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Paul Auster's Representation of Invisible

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Paul Auster's Representation of Invisible NORTH WEST UNIVERSITY: POTCHEFSTROOM Connecting the Dots: Paul Auster’s Representation of Invisible Characters in Selected Novels Joané F. Gous 20833393 November 2012 Dissertation submitted for the degree Magister Artium in English at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University F Supervisor : Prof A.M. De Lange In dedication to Jessie Niemann (1922-2010) who introduced me to the world of Literature and will always be an invisible presence in my life i White Nights No one here, and the body says: whatever is said is not to be said. But no one is a body as well, and what the body says is heard by no one but you. Snowfall and night. The repetition of a murder among the trees. The pen moves across the earth: it no longer knows what will happen, and the hand that holds it has disappeared. Nevertheless, it writes. It writes: in the beginning, among the trees, a body came walking from the night. It writes: the body’s whiteness is the color of earth. It is earth, and the earth writes: everything is the color of silence. I am no longer here. I have never said what you say I have said. And yet, the body is a place where nothing dies. And each night, from the silence of the trees, you know that my voice comes walking toward you. - Paul Auster (2004c:65) ii Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank God for giving me the strength to persevere when at times I felt that I would never be able to finish this dissertation. Thanks are due to my parents, my uncle Johan Niemann, as well as the rest of my family for believing in me when I doubted myself, for their unending moral support and also for the financial assistance they have given me throughout my years spent at university. Thanksare due to Tienie and Alida Botha for their financial support as well as their encouragement to follow my dreams. Marleen De LangeGous, Therina van der Westhuizen,JacoLianDe Jager, as well as the rest of my friends, thank you for your emotional support, for the hours spent talking about my dissertation and the intellectual input you provided even though literature often times bored you. Special thanks to my supervisor, Professor A. M. De Lange, who encouraged me to continue with this topic and who provided support and guidance throughout my university years. iii Abstract In this dissertation I argue that invisible characters, as they appear in Paul Auster’s novels, serve a very specific function within the interpretative framework of a text and that they should be considered to play a functional role, in order to arrive at a more holistic interpretation of the text and a more accurate analysis of said texts. I argue that Auster knowingly includes these characters in his novels as part of his narrative technique, in order for them to serve specific functions and to contribute to the structure of postmodern fiction. I make use of a contextualized close reading of five of Auster’s novels and attempt a hermeneutic interpretation of these novels to arrive at a hermeneutic circle when combining these novels into an integrated whole, individual, work of fiction. Certain parallels can be drawn between Auster’s various novels and these parallels contribute to the various motifs and themes found throughout his work. The importance of space in Auster’s novels is also highlighted with emphasis on liminality which serves as an instigator for transgression to occur between different fictive worlds. Key Words: Paul Auster, Postmodernism, Liminality, Identity, Characterization, Metafiction, Invisible, Silence,Focalization, Author, Reader, Worlds and Space, Time and Memory, Mystery, Games, Choices and Responsibilities,The New York Trilogy, In the Country of Last Things, Moon Palace, The Book of Illusions, Travels in the Scriptorium. iv Opsomming In hierdie verhandeling argumenteer ek datonsigbare karakters, soos wat hulle inPaul Auster seromans verskyn, 'n spesifiekefunksiebinnedieinterpretatieweraamwerkvan 'n teks speel. Daarom moet daar oorweegword dat hulle 'nfunksionelerolspeelten einde'nmeeromvattende sowel as akkurate interpretasie en analisevan die tekste te maak.EkargumenteerdatAusterhierdie karakters doelbewus bysyromans insluit asdeel van sy verhalende tegniek, met die doel vir hulleomspesifieke funksieste dien enby te dra totdie struktuurvan postmodernefiksie. Ek fokus op 'ngekontekstualiseerdestudie van vyfvanAusterse romansenbeoog'n hermeneutieseinterpretasievan hierdieromans om 'nhermeneutiesesirkel te bereik wanneerhierdieromans gekombineer word in'n geïntegreerde, individuele, fiktiewe werk. Sekereparallellekangevind wordtussenAusterse romans met hierdieparallelle wat by dra totdie verskillendemotieween temaswatdeurgaans in sy oeuvre gevind kan word. Diebelangrikheid vanruimteinAusterse romansword ookuitgeligmet die klemopliminaliteitwatdien askatalisatorviroorskryding om tussen verskillendefiktiewe wêrelde plaas te vind. Sleutelwoorde:Paul Auster, Postmodernisme,Liminaliteit, Identiteit,Karakterisering,Metafiksie, Onsigbaarheid, Stilte,Fokalisasie, Outeur, Leser, Wêrelde en Ruimte, Tyd en Geheue, Misterie, Spel, Keuses en Verantwoordelikheid,The New York Trilogy, In the Country of Last Things, Moon Palace, The Book ofIllusions, Travels in the Scriptorium. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Opsomming ..................................................................................................................................... v Chapter 1: Introduction and Contextualization ............................................................................... 1 Contextualisation and Problem Statement .................................................................................. 2 Aims .......................................................................................................................................... 13 Thesis Statement ....................................................................................................................... 14 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 14 Chapter 2: Beyond Auster’s Fiction ............................................................................................. 17 City of Glass .............................................................................................................................. 27 Ghosts ....................................................................................................................................... 45 The Locked Room ...................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 3: Connecting Different Worlds(In the Country of Last Things) .................................... 70 Chapter 4: Whose Story is it Anyway? ......................................................................................... 95 Moon Palace ............................................................................................................................. 99 The Book of Illusions .............................................................................................................. 111 Chapter 5: A Metafictional Reality (Travels in the Scriptorium) ............................................... 126 Chapter 6: Conclusion................................................................................................................. 145 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................ 153 Primary Sources ...................................................................................................................... 153 Secondary Sources .................................................................................................................. 153 vi Chapter 1 Introduction and Contextualization 1 Chapter 1 Introduction and Contextualization Contextualisation and Problem Statement This dissertation investigates the representation of invisible characters as well as their function in some of Paul Auster’s fiction.Particular attention will be given to these characters as they relate to the worlds in which they find themselves and how they identify themselves within these spaces. In this context liminality and the idea of boundaries play a crucial role in an analysis of Auster’s work. Characters find themselves in different narrative spaces and different worlds, yet these worlds merge in a unique way when the reader realises that Auster’s range of novels could be combined into one whole, conglomerate, work. The term ‘invisible’, as I use it in my dissertation, needs to be defined, since this term does not truly refer to invisibility in the sense we use it in day to day language. I use this term, because it suggests a presence and an absence at the same time and that these characters even when they vanish from the page or fade into the background have an undeniable effect on each novel’s interpretation and the interpretation of Auster’s oeuvre as a whole. Furthermore, this term refers to those characters whose characteristics and inner thoughts are not shared with the reader and so, the reader must decide for himself1 what the exact role of these characters are in the scheme of Auster’s work.
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