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Tesis Doctoral UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID FACULTAD DE FILOLOGÍA Departamento de Filología Inglesa II (Literatura de los Países de Lengua Inglesa) TESIS DOCTORAL Referencias sociológicas y culturales en la obra de John Osborne The cultural and social dimensions of the works of John Osborne MEMORIA PARA OPTAR AL GRADO DE DOCTOR PRESENTADA POR María del Mar Vega Esteban Director Juan Manuel Núñez Yusta Madrid, 2016 © María del Mar Vega Esteban, 2015 UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID Facultad de Filosofía y Letras Departamento de Filología Inglesa II REFERENCIAS SOCIOLÓGICAS Y CULTURALES EN LA OBRA DE JOHN OSBORNE THE CULTURAL AND SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF THE WORKS OF JOHN OSBORNE MEMORIA PARA OPTAR AL GRADO DE DOCTOR PRESENTADA POR Doña María del Mar Vega Esteban Bajo la dirección del doctor Juan Manuel Núñez Yusta Madrid, 2015 2 TESIS DOCTORAL DE MARIA DEL MAR VEGA ESTEBAN Licenciada en Filología Inglesa REFERENCIAS SOCIOLÓGICAS Y CULTURALES EN LA OBRA DE JOHN OSBORNE THE CULTURAL AND SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF THE WORKS OF JOHN OSBORNE Director: DOCTOR JUAN MANUEL NÚÑEZ YUSTA UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA Y LETRAS DEPARTAMENTO DE FILOLOGÍA INGLESA MADRID, 2015 3 Abstract An overview of what better remembering the works of John Osborne can teach us about British drama, culture, community and identity; about reform acts in postwar Britain, such as the 1944 Education Act, and their interpretation; about inspiring British lives and stories including those of the Angry Young Men (AYM) movement and new writing in the 2000’s. Finally, I propose a personal explanation why such topics as education, politics, relationships, national identity and language, form a crucial part of the ongoing national narratives and social debates. Fecha de inscripción de la tesis: El día 28 de diciembre del año 2009. 4 Acknowledgements: Writing is a lonely work or at least it seems so, until one writes acknowledgements and realizes to what extent this research is the result of collaboration. My heart felt thanks to Dr Juan Manuel Núñez Yusta, my doctoral supervisor, who has offered intellectual, practical and moral support throughout the research process. A warm thanks to Dr Felix Martin and Dr. Jorge Braga Riera. I would also like to sincerely thank the interlibrary loan librarians of the Central Library of the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, for facilitating the books and articles required. My work has been considerably enhanced by the enthusiasm and support of Professor Felicia Farron-Davis. Scholars from other universities have helped me by sharing their knowledge of, and insights into, this research work. From the late Professor Luc Gilleman, one of Osborne’s latest champions, I’ve received not only kind words, but also critical appreciation of my work. I also sincerely give my thanks to Professor Aleks Sierz who answered practical question concerning the British stage, and to both Alan Sinfield and Kimball King for encouraging me to go on with my project and wishing me luck, as well as to artistic director Amanda Knott who offered her help and her knowledge in the field of drama. I am also truly indebted to Professor Friedman for his interest in the outcome of the dissertation and for his encouragement. 5 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction…...............................................................................................................10 Aims and Methodology………………………………………………………..……...11 Theoretical and Textual Approaches……………………………………………...…15 The State of the Question……………………………………………………………..17 Chapter 1- Education in Post-War Britain: References in Look Back in Anger (1956), The Entertainer (1957) and Inadmissible Evidence (1964).............................23 1.1 Historical, Social and Political Background……………………………………......24 1.2 Education Policy in “The Age of the Common Man/Boy”………............………...31 1.3 Literacy and Education: The Myth of the ‘Angry Young Men’ and the Education................................……………………………………...….…….…….36 1.4 Music and Education: Jazz Considered as a Cultural Element.................................39 1.5 Class and Education: The Rise of the Meritocracy………………………………...43 Chapter 2- Politics in John Osborne’s work: A Cultural Materialist Approach....55 2.1 Historical Context: John Osborne’s Political Feeling in Britain’s Post-War Era…..56 2.2 The Left in the 1950’s in Britain: The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Hydrogen Bomb. On Cold War Escalation.................................................60 2.3Osborne’s Social Concerns. Where did Osborne’s Pacifism Stem from? .................64 2.4 Complexity of the Cultural Position ‘Anger’ Represented: The Politics of Vital Theatre......................................................................................................................78 2.5 The Personal: A Necessary Prerequisite for Political Action....................................83 Chapter 3- Look Back in Anger and Human Relations: What goes on Between People and How that Influences their Behaviour …………………………………..99 3.1 Gender and Relationships in Look Back in Anger ………………………..............101 7 3.2 The Setting in the Original Production and the Role of Gender…….………...….105 3.3 A Conventional Critical Response to the Play…………...…………….…………109 3.4 A Pragmatic Approach: “Family myth” and “Paradox” in John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger ….............................................................................................................117 Chapter 4-Theatre Language in Osborne’s Plays: Revitalization of Drama Through Language………………………………………………………………......131 4.1 Style and Meaning Through the use of Language: Beyond Anger.........................133 4.2 The Personal and the Social in the Dialogue………………………….…………..137 4.3 The Rhetoric of Self-Dramatisation........................................................................148 4.4 How Osborne’s Characters Communicate……………………………………......153 Chapter 5- Cultural Identity in John Osborne’s Drama: What it Can Teach Us About Britain...............................................................................................................167 5.1 Gender Identity: The New Left and Masculinity…………………….………...….168 5.2 Meta-Fictionality in Déjàvu….................................................................................176 5.3 Cultural Hybrids on Stage…………………...……………………………………181 Chapter 6- Conclusion and Results…………………………………………………191 6.1 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...192 6.2- Results………………………………...………………………………………….207 Appendixes…………………………………………………………………………...209 1- Contemporary British Dramatists………………………………………..........210 2- The Man and his Writing……………………………………………….......…215 3- Chronology of Osborne’s Life and Works……………………………........…219 4- Ficha Diccionario de Literatura Comparada. La Recepción de la Obra de John Osborne en España…………...…….................................................................223 Resumen en Español....................................................................................................229 8 Summary in English....................................................................................................233 Primary Sources .........................................................................................................239 Secondary Sources…...................................................................................................250 List of Illustrations......................................................................................................261 9 Introduction “A lifelong satirist of Prigs and Puritans.” (David Hare, 1995). John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger (1956) marked the beginning of a revolution in the theatre of post-World War II (WW II) Britain. It was considered the most immediately influential expression of the mood of the “Angry Young Men.”1 It is hard to understand what happened in English literature in the fifties without some knowledge of the historical circumstances at that time. The determining factor was the return of a Labour government to power in 1945 with enormous popular support. British voters wanted change; their hopes went with their votes and were not entirely unfulfilled. Under the leadership of Clement Attlee, Labour quickly set about turning promises into action. In 1946 they nationalized the coal industry; transport (1947) and steel (1949) followed soon after, with electricity and domestic gas. In 1946, they legislated for a National Health Service, guaranteeing medical treatment for all, irrespective of wealth. Pensions and housing were improved. In 1947 India and Pakistan became independent, leading the way for Britain’s divestment of its former colonies. All these changes were what the people had voted for but they took place in conditions of economic hardship, the consequences of the war. Britain had to build itself up again at the same time as it was trying to reconstruct itself. The result was not merely hardship but also a sense of diminished status in the world. In 1948 Britain accepted invaluable American aid under the European Recovery Plan. It could not have done otherwise, but it was to prove a bitter pill to swallow for the Labour government. The period covering the decades of the 1950’s, the 60’s and the 70’s, was one in British history where radical changes in all fields of knowledge were taking place and affecting, in one way or another, the cultural climate of the time and therefore the social vision of the writers. References are made to the problems British society was
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