ABSTRACT The Witness of the Saints: Literary Method and Theological Matter in the Hagiographical Novels of Evelyn Waugh, Frederick Buechner, and Walter Wangerin, Jr. Rachel Lynn Payne, Ph.D. Mentor: Ralph C. Wood, Ph.D. Evelyn Waugh, Frederick Buechner, and Walter Wangerin bring the contemporary witness of three obscure saints to life in the pages of their historical fiction. These modern hagiographers perceive divine revelation in all aspects of the natural world, and their fiction reflects this worldview and attempts to make it manifest for their audience. Sometimes they succeed brilliantly; at other times the seams in their tapestry of art and faith are glaringly visible—to the point that they compromise the fabric’s integrity. Many secular critics dismiss their work because they admit to plying their artistic talent for the sake of illuminating sacred mysteries. Waugh, Buechner and Wangerin recognize the pitfalls of embodying supernatural realities in concrete images, but they are eager to imitate the biblical model by recasting sacred mystery into story. The way they found to do this in Helena, Brendan, and Saint Julian is to use the outline of a historical saint’s life and experiment with the genre, narrative voice, metaphorical language, magical realism, and comic vision to shape a work of literary art that reflects their faith perspective. Moreover, they weave their own life-stories into fictionalized accounts of saints’ lives. Their obsessions with sin and penance, their fears of abandonment and death, their concerns about strained relationships with parents and difficult neighbors—all find a place in these writers’ hagiographical narratives. Waugh idealizes the supernatural, so he writes about a saint who goes in search of a physical symbol of faith to represent the inner transformation of baptism and belief. Buechner romanticizes the natural world, so he conjures a saint who seeks a celestial paradise but finally finds hope and love in his earthly companions. Wangerin yearns to show his readers a way to ease the weight of sin and guilt, so he retells an ancient legend about a seemingly hopeless case to show the triumphant power of God’s grace and mercy. All three perform a valuable service by reviving the cult of an early medieval saint for a contemporary religious audience, but the one who most effectively unites form and function is Walter Wangerin in Saint Julian. The Witness of the Saints: Literary Method and Theological Matter in ihe Hagiographical Novels of Evelyn Waugh, Frederick Buechner, and Walter Wangerin, Jr. by Rachel Lynn Payne, B.A., M.A. A Dissertation Approved by the Department of English ______________________________________ Dianna M. Vitanza, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved by the Dissertation Committee ________________________________________ Ralph C. Wood, Ph.D., Chairperson ________________________________________ Luke Ferretter, Ph.D. ________________________________________ Joe B. Fulton, Ph.D. ________________________________________ D. Thomas Hanks, Jr., Ph.D. ________________________________________ William L. Pitts, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School December 2012 __________________________________ J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2012 by Rachel Lynn Payne All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. vi DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................1 Sainthood and Story: How Artistic Form Fits Hagiographic Function Defining Sanctity in the Christian Tradition ...............................................9 Romance, History, Moral Doctrine: The Genre of Hagiography ..............27 Modern Hagiographical Art ......................................................................36 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................41 CHAPTER TWO ...............................................................................................................48 The Last Shall Be First: Evelyn Waugh’s Helena Helena in History .......................................................................................53 Literary Style and Experiments in Genre...................................................67 Ironic Artfulness.........................................................................................84 CHAPTER THREE ...........................................................................................................97 The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth: Frederick Buechner’s Brendan Brendan in History ...................................................................................103 Faith Lost and Found in Buechner’s Life and Work ...............................112 Humor and Sacramental Art in the Commonplace ..................................121 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................134 Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens: Walter Wangerin Jr.’s Saint Julian Julian in History ......................................................................................137 Dancing and Truth-Telling in Metaphorical Language ..........................146 The Comic Vision in Wangerin’s Mythology ...........................................150 CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................................160 The Trials of Rendering Saintly Faith into Fiction BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................168 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The experience of preparing this dissertation has matured and strengthened me in ways I never imagined possible. Through many hours spent in research and writing, I learned about strength of character, about discipline and perseverance, and also about the fine art of procrastination. Along the way, I discovered hidden reserves of stamina and curiosity. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the wonderful people in my life who endured this process with me—those who were gracious enough to sympathize with the pressures I felt, to help when and how they could, and to support me even when they did not understand or approve of my techniques. First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my director, my mentor, and my friend, Dr. Ralph Wood. From the day we were providentially “set up” to work together over 10 years ago, he has been nothing but encouraging, challenging, and inspiring. He gave me a much-needed “kick in the pants” whenever I asked for one, and sometimes even when I didn’t. When Dr. Wood was not available, David Lyle Jeffrey and Luke Ferretter stepped in to offer much-needed guidance and encouragement along the way. And James Barcus, as the English Department’s very capable Graduate Program Director, believed in me and my project when I had lost hope of reaching the finish line. I also want to honor my other readers, Professors Bill Pitts, Joe Fulton, and Tom Hanks, without whose helpful advice, insightful comments, and probing questions I could never have submitted the final version of this paper. My faculty advisers’ long- suffering, wisdom, and flexibility are unprecedented in my mind. I am indebted to them vi for their sacrifice of time, for their ability to motivate me and challenge my thoughts, and for their tireless direction and support. I am also grateful for the ideas prompted by my professors and peers at Baylor University. There are too many to count who influenced and improved this project, but I am especially thankful for the thought-provoking insights offered by Rosalie Beck, Nancy Chinn, Robert Darden, Greg Garrett, and Barry Harvey. I appreciate the detailed help and support from the administrative staff of the Department of English, competently headed up by Lois Avey and assisted by Julie Sherrod, and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, especially Mrs. Sandra Harman and Mrs. Sherry Sims. These laborers in the trenches are invaluable for their tireless administrative guidance and for their patience with over-committed students who would try to conquer the world and then write about the experience if someone was not there to periodically rein them in or to offer motivational pushes. Finally, I want to thank my friends and family who understood and accepted the importance of this project and the need to devote my full attention to it at times. They sacrificed fun time without complaint so I could research and write, and they had the insight to recognize that sometimes I needed to be rescued from my own perfectionist tendencies. They demonstrated unwavering faith in my ability to complete seemingly impossible tasks, and they graciously loved and served me amid the strenuous pressures of “dissertating.” I am especially grateful for the morale boosters and practical support (including meals, hospitality, square-dancing, prayers, and wise counsel) offered by the families Alford, Barron, Billet, Bridgewater, Brown, Chapman, Davis, Davis, Dodd, Foster, Gall, Gatlin, Graham, Heddy, Hendrix, Hostetler, Keith, Lloyd, Osler, Savage, vii Schobert, Schumacher,