SEBASTIAN BARRY AS THERAPIST and WITNESS by Kristi Good BA
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“BLOWN OFF THE ROAD OF LIFE BY HISTORY’S HUNGRY BREEZES”: SEBASTIAN BARRY AS THERAPIST AND WITNESS by Kristi Good BA, Kutztown University, 2003 MA, Villanova University, 2007 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. University of Pittsburgh 2014 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH THE DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Kristi Good It was defended on January 31, 23014 and approved by Anne Brannen, Professor, Department of English, Duquesne University Kathleen George, Professor, Department of Theatre Arts, University of Pittsburgh Lisa Jackson-Schebetta, Professor, Department of Theatre Arts, University of Pittsburgh Dissertation Advisor: Bruce McConachie, Professor, Department of Theatre Arts, University of Pittsburgh ii Copyright © by Kristi Good 2014 iii “BLOWN OFF THE ROAD OF LIFE BY HISTORY’S HUNGRY BREEZES”: SEBASTIAN BARRY AS THERAPIST AND WITNESS Kristi Good, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2014 Sebastian Barry is most notable for creating characters who are based on historical ancestors from his own family tree, particularly individuals who have been selectively silenced for their failure to adhere to political and societal norms deemed appropriate for the historical narrative of Ireland. Five of his plays and five of his novels expressly address this particular issue, but have never before been examined as a cohesive work. In chapter one, I implement Patrick Colm Hogan’s literary theories on how to categorize multiple discourses as a unified work and Franco Moretti’s method of creating illustrative graphs to visually unlock patterns and similarities across discourses. I propose that the ten discourses be named the Ancestors Cycle in order to acknowledge Barry’s thirty-year effort in service of proposing a more inclusive definition of Irish Identity. In chapter two I examine the relationship model of the therapist/client as a correlate for the writer/character connection that plays out in Barry’s work. Through empathy, therapists are encouraged to relate to their patients in order to facilitate a trusting relationship. Adverse effects can occur in the advent of the therapist’s neurological inability to regulate the distinction between self and other when engaging empathetically with a client. Writers—who must empathize with the characters they themselves have created—run the same risk as therapists. This chapter focuses on neurological findings regarding empathy and psychological studies on the healing power of narrative, as well as various studies on the power of testimony for iv understanding the role of fiction writers as secondary witnesses and voices for traumatized victims of the historical past. Chapter three contains a case study that highlights Barry’s relationship to the models described in chapter two. The power of Barry’s testimony is at the core of healing the many tears in Ireland’s historical fabric. By integrating what was once deemed unseemly back into the historical narrative, today’s Irish can better understand in a very complex and real way who they are, where they come from, and how they can situate themselves in a global context for the continued health and growth of Ireland. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ..................................................................................................................................... X 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 “IRISH TRAUMA” ............................................................................................. 6 1.2 CHAPTER OVERVIEW .................................................................................. 15 2.0 IDENTIFYING SEBASTIAN BARRY’S ANCESTORS CYCLE .......................... 19 2.1 IDENTIFYING A WORK ................................................................................ 22 2.2 DISTANT READING ........................................................................................ 26 2.3 EXAMINING BARRY’S WORK BY DISTANT READING ....................... 28 2.4 CHRONOLOGY AND CHARACTERS ......................................................... 29 2.4.1 Figure 1: Chronology of Discourses ............................................................. 29 2.4.2 Figure 2: Family Tree .................................................................................... 31 2.5 THEME .............................................................................................................. 40 2.5.1 Figure 3: Theme of War ................................................................................ 40 2.5.2 Figure 4: Theme of Exile ............................................................................... 43 2.5.3 Figure 5: Theme of Music ............................................................................. 56 2.6 RECURRENCES ............................................................................................... 59 2.6.1 Figure 6: Song Recurrence ........................................................................... 59 2.6.2 Figure 7: Character Recurrence .................................................................. 67 vi 2.6.3 Figure 8: Causal Sequence Intersections ..................................................... 71 2.7 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 75 3.0 THE WRITER AS THERAPIST AND WITNESS ................................................ 77 3.1 PART ONE: THERAPIST/CLIENT VS. WRITER/CHARACTER ........... 77 3.1.1 The Therapist/Client Relationship ............................................................... 78 3.1.2 Empathy ......................................................................................................... 83 3.1.3 Vicarious Traumatization ............................................................................. 91 3.1.4 The Writer/Character Relationship ............................................................. 97 3.1.5 The Illusion of Independent Agency .......................................................... 101 3.1.6 Drawing Connections .................................................................................. 106 3.2 PART TWO: WITNESS AND TESTIMONY .............................................. 112 3.2.1 Historical Trauma vs. Personal Trauma ................................................... 112 3.2.2 Secondary Witnessing ................................................................................. 116 3.2.3 Psychological Trauma and Recovery ......................................................... 128 3.2.4 Writing Therapy .......................................................................................... 133 4.0 TOWARD HEALING ............................................................................................. 140 4.1 BARRY AS THERAPIST ............................................................................... 144 4.2 BARRY AS WITNESS .................................................................................... 158 4.3 EMOTIONAL TONE ...................................................................................... 162 4.4 CONNECTING THE EXPERIENCER WITH THE DISCOURSE .......... 164 4.5 PROMOTING EMPATHY THROUGH FAMILY TIES ........................... 170 5.0 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 181 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................ 188 vii APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................ 197 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 198 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Chronology of Discourses ........................................................................................... 189 Figure 2: Family Tree ................................................................................................................. 190 Figure 3: Theme of War .............................................................................................................. 191 Figure 4: Theme of Exile ............................................................................................................ 192 Figure 5: Theme of Music ........................................................................................................... 193 Figure 6: Song Recurrence.......................................................................................................... 194 Figure 7: Character Recurrence .................................................................................................. 195 Figure 8: Causal Sequence Intersections .................................................................................... 196 ix PREFACE I could not have completed this dissertation without the help and support of a great many people. First and foremost I would like to thank my Dissertation Committee, Bruce McConachie, Kathy George, Lisa Jackson-Schebetta, and Anne Brannen, for all their guidance and insight into this process. Equally as important have been my fellow graduate students, particularly those in the Final Seminar Dissertation Support Group: Ariel Nereson, Tommy Costello, Christiana Harkulich, Rohini Chaki, Vivian Appler,