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British Society from the 1960S to the 1990S in Four Novels by Margaret

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British Society from the 1960S to the 1990S in Four Novels by Margaret Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Lucie Hartigová British Society from the 1960s to the 1990s in Four Novels by Margaret Drabble Master’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. 2009 IdeclarethatIhave workedonthisthesis independently,usingonlytheprimary and secondarysourceslisted inthebibliography. ………………………………………….. I wouldliketothankmy supervisor,prof.Mgr. MiladaFranková,CSc.,M.A., forherkindhelpandvaluableassistance withmy diplomathesis. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 1.1. TheLifeof MargaretDrabble 2 1.2. SocialBackgroundofGreatBritainfromthe1960stothe1990s 5 1.3. TheCharactersontheStage 8 2. The Importance of the Gender of the Main Characters 13 2.1. DifferentRolesofFemaleCharacters 13 2.2. AspectsoftheMale World 17 2.3. TheRestrictiveConditionsofGender 21 3. Social Consciousness in the Second Half of the 20th Century 25 3.1. SocialClassBelonging 26 3.2. Socio-economic Aspects intheNovels 29 3.3. NegativeBritishness 33 4. Success and Failure 38 4.1. CareerasaCauseandReason 39 4.2. BlameandInnocence 42 4.3. ImprisonmentoftheCharacters 45 5. Interdependence of Fate and Setting 50 5.1. FateandDeterminism 51 5.2. HousingandLiving, TownandCityLife 54 5.3. North-SouthClash 58 6. Conclusion 63 Bibliography 66 1. Introduction Mentioningthenameof MargaretDrabbleintheliterary worldgenerallyevokes associations ofoneofthemostaccomplishedBritishauthorsbecausethisnovelisthas won respectsincehersuccessfullystartedcareerinthe1960s.Hernovels,traditionalinstyle, displaytheallegiancetorealism whichisdepictedthroughtheeyesof variousprotagonists setindifferenttimesandplaces.Drabble’searly writingseemstoconcentratesolelyon young,educatedwomenreflectingaconflictbetweentheirfamilylifeandcareer (Stringer 178).Herlaterbooks,however,aremarkedbyacertaindeviationfromsuchanattitude,for theauthorincludesmale charactersas well.Mostimportantly,inbothseeminglydifferent phasesofhercareer,the writerportraysadisappointment with thestateofcontemporary Englandandexpresseshercriticalattitudebydescribingthechangesanddevelopmentof the country. Theunpleasantstateofaffairsofthenationconsequentlyalso hasanegativeimpact onthemain protagonists whothenseemtobeimprisonedintheirsituations withlittle chanceofimprovement.Thebadconditionsofthecountryrestrictthepeopleandmirror theirlimiteddegreeoffreedom.Moreover,Drabbleusesthecharactersasexamplesofher owninterest insocialandpoliticalissuesconfrontingBritishsociety,together withsocial consciousnessshownonstoriesofmiddle-classpeoplefacingmoraldilemmas.Ingeneral, hernovelsrepresentasearchforanswersofsocialresponsibility,thepolarizationofrichand poororuniversalthemes suchasthenatureofhumanrelationships(Stringer 179).Forthese veryreasonsIdecidedto examineandcomparethe worksofMargaretDrabbleandanalyse fourofhernovelspublishedindecade succession. Thisthesisfocusesononeoftheearlybooks withafemaleheroine, The Millstone , publishedin1966. Thesecondbookisamale-centrednovel whichappearedin1977under thetitle The Ice Age . Thethirdworkis thefirst volumeofDrabble’strilogyknownas The Radiant Way whichcomesoutinprintforthefirsttimein1987. Thefourthbookcompared 1 isDrabble’slastfictionofthetwentiethcenturyas it wasputonthemarketin1997andit bearsthetitle The Witch Of Exmoor . Theprincipalaimofthethesisistointerpretthese novelsmainlyfromtwoperspectives.First,itpaysattention tothenovels’backgroundasit illustratesthesocialandpoliticalchangesinGreatBritainthroughoutthesecondhalfofthe 20thcentury.Second,itlaysemphasis uponindividuals whoreflecttheauthor’sconcerns andheroverallgraspofreality. Therefore,themostconvenientmethodologicalandtheoreticalapproachtothe selectedbooksiscomparativeanddiachronicstudy. WithregardtothenatureofDrabble’s novelsthataredescribedas“suburban,domestic,preoccupiedwithmiddle-classmores [where]theconflictbetweeninstinctandmorality,theroughintrusionofaccidentintoour lives,the weaknessofhuman will[…]hasbeen[the]subject,”thecentralthemescanbe tracedasaunifyingfeatureofthemajorityofthe works(Mackenzie). Theauthorrepeatedly, anddeliberately,followscertaintopics buttheseresultfromdifferenttimes, hence,cover differentspheres.Onthataccount,Iconsiderthediachronicapproachasthemostsuitable whileputtingthefournovelsofMargaretDrabble’s oeuvreincomparison. 1.1. The Life of Margaret Drabble MargaretDrabble,bornin1939inSheffield(Hanford),hasbecomeadistinguished British writeralmostimmediatelyafterthepublicationofherfirstnovelin1962. Though manycritics thinkofher worksasfeministorientatedonthebasisofthe varietyofher femalecharactersandhighlyfemale-centredtopics, sheherselfdeniessuchclassification.In fact,she“doesnotseeherselfasatrumpetforfeminismandhasrefutedanyconnection withthefeministmovementotherthanakinder,rationalconcernfortheproblems women face”(Hanford).Drabbledoesdepictthedilemmas ofyoung womenandsetsthemin problematic contextin whichmattersofmaternity,pregnancy,sisterrelationshipor educationplayasignificantroleandarisemanyaquestion.Butapartfromthisfocus,the 2 themescometobeinseparablyinterconnectedwithsocialattitudesinGreatBritain with regardtoparticulardecades. Therefore,thegraspofDrabble’snovelsliesina very wide scope,includingherpersonallifeandexperience. Thefamilybackgrounddefinitelycreatedaprofoundliteraryandintellectualimpacton theauthorherselfas wellasonherthreesiblings, becausetheirparents wereanEnglish teacher,MargaretBloorDrabble,andabarrister,part-timenovelist, JohnFederickDrabble (Sendler7). TheeldestchildAntonia,knownas A.S.Byatt,achievedgreatrespectinthe literary world,too,butsheadmitsthatshe“alwaysfelt verythreatenedby[Margaret] who alwaysmade [her]feel verytemporary somehow”(Stout).Hence,the writingambitionsof bothsistersinstigatedbitterrivalrybetweenthem whicheven deterioratedafterthe publicationofDrabble’snovel The Peppered Moth (2001),“basedonthetormentedand tormentinglifeofhermother,themost‘enragedhousewife’ever”(Gerrard).Byattstrongly disagreedforshe“wouldratherpeopledidn’treadsomeoneelse’s versionof[her]mother,” whileDrabble,ontheotherhand,“feltcompelledtoexpressherselfandfindsomepeace” (Gerrard). Thispublicskirmish,hence,mayleadtoaconclusionthatMargaretBloor Drabble was atouchysubjectforbothsisters. Parents’loveingeneralpenetrates Drabble’snovelstoalargedegree,butitisrather therelationshipofchildrenandtheir mothers whichpredominantlyhelpstoshapethe plots –afactthat mighthaveresultedfromtheauthor’s ownaffinity withhermother.Drabble herselfhassomedoubts about whethershelovedhermotherornotandtheeffortto describeherinthenovelsimplybecomesanattempttoreclaimher. The writerstates thatby goingbackshe wishedto“understandwhat[hermother] wasreallylike”.Shehoped“that someemotionalblockage wouldbereleased,[andthus,she] wouldfeelmorelove” (Mackenzie). Actually,MargaretBloor, who wasforcedtogiveupteachingforherchildren, feltdeepdissatisfaction withbeingahousewifeandcastaterriblepalloverallofherchildren (Stout).Inspiteofthis, Antoniaclaimsthattheir mother“likedMaggiemuchbetter”(Stout). 3 Theseelements,therefore,alsooccurinthe worksofDrabbleasapartofherpersonal experiencethrough whichshe,as wellasherheroines,solvesthequestion ofhowmuch daughterseventuallybecomeliketheirmothers. AsfarasDrabble’sfurtherlifeisconcerned,aged13,sheleftSheffieldinorderto studyatQuakerMountSchoolin York whichsheloved. Alwaystopofthe class,Margaret wonascholarshiptoNewnham,andleft withafirst-classdegree.Shesaysthatatschoolshe worked,butatuniversity,she‘played’(Gerrard).Shespentthe undergraduateyears performinginmanyaproduction,specializingin‘tragicheroines’,andasaconsequence,she plannedonanactingcareer,notaliteraryone(Moran3).Forthatreasonsheleftfor StratfordafterCambridgeandhere“shejoinedtheRoyalShakespeareCompanyasan actress”(Bussow). Atthe sametime,theauthormadeanothersignificantchangeinherlife. In1960, MargaretmarriedanactorCliveSwiftandsoonafterwardsshediscoveredshe waspregnant.Inherown words,“it wasapassionateloveaffair,andthat’simportant[…] forthechildrentoknowthattheycamefrompassion”(Mackenzie).Nevertheless,Drabble’s conditionradicallycurtailedtherange ofrolesavailabletoher,andconsequently, sittingbackstageasanunderstudy,sheturnedherenergiesto writinganovel. [Soon,]Drabblefoundwritingtobesomuchmore compatible with motherhood,thatshedroppedherplansforactingandstuck withhernew- foundcareer.(Moran3) In1975,thepassionatefallingoutof loveendedindivorce. Afterthat,Drabble wasnot surethatshe wouldbeableto writeagain. Amagazinecommentedonherstatusand suggestedthat“womencouldonly writebecause theirhusbands’incomessupportedthem” (Poland).Drabblenearly suedthem.In1982,however,the writerremarried,thistimea biographer MichaelHolroyd(Stringer179). They“livedinseparatehouses forthefirst 15 yearsoftheirmarriageandlive,nowpresumablytogether,inLondon”(Hanford). 4 Thoughmostlyrenownedforhernovels,Drabble’sliterarycareerembracesanumber ofotheractivitiesas well.She wroteseveralplays,abiographyof ArnoldBennett,ascholarly bookon Wordsworth,essayson Virginia WoolfandHardy,alsoachildren’sbookaboutthe Victorian Ageandascreenplayforthemovie versionofher work The Millstone . Apartfrom that,sheservedaseditor ofthe Oxford Companion to English Literature .Furthermore,the authorhasdoneagoodbitofjournalism,publishingarticlesinthe New York Times ,anda varietyof women’smagazines(Moran6).Lastbutnotleast,MargaretDrabblekeepsherself busybycommentingonglobalpoliticalissues,participatingindemonstrations,protesting againsttheU.S.armyinIraq(Sendler16-17)orsupportingtheBritishStammering Association(Drabble, My Stammer ). 1.2. Socio-political Background of Great Britain
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