METAPHORICAL EFFECTS in the WORKS of ANNIE ERNAUX By
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METAPHORICAL EFFECTS IN THE WORKS OF ANNIE ERNAUX By Regina L. Peszat M.A., University of Kansas, 2013 Submitted to the graduate degree program in French and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ________________________________ Chairperson, Professor John T. Booker ________________________________ Committee Members Professor Van A. Kelly ________________________________ Professor Caroline A. Jewers ________________________________ Professor E. Bruce Hayes ________________________________ Professor Dorice Williams Elliott Date Defended: 16 May 2013 Copyright 2013 Regina L. Peszat ii The Dissertation Committee for Regina L. Peszat certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: METAPHORICAL EFFECTS IN THE WORKS OF ANNIE ERNAUX ________________________________ Chairperson, John T. Booker Date approved: 21 May 2013 iii Abstract While writing her fourth book, La Place (1984), Ernaux abandoned the genre of the novel and adopted a new prose style that was devoid of metaphor, and other hallmarks of literary writing in favor of a “flat” style. In this study, I show that Ernaux’s writing is not as “flat” as it first appears to be, and that the author has been maneuvering around her ambivalence towards metaphor—and its strong association with literary style—for a long time. An attentive reading, as I have illustrated, reveals new dimensions in her writing and opens up her works to fresh interpretations. An appreciation for the evolution of her style, and the artistic effects hidden below her écriture plate, requires, however, familiarity with her œuvre as a whole and active reflection on the reader’s part. This dissertation emphasizes Ernaux’s approaches to metaphor throughout a body of work that now spans four decades. iv Acknowledgments For good reason, it is customary to recognize and thank, in writing, those individuals who have contributed their time, erudition, advice, and encouragement to the completion of major writing projects. Were I recklessly rich, I would hire a skytyper to write “THANK YOU!” in puffs of smoke above Fraser Hall to communicate the enthusiasm of my gratitude. I offer, instead, this modest and more permanent acknowledgment that many individuals helped me complete this endeavor. To my advisor, Professor John T. Booker and the members of my dissertation committee: Professor Van Kelly, Professor Caroline Jewers, Professor Bruce Hayes, and Professor Dorice Elliott, I am very appreciative of the careful readings and thoughtful feedback that helped me to improve my ideas and writing throughout the many stages of this dissertation. To my friends, colleagues and classmates, especially to Professor Kim Swanson, Gillian Weatherley, and Jeff Kendrick, thank you for sharing your pedagogical materials and expertise, and for being excellent colleagues. I would like to thank the Office of Research & Graduate Studies at the University of Kansas and the Modern Language Association for travel grants which helped to defray some of the costs of attending conferences. Thank you also to Kim Glover, Pam Rooks, and Pam LeRow for helping with formatting issues and with the electronic submission of my manuscript. Last but not least, to Steve and my family. v Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................v Introduction ................................................................................................................................1 Ernaux’s Place in Literature ................................................................................................2 A Writer Ill at Ease With Literature ....................................................................................5 Hidden Metaphors: The Iceberg Effect .............................................................................. 13 Organization and Overview of Chapters ............................................................................ 18 Chapter 1: Metaphors of Dis-ease.............................................................................................. 23 The (Im)Posture of a Literary Style ................................................................................... 24 Disfiguring a Metaphor ..................................................................................................... 28 More “Entertainment” ....................................................................................................... 34 Figures and Dysfunctional Thinking in L’Occupation ........................................................ 36 Idiots, Addicts, and Other Unsavory Identifications ........................................................... 42 Transfiguration and Transpersonalization .......................................................................... 49 The Pathetic Fallacy From Another Perspective ................................................................. 52 Chapter 2: Culture and Metaphor in Une femme and La Place ................................................... 56 Cultural Differences .......................................................................................................... 56 A Couple of Apple Trees ................................................................................................... 60 The Language of Flowers .................................................................................................. 68 A Metaphorical Funeral ..................................................................................................... 85 The Key to Dreams: Metaphor in Its Natural, Organic, and Nascent State.......................... 87 Identifying With Excrement .............................................................................................. 96 Chapter 3: Metaphorical Juxtapositions, Doubles, and Reversals ............................................. 103 Ernaux’s Sensitivity to Visual Images ............................................................................. 103 Through the Looking Glass ............................................................................................. 106 Lurid Tableaux ................................................................................................................ 109 Optical Illusions and Perceptual Games ........................................................................... 133 Transfiguration of Excrement .......................................................................................... 139 vi A Portrait of the Artists ................................................................................................... 143 Traumatic Associations ................................................................................................... 150 Symbolic Violence by Way of Comic Stooges ................................................................. 154 An Ideal Image of Literature............................................................................................ 158 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 162 Notes ...................................................................................................................................... 169 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................ 179 vii Page left blank on purpose 1 Introduction To anyone who is even casually familiar with Ernaux’s works, a research project examining metaphors in her writing might seem like a dubious undertaking. After all, the author herself has claimed to avoid the use of metaphor and other conceits of literary style: “Je ne connaîtrai jamais la jubilation du style, l’enchantement de la métaphore” (La Honte 70). Siobhán McIlvanney has noted the “somewhat coercive nature of certain metanarrative remarks” (The Return to Origins 14) in Ernaux’s writing that seem to serve the purpose of controlling readers’ reactions to her texts, but these self-reflexive intrusions might also purposely misdirect readers’ interpretations of her work. Ernaux would not be the first writer to make disingenuous claims of authorial intent. Furthermore, one might suspect that as someone who is also agrégée ès lettres, she would have some literary aspirations, in spite of her claims to the contrary. And, that her critical audience—trained in appreciating the artistic aspects of texts—might eventually discern these qualities. In this study I will examine the author’s attitude towards metaphor, and the evolution of her approach to dealing with metaphor in her œuvre. In the later works, which are written in her signature flat style and therefore contain very little stylistic embellishment, I will show that the author nonetheless artfully arranges words and images that produce sophisticated metaphorical effects. Readers familiar with all of Ernaux’s works are well-positioned to perceive the intertextual connections and patterns between them that create a fuller, multi-dimensional body of work. This analysis will also show the attention to