The Multivalent Moment in Jean-Pierre De Caussade's L
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The Multivalent Moment in Jean-Pierre de Caussade’s L’abandon à la Providence divine and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway By Daryl James Barclay BA (University of Melbourne); DipEd (University of New England); LMusA; BLitt(Hons) (Deakin University); GradDipTheol (Melbourne College of Divinity); MA (Melbourne College of Divinity); EdD (Australian Catholic University); MACE A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Divinity Date submitted: September 2019 Declaration / Statement of Originality I hereby certify that this thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree of diploma in any university or other institution and affirm that to the best of my knowledge, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. Signed: Date: 4.9.19 ii “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.” ― Lao Tzu 6th century CE iii Abstract In the West, the frenetic pace of modern living, with its emphasis on what is to come rather than what is happening now, has limited our capacity to experience the present moment in meaningful and reflective ways. The fact that this has not always been the case and, indeed, need not continue to be so, can be ascertained by studying the works of writers with particular insights into the phenomenon of the moment. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to draw on two contrasting print texts in which the experience of the moment as focalising present is addressed substantially. Central to this purpose is the belief that a person’s quality of life is enhanced by the ability to allow certain moments to provide them with profound meaning and insight that results in a re- alignment of the temporal paradigm underpinning their lives. The selected texts, Jean-Pierre de Caussade’s L’abandon à la Providence divine and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, were considered to be ideally suited to this purpose. To focus the research, a question was formulated which asked how the experience of the moment might be better understood by comparing two apparently dissimilar approaches to it. From this, a set of subquestions was developed to clarify specific aspects of the research. Given the nature of the two selected texts and the implications of the research questions, it seemed appropriate to design and undertake a study which would be essentially qualitative, interpretive, and comparative. A further element of contrast was achieved by selecting texts from the disciplines of Christian spirituality and Modernist literature, thereby exploiting the potential for insights of an interdisciplinary nature. The iv methodology of the thesis also required an in-depth study of the life and period of each writer in order to contextualise their authorial agendas. For each of the selected texts, data was collected initially by extracting contextualising sentences in which the word moment occurs, and tabulating these as appendices. This raw data was processed in the relevant chapter for each text by grouping references to the moment under categories representing conceptual similarities. Each category was then subjected to further qualitative and linguistic analysis. A final stage consisted of a set of comparisons, beginning firstly with a discussion of the significance of war and religion to each text, and then proceeding to the comparative analysis of textual material via key thematic designations, determined in light of the categories previously established. The study’s findings indicated that both texts understand the moment in a rich diversity of ways, and give it priority within their temporal paradigms. Moreover, the research established that the conceptual overlap between L’abandon à la Providence divine and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway is substantial, especially in the categories relating to transcendence, epiphanies, eternity and self-abandonment. Although there are clear differences between the texts in terms of historical period, language and culture, they nevertheless share a high level of conceptual alignment and reinforcement. The potential for comparative analysis across numerous other sets of texts was also affirmed by the methodology employed in this project. v The findings of this study have specific implications for scholarship and broader implications for the general population. Recommendations for further research have also resulted from this study. vi Acknowledgement I record here my sincere thanks to my two supervisors, Reverend Professor Austin Cooper OMI and Reverend Professor Gerald O’Collins SJ, from whose wisdom, insight and encouragement I have benefited greatly on the absorbing journey we have shared towards the completion of this project. Over the years, my studies in the French language have been inspired and supported by a number of teachers and friends, most notably by Brother Jack Shacklock CFC, who taught me French for the last two years of my secondary schooling; by Dr Ann Trindade who lectured me in Modern French and Medieval French at the University of Melbourne and remains a friend to this day; and by Madame Nadia Cullen, a long-time teaching colleague and native speaker of French, who provided valuable advice on matters of translation, and kindly proofread the French text quoted in this study. I also recognise with gratitude the two-fold role of Brother Timothy Lockwood CFC who not only introduced me to the extraordinary world of Christian spirituality, and to Jean-Pierre de Caussade in particular, but who, thirty-four years later, also read and provided advice on the final draft of this thesis. vii Contents Abstract…………………….…………...………………………………………………..i Acknowledgement………………………………….…………………………………...iv Contents……………………………………….……….…………………………...……v List of Tables………………….…………….…………...……………………………viii List of Figures.………………………………..…………...……………………………ix Textual Citation………………………………………………………..………………xiv CHAPTER 1: The Research Defined Introduction to the Research………………………………….……………..…...1 Purpose of the Research…………………………..………..…….………..….….4 Identification and Evolution of the Research Question…...………………..…....4 Design of the Research………………………...………...…..…………....….….5 Significance of the Research………………………...……….………....….….....6 Limitations and Delimitations of the Research………………………….…….....7 Definitions…………………….………...………………...………………..……7 Outline of the Thesis…….……………………………...…………...…..….…..13 Chapter Outlines………………………………………………….………….…13 CHAPTER 2: Methodology Introduction…………………….....……………………………………………16 Theoretical Framework…………….…...…………………...………………….17 Epistemology….………………………………………………...……………...20 Research Design…………………………………………….………….....……24 Methodology………………………………………………………………...….25 Selection of Data…………………………………………………………….....28 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...…29 CHAPTER 3: Time, Temporality, and the Moment Modalities of Time…………………………………...………………...………32 Chronos and Kairos……………………………………………………….…....34 Christian Temporality…………………......…..…………....………….…….....37 Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment Temporalities…………..………...39 Time and the Moment in English Literature…….….….………………………41 Psychological Time……………………………..…………………………...…47 Time in the Twenty-first Century……………….……………………………..49 The Word Moment Defined…………………………...…………………….....50 Conclusion……………………………………………………………...………52 CHAPTER 4: Jean-Pierre de Caussade: Life and Period Life…………………………………………………………………...…………54 Writings…………………...……………………………………………………56 viii Spiritual Renewal in Seventeenth Century France………...…………………...67 Quietism…………………………………………………………………...……70 Conclusion…………………………………………......……………………….75 CHAPTER 5: The Moment in L’abandon à la Providence divine The Moment…………………………………………………...…………...…..77 The Moment as God’s Order (L’ordre de Dieu)………………………….…....80 The Moment as the Will of God (La volonté de Dieu)…………………....…....85 The Moment as Duty (Devoir)……………………………………………...….89 The Moment as Divine Revelation…………………………………………......94 The Moment as Abandonment (L’abandon)……….………………………......99 The Moment as Grace, Gift, Providence…………………………..……….....103 The Infinite and Eternal Moment……………………………...……….……..110 The Moment as Grammatical Construction…………………………....…...…112 Conclusion………………………….………………………….……………...111 CHAPTER 6: Virginia Woolf in Context Family and Formative Years……………………………………………….....115 Literary and Artistic Influences…………………………………………..…...118 Literary Modernism………………………………………………………...…124 Religion and Modernism…………………………………………………...…125 Time in Literary Modernism……………………………………………….....131 Woolf and Time………………………………………………………….…...132 Woolf and Religion………………………………………………………...…133 The Genesis of Mrs. Dalloway……………………………………………......137 Mrs. Dalloway: Plot, Structure and Characterisation……………………...….139 Mrs. Dalloway: Literary Features………………………..………….…….…..144 Varieties of Time in Mrs. Dalloway…………….…………………….……....147 Chronological Time in Mrs. Dalloway……………………………………..…148 Analeptic and Present Time…………………………………………...………151 Religion in Mrs. Dalloway………………………………………………...….152 Conclusion…………………………………..…………………………...........156 CHAPTER 7: The Moment in Mrs. Dalloway The Moment as Reflective Pause…………………………………..…………159 The Spoiled Moment………………………………………………………….164 The Epiphanic Moment……………………………………………………….169 The Transcendent Moment……………………………………………………176 The Perpetual Moment……………………………………………………......180 The Moment as Grammatical Construction………………………………..….183