Fragmentation in the Middle Novels of Claude Simon
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FRAGMENTATION IN THE MIDDLE NOVELS OF CLAUDE SIMON LE_VENT TO HISTOIRE by ANN MARGARET DYBIKOWSKI B.A.(Hons.)> University of London, England, 1965 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of French) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard: THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA MAY 1980 c} Ann Margaret Dybikowski, 1980 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of French The University of British Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1W5 ABSTRACT: This study of narrative fragmentation concentrates on three major novels of Claude Simon's central period — La Route des Flandres, Le Palace and Histoire — though it also looks at the foreshadowing of their composition in the theme of fragmentary vision in Le Vent; a work which, while it does not fully realize its own stated aims, constitutes the novelistic credo of the central period. By narrative fragmentation is meant the discontinuity produced by dechronologization, abrupt sequence shifts, and other devices that dis• rupt the accustomed continuity of narrative. Only what Ricardou has called "la fragmentation majeure", that is, the major breaks between sequences, and not the minor interruptions or digressions within sequences, are dealt with in detail. It is considered first in the general context of the fragmentedness of much twentieth century fiction and art, with special reference to the parallel with Cubism. Some of the forms frag• mented narrative may take are suggested, together with their possible functions and significance as well as the effect of fragmentation on the reading process. The fragmentedness of Simon's novels was viewed initially by many critics as a mimetic reproduction of mental processes, notably those of memory. One aim of this study is to examine narrative fragmentation in the light of that interpretation, showing how and to what extent it serves to evoke mental processes, but also how it often fulfils an anti- realist function, undermining the coherence of the recit. Analysis of the breaks in the narrative and the transitional devices connecting juxtaposed or interwoven sequences in La Route shows that far ii from imitating the workings of memory, they fulfil mainly thematic functions, serving to superimpose related scenes and figures in a spatial composition in which every element reflects the others. Narrative frag• mentation in Le Palace is analyzed for.its rendering of a certain experience of the passage of time (discontinuity, alternate slow-motion and lightning progression) through the alternation of two sequences in a rhythmic pattern of interruptions and reprises. In Histoire narrative fragmentation is shown to play a significant role in suggesting the fragmentariness and discontinuity of memory, but here, in this the most fragmented of the three novels analyzed, the exploration of the possibilities of fragmented form is carried to its furthest extent, resulting in a collage type composition of great inventiveness. Narrative fragmentation in the novels of Simon's central period is thus shown torcontribute tip^at certain psychological realism in the twentieth century tradition of stream of consciousness fiction. But its thematic and formal role is shown to be of far greater importance and originality. The replacing of chronological order by a compositional method that juxtaposes or interweaves fragmented sequences emphasizes thematic relations between narrative elements and favours the creation of formal symmetries and patterns. Beneath the surface incoherence and disorder of fragmented narrative lies a tightly knit and formally rigourous composition, made possible by that very fragmentation. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract-- p. ii Table of Contents p. iv List of figures p. viii Introduction p. 1 r Chapter IT Fragmented Narrative; Its Nature and Significance p. Introduction p. 9 I. What is fragmented narrative?, p. 15 i. Fragmentary narrative p. 16 ii. Fragmented narrative p. 17 iii. Time-sequence and fragmentation p. 20 iv. Narrative subject and fragmentation p. 20 v. Narrative voice and fragmentation p. 21 vi. Textual sequence p. 23 vii. Language and fragmentation p. 26 II. Fragmented composition and its effects p. 27 i. Fragmentation as a technique of defamiliarisation p. 30 ii. Juxtaposition and the production of meaning p. 31 iii. Fragmentation and the rendering of simultaneity p. 32 iv. Fragmentation and spatial form p. 34 v. Fragmentation and formal design p. 37 vi. Fragmented narrative and the reader*s response p. 40 Chapter II? The Theme of Fragmentary Vision and the Conception of a Fragmented Narrative in *'Le Vent" p. 43 iv Introduction p. 43 I. The broken mirror? image of a narrative style p. 44 II. The role of the narrator in Le Vent p. 47 III. A phenomenological justification for fragmented narrative p. 49 IV. The problem of language p. 52 V. Narrative structure in Le Vent p. 53 VI. Narrative method in the sixth chapter p. 56 VII. Images of fragmentation p. 60 Conclusion p. 63 Chapter III? Representation of an Inner World of Productivity of a Text? Critical Response to the Fragmented Narrative of the Novels from "La Route des Flandres" to "Histoire" p. 64 Chapter IV: The Techniques of Montage in 1'La Route des Flandres" Introduction p. 79 "L'embranchement du huit": a narrative junction p. 82 Types of transition p. 86 i. Transitions based on psychological states or processes p. 90 ii. The alternation of frame and narration p. 96 iii. Misleading adverbs and conjunctions p. 103 iv. Transition by means of indeterminate pronouns p. 106 v. Sequences contained in extended parentheses p. Ill vi. Transition through association p. 114 Conclusion p. 121 Chapter V1: In the Labyrinth: The Composition of "La Route des Flandres" p. 123 Introduction p. 123 I. The patterns of fragmentation p. 124 V II. A fragmentary vision p. 133 III. In the labyrinth: the book as symbolic space p. 135 IV. Repetition and symmetry in the composition p. 138 V. Archetype and variation p. 148 VI. The spatial form of La Route des Flandres p. 153 Conclusion p. 155 Chapter VI: Fragmentation and the Perception of Time in "Le Palace" p. 157 Introduction p. 157 The composition of the novel p. 161 i. "Inventaire" p. 162 ii. "Le recit de l'homme-fusil" p. 165 iii. "Les funerailles de Patrocle" p. 171 iv. "Dans la nuit" p. 173 v. "Le bureau des objets perdus" p. 175 Conclusion p. 179 Chapter VII: The Mosaic of the Past: The Fragmented Text of "Histoire" p. 181 "Histoire" p. 181 Introduction p. 181 ' I.- Memory as subject p. .183 ... II. Memory and language p. 190 '.':; III. The indeterminate "Iir p."~199 - .IV. Patterns of fragmentation, in the composition of Histoire. p; 208 •V. Narrative fragmentation and the rendering of consciousness p. 212 ,; VI. The text as collage: anatomy of a chapter p-. 216 Conclusion p. 224 vi Conclusion p. 226 Notes p. 232 Selected Bibliography p. 243 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Drawing after a sketch by Andre Lhote p. 13 Figure 2: Pronominal switches in La Route des Flandres p. 100 Figure 3: Narrative switches in Part I of La Route p. 127 Figure 4: Narrative switches in Part II of La Route p. 128 Figure 5? Narrative switches in Part III of La Route p. 129 viii INTRODUCTION The first-time reader of La Route des Flandres or Hlstolre is struck most forcefully by the fragmentation of the narrative which Is one of the fundamental features of Claude Simon's mature novels. Scenes are inter• rupted by new episodes which are themselves in turn interrupted or curtailed. Past and present intermingle in a chaotic succession in which chronology plays no part. At times the text resembles a collage of frag• ments that include quotations from other texts, slogans, headlines, recurring phrases. The reader's expectations of narrative continuity are continually unfulfilled. At the same time, no-matter how chaotic or fragmented the text may appear, the reader is aware, however vaguely, that some overall pattern governs its development, who could fail to notice, when reading La Route des Flandres for the first time, for instance, the frequency of triple elements: the novel's division into three parts, its three narrative frames (train, prison-camp, hotel room), its three trian• gular dramas — to name the most obvious. This combination of a fragmented narrative and complex underlying patterns is particularly exciting to a reader interested in composition. To read a Simon novel is to embark almost immediately on an increasingly complicated system of cross-reference. Simon is fond of describing his writing as "bricolage", which suggests the construction or assemblage of an object (in this case a text) out of whatever materials are available. 2 I see my own approach to his work as the reverse of that process: a deconstruction or disassemblage, as it were, a taking to pieces of the text to see how it works, how the parts fit together and how its mechanisms function. My study has necessarily been limited. Since fragmented composition by Its very nature requires detailed analysis, it has simply not been possible to Include as many of the novels as I had at first hoped. Selection was essential and though it was made partly on grounds of per• sonal preference, it was largely guided by the desire to concentrate on a unified group of novels.