : 0731-6755 and intellectually for good or ill by Christianity. In “An Afterword” to The City and the Pillar, Vidal says: The murderous instincts of Christian absolutism first emerged in the fourth century. And I do not think it an exaggeration to say that over the centuries, Christianity has been responsible for more bloodshed than any other force in Western life (163) Julian’s record of contradictions between the Old and the New Testaments is rather naive for an intellectual of his stature. Nevertheless they present indubitable paradoxes that challenge the unity of the scriptures which are explained away as mysteries. Julian contends that Jesus could not be the Son of God since he was a Jew and therefore calling himself Son of God would mean blasphemy. He also disagrees with Paul’s vi6w that God is God both of Jews and gentiles because by God’s own admission God is jealous God. Of Jesus’ deityship, Julian says, “Are we to believe that there was no god until the appearance of a rabble-rousing carpenter three-hundred years ago” (149). In Vidal’s final analysis, Jesus is a rebel Jewish rabbi who acted out each prophetic requirement in order to fight the Roman empire. Julian also accuses Christianity of appropriating all the myths of Hellenism. He notes that in Christianity feast-days and saint were created as in Hellenism. Jesus was called saviour-healer like Asklepois, while the doctrine of trinity is modelled on the Hellenist triune Apollos, Helios, and Mithras. In this context Priscus remarks: “The Christians have slyly incorporated most of the popular elements of Mithras and Demeter and Dionysus into their own rites.Modern Christianity is an encyclopaedia of traditional superstition” (84). Having shown early/historical Christianity in a denigrating light, Vidal now establishes Julian as a secularist. He portrays Julian’s tolerance of all religions. After having become an emperor, Julian issues an edict to the effect that all religions should be tolerated. But the vindication of Julian does not overlook his weaknesses either. As Vidal lets Volume XIII Issue III MARCH 2020 Page No: 781 JAC : A Journal Of Composition Theory ISSN : 0731-6755 Christianity fall on its own shortcomings, so he allows the anti-rational and superstitious side of Julian’s personality to be revealed. Julian embraces Hellenism through rituals and mysteries, which to Priscus is as nonsensical as Christianity: Granted, no educated man can accept the idea of a Jewish rebel as god. But having rejected that myth, how can then one believe that the Persian hero-god Mithras was born of light striking rock on December, 25...(84) Pricus sees no essential difference between Christianity and Mithraism. But Julian embraces it and feels that he is “born again”, that he is the chosen one of the Sun god for the accomplishment of a mission. Once more, Priscus notes that Julian’s belief in a magic ceremony makes him fall into the same nonsense as the superstition of the Christians. Thus while allowing Julian to undermine Christianity, Vidal does not vindicate Julian’s fanatical adherence to Hellenism. Julian’s belief in Mithraism is shown to be as perverse as the belief in Christianity. By debunking/decentering Christianity as a religion of superstition and ritual, Julian undercuts his own rational stand, his only saving grace being his secularism. However Vidal rewrites the early history of Christianity and through it reshapes the personality of Julian to a positive one. The historical apostate of the Christian point of view is changed to a secularist in Vidal’s version. While in Messiah Vidal displaces Christ from the centre of history in Julian, he redeems Julian from the marginal and foregrounds him into the centre, thus reversing the historical understanding of Julian’s image of apostasy. In Julian, Vidal’s deconstructive satire demythifies the divinity of Christ, exalts Julian the renegade, and thereby attacks the spuriousness of religion itself. Consequently, he mocks at those who believe in these deities and the affectation and hypocrisy of those who practice it. In choosing to examine two diametrically opposite religions, one Occidental and one Oriental, Vidal points at the underlying continuum of incredulous beliefs that have grasped people’s mind in the two hemispheres. The contrast between the two cultures and the Volume XIII Issue III MARCH 2020 Page No: 782 JAC : A Journal Of Composition Theory ISSN : 0731-6755 two religions is, however, overcome by the underlying similarity of the archetype of the incarnations. Julian thus has sceptical narrators who do not believe in an after-life and as Luther points out, do not accept one recorded revelation at the expense of the other. Yet ambiguously, Julian the intellectual who rejects Christianity almost embraces Mithraism. Vidal’s questioning of the religious ideologies of Christianity subversion of the divinity of Christ and exaltation of Julian demonstrate that man himself could fabricate such ideologies for selfish ends. It opens the religious ideologies to a re-examination, a testing of its validity without blind adherence to them, and is therefore to be viewed in a positive light. It is pertinent that in his early twenties, Vidal met Santayana at the hospital of the Blue Nuns in Home. At his parting Santayana told him: “I think you’ll have a happy life because you lack superstition (88) as quoted in Berryman’s “Satire in Gore Vidal’s Kalki.” The prophecy has proved true. References Berryman, Charles. “Satire in Gore Vidal’s Kalki.” Critique 22.2 (1980): 88-96. Print. Davidon, A.M. “Gore Vidal and the Two Headed Monster.” Nation 218 (1974): 661-3. Print. Dick, Bernard F. The Apostate Angel: A Critical Study of Gore Vidal. New York: Random House, 1974. Print. Kiernan, Robert F. Gore Vidal. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1982. Print. Vidal, Gore. Julian: A Novel. New York: Signet Books, 1985. Print. ---. “An Afterword.” The City and the Pillar Revised. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1965. Print. 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