Aspects of Modernism in the Works of CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and Charles

Hiley, Margaret Barbara (2006) Aspects of modernism in the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1814/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Aspects of Modernism in the Works of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and Charles Williams Ph.D. Thesis in the Department of English Literature University of Glasgow Submitted by Margaret Barbara Hiley in September 2006 © Margaret Hiley, 2006 Abstract In recent years, the works of the Oxford Inklings C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams have increasingly found academic acknowledgement. However, while claims have been made on account of their popularity that they should be regarded as "author[s] of the century" (cf. Tom Shippey, J. I. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. London: HarperCollins, 2000), no real attempt has yet been made to evaluate their writings in the terms of the literature of the twentieth century. This is a surprising omission, as one of the main points of criticism directed against the Inklings by their detractors is that they supposedly cut themselves off from the innovative literary movements of their times, subscribing to a reactionary aesthetic. The present thesis aims to both remedy this omission and correct this view by reading the works of the Inklings against those of their modernist contemporaries. Neither the Inklings circle nor the modernist movement were closed-off entities with no points of contact; many of the writers involved knew each other and were well acquainted with one another's works. Instead of merely searching for direct influences, this study examines central themes common to the works of both groups of writers, and in comparing the manner in which these are treated, uncovers similarities that have hitherto gone unnoticed. Both modernist works and those of the Inklings are heavily influenced by the experience of the World Wars. The present study examines in particular how the topic of war is employed in modernism and the Inklings' fantasy as a structuring agent, and how their works seek to contain war within the written work in an endeavour that is ultimately doomed to failure in the face of war's reality. This failure reveals the tension inherent in the cosmic models of modernism and the secondary worlds of fantasy, that attempt to include do all of reality within the work of art, but can so only at the cost of reducing reality down to one authoritative version - that of the author. History plays a highly important role for both modernists and Inklings. Their works (nationalist) history, attempt to construct a coherent and authoritative while at the same impossibility doing time paradoxically acknowledging the of so. The works examined intertextuality employ various forms of to create authenticity and authority, and make Barthes, history into extensive use of myth - which, according to transforms an arbitrary (cf. Roland Barthes, Mythologies. self-evident (and thus authoritative) nature London: Vintage, 1992). lies Finally, it is the question of language that at the heart of the modernists' and the degree Inklings' projects. Both show a high of self-awareness and self-reflexivity, openly 1 thematising that their respective worlds are constructed of words. They are also concerned discarding with the perceived crisis of language, and with the necessity of outworn traditions coupled with the difficulty of creating new ones. In both, the position of the artist is portrayed as central. He both creates the world in his writing, and is subject to the failure of his material. Thus the artist is also caught in the tension that is the central characteristic of both modernism and the Inklings' fantasy. It is thus tension that is the single most important modernist aspect in the works of Lewis, Tolkien and Williams - and it is the most important fantastic aspect in works of modernism. 11 Table of Contents Acknowledgements page 4 List ofAbbreviations 6 Note on translation 6 Introduction 7 Chapter One: Theories of Fantasy and the Fantastic 12 Problems of Definition 12 A Practical Example 13 Todorov's The Fantastic 14 Fantasy and the Fantastic 18 Sub-creation and Secondary Worlds 20 Fantasy, Desire and Power 24 Fantasy and Escape 28 Chapter Two: Inklings Modernists Shared Contexts and - 31 Chapter Three: War 49 Modem War, Modem Literature 49 Fantasy and War 54 The Inklings at War 59 Charles Williams, David Jones and the Matter of Britain 64 Celtic Literature of Defeat 70 Waste Lands 78 Bodies and Corpses 85 Heroes 91 War, Language and Liturgy 97 Chapter Four: History 102 Modernist Histories: Yeats's Historical Models 102 Fantastic Cycles: Tolkien's History of Middle-earth 107 Myth and History 110 2 Nationalist Histories page 118 Escapes from History and Time 132 "Lateness" 139 Chapter Five: Language 148 Fantasy, Modernism and Language 148 Worlds of Words: Joyce and Lewis 156 Mythic Language 169 Language, Creation and Control 179 Language and the Fall 186 Language, Identity and Exile 194 Conclusion: Modernist Fantasy, Fantastic Modernism 205 List of Works Cited 210 3 Acknowledgements The first ideas for the present thesis were explored in my M. A. dissertation, written at the his University of Regensburg. The excellent supervision given by Rainer Emig and enthusiasm for a project that must have, at first, seemed rather outlandish encouraged me to expand the research I had done on J. R. R. Tolkien to include the work of the other Inklings. In both him and Rob Maslen at the University of Glasgow I was lucky enough to find two renowned researchers in the fields of modernism and fantasy/science fiction respectively, who were able to supervise my thesis and help me bridge the gap between their research areas. My first thanks go to them for all their support and encouragement over the three years of my doctoral studies. I would also like to thank my examiners Adam Roberts and Willy Maley; the thesis has benefited greatly from their helpful comments and suggestions. Adam Piette kindly read and commented upon a draft version of Chapter Three. Tony Pinkney was the first to suggest to me during my Masters studies that if fantasy was "modernist", then modernism be fantastic idea became The must also - an that central to my work. supportive atmosphere in the Graduate School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Glasgow and in the English Literature Department made writing less of a lonely struggle than it have been John Coyle, Alison Chapman, Alison Phipps, otherwise might - thanks to Vassiliki Kolocotroni and especially Laura Martin for their help. Some parts of this thesis draw on previous publications of mine. These are: "Stolen Language, Cosmic Models: Myth and Mythology in Tolkien" Modern Fiction Studies 50, No. 4 (Winter 2004), and "The Lord of the Rings and 'Late Style"' Tolkien and Modernity, ed. Thomas Honegger (Zurich: Walking Tree, 2006). The original editors and publishers are gratefully acknowledged. It would not have been possible to write this study without financial assistance. The Graduate School provided Research Support Awards that enabled me to present some of my ideas at conferences, and the English Literature Department generously awarded me the Alexander Dixon Scholarship, which covered my tuition fees. Further welcome support Glasgow came from the Lanfine Choral Scholarship of the University Chapel Choir. However, by far the greatest help was given by my parents, David and Ann Hiley. I have no words to express my gratitude for their generosity and unwavering faith in my work, and for their constant encouragement during times my own confidence was at a low. The entire Ph. D. project would not have been half as enjoyable without my fellow been students, whose friendship and knowledge have a tremendous help. I wish to thank in 4 particular Karin Hirmer in Regensburg, and Christine Kohlhaas, Raphael Hoermann and Eugene de Klerk in Glasgow. Special thanks are due to two very special people: my sister, I Catherine Hiley, and my partner, Frens Kroeger. Again, I cannot express how grateful am for their love and support, as well as for the creative ideas both have contributed to this study. Finally, I would like to mention my godmother, Rita Steblin. Her complete dedication to her research, passion for her subject and the integrity with which she conducts her work have always been the ideals on which I have tried to model my own studies. She is an inspiration, and this Ph. D. thesis is dedicated to her. 5 List of abbreviations The following abbreviations and editions have been used: OSP: C. S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet. London: Pan, 1952. THS: C. S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength.London: Pan, 1955. T[ HF: C. S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces.Glasgow: Collins, 1978. LWI'Wl' C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardmbe. London: Collins, 1998. TM1V: C. S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew. London: Collins, 1998. VDT C. S. Lewis, The Voyageof the Dawn Treader.London: Collins, 1998. TLB: C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle. London: Collins, 1998. IP: David Jones, In Parenthesis.London: Faber, 1963.

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