David Lodge's Campus Fiction

UNIVERSITY OF UMEÅ DISSERTATION ISSN 0345-0155 — ISBN 91-7174-831-8 From the Department of English, Faculty of Humanities, University of Umeå, Sweden. CAMPUS CLOWNS AND THE CANON DAVID LODGE’S CAMPUS FICTION AN ACADEMIC DISSERTATION which will, on the proper authority of the Chancellor’s Office of Umeå University for passing the doctoral examination, be publicly defended in Hörsal G, Humanisthuset, on Saturday, December 18, at 10 a.m. Eva Lambertsson Björk University of Umeå Umeå 1993 Lambertsson Björk, Eva: Campus Clowns and the Canon: David Lodge's Campus Fiction. Monograph 1993,139 pp. Department of English, University of Umeå, S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. Acta Universitatis Umensis. Umeå Studies in the Humanities 115. ISSN 0345-0155 ISBN 91-7174-831-8 Distributed by Almqvist & Wiksell International P.O. Box 4627, S-116 91 Stockholm, Sweden. ABSTRACT This is a study of David Lodge's campus novels: The British Museum is Falling Down, Changing Places , Small World and Nice Work. Unlike most previous studies of Lodge's work, which have focussed on literary-theoretical issues, this dissertation aims at unravelling some of the ideological impulses that inform his campus fiction. A basic assumption of this study is that literature is never disinterested; it is always an ideological statement about the world. Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the dialogical relationship between self and other provides a means of investigating the interaction between author and reader; central to this project is Bakhtin’s notion of how to reach an independent, ideological consciousness through the active scrutiny of the authoritative discourses surrounding us. First, a brief historical outline of the campus novel is presented, together with analyses of three representative works. Lodge's novels are thereafter discussed in relation to his own literary-theoretical work, and also in relation to his attempts at bridging the gap between the academy and the world outside. The chapter demonstrates how, as a result of this bridging posture, Lodge's works, critical and fictional, become increasingly intertwined. Yet, despite Lodge’s avowed intentions, for readers without prior access to the literary canon his elaborate intertextual games fail to bridge the gap. The discussion of Lodge's first three campus novels novels shows how the authority of the Church, the literary canon, and established societal norms, is seemingly challenged in these texts. Lodge has himself invited a Bakhtinian reading of his novels, but this study demonstrates that his fiction, allegedly both dialogical and camivalesque, to a large extent advocates an ideology that is diametrically opposed to such an activity. Reigning over these novels is a mood of gloom and passive resignation—a mood which is the very antithesis of Bakhtin’s insistence on activity and the camivalesque positive attitude to change and renewal. In the discussion of the last novel, it is furthermore demonstrated that Lodge's use of stereotypes wrecks any dialogical potential, and that the extended intertextual play evinces clear anti-feminist and élitist patterns. Lodge’s campus fiction confirms the myth of the isolated Ivoiy Tower. The attempted bridging of the gap between the academy and the outside world is not accomplished. For most readers his texts remain one-dimensional portrayals of irrelevant campus clowns. Keywords: campus; ideology; authoritative discourse; internally persuasive discourse; intertext; canon; church; status quo; stereotype. Acta Universitatis Umensis Umeå Studies in the Humanities 115 CAMPUS CLOWNS AND THE CANON David Lodge's Campus Fiction Eva Lambertsson Björk University of Umeå 1993 Copyright © Eva Lambertsson Björk Cover illustration: Maria Wall Editor of Series: Per Råberg Faculty of Arts University of Umeå S-901 87 Umeå Distribution: Almqvist & Wiksell International P.O. Box 4627, S-116 91 Stockholm Printed in Sweden by the Printing Office of Umeå University, 1993 ISSN 0345-0155 ISBN 91-7174-831-8 to Andrew Oskar and Lisa Lambertsson Björk, Eva: Campus Clowns and the Canon: David Lodge's Campus Fiction. Monograph 1993, 139 pp. Department of English, University of Umeå, S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. Acta Universitatis Umensis. Umeå Studies in the Humanities 115. ISSN 0345-0155 ISBN 91-7174-831-8 Distributed by Almqvist & Wiksell International P.O. Box 4627, S-116 91 Stockholm, Sweden. ABSTRACT This is a study of David Lodge's campus novels: The British Museum is Falling Down, Changing Places, Small World and Nice Work. Unlike most previous studies of Lodge's work, which have focussed on literary-theoretical issues, this dissertation .aims at unravelling some of the ideological impulses that inform his campus fiction. A basic assumption of this study is that literature is never disinterested; it is always an ideological statement about the world. Mikhail Bakhtin's concept of the dialogical relationship between self and other provides a means of investigating the interaction between author and reader; central to this project is Bakhtin's notion of how to reach an independent, ideological consciousness through the active scrutiny of the authoritative discourses surrounding us. First, a brief historical outline of the campus novel is presented, together with analyses of three representative works. Lodge's novels are thereafter discussed in relation to his own literary-theoretical work, and also in relation to his attempts at bridging the gap between the academy and the world outside. The chapter demonstrates how, as a result of this bridging posture, Lodge's works, critical and fictional, become increasingly intertwined. Yet, despite Lodge’s avowed intentions, for readers without prior access to the literary canon his elaborate intertextual games fail to bridge the gap. The discussion of Lodge's first three campus novels novels shows how the authority of the Church, the literary canon, and established societal norms, is seemingly challenged in these texts. Lodge has himself invited a Bakhtinian reading of his novels, but this study demonstrates that his fiction, allegedly both dialogical and camivalesque, to a large extent advocates an ideology that is diametrically opposed to such an activity. Reigning over these novels is a mood of gloom and passive resignation—a mood which is the very antithesis of Bakhtin's insistence on activity and the camivalesque positive attitude to change and renewal. In the discussion of the last novel, it is furthermore demonstrated that Lodge's use of stereotypes wrecks any dialogical potential, and that the extended intertextual play evinces clear anti-feminist and élitist patterns. Lodge’s campus fiction confirms the myth of the isolated Ivory Tower. The attempted bridging of the gap between the academy and the outside world is not accomplished. For most readers his texts remain one-dimensional portrayals of irrelevant campus clowns. Keywords: campus; ideology; authoritative discourse; internally persuasive discourse; intertext; canon; church; status quo; stereotype. Contents Acknowledgements 7 Abbreviations 8 Introduction 9 1 Campus Fiction in Brief 19 Growth of a Rowdy Tradition 19 The Cult of Oxford 26 The Dreary Campus 31 David Lodge 36 2 Campus Fiction and Criticism: The Bridging Posture 39 The Two Camps 39 Reception and Response 56 The Readers 57 Sex or Semiology? 63 3 The Church and the Academy: The British Museum 71 is Falling Down A Quest for Ideological Maturity 73 The Discourse of the Church 75 The Discourse of the Academy 79 4 Official Feast Dressed as Carnival: Changing Places 89 and Small World The Clandestine Other 93 The Repetitive Pattern 101 5 The Stifled Dialogue: Nice Work 107 The Academic Spinster 113 Conflicting Discourses: Self and Other 117 Anachronistic Parody 125 Conclusion 131 Works Cited 133 Acknowledgements I wish to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Dr Åke Bergvall, whose support and constructive advice have been absolutely invaluable in the process of completing this thesis. I furthermore want to thank Dr Raoul Granqvist, without whom this work would never have been started. I also wish to thank the Department of English at the University of Umeå. Ever since I took my first course in English in a distant past, they have provided a very friendly and stimulating place of work and study. I am indebted to John Stotesbury for removing what he generously terms "infelicities” from my text. I must, however, take full responsibility for whatever remains of these. To him, and all the other members of the post-graduate seminar, past and present, I should like to express my heartfelt thanks for both constructive criticism and countless chats on non-literary matters over the years. Ann-Sofie Oscarsson, at the University Library of Umeå, saved me a lot of time and trouble by helping me trace literature. I am grateful to the Department of British and American Studies at the University of Oslo, for giving me a place of work in their library and free access to excellent library facilities. Special thanks to Maria Wall for the cover design that so perfectly illustrates the essence of my thesis. Finally, my husband, Andrew Lambertsson, has had an unfailing belief in my ability to complete this project throughout its various stages. Although this might be explained by his knowing so much more about the fruit fly than literary theory, his support has meant more than a few lines could ever express. Abbreviations BM David Lodge, The British Museum is Falling Down CP David Lodge, Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses HE E. M. Forster, Howards End LJ Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim NS Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South NW David Lodge, Nice Work: A Novel SS Compton Mackenzie,Sinister Street SW David Lodge, Small World: An Academic Romance VG Edward Bradley, The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green For full bibliographical information, see Works Cited. 9 Introduction The myth of the Ivory Tower dies hard. This reads like a paradox at a time when academia is ever present on stage, film, television and in fiction.

Load more