Independent Wales?: the Impact of Devolution on Welsh Fiction in English
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Emma Schofield Independent Wales?: The Impact of Devolution on Welsh Fiction in English A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Cardiff University 2014 2/246 Contents Abstract 4 Acknowledgements 5 Introduction 6 Literature and Politics in National Identity 6 Imagined Communities 15 A History of Devolution in Wales 20 Why Now? 27 An Outline of the Thesis and Chosen Texts 30 Chapter I - ‘St David’s Day Defeat’: The rise of the individual and the impact of the 1979 referendum on Welsh fiction in English 36 A Time of Awakening: Social, Sexual and Political Awakening in Home to an Empty House (1973) and I Sent a Letter to My Love (1975) 45 Heightened Tensions: Approaching the 1979 Referendum 60 Facing the Referendum Results 72 Chapter II - ‘A permanently changing reality’: the process of redefinition in Anglophone Welsh writing 1980-1989 77 ‘The Welsh experience’: politics and journals in early 1980s Wales 85 Protest and Politics: Anglophone Welsh Writing and the 1984 Miners’ Strikes 97 Replacing Romance with Reality: The Growth of Independent Publishing in Wales 105 Chapter III - The Drive for Devolution: Anglophone Welsh writing 1990–1998 128 Short fiction and the resurgence of the short story in Wales 138 3/246 Approaching Devolution 1994 – 1997 156 Chapter IV – ‘Warning – Welsh Assembly!’: Post-devolution Welsh fiction in English 175 Bridging the Gap 181 Fragmented or Unified? Diversity in Post-Devolution Wales 203 Crossing the Linguistic Divide in Post-Devolution Anglophone 211 Welsh Writing Conclusion 225 A Decade of Devolution 225 Bibliography 239 4/246 Abstract This thesis traces the relation between Anglophone Welsh fiction and politics, in light of the campaign for, and introduction, of devolution. Focusing primarily on the period 1970 – 2011, the thesis analyses a range of novels, short stories and journal articles produced in this period. The Introduction begins with an analysis of the history of devolution in Wales and considers theories of nationalism proposed by theorists including Benedict Anderson and Raymond Williams, both of whom suggest that heightened awareness of a wider national community is integral to the development of a cohesive nationalist impulse. Chapter I commences with an analysis of the relation between literature and politics in the years prior to the 1979 referendum on Welsh devolution. Taking as its starting point Fredric Jameson’s theory of political allegory in literature, this chapter considers the way in which the presentation of politics in Anglophone Welsh fiction becomes gradually more overt by the close of the 1970s. Chapter II examines the way in which Anglophone Welsh fiction writers responded to the outcome of the 1979 referendum, alongside other political events of the 1980s such as the Falklands War and widespread industrial decline. Chapter III charts the development of the relation between fiction and politics in 1990s Wales, suggesting that the years preceding the 1997 referendum on devolution witnessed a more overt engagement between Anglophone Welsh fiction and politics than had been evident in the 1970s. The final chapter argues that in the wake of devolution fiction from Wales has responded by presenting an increasingly diverse and multi-faceted image of Wales, characterised by a more overt engagement with politics and nationalism. The Conclusion considers how the changes outlined in this thesis relate to wider cultural developments in Wales and suggests how this research may be expanded to incorporate broader areas of the arts in Wales. 5/246 Acknowledgements I am indebted to my supervisor, Katie Gramich, for the wisdom, guidance and encouragement she has provided me with throughout this process. A heartfelt ‘diolch yn fawr’, Katie, for the continued advice and reassurance. I am also grateful for the support and encouragement of staff in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy who have been willing to offer support and advice wherever possible. In particular, I would like to thank Jane Moore and Carl Phelpstead for their encouragement at various stages of the project. I have also been fortunate to have the support of my colleagues in ENCAP and the Arts and Social Studies Library. I am particularly grateful to Elinor Shepley and Lisa Sheppard for their willingness to share the experience, or a cup of tea, when needed and to Lisa Tallis and Vicky Stallard, for being there to listen and help me stay calm in the more challenging moments towards the end. As ever, my parents, family and friends have provided me with a seemingly endless supply of patience and enthusiasm. To those of you who are able to see the outcome of this work and to those who are no longer with us, but who would have been so proud, your belief in me has been immensely appreciated. Finally, for Gage, your support has been invaluable and I’ve been so glad to have you with me throughout this process. 6/246 Introduction Literature and Politics in National Identity In September 1997 the Welsh electorate voted in favour of devolution by the narrowest of margins. A majority of less than one per cent secured victory for the ‘Yes’ campaign, meaning that Wales would finally receive some limited powers of self-government. The process had been a lengthy and often controversial one, dividing campaigners, the media and writers in Wales for a number of years. Yet, to date, no sustained study of the relation between literature and politics in Wales, in light of the struggle for devolution, has been carried out. This thesis forms the first extended study of the interaction between prose fiction and devolution in Wales, establishing a foundation for future research.1 In contrast, a number of studies have been carried out on the impact of devolution on Scottish literature, most notably the Edinburgh Companion to Contemporary Scottish Literature, edited by Berthold Schoene, which offers a wide range of essays considering the position of Scottish literature and culture in the wake of devolution.2 As in Scotland, the process of securing devolution for Wales was a lengthy one, involving a failed referendum on devolution in 1979, the impact of which is explored in more detail later in this thesis. Therefore, for the purposes of this study, this research focuses primarily on the period between 1970 and 2011. The purpose of this thesis is threefold. Firstly, it seeks to determine the nature of the relationship between Anglophone literature and politics in Wales prior to the 1979 1 Writing in 2006, William Housley noted that ‘despite the plethora of sociological work on national identity in post-devolution Wales little focus has been directed towards the cultural sphere and its relationship with different forms of identity construction and representation’. William Housley, ‘Artists, Wales, Narrative and Devolution’, Devolution and Identity, ed. John Wilson and Karyn Stapleton (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), pp. 77-94 (p. 78). 2The Edinburgh Companion to Contemporary Scottish Literature, ed. Berthold Schoene (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007). Some of the essays in this collection are discussed briefly in the ‘Comparative Studies’ section, later in this chapter. 7/246 referendum on devolution. Through this analysis it demonstrates that the prevailing sense of division in Welsh politics was reflected by a similar sense of division in Anglophone Welsh writing in the 1970s. Secondly, the thesis considers what effect the failure of the 1979 referendum on devolution had on Anglophone Welsh writing. Moreover, it gives attention to how the major political events of the 1980s and 1990s, including the miners’ strikes and the Falklands war, may have contributed to apparent disharmony between political opinion in England and Wales and how such events were presented in writing from Wales. It goes on to explore what differences exist between the role of Anglophone Welsh writing in the build-up to the 1997 referendum on devolution, when compared to that of 1979. Finally, it seeks to demonstrate the way in which literature in Wales has responded to and, in turn, been affected by the introduction of devolution. The complex relation between literature and politics lies at the heart of this thesis and is one which has previously been the subject of much discussion. Clearly, literature has been closely aligned with politics from the earliest times, not least in the oratorical use of literary style and techniques to further political aims. The origins of rhetoric in literature can be traced back to classical writing, when the skill was used in the process of writing political speeches.3 Though the relationship between literature and politics may have become less direct in the intervening centuries, it has not lost its significance.4 Writers of literary works often have political agendas, whether overt or covert, and may use rhetorical devices and skills to make such agendas more acceptable to their audiences. In the twentieth century, works such as George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945) or, in the Welsh context, Lewis Jones’s Cwmardy (1937) indicate that modern writers, no less than their Classical forerunners, are 3 George A Kennedy has argued that the skill was first consciously acknowledged as such in the fifth century, when ‘for the first time in Europe, attempts were made to describe the features of an effective speech and to teach someone how to plan and deliver one’. George A Kennedy, A New History of Classical Rhetoric (Princetown: Princetown University Press, 1994), p. 3. 4 For example, Benedict Anderson explores the connection between literature and the development of national identity in his Imagined Communities, an analysis of which is included later in this chapter. 8/246 interested in persuading their readers of the validity of their political views and the wrong- headedness of their opponents’. These examples moreover show that writers can be strongly influenced by the political climate and events of their time to produce works which are a direct intervention in contemporary ideological debates.