Envisioning the Haunted Novel in Roberto Bolaño's 2666 And
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by espace@Curtin School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry Tracing Phantasms: Envisioning the Haunted Novel in Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 and Gerald Murnane’s The Plains Lana Jane Stockton This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University December 2019 Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgment has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. Signature: …………………………….. Date: …………………………………. Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my family – with special thanks to my parents Barb and Norm for their support every step of the way, and in memory of my brother Tim. iii Table of Contents Dedication..........................................................................................................................................iii Thesis Abstract.................................................................................................................................vii Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................viii List of Illustrations............................................................................................................................ix Introduction.....................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Haunting Reappearances: The Phantasms of Cultural Memory................9 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The Emergence of Narrative Memory 1.3 Visualising Foundational Phantasms 1.4 Spilling and Connection of Appearances 1.5 Approaching the Role of the Uncanny in Haunted Narrative 1.6 The Role of the Body and Place in Haunted Memory 1.7 Re-emergences of the Uncanny 1.8 Tracing Reappearances of Memory 1.9 Conclusion Chapter 2: Haunting Inheritance: Incorporation and Encrypted Loss in the Emergence of Literary Phantasms.......................................................................................42 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Inspecting Literature’s Intrapsychic Tomb 2.3 Acts of Incorporation: How Literature Swallows Loss 2.4 “Released Through the Wound”: Unassimilated Past in Haunted Narrative iv 2.5 Phantasmatic Delays and Departures 2.6 Tracing Latent Representations 2.7 Literary Possessions as Incorporations 2.8 Writing the Crypt: Phantasms as Motifs of Incorporation 2.9 Conclusion Chapter 3: Fantasies of Incorporation: Envisioning the Haunted Novel in Roberto Bolaño’s 2666................................................................................................................................81 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Part about Amalfitano: Fragmentation in the Field of Vision 3.3 The Unhappy Readymade: Object Vestiges and Sight 3.4 Endocryptic Identification in The Part About The Critics 3.5 Visions of Disintegration in the Landscape 3.6 The Seen and Unseen: Bodily Fragmentation in Phantasmatic Space 3.7 Deframing Vision: The Phantasm of Fractured Space 3.8 Conclusion Chapter 4: Fantasies of Incorporation: Envisioning the Haunted Novel in Gerald Murnane’s The Plains...............................................................................................................120 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Swallowing the Landscape: Murnane’s Cryptonyms 4.3 Fragmentation and Disembodiment in Phantasmatic Vision 4.4 The Coloured Glass: Anamorphic Vision 4.5 Horizonites and Haremen: Colour as Cryptonym v 4.6 Mapping Semblances: Phantasms of Absent Nationhood 4.7 Multiplication as Concealment: Phantasms of Off-Screen Space 4.8 Deframing Vision: The Phantasm of Murnane’s Fractured Space 4.9 Conclusion Chapter 5: “Incorporation in Dispersal”: The Phantasms of Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 and Gerald Murnane’s The Plains.......................................................................................154 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Latency: Phantasmatic Departures and Misrecognitions 5.3 Kaleidoscopic Vision: Apparitions from Changing Hues 5.4 Santa Teresa: “Unburial” in the Landscape 5.5 Tunnelling Words: When Vision Fails 5.6 Conclusion Conclusion..................................................................................................................................186 Works Cited..................................................................................................................................189 vi Thesis Abstract This thesis proposes a theory of the haunted novel as a way of identifying a kind of literature that expresses relation to silent (or silenced) cultural memories through distinctive use of visual devices. These devices, referred to in the thesis as ‘phantasms’, are ghosts and images of the mind that are aesthetically expressed in this imagined genre, often through figures of the uncanny. They constitute an encryption of cultural memory that oscillates uncertainly between homely familiarity and abject violence. Through the tracing of phantasms represented in the novels 2666 by Roberto Bolaño and The Plains by Gerald Murnane, this thesis imagines the haunted novel as a literary expression of unsettled history. The first stage of this research works with theories of the uncanny, haunting, and collective trauma, towards the creation of a theory of the haunted novel, which seeks a general applicability to literature beyond cultural specificity. The research then demonstrates the concept put forward in the theoretical discussion through analysis of the two case-study texts. Methodologically, this interdisciplinary project utilises cultural studies textual analysis and psychoanalytic approaches to engage in a discussion of contemporary literature. The above constitutes a timely exploration of the relation between cultural memory and literary representation. vii Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge the Noongar people of South Western Australia, the traditional owners of the land on which the Bentley Campus is located and where my studies have taken place. This thesis was completed thanks to the contributions of many people I wish to acknowledge. Firstly, I thank my supervisor Antonio Traverso, for his help and dedication in transforming my early writing and ideas into a full vision. The final thesis would not have possible without Antonio’s careful and rigorous feedback, and second wind given to the project. I would also like to thank my co supervisor Suvendrini Perera for her contribution in the final stages. Several early contributors helped supervise and stimulate my ideas, initial writing, and conference papers, during my candidacy proposal and project’s initial development – I thank Christina Lee along with Thea Costantino, Jo and Matthew. My humanities ‘fam’ here at Curtin, including but not limited to, Lucas, Daniel, Serena, Maddy, Jess, Marie, Ben, Ashleigh and Liz, are thanked too, for their years of support and comradery on the postgrad journey. This thesis is dedicated to my family – with special thanks to my parents Barb and Norm for their support every step of the way, and in memory of my brother Tim. viii List of Illustrations Figure 1. Arcimboldo, Giuseppe. Vertumnus. 1590–91. Oil on canvas, 70 cm x 57 cm. Skokloster. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertumnus_(painting)............................x Figure 2. Arcimboldo, Giuseppe. The Librarian. 1566. Oil on canvas, 97 cm x 71 cm. Skokloster. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Librarian_(painting)......................x Figure 3. Dittborn, Eugenio. The 23rd History of the Human Face (Aljo-Violet) Airmail Painting No. 128. 1999. Paint, stitching, non-woven fabric and photo silkscreen on two sections of cotton duck, 210 cm x 280 cm. Courtesy Alexander and Bonin, New York. E-flux. www.e-flux.com/announcements/32677/eugenio-dittborn/...............14 Figure 4. Moffatt, Tracey. “When the White Ghosts Sailed in.” 2017. Video Still. Venice Biennale. judyannear.com/writing/a-sublime-passage/...................................................17 Figure 5. Cooke, Kasia. “The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.” 2006. Photograph of street graffiti. Buenos Aires. Travel Blog. www.travelblog.org/Photos/545116....................................73 Figure 6. De Chirico, Giorgio. Turin, Spring. 1914. Oil on canvas, 124 cm x 99.5 cm. Collection Vicomtesse de Noailles, Paris. The Art History Project. arthistoryproject.com/artists/giorgio-de-chirico/turin-spring/...................................87 Figure 7. Magritte, René. The Voice of Silence. 1928. Oil on canvas, 57 cm x 73 cm. Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA. Art History Reference. www.arthistoryreference.com/cgi-bin/hd.exe?art2=a3806..........................................115 Figure 8. Gill, Samuel Thomas. Country NW of tableland, Aug. 22. 1846. Watercolour. National Library of Australia collection. Trove. nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134354182/view...............122 Figure 9. Holbein, Hans. The Ambassadors. 1533. Oil on Oak, 2.07 m x 2.1 m. The National Gallery. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ambassadors_(Holbein)................132 Figure 10. Arcimboldo, Giuseppe. Autumn. 1573. Paris, Louvre Museum. Wikiart. www.wikiart.org/en/giuseppe-arcimboldo/autumn-1573............................................168 Figure 11. Witkin, Joel-Peter. Feast of Fools. 1990. Photograph. 28 cm x 34.5 cm. Ethernton Gallery. Artnet. www.artnet.com/artists/joel-peter-witkin/feast-of-fools-a- AaG0yWxMUmqsbT_hwKYECg2...................................................................................175