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THE 'DOUBLE MOVEMENT' : PARODY IN THE WORK OF ALAIN ROBBE-GRILLET, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO UN RÉGICIDE Colin M. Hamilton A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 1989 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/13452 This item is protected by original copyright THE ‘DOUBLE MOVEMENT': PARODY IN THE WORK OF ALAIN ROBBE-GRILLET, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO UN REGICIDE ProQuest Number: 10171196 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10171196 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 I, ......... .......................................................... .. hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately . Z/........ words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. date signature of candidate ................ -.. b • I was admitted as a research student under Ordinance No 12 in [month, year] and as a candidate for the degree of ... fWJr.........................in . ................ [month, year]; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between .. .......................... [year] and . ............[year]. date .. signature of candidate . .......................... I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resulution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of ...A ....... .... in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. date 2-/ Zw signature of supervisor i ABSTRACT This thesis is entitled ‘The "double movement”: parody in the work of Alain Robbe-Grillet, with particular reference to Un Regicide*. The principle objective of- the thesis is to illustrate how a re-assessment of Pour un nouveau roman (1963) can explain the reasons behind the paradox of Robbe-Grillet's fiction and lead, consequently, to the reader's appreciation of the tension between meaning and meaningless­ ness in his novels. The thesis sets about this task in the following way: firstly, it examines the existing confusion over Pour un nouveau roman, and exposes the analytical weaknesses of both established interpretations of Robbe-Grillet's theory.. Secondly, a new perspective of Pour un nouveau roman is offered - one which underlines the central sig­ nificance of the paradoxical movement between the creation and destruction of meaning as outlined in the compilation. Next, this ‘double movement* is identified as inherent to all literature, engaged in the dual process of textual assimilation and dissimilation. The self-conscious, ludic nature of the ‘double mouvement de creation et de gommage* of Un Regicide is revealed to be essentially that of parody, since the reconstruction of past literary material within its narrative is later exposed and destroyed. Robbe-Grillet*s first novel, rich in literary allusions and references, is a particularly dramatic conflict between the forms which it incorporates and their imminent subversion In this sense, Un Regicide is seen to constitute the paradox of ail Robbe-Grillet's writing, in which the initial creation of meaning leads, through the deferral of a single, determinate sig- nificance, to an ultimate deception. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Outline ................................................ 2 Part One .............................................. 4 Part Two ............................................... 14 Part Three ............................................ 20 PART ONE 26 CHAPTER ONE: THE 'OBJECTIVIST' INTERPRETATION OF POUR UN NOUVEAU ROMAN .............................. 27 Sub-section one: The ‘traditional' novel ....... 28 Sub-section two: The ’objectivist' novel ......... 42 CHAPTER TWO: THE 'SUBJECTIVIST* INTERPRETATION OF POUR UN NOUVEAU ROMAN .............................. 60 Sub-section one: Locating and identifying the 'subjectivist* theory ........... 61 Sub-section two: 'Over-subjectivization' ....... 81 CHAPTER THREE: CREATIVITY AND THE 'DOUBLE MOVEMENT' IN POUR UN NOUVEAU ROMAN ............................ 88 Sub-section one: The intention of creativity ... 89 Sub-section two: The 'double movement’ of creation and destruction ..... 96 PART TWO 1 1 2 CHAPTER FOUR: THE THEORY OF TEXTUAL ASSIMILATION IN PARODY .... 113 Sub-section one: The inevitability of textual assimilation ........... 114 Sub-section two: Parody as a distinct form of textual assimilation ....... 122 Sub-section three: Textual assimilation in Un Regicide .................. 13 0 CHAPTER FIVE: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE 'POLITICAL' NARRATIVE IN UN REGICIDE ........................................ 136 Sub-section one: The 'political* background .... 137 Sub-section two: The personal conflict .......... 150 CHAPTER SIX: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE 'FANTASY' NARRATIVE IN UN REGICIDE .......................................... 159 Sub-section one: The ‘low fantasy' narrative ..... 160 Sub-section two: The 'high fantasy* narrative .... 170 PART THREE 197 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE THEORY OF TEXTUAL DISSIMILATION IN PARODY ... 198 Sub-section one: The inevitability of textual dissimilation ........ 199 Sub-section two: Parody as a distinct form of textual dissimilation ..... 204 CHAPTER EIGHT: THE SUBVERSION OF THE ‘POLITICAL* NARRATIVE IN UN REGICIDE ....................................... 221 Sub-section one: 1Enchassement' in the 'political* narrative ........ 222 Sub-section two: 'Alternance* in the • 'political* narrative ........ 230 CHAPTER NINE: THE SUBVERSION OF THE ‘FANTASY* NARRATIVE IN UN REGICIDE ........................................ 240 Sub-section one: ‘Enchassement* in the 'fantasy* narrative ............ 241 Sub-section two: 'Alternance* in the ’fantasy* narrative ............ 254 CHAPTER TEN: INTERACTION AND OBSTRUCTION OF THE 'POLITICAL* AND ’FANTASY* NARRATIVES IN UN REGICIDE .......... 262 Sub-section one: The adventures of a self-conscious narrative ........ 263 Sub-section two: Subversion through word - and image - association ........ 273 CONCLUSION ......................................................... 286 NOTES ..... 296 Notes to the Introduction ................................... 297 Notes to Chapter One ......................................... 304 Notes to Chapter Two ......................................... 313 Notes to Chapter Three ....................................... 324 Notes to Chapter Four ................. ...................... 330 Notes to Chapter Five .. 341 Notes to Chapter Six ... 347 Notes to Chapter Seven . 363 Notes to Chapter Eight . 378 Notes to Chapter Nine .. 382 Notes to Chanter Ten ... 385 Notes to the Conclusion 389 BIBLIOGRAPHY 391 Works by the Author ............................................... 392 Critical Works by Other Authors ................................. 393 Fictional Works by Other Authors ................................ 424 Bibliographies c 426 INTRODUCTION 1 OUTLINE OF THESIS The intention of this thesis is to reconcile the apparent differences between the theoretical principles set out in Pour un nouveau roman. on one hand, and the practice of Robbe-Grillet's novel-writing , on the other (1). In order to achieve this desired reconciliation, the follow­ ing approach is taken: first of all, a survey of the existing two opposing interpretations of Pour un nouveau roman is carried out before a new analysis of the compilation is drawn from a heightened awareness of their weaknesses. This constitutes Part One of the thesis, and involves a detailed investigation of the 'objectivist‘ (2) and 'subjec­ tivist' (3) readings of Robbe-Grillet's essays, from which a third interpretation - a synthesis of the two critical camps - is produced, and points towards the relationship between Pour un nouveau roman and the process of creation itself (4). Part Two relates the findings of this examination - that literature is constantly engaged in the ‘double movement' of creating and destroying textual meaning - to Robbe-Grillet‘s first novel, Un Regicide (5). After establishing that all art is involved in a reconstruction of pre-existent forms, and that parody, in particular, dramatises this operation, Part Two concentrates on the specific techniques of parodic representation of literary genres in Un Regicide. In Part Three of the thesis the perspective is reversed in order to analyse the second stage of the 'creation-destruction' (6) movement: here the means by which literature as a whole deviates from - 2 - conventional ‘material’ is discussed before establishing the distinc­ tive role and function of parody in subverting that material (7). Un Regicide is seen to fulfil the 'double mouvement de creation et de seen gommage' by systematically dismantling those forms which,/in Part Two, it had begun to construct (0). Finally, the Conclusion suggests that

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