Double-Edged Imitation Theories and Practices of Pastiche in Literature Sanna Nyqvist University of Helsinki 2010 © Sanna Nyqvist 2010 ISBN 978-952-92-6970-9 Nord Print Oy Helsinki 2010 Acknowledgements Among the great pleasures of bringing a project like this to com- pletion is the opportunity to declare my gratitude to the many people who have made it possible and, moreover, enjoyable and instructive. My supervisor, Professor H.K. Riikonen has accorded me generous academic freedom, as well as unfailing support when- ever I have needed it. His belief in the merits of this book has been a source of inspiration and motivation. Professor Steven Connor and Professor Suzanne Keen were as thorough and care- ful pre-examiners as I could wish for and I am very grateful for their suggestions and advice. I have been privileged to conduct my work for four years in the Finnish Graduate School of Literary Studies under the direc- torship of Professor Bo Pettersson. He and the Graduate School’s Post-Doctoral Researcher Harri Veivo not only offered insightful and careful comments on my papers, but equally importantly cre- ated a friendly and encouraging atmosphere in the Graduate School seminars. I thank my fellow post-graduate students – Dr. Juuso Aarnio, Dr. Ulrika Gustafsson, Dr. Mari Hatavara, Dr. Saija Isomaa, Mikko Kallionsivu, Toni Lahtinen, Hanna Meretoja, Dr. Outi Oja, Dr. Merja Polvinen, Dr. Riikka Rossi, Dr. Hanna Ruutu, Juho-Antti Tuhkanen and Jussi Willman – for their feed- back and collegial support. The rush to meet the seminar deadline was always amply compensated by the discussions in the seminar itself, and afterwards over a glass of wine. I am especially grateful for the friendship and advice of Dr. Merja Polvinen, a brilliant scholar and wonderful friend, who has carefully read and commented on the manuscript at its different stages of development. The mornings spent playing badminton with her have offered physical and intellectual exercise in equal measure. I now have the pleasure of working with Merja in the Styles of Mimesis project, directed by Professor Pirjo Lyytikäinen. I thank Pirjo for her sage advice and support, and my project col- leagues Dr. Saija Isomaa and Dr. Riikka Rossi for sharing valuable ideas and experiences. Also a member of the Styles of Mimesis pro- ject, Docent Sari Kivistö commented on the manuscript at the crucial finishing stages. Her high standard of professionalism is an example to which I aspire. Colleagues and academic staff in Comparative Literature have also contributed to this project in important ways. I thank Profes- sor Heta Pyrhönen for encouragement at the early stages of my university career. The seminars of Docent Kuisma Korhonen were inspiring and challenged me to look at things from new an- gles. Dr. Eva Maria Korsisaari was one of my first teachers at the university and is now a dear friend and colleague. Her beautifully hand-written comments circling the pages of my manuscript were always a pleasure to read and, moreover, taught me a lot about methodology. Fellow post-graduates Laura Lindstedt, Martti- Tapio Kuuskoski and Dr. Pajari Räsänen have been crucial to the intellectual atmosphere in our department. Over the last three years, I have had the privilege of sharing the office with Sami Sjöberg, whose humour and compassion have brightened my days. Many of my ideas have been tested and developed in con- versation with him over and through the bookshelf that divides the office into two separate dens. Docent Roderick McConchie revised the manuscript with meticulous attention; however, I remain responsible for any re- maining errors. I have had the pleasure and honour to present my work in numerous seminars both home and abroad and would like to thank the organisers for the opportunity and other partici- pants for their comments and ideas. Special thanks are due to my dear friends, whose intelligence, humour and cookery have considerably helped along the way. Thank you Suvi Ervamaa, Tomi Kokkonen, Aino Rajala, Johanna Sinkkonen and Janne Tompuri. I have also significantly benefited from the collegial support and friendship of Kaisa Kaakinen and Leena Kaakinen. I owe a great deal to Timo Pankakoski, an un- failing friend and fellow post-graduate, whose intellect and exam- ple I hold in the highest esteem. Discussions with him, as well as the opportunity to read his work-in-progress on the concept of struggle in German political theory have had a great influence on me, which I am happy and grateful to acknowledge. Dr. Dara Connolly’s constant belief in my project and capabilities has been invaluable. He has never failed to provide informative and enlightening answers to my queries, whatever their subject. This is all the more remarkable since his field of professional expertise, power systems engineering, is rather distant from mine. I thank my parents, Lars and Pirkko Nyqvist, for their endur- ing patience and support, as well as for an early education in the art of argumentation. Their habit of reading stories to me and my siblings ignited in me the love of literature early on. Dr. Jyrki Hakapää is not only a frighteningly sharp-sighted proof-reader, but also the most sensible and caring companion one could wish for during the ordeal known as the doctoral thesis. My admiration for him is boundless. My work has been financially supported by Emil Aaltosen säätiö, the Finnish Concordia Fund, Alfred Kordelinin rahasto and the University of Helsinki, which I am grateful to acknowl- edge. The final revisions have been made while I have been work- ing in the Styles of Mimesis project (122854), funded by the Finnish Academy. A much earlier version of chapters 1.2 and 1.3, entitled “Jäljittelyn jäljillä: pastissin käsitteen historiaa,” was published in the journal Tiede & Edistys (3/2004), and the section on D.M. Thomas’s novel Charlotte in chapter 3.3 is based on my article “Perverse Pastiche: Identity and Authorship in D.M. Thomas’s Charlotte,” published in Narrative and Identity: Theoretical Approaches and Critical Analyses (Trier: WVT, 2008), edited by Birgit Neu- mann, Ansgar Nünning and Bo Pettersson. Helsinki, 14th February 2010 Sanna Nyqvist Contents Acknowledgements Contents A Note on Translations INTRODUCTION 1 PART I: HISTORY 18 1.1 The Prehistory of Pastiche 20 The Tradition of Imitation 20 Copyright Laws and Modern Authorship 26 1.2 Theories of Pastiche from 1699 to the Present 34 Etymology and Early Definitions 34 The Beginnings of Literary Pastiche 48 Pastiche in the Nineteenth Century: Criticism and School Exercise 56 Pastiche in Vogue: The Beginning of the Twentieth Century 64 Approaches to Pastiche from the 1960s Onwards: History, Influence, Mystification, Reading 79 Structuralist Views on Pastiche 88 1.3 Postmodernism and Beyond 103 The Postmodern Re-Invention of Pastiche 103 Epistemology and Emotion 120 Conclusion to Part One 124 PART II: CONCEPT 129 2.1 Two Kinds of Pastiche 129 A Terminological Solution 134 Compilation Pastiche 136 Compilation Pastiche in Critical Analyses 144 Stylistic Pastiche 152 Examples of Stylistic Pastiche 163 2.2 Conceptual Cousins and Sister Arts 174 Related Literary Practices 174 Pastiche in Other Arts 196 2.3 Aspects of Double-Edgedness 205 The Pastiche Contract 205 Pastiches of a Particular Work, Period or Genre 214 The Impossibility of Repetition 221 Double Signature 228 Shadows of Originality 236 Pastiche as a Test Laboratory 245 PART III: PRACTICE 252 3.1 Style as Vision: The Pastiches by Marcel Proust 256 The Two Pasticheurs: Proust and Reboux 256 Style, Vision, Memory: The Goncourt Pastiche of Le Temps retrouvé 263 Pastiche and Metaphor 268 The Indeterminate Space of Pastiche 273 3.2 The Apocryphal Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 277 Corrective and Complementary Pastiches 281 Deceptive Appearances: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer 284 Reichenbach Revisited: The Last Sherlock Holmes Story by Michael Dibdin 290 Anxiety of Authenticity: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes by Doyle and Carr 293 3.3 Transgressive Pastiche in A.S. Byatt’s Possession and D.M. Thomas’s Charlotte 304 The Neo-Victorian Novel: Textual Mysteries 305 Poetics of Retelling: A.S. Byatt’s Possession: A Romance 308 Conjurers of Dead Spirits 313 Pastiche as Transgression 321 Perverse Pastiche: D.M. Thomas’s Charlotte 327 Sex, Lies and Audiotape 332 Incestuous Pastiche 336 CONCLUSION: THE FATES AND FUTURES OF PASTICHE 341 APPENDIX: ON THE MEANINGS OF THE TERM ‘PASTICHE’ AND ITS VARIANTS IN DIFFERENT EUROPEAN LANGUAGES 347 WORKS CITED 355 INDEX 375 A note on translations Unless noted otherwise, translations from sources are my own. I am in- debted to many colleagues and friends for assistance on translations and hope to have credited each of them in footnotes, but I naturally remain re- sponsible for any remaining errors. Introduction Introduction In Les Caractères (1688-94), a satirical account of the morals of the seventeenth century, Jean de La Bruyère offers a witty analysis of the complications involved in the encounter between two ac- quaintances. He describes a common enough situation: you meet someone in the street or at a party and, as you approach them, you start to wonder whether they will recognise you, whether you should greet them first or wait until the other one recognises you, whether you should merely pass by or stop for a little conversa- tion. Deciding upon the right course of action involves a quick examination of your previous relationship to the person and a balancing of your own feelings with those you anticipate the other person has towards you. In La Bruyère’s time, the rigid social hi- erarchy and formulaic interaction added to the awkwardness of the situation. When commenting on such aspects of social life in Les Caractères, La Bruyère usually offers a sharp, ironic, matter-of- fact analysis (whether in the form of an anecdote, imagined dia- logue or a maxim), but in this particular case, he exceptionally turns to another great commentator on manners and morals, Mi- chel de Montaigne, whose Essais (1580-95) were, in La Bruyère’s time as now, praised for their insightful analysis of human nature.