ADAPTING AFFECT: COGNITION, EMOTION, AND IDENTITY FROM NOVEL TO FILM by Shu Feng APPROVED BY SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: ___________________________________________ Adrienne L. McLean, Chair ___________________________________________ Pamela Gossin ___________________________________________ Patricia Michaelson ___________________________________________ Shilyh Warren Copyright 2018 Shu Feng All Rights Reserved To Haris ADAPTING AFFECT: COGNITION, EMOTION, AND IDENTITY FROM NOVEL TO FILM by SHU FENG, BA, MA DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The University of Texas at Dallas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN HUMANITIES–STUDIES IN LITERATURE THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS May 2018 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Working on this project the past few years has been a blessing. I have enjoyed the time as well as the writing process because of the great people I have met in my life. My whole idea for this dissertation originated in the courses that I took as a graduate student in the School of Arts and Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas. The interdisciplinary approach of the PhD program allowed me to experience an eye-opening learning opportunity for the past six years and to work with some of the best minds in the school. I am listing their names here in alphabetical order simply to express my gratitude for their inspiration, support, and mentorship: Professors John Gooch, Pamela Gossin, Pia Jakobsson, Patricia Michaelson, Rainer Schulte, Shilyh Warren, and Michael Wilson. But, I want to give my special thanks to my Chair, Dr. Adrienne L. McLean. It has been a great privilege to work with her; she has continuously offered me her scholarship, full support, and deep understanding. Her encouragement and guidance have made this project possible; her sense of humor has led me through the dark days in the writing process. It is from the bottom of my heart that I wish to say that one could not dream for a better mentor. Last but not least, I am indebted to my family. As a mother, I am indebted to my son Haris; as a wife, I am indebted to my husband Hassan; as a daughter, I am indebted to my parents who supported me throughout these years, during the days and nights, helping me take care of my child. It is your unconditional love and acceptance that motivated me to accomplish what seemed impossible. My award belongs to all these wonderful human beings. March 2018 v ADAPTING AFFECT: COGNITION, EMOTION, AND IDENTITY FROM NOVEL TO FILM Shu Feng, PhD The University of Texas at Dallas, 2018 ABSTRACT Supervising Professor: Adrienne L. McLean Affect and emotion are modes of human communication that help us convey and receive meaning. Literature and film are two of the essential art forms that allow such communication as each medium is composed of formal choices and possibilities that express, evoke, and negotiate emotions that appeal to the cognitive and affective faculties of the human mind, body, and brain. One of the greatest capacities of film is its ability to adapt other media, but the relationship between film and literature has been ambivalent and confrontational as well as mutually enriching. Each medium has unique conventions and possibilities, and yet both are able to create and manage deeply affective experiences. My study aims to show the practical potential of affect and cognitive theory in their application to literary and film studies—in particular, how a study of adaptation from novels to film via affect helps to shift the debate away from adaptation studies’ usual concerns with originality and fidelity, style, and narration by refocusing on the formal construction and power of art works in their unique capacities to engage our feeling brains and aesthetic minds. vi By bridging science and the humanities, this project adapts key ideas from related fields such as biology, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology in conjunction with traditional theories from and studies in the humanities. By joining the on-going conversations exploring the approaches we take when evaluating the relationship between literature and film, I expect to inform our understanding of how scientific research on emotion and affect can shine light on and provide a valuable framework for rethinking issues of adaptation from literature to film. Through comparative discussion and evaluation of five nineteenth-century British novels— Emma (1816), Persuasion (1818), Jane Eyre (1847), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), and Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1892)—and their selected film adaptations, I investigate how films manage a translation of affect by exploring the full potential of cinematic techniques that are inspired by original literary sources. In the final chapter of my project, I inquire into how my proposed framework might spark interest in studying other forms of adaptation such as the biopic. I use Ron Howard’s film A Beautiful Mind (2001)—an adaptation of the biography A Beautiful Mind (Sylvia Nasar 1998)—as a case study. I conclude that an interdisciplinary approach is key to investigating the core factors in each art form (literature and film) that shape our narrative reading and viewing as well as how such aesthetic experiences might, in turn, affect our understanding of the self and our relationship with others, socially, culturally, and historically. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………………v ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………….vi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………. ix INTRODUCTION. READING, WATCHING, AND FEELING: NEUROSCIENCE AND AESTHETICS IN LITERATURE AND FILM…………………………………………………1 CHAPTER 1. MIND-READING AND AFFECTIVITY IN JANE AUSTEN’S EMMA AND PERSUASION……………………………………………………………………………………44 CHAPTER 2. REFRAMING AUSTEN’S HEROINES FROM NOVEL TO SCREEN……….77 CHAPTER 3. AFFECTIVE SENSE-MAKING: JANE EYRE AND ITS ADAPTATIONS….124 CHAPTER 4. TRANSFORMING THE MONSTROUS HUMAN INVENTION: DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE ACROSS TIME……………………………………………………………...172 CHAPTER 5. AFFECTIVE NARRATIVITY AND THE AESTHETIC ON THE PAGE AND ON THE SCREEN: TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES………………………………….….…228 CHAPTER 6. BEYOND LITERATURE: COGNITION, EMOTION, AND IDENTITY IN THE BIOPIC………………………………………………………………………………………....288 WORKS CITED ....................................……………………………………………………….318 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH…………………………………………………………………...332 CURRICULUM VITAE viii LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1. (left) Cher coming out the shopping mall looking excited; (right) Cher partying with her friends and having fun. Clueless, directed by Amy Heckerling (Paramount Pictures, 1995; DVD frame enlargement)………………………………………………………………………………83 Fig. 2. (left) Image of surprise, in John Sudol Acting Face to Face 2: How to Create Genuine Emotion for TV and Film (2015); (right) Cher and her classmates looking surprised when seeing their grades changed. Clueless, directed by Amy Heckerling (Paramount Pictures, 1995; DVD frame enlargement)………………………………………………………………………………84 Fig. 3. (left) Image of a happy face, in Acting Face to Face 2 (2015); (middle) Cher and her classmates looking happy and excited when receiving better grades; (right) Cher enjoying the center of the attention at school because of her success in manipulating teachers. Clueless, directed by Amy Heckerling (Paramount Pictures, 1995; DVD frame enlargement)…86 Fig. 4. (left) Cher’s father looking at her grade report; (right) Cher and her father hugging each other and feeling excited for Cher’s persuasion skills…………………………………………...87 Fig. 5. (left) Travis looking embarrassed due to Tai’s rude remarks; (right) Cher looking confused when seeing Tai’s change of attitude and behavior……………………………………89 Fig. 6. (left) Cher looking frustrated trying to find the “perfect” outfit to wear for her driving test; (right) Cher’s shadow on the road while walking towards home after failing the test……..90 Fig. 7. (left) Cher looking troubled by her deep thoughts while walking about on the street; (right) Cher looking enlightened when realizing her love for Josh………………………91 Fig. 8. (left) Cher taking out her expensive sports gear for donation; (right) Cher volunteering as a staff member for the disaster relief program at school……………………………….………..92 Fig. 9. (left) Emma as well as other guests at the wedding looking excited for the happy occasion; (right) Emma looking sad when hugging her best friend and mentor—the bride Mrs. Weston…………………………………………………………………………………………...93 Fig. 10. (left) Emma looking sad when remembering her old days with Miss. Taylor at Hartfield; (right) Emma in high spirit when seeing an unexpected visitor—Mr. Knightley…… 94 Fig. 11. (left) Emma maintaining polite when Mr. Elton keeps finding excuse to interrupt her; (right) Emma looking upset when finding out Mr. Weston’s story of the letter already finished…………………………………………………………………………………………...96 ix Fig. 12. (left) Mr. Knightley aiming for the bullseye while giving his perspective on Harriet and Mr. Martin; (right) Emma aiming for the bullseye while giving her perspective on these two’s marriage proposal………………………………………………………………………………...98 Fig. 13. (left) Emma looking angry because of Mr. Knightley’s remarks on her manipulative behaviors to interfere with Martin’s proposal to Harriet; (right) Mr. Knightley aiming for the bullseye in a second round while disciplining Emma……………………………………………99 Fig. 14. (left and right) Flashbacks showing Harriet reflecting back what she was doing when visiting the poor family with Emma……………………………………………………………100 Fig. 15. (left) Emma writing in her diary to reveal her true emotions