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Postmodern Mentality in the Wasp Factory

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Postmodern Mentality in the Wasp Factory MASARYK UNIVERSITY BRNO FACULTY OF EDUCATION Department of English Language and Literature Postmodern Mentality in The Wasp Factory Diploma thesis Brno 2012 Supervisor: Author: Mgr. Hana Waisserová, Ph.D. Mgr. Radek Holcepl 1 DECLARATION I declare that I worked on my diploma thesis independently and that I used only the sources listed in the bibliography. In České Budějovice August 2012 Mgr. Radek Holcepl .......................................................... 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor Mgr. Hana Waisserová, Ph.D. for her kind guidance, patience and valuable comments and also to my wife for her support and understanding. 3 Bibliografický záznam Holcepl, Radek. Postmodern Mentality in The Wasp Factory. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, Fakulta pedagogická, Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury, 2012. XXX s. Vedoucí bakalářské práce - Mgr. Hana Waisserová, Ph.D. Anotace Diplomová práce je zaměřena na zkoumání širších kulturních souvislostí postmoderní mentality v díle Iana Bankse The Wasp Factory. Rozbor je věnován vztahu formy a obsahu díla z pohledu sociologie vědění a hlubinné psychologie. Význačné symboly jsou vykládány na základě analogií s díly antické mytologie i moderní filosofie. Součástí rozboru je i reflexe vztahu literatury, náboženství a technologie v postmoderní éře. Klíčová slova Postmoderna, psychopatologie, literatura a technologie, literatura a náboženství, narativní postupy a ideologie 4 Bibliography Holcepl, Radek. Postmodern Mentality in The Wasp Factory. Brno: Masaryk University, Faculty of Education, Department of English Language and Literature, 2012. XXX pages. The supervisor of the Bachelor Thesis – Mgr. Hana Waisserová, Ph.D. Annotation The Diploma Thesis is focused on the enquiry into broader cultural contexts of postmodern mentality in The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks. The analysis is dedicated to the relation between form and contents from the perspective of sociology of knowledge and depth psychology. Relevant symbols are interpreted on the basis of analogies with the works of antique mythology and modern philosophy. The reflection of relation between literature, religion and technology in postmodern era constitutes a part of the analysis. Keywords Postmodernity, psychopathology, literature and technology, literature and religion, narrative techniques and ideology 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 7 2. Narrative Technique and Ideology 8 3. Modern Critique of Religion 11 4. Postmodern Critique of Frank's Cult 14 5. Sympathy for a Devil 20 6. Narcissism and Violence 25 7. Misogyny and Good Intentions 29 8. Measure What Is Measurable 40 9. Freud, Athena and Opus Contra Naturam 44 10. A Song of Water and Fire 48 11. Conclusion 54 12. Bibliography 56 6 1. Introduction Vladimír Novotný, the reviewer of a printed Czech translation of The Wasp Factory, summarizes the book as ―storytelling about mental power of evil – firstly as a story of total deconstruction of human (here: child, more precisely adolescent) dreaming of a world order and of civilization values (moral, and even immoral, though equally unbreachable commandments), which have been associated with the vision from one generation to another. Analogous histories of lonesome, consciously and unconsciously frustrated individuals usually aim in accordance with the moral code of mankind from initial trauma towards its overcoming; a world full of anxiety, isolation and hostility is gradually suppressed by constructing personal or communal religion. It relies on both recognized certainties and ―the others‖ and especially the so called natural interpersonal relationships.‖ According to Novotný all the standard moral strategies are abandoned or perverted in TWF. Such a conclusion can be, however, drawn only if one assumes that the happy ending of the story (a new beginning, freedom from delusions and lies) is just an illusion as Novotný does. He also has it that the real and truly memorable message of TWF is summed up by this laconic utterance of Frank’s: ―Well, it is always easier to succeed at death‖. Novotný considers the sentence as way to convey the nearly unbearable truth that violence is also a possible response at the ready to the challenges of life. That seems to be meant either a very alerting warning or a reluctant acceptance of the state of affairs. Surprisingly enough, the grim interpreter Novotný asserts that TWF is a “British black grotesque” and as such “a classical work of postmodern prose”. Nonetheless, TWF goes much deeper in the analysis of the source of darkness and the very roots of evil. The aim of the presented thesis is to prove that The Wasp Factory is not only a black grotesque but also a psychologically sophisticated tragedy whose moral message is ideological in the modern (not post- modern) sense of the word. 7 2. Narrative Technique and Ideology The narrative technique itself belongs among those very basic and yet very efficient tricks played by novelists on their readers. The whole story is told from the perspective of one character only. The focal point of the book is set on Frank Cauldhame, sixteen years old actual narrator of the story. The first person perspective always leads to reader’s feelings of strong attachment to the main hero. From a psychological point of view a long monologue about one’s activities, thoughts and feelings inevitably creates an intimate atmosphere. Such a monologue always tends to take on a form of a confession or personal myth narration. In both cases people are invited to share the innermost secrets, fears and hopes. In other words the narratee bestowed with a bare minimum of empathy must feel honoured and even flattered by the narrator’s trust and openness. Such exposure makes it very difficult to reject or even condemn the confessor. Narrator’s story may be embarrassing, drastic, base or even vile, but nevertheless expresses (from the pragmatics standpoint) one’s sincere attempt to put their life in a new, more cultivated and orderly perspective be it by talk therapy alone or by sharing a heavy burden. If a written medium is taken into account, the most obvious analogy to confession is a diary, an autobiography or memoires. One passage in TWF states unambiguously how powerful motivational and existential a device such open monologues are: “I held my crotch, closed my eyes and repeated my secret catechisms. I could recite them automatically, but I tried to think of what they meant as I repeated them. They contained my confessions, my dreams and hopes, my fears and hates, and they still make me shiver whenever I say them, automatic or not. One tape recorder in the vicinity and the horrible truth about my three murders would be known. For that reason alone they are very dangerous. The catechisms also tell the truth about who I am, what I want and what I feel, and it can be unsettling to hear yourself described as you have thought of yourself in your most honest and abject moods, just as it is humbling to hear what you have thought about in your most hopeful and unrealistic moments.”1 In the case of TWF reader is confronted with a lot of bizarre, violent and distorted actions carried out by the narrator. The book is divided into two distinct groups of chapters. The first group forms a relatively consistent unit dealing with recent events in Frank’s life. These chapters follow chronological order and therefore serve as the backbone of the story. The other cluster of chapters is presented directly as a sort of explanation provided to the narratee 1 The Wasp Factory (1984), chapter 8, The Wasp Factory, p. 42. 8 at the moment when further recounting of recent events would be incomprehensible without some insights into Frank’s past. The novel as a whole is organized in a way that suggests Frank’s own uncertainty about the final outcome of latest actions and their connection to his family saga. The reader is not only confessed to but also drawn into a current of an ongoing adventure. I felt compelled to comment on the formal aspect of TWF as most critics concentrate on brutal, disturbing and gritty contents.2 Even the final epiphany tends to be praised just as a culminating point of twisted bizarreness that characterizes the whole plot. Occasionally, the reviewers mention Banks’ crafty dealing with the last pages of the book that allows multiple exegeses, a happy ending included. Nonetheless, in order to do justice to the novel the ultimate revelation ought to be understood as an integral part of a carefully planned and meticulously devised plot. In a very unsettling way the novel itself resembles the namesake mechanical oracle assembled by Frank Cauldhame. The nearly surgical formal timing and dosing of information serves to convey a completely deranged message, i.e. inner world of an obsessive, violent psychopath. Such an uneasy alliance between rational form and irrational contents seems to paraphrase Nietzsche’s concept of Dionysian and Apollonian elements in the Greek tragedies.3 The contrast between controlling regularity, meticulousness and compartmentalization on one hand and wild, abrupt and ecstatic passions on the other hand creates the tension arc of the book on many and various levels. The most general and therefore the least visible or perceivable aspect of control-possession dilemma can be described as a neat narrative design versus revolting wickedness of the narrated story or form versus content. With both extremes (obsessive rational control and equally extreme emotional enthrallment) Banks goes to great lengths. In fact I cannot make myself understand the book in a way that would not include personal confession of the author’s as well. All authors, especially those working with mysterious or overtly fantastical elements, have to face the tension between strictly rational control of the form and wildly imaginative process of acquiring inspiration. Nevertheless, this issue is 2 An Honourable exception is the online review by John Mullan, Behind it all. On the use of explanation as a device in Iain Banks’ The Wasp Factory (2012-08-10) http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/jun/28/saturdayreviewsfeatres.guardianreview31 (2012-08-10).
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