Masaryk University

Masaryk University Faculty of Education Department of English Language and Literature Self-Discovery and the Alternative: A Postmodern Quest for Identity in Neil Gaiman’s Novels Diploma Thesis Brno 2019 Supervisor: Author: Mgr. Zuzana Kršková, Ph.D. Bc. Jesika Novotná Declaration I hereby declare that I wrote this thesis independently and that I used only sources listed in the bibliography section. ____________________________ Brno, November 2019 Bc. Jesika Novotná Acknowledgement I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Mgr. Zuzana Kršková, PhD., for her kind guidance, endless energy, and countless highly valuable tips she provided throughout the process of writing. Annotation This aim of this diploma thesis is to assess the protagonists of Neil Gaiman's novels Neverwhere and American Gods in the context of postmodern society, and what influence such a society poses on their identity. This thesis argues that the realities of postmodern life are responsible for their identity crises and the purposelessness of their lives since. Consequently, the thesis endeavours to document the state of their personalities against the backdrop of postmodern society. For such a claim, it firstly introduces the primary features of postmodernism and postmodern life. Above all, it claims that a turn to a fantasy realm provides the protagonist with an opportunity to explore their potential, and therefore to reclaim their identity. For that, the thesis outlines their transformation in the fantasy world according to Joseph Campbell's theory of monomyth. Finally, it evaluates the state of the protagonists' identities in contrast to their initial situation in the ordinary world. Anotace Cílem této diplomové práce je analýza hlavních charakterů v novelách Neila Gaimana Neverwhere and American Gods. Tato analýza je zakotvena v kontextu postmoderní společnosti a dopadů této společnosti na identitu protagonistů. Práce předkládá argument, že styl života v postmoderní éře je zodpovědný za osobnostní krizi hlavních postav. Dále se práce zaměřuje na fantastické světy, které se v novelách vyskytují a pomáhají protagonistům k hledání jejich identity. V závěru práce popisuje vývoj postav v tomto alternativním prostředí, k čemuž ji napomáhá teorie monomýtu rozpracovaná Josephem Campbellem. V neposlední řadě text reflektuje osobnostní změny po ukončení hrdinovy cesty v kontrastu s počáteční problematickou identitou protagonistů. Key Words Neil Gaiman, postmodernism, intertextuality, identity crises, alternative worlds, Joseph Campbell, hero’s journey Klíčová slova Neil Gaiman, postmodernismus, intertextualita, krize identity, alternativní světy, Joseph Campbell, cesta hrdiny Table of Contents 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 2 Between the Worlds of Neil Gaiman ................................................................................ 3 3 Plot Over-view .................................................................................................................. 5 4 The Concept of Postmodernism ....................................................................................... 7 4.1 What Is Postmodernism ............................................................................................ 8 4.2 Postmodernism in Neil Gaiman’s Work ................................................................. 11 5 Postmodern Writing Techniques Significant for Character Transformation ............. 14 5.1 Duality ...................................................................................................................... 14 5.2 Between Reality and Fantasy .................................................................................. 15 5.3 Introduction to Intertextuality ................................................................................ 16 5.3.1 Examples of Transtextuality in Neverwhere and American Gods .................... 17 6 Postmodern Society and Character Profiles Before Transformation with Emphasis on a Crisis of Identity ............................................................................................................. 25 7 The Alternative Worlds .................................................................................................. 34 8 Postmodernism Meets the Hero’s Journey .................................................................... 36 8.1 Departure ................................................................................................................. 39 8.1.1 Call to Adventure .............................................................................................. 39 8.1.2 Refusal of the Call ............................................................................................. 39 8.1.3 Supernatural Aid .............................................................................................. 40 8.1.4 Crossing of the Threshold ................................................................................. 41 8.1.5 In the Belly of a Whale...................................................................................... 43 8.2 The Initiation ........................................................................................................... 43 8.2.1 The Road of Trials ............................................................................................ 43 8.2.2 Meeting with a Goddess/Woman as a Temptress ............................................ 44 8.2.3 Atonement with the Father/ Apotheosis/ Ultimate Boon ................................. 45 8.3 Return ...................................................................................................................... 47 9 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 50 10 Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 52 10.1 Primary Sources .................................................................................................... 52 10.2 Secondary Sources ................................................................................................. 52 “Stories are, in one way or another, mirrors. We use them to explain to ourselves how the world works or how it doesn’t work. Like mirrors, stories prepare us for the day to come. They distract us from the things in the darkness.” (Gaiman, The Fragile Things) 1 Introduction This thesis has its roots many years ago when, one March afternoon, a good friend of mine and I were wandering in London. While waiting for a train at a busy Tube station, he asked me whether I knew of Neil Gaiman. On his recommendation I started to read my first novel by this author: Neverwhere1. Some years later, I have now read most of Gaiman’s most prominent books and collections. Needless to say, I am still as enchanted and amazed by his stories as at my first encounter. Gaiman’s ability to create new worlds, to build new retellings on familiar foundations and to create memorable characters drew me into his work as it had many others, including wider readership as well as academia. It might seem that the most of academic attention was concentrated on Gaiman’s comics of Sandman which were scrutinized by many literary scholars from several perspectives. However, the present thesis will focus on novels Neverwhere and American Gods as its main objectives, with a particular emphasis given to their protagonists – Richard Mayhew and Shadow Moon and their search for identity on their self-awakening journey. The aim of this diploma thesis is to assess the protagonists of Neil Gaiman's novels Neverwhere and American Gods in the context of postmodern society, and what influence such a society poses on their identity. This thesis argues that the realities of postmodern life are responsible for their identity crises and the purposelessness of their lives since. Therefore, the thesis submerges into exploration of their character shift upon their leaving of the postmodern world into a fantasy one. It will try to assess the protagonist’s reclaim of their identity through the medium of an alternative/fantasy realm. As a tool to track their metamorphosis the well- known theory of hero’s journey proposed by Joseph Campbell will be used. The thesis will try to reflect on the final state of their transformation in correlation to their initial state in the postmodern world. The thesis will try to scrutinise whether the right environment can enable the characters to explore their purpose of life and thus to find their true identity. This thesis is dived into five main chapters with the opening pages dedicated to providing a short commentary on the author himself and his most prominent works. Subsequently, it will provide brief plot over-views of the subject novels to give a better understanding of some phenomena in the theses. 1 Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere takes place mostly in London Tube area 1 The first chapter will start by introducing the notion of postmodernism due to the thesis’s claim that postmodern atmosphere has a vast influence on the character shaping and identity crises experienced by the protagonists. For a better understanding of this elusive notion and its reflection into the postmodern life, the thesis will firstly aim to describe some of the leading theories of postmodernism. After that, the thesis will attempt to put Gaiman into the postmodern literary perspective and

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