Under Other Eyes Constructions of Russianness in Three Socio-Political English Novels
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GALINA DUBOVA Under Other Eyes Constructions of Russianness in Three Socio-Political English Novels ACTA WASAENSIA NO 226 LITERARY AND CULTURAL STUDIES 4 ENGLISH UNIVERSITAS WASAENSIS 2010 Reviewers Professor Joel Kuortti Department of English 20014 University of Turku Finland Professor Anthony Johnson Department of English P.O. Box 1000 90014 University of Oulu Finland III Julkaisija Julkaisuajankohta Vaasan yliopisto Lokakuu 2010 Tekijä(t) Julkaisun tyyppi Galina Dubova Monografia Julkaisusarjan nimi, osan numero Acta Wasaensia, 226 Yhteystiedot ISBN Vaasan yliopisto 978–952–476–310–3 Filosofinen tiedekunta ISSN Englannin kieli 0355–2667, 1795–7494 PL 700 Sivumäärä Kieli 65101 VAASA 211 Englanti Julkaisun nimike Toisen silmin: Venäläisyys kolmessa englantilaisessa yhteiskunnallis-poliittisessa romaanissa Tiivistelmä Merkittäväksi osaksi 1900-luvun englantilaisessa kirjallisuudessa on noussut se tapa, miten kansakuntaan ja kansalliseen identiteettiin liittyvä problematiikka esitetään. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan kuinka mielikuva Venäjän kansakunnasta ja sen identiteetis- tä on rakennettu ja esitetty kolmessa englanninkielisessä romaanissa. Tarkasteltavat teok- set ovat Joseph Conradin Under Western Eyes (1911), Rebecca Westin The Birds Fall Down (1966) ja Penelope Fitzgeraldin The Beginning of Spring (1988). Teokset on valittu niiden kuvaaman ajan perusteella sekä niiden yhteiskunnallis- poliittisen taustan vuoksi. Ne sijoittuvat Venäjän vallankumousta edeltävään aikaan ja rakentavat kuvaa kansallisesta toiseudesta, alempiarvoisuudesta ja epämääräisyydestä, joka leimaa henkilöhahmojen elämää ympäristön epäjärjestyksen ja epävarmuuden lisäk- si. Tutkimushypoteesina on, että teksti luo representaation, joka rakentuu stereotypioiden ja mielikuvien varaan. Tämän todentamiseksi käytetään varhaisempia englantilaisia tekste- jä, jotka joko viittaavat Venäjään liittyviin kysymyksiin tai kuvaavat Venäjää. Teoreettisesti tutkimus liittyy Hallin (1997), Bhabhan (1990, 1994, 1998) ja Kiberdin (1995) käsityksiin representaatiosta sekä kansakunnan kertomuksista ja yhteisön identi- teettiin liittyvistä ongelmista. Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan erilaisia tulkintoja binarismis- ta ja vastakkainasetteluista, jotka saattavat muodostaa perustan monikerroksiselle Venä- jä-kuvalle. Tutkimuksen mukaan Venäjän esittäminen englantilaisessa kirjallisuudessa tapahtuu erilaisten kerronnan symbolisten ristiriitaisuuksien ja kulttuuristen konfliktien avulla. Niiden merkitys itsessään on ambivalentti ja ajoittain paradoksaalinen. Tarkastelluissa teoksissa kansakunta näyttäytyy kaoottisena ”toisena”. Sille annetaan joko kollektiivinen identiteetti Pyhän Äiti-Venäjän muodossa, tai se esitetään orjuuteen sidottuna yhteisönä. Nämä piirteet tuovat esiin identiteetin epämääräisyyden ja sovinnai- suuden. Koska Venäjä sijaitsee idän ja lännen välillä, siitä tulee alati liikkeellä oleva hyb- ridinen yhteisö ja epämääräinen suhteessaan sekä itään että länteen. Teosten rakentama identiteetti vahvistaa historiallista käsitystä englantilaisista hallitsijoina. Asiasanat Venäjä, representaatio, stereotyyppi, kansallisen identiteetin rakentaminen V Publisher Date of publication Vaasan yliopisto October 2010 Author(s) Type of publication Galina Dubova Monograph Name and number of series Acta Wasaensia, 226 Contact information ISBN University of Vaasa 978–952–476–310–3 Faculty of Philosophy ISSN Department of English 0355–2667, 1795–7494 P.O. Box 700 Number of Language FI–65101 VAASA, FINLAND pages 211 English Title of publication Under Other Eyes: Constructions of Russianness in Three Socio-Political English Novels Abstract Questions of nation and national identity have become significant in terms of their repre- sentation in twentieth-century literature in English. This work seeks to demonstrate how the image of the nation, and in particular that of Russia, has been constructed and repre- sented in three English novels: Joseph Conrad’s Under Western Eyes (1911), Rebecca West’s The Birds Fall Down (1966), and Penelope Fitzgerald’s The Beginning of Spring (1988). The novels were selected with regard to their time placement. Set in pre-Revolutionary Russia, they construct the otherness, inferiority and ambiguity of the nation through a disorder and uncertainty in the characters’ lives and setting. This work argues that such a representation becomes a textual reproduction, constructed on the basis of stereotypes and ideas. In order to examine this, some earlier English texts, which either invoke Rus- sian matters, or represent Russia, are discussed. Theoretically, this study continues the work of Hall (1997), Homi Bhabha (1990, 1994, 1998), and Kiberd (1995) on problems of representation, narrating the nation and the imaginary construction of a community. The study attempts to explore different readings of binarisms and contrasts which may lie behind the multifaceted image of Russia. It suggests that the representations of Russianness in English texts are articulated through various metaphorical forms of narrative expressing national difference, and thereby pro- ducing symbolic contradictions and cultural conflicts whose meaning is itself ambivalent and at times paradoxical. The results indicate that in these literary works, the nation is seen as a chaotic Other: it is either endowed with a collective identity, embraced by Holy Mother Russia, or repre- sented as a slave-bound community features which demonstrate the ambiguous and con- ventional nature of the “troubled” Russian identity. Being in a liminal state between East and West, the Russia of the novels is displaced, constituting a nomadic and hybrid com- munity, and provoking ambiguity in relation to both cultures, eastern and western. Such a construction reinforces the historical perception of the English as the master, and ac- knowledges the Other, with its own culture, economy and zeitgeist, as the invention of Russia in the English literary text. Keywords Russia, representation, stereotyping, construction of national identity VII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The importance of identity construction and its representation in literature in our world has been recognized through a series of recent works written on the topic by the reading of which the latter have become encouraged by writing more and more on this subject attempting to clarify the concepts, related to this phenome- non. Yet this work has been stimulated not only by reading the works of Benedict Anderson, Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, Decland Kiberd, Gerald Porter and Stuart Hall, but also by a great contribution of colleagues and friends involved directly or indirectly into this project as well as by the personal attachment of the writer. After making Finland my new home, I started rethinking my identity belonging which proved to be non-absolute, unfixed, opted for modification, or in other words, constructed. My original division of the world between “here” (non-West) and “there” (West) has turned out to be imagined, and has become possible to exist for me in reverse as well: “here” (West) and “there” (non-West). In this sense, the process of differentiating between self and Other has appeared to be in flux, placing the notions of “home” and “abroad” in the positions of hierarchical dualities. The realization that these two can be read, perceived and interpreted in different ways generated the seeds for this study. However, despite all this, my first and foremost inspiration has been my supervi- sor, Professor Gerald Porter, whose graduate student I had an opportunity to be during my studies at the University of Vaasa, and whose compelling ideas and thought-provoking lectures on the issues of identity and belonging raised my cu- riosity and interest in the subject. His critical insights, offered support and en- couragement resulted in my postgraduate studies and start of this project in 2004. During these years he has shared with me his enthusiasm and a tremendous de- gree of attention, and has been an invaluable source of information and assistance. His guidance, commitment and intelligence have led me through this hard but fascinating work. I will never be able to fully express my gratitude and indebted- ness for his immense input into this study. During our regular research seminars at Vaasa University, I also benefited from the valuable comments made by Professor Sirkku Aaltonen, Dr. Jukka Tiusanen, and Dr. Tiina Mäntymäki of the English Department as well as from my friends and postgraduate students Marinella Rodi-Risberg, Maj-Britt Höglund and Wang Lei who have provided me with kind support and stimulation. I would like to ex- press my particular appeciation to the preliminary examiners, Professor Joel Kuortti, Professor Anthony W. Johnson, and Professor Maria Olaussen, who read and commented on the entire work. I also thank the people at Tampere, Helsinki and Vaasa University Libraries, especially Tuula Hakomäki who has helped me find a great selection of published books and journals on the subject. My participation in a number of international conferences, where I met colleagues from different countries who shared with me their ideas and thoughts on the is- VIII sues of identity in general and representation of Russian identity in particular, encouraged my practical interest and stimulated my writing. I am especially in- debted to Dr. Graham Dawson from Brighton University, England, who advised me on some aspects of representation, recommended some additional literature and commented on my paper presented at the I International Conference on Na- tion and