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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF THE HUMANITIES School of English ‘Plastic’ Perspectives Ecocriticism, Epigenetics and Magic Real Metamorphoses in the fiction of Suniti Namjoshi, Githa Hariharan and Salman Rushdie Hilary Elaine Perkins Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy February 2017 i Plastic Perspectives Georgia Perkins ii iii UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES: ENGLISH DEPARTMENT Doctor of Philosophy ‘Plastic’ Perspectives Ecocriticism, Epigenetics and Magic Real Metamorphoses in the fiction of Suniti Namjoshi, Githa Hariharan and Salman Rushdie Hilary Elaine Perkins In current research across the humanities and science, there is a burgeoning interest in ‘plasticity,’ epigenesis and ecocriticism. This project brings ideas from these fields together, and asks how they may be expanded and illuminated by metamorphoses articulated in Magic Real fiction. Thus, I argue that Magic Real literature has a significant role in disseminating contemporary bio-scientific ideas. My methodology consists of applying Catherine Malabou’s theory of plasticity to literature, arguing that ‘plastic readings’ evoke more complex and ecologically generative models of metamorphosis. As such, they subvert the merely ‘flexible’ or often vaunted general ‘interconnectedness’ of life. Philosopher of Biology John Dupré highlights the centrality of process to biological science, refuting the existence of discrete and unique individuals, and arguing that ecosystems are far more synergetic than a relatively simple interrelatedness suggests. Indeed, his theory of ‘promiscuous individualism’ repudiates the existence of discrete individuals, and ‘promiscuous realism’1 renounces inflexible species categories. The removal of such rigid classifications enable varied and 1 John Dupré, Processes of Life, Essays in the Philosophy of Biology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, iv limitless ‘plastic perspectives’ as evident in Magic Real fiction, and affectively convey more authentic, intensely ‘felt’ and shared responses to the environment. Thus, this thesis indicates ways in which a fusion of Magic Real literature and biological science, may productively contribute to ecocriticism. Furthermore, metaphors of skin describe the inclusiveness and ‘literal’ physicality of biological transformation in visceral and fantastic ways, connecting literature with science, and broadening the field of ecocriticism through approaches that challenge the centrality of the human self. Ecocriticism, defined by Cheryll Glotfelty in The Ecocriticism Reader, as ‘the relationship between literature and the environment,’2 has previously largely involved a partial focus on ‘human’ environments, totemic species and the scientific or ‘factual’ genres of non-fiction and Western documentary. This thesis addresses these prejudices through the analysis of the work of two lesser known Postcolonial writers Suniti Namjoshi and Githa Hariharan. Their Magic Real literature addresses out-dated hierarchies of nation, gender, species and genre by elucidating metamorphoses of domestic or ‘lesser’ creatures, rather than the charismatic-megafauna more usually the subject of fiction and often employed by environmental conservation campaigns. 2 Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm, eds. Introduction to The Ecocriticism Reader, Landmarks in Literary Ecology (Athens and London: The University of Georgia Press, 1996), p.xviii. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... iv CONTENTS ................................................................................................... vi Declaration of Authorship ....................................................................... viii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................... x INTRODUCTION: Metamorphoses, Becoming, Plasticity ........................... 1 CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................... 15 Key Literary Concepts: The Magic Real and Ecocriticism .................... 17 1.1 The Magic Real ................................................................................... 19 1.2 Ecocriticism ......................................................................................... 31 Key Literary Authors: ............................................................................ 41 1.3 Suniti Namjoshi ................................................................................... 43 1.4 Githa Hariharan ................................................................................... 51 Key Thinkers and Methodology ............................................................ 61 1.5 John Dupré .......................................................................................... 63 1.6 Catherine Malabou .............................................................................. 71 1.7 Hybridity vs Plasticity ......................................................................... 83 1.8 Towards Plastic Readings and Plastic Perspectives ............................ 87 CHAPTER TWO: Twentieth Century Iconic Literary Metamorphosis – Salman Rushdie: The Satanic Verses .................................................... 95 CHAPTER THREE: ‘Creatures as Strange and Complex as Ourselves’ – Suniti Namjoshi .................................................................................... 115 3.1 Promiscuous Individualism .............................................................. 119 3.2 Promiscuous Realism ....................................................................... 133 CHAPTER FOUR: Plasticity and Skin – Githa Hariharan .............................................. 165 CONCLUSION: Fabulous Fiction and (Un)Doings ................................ 217 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................... 231 vi vii Declaration of Authorship I, Hilary Elaine Perkins, declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my original research. ‘Plastic’ Perspectives Ecocriticism, Epigenetics and Magic Real Metamorphoses in the fiction of Suniti Namjoshi, Githa Hariharan and Salman Rushdie I confirm that: This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; I have acknowledged all main sources of help; Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; Either none of this work has been published before submission, or parts of this work have been published as: [please list references below]: Signed: ................................................................................... Date:........................................................................................ viii ix Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Stephanie Jones, who has been an amazing and constant source of support and enthusiasm. I would also like to thank Clare Hanson and Ranka Primorac, for their invaluable guidance. I must also thank my wonderful family and friends for the way that they have seen me through the lengthy PhD process with love, encouragement and coffee. A special thank you to Georgia for her tireless patience and fabulous artwork, and to Joe, Pam, Helen and Clare. x xi INTRODUCTION Metamorphosis, Becoming, Plasticity As the pliant wax Is stamped with new designs, and is no longer What once it was, but changes form, and still Is pliant wax, so do I teach that spirit Is evermore the same, though passing always To ever changing bodies.3 Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book XV The dynamism of ‘ever changing’ bodies, and significantly the cross-species transformations, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, effectively illustrate John Dupré’s theories in three ways: continual change as the foundation of biological process, the impossibility of discrete identities, and an essential environmental interrelatedness beyond traditional hierarchical assumptions. Ovid’s ancient text further offers another potentially constructive model for post-genomic