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SHADES of GRAY Science Fiction, History and the Problem of Postmodernism in the Work of Alasdair Gray

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SHADES of GRAY Science Fiction, History and the Problem of Postmodernism in the Work of Alasdair Gray View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Qucosa - Publikationsserver der Universität Leipzig SHADES OF GRAY Science Fiction, History and the Problem of Postmodernism in the Work of Alasdair Gray Dietmar Böhnke 2 SHADES OF GRAY LEIPZIG EXPLORATIONS IN LITERATURE AND CULTURE VOLUME XI Series Editors: Elmar Schenkel / Stefan Welz The books in this series suggest that we live in an exciting age of explorations. We now have the great opportunity to chart the territories between disciplines and cultures, to map forgotten or as yet undiscovered areas of thought, culture and writing. The monographs and collections from Leipzig try to break out of unproductive oppositions say between East and West, North and South, humanities and sciences, or academic discourse and journalism. Instead we are encouraging the emergence of triangular constellations, such as between Newfoundland, Scotland and West Africa, or between travelogue, science and women’s writing, or between alchemy, prehistory and bicycles. Pioneer studies on contemporary authors will be another asset of this series. The focus of Leipzig Explorations is on literatures in English, albeit with a strong emphasis on comparative and interdisciplinary studies. We particularly encourage essayistic writing that combines academic knowledge with passion and curiosity. Lieber Herr Galda, hier sollten nun noch die richtige ISBN/ISSN, sowie die Eintragungen der LOC (und ggf. der BL) ergänzt werden. Bitte prüfen Sie auch noch die anderen Angaben! Die Kennzeichnung als Diss. der Uni Leipzig ist wichtig. Viele Grüße Heiko Zimmermann Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde von der Philologischen Fakultät der Universität Leipzig als Dissertation angenommen. Die Deutsche Bibliothek – CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Böhnke, Dietmar: Shades of Gray: Science Fiction, History and the Problem of Postmodernism in the Work of Alasdair Gray. – Glienicke/Berlin: Galda und Wilch, 2004 (Leipzig explorations in literature and culture: XI) Zugl.: Leipzig, Univ., Diss., 2002 ISBN XXXXXXXXXXX ISSN XXXXXXXXXXXX ISBN XXXXXXXXXXXX © 2004 Galda + Wilch Verlag, Glienicke (Berlin) Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Direct all enquiries to G+W, Franz-Schubert-Str. 61, 16548 Glienicke (Berlin), Germany Printed and bound in India by BIBLIA IMPEX PVT LTD. 2/18 Ansari Road, New Delhi – 110 002 (INDIA) Shades of Gray Science Fiction, History and the Problem of Postmodernism in the Work of Alasdair Gray Dietmar Böhnke LEIPZIG EXPLORATIONS IN LITERATURE AND CULTURE XI GALDA + WILCH VERLAG GLIENICKE / BERLIN • MADISON / WISCONSIN 2004 To my parents Mir ist jede Farbe recht—Hauptsache, sie ist grau. (Bertolt Brecht) “Aren’t you sick of being a Post-Modernist?” asks a man from the colour supplement of a Sunday newspaper. He is famous for his articles on artistic topics because he refers knowingly to famous foreigners in a way suggesting that no intelligent Briton need bother with them. (Alasdair Gray, Something Leather, 145) Contents Abbreviations .........................................................................................xv Personal Prologue ................................................................................xvii Introduction: Investigating Shades of Gray...........................................1 Gray’s Work and Its Critical Reception .............................................2 Internationalising Scottish Studies .....................................................9 Chapter One: Shades of Theory........................................................... 15 Thanks for the Theory ...................................................................... 15 The Trouble with Postmodernism ................................................... 21 Introducing Postmodernism: Confusions and Convictions...... 22 Systematising Postmodernism: Three ‘Types’ ............................ 26 Criticising Postmodernism: Academia at War........................... 36 Balancing Postmodernism: Towards a Compromise?............... 42 Chapter Two: Postmodern Possibilities ............................................... 49 Scottish Literature and the Postmodern ‘Paradigm Change’ ....... 49 Gray’s Postmodern Writing: Metafiction, Intertextuality, Inter-Art Discourse........................................................................... 54 Chapter Three: Shades of Science Fiction and Apocalypse .............. 85 Alasdair Gray and Science Fiction Today ....................................... 85 Science Fiction and Postmodernism ........................................... 88 The Problem of Genre Definition ............................................... 92 Gray’s SF as (Social) Fable.............................................................. 100 Apocalyptic Allegory: Social Criticism in Lanark.................... 102 Parables of Power: The Quality of Fable in Gray’s Other ‘SF’ Works.......................................................................................... 117 Ambiguous (Anti-)Utopias............................................................. 123 Utopia vs. Dystopia in Gray’s ‘SF’ ............................................. 124 (Anti)Utopia, Science and Ideology.......................................... 132 XIV SHADES OF GRAY Epic Parodies: Gray’s ‘SF’ as Epic and the Condition of Parody. 135 Epic Elements in Gray’s ‘SF’....................................................... 135 Echoes and Parodies of the Science-Fiction Tradition in Gray’s Work ............................................................................... 143 Conclusion: Gray’s Ambiguous ‘SF’............................................... 161 Chapter Four: Shades of HiStories..................................................... 165 History in Literary and Cultural Theory....................................... 165 History and Postmodernism ...................................................... 165 Historiographic Metafiction...................................................... 175 Lanark and the Complexities of “His Story” ................................ 179 Victorianism Revisited—Multiple Histories in Poor Things ...... 190 Writing HiStories ....................................................................... 190 Postmodern Victorianism: Gender, Class and Empire ............ 196 Remembering Glasgow’s ‘Poor Things’.................................... 210 Historicising the Future?—A History Maker................................ 217 Surviving the “End of History” ................................................. 219 Making History Last................................................................... 225 Conclusion: Gray’s HiStories ......................................................... 236 Chapter Five: Postmodern Problems.................................................. 245 Anti-Postmodernism....................................................................... 245 Humanism, Modernism and Realism............................................ 252 Political Involvement...................................................................... 258 Nationalism ..................................................................................... 262 Conclusion: Shades of Gray’s Postmodernism.............................. 270 Conclusion: Colourful Shades of Gray.............................................. 273 Epilogue, by Alasdair Gray Mainly ................................................... 283 Appendix ............................................................................................. 291 Bibliography........................................................................................ 301 Abbreviations The following abbreviations for works by Alasdair Gray will be used in quotations: BP The Book of Prefaces (2000) HM A History Maker (1994) J 1982, Janine (1984) L Lanark (1981) LT Lean Tales (1985) MB Mavis Belfrage (1996) PT Poor Things (1992) SL Something Leather (1990) US Unlikely Stories, Mostly (1983) WS Why Scots Should Rule Scotland 1997 (1997) Personal Prologue I started work on this project in 1996, and the study which follows was finally accepted as a doctoral dissertation by the University of Leipzig in 2002. My interest in Alasdair Gray’s work, and in Scottish literature and culture, goes back further than that, however. Ultimately, my parents—to whom this book is dedicated—are to ‘blame’ for having enkindled in me a lasting love for ‘English’ literature and culture in the widest sense. As translators of literature, they were involved professionally but also enthusiastically with English-language culture at a time and place (in East Germany when it was the German Democratic Republic) where it was difficult and sometimes dangerous to get hold of some of the books from that other part of the world, and almost impossible to actually go there. They managed to do both, however, and shared their appreciation and enthusiasm for that foreign (at that time almost exotic) culture with me—and they have continued to support me in all imaginable ways (including my mother’s struggling through the manuscript of this work). My debt and gratitude to them is really beyond words. I suspect that my upbringing in the GDR and the first-hand experience of what we call the Wende here in Leipzig in 1989 might have made me even more sympathetic and alert to the
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