Memory and Diegesis in Fantasy Literature
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In Better Worlds Than These: Memory and Diegesis in Fantasy Literature by Daniel Creed A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL May 2019 Copyright 2019 by Daniel Creed ii In Better Worlds Than These: Memory and Diegesis in Fantasy Literature by Daniel Creed This dissertation was prepared under the direction of the candidate's dissertation advisor, Dr. Thomas Martin, Depa11ment of English, and has been approved by all members of the supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Thomas Martin, Ph.D. Dissertation Advisor ----=~-- rd, Ph. Chair, Comparative Studi s Department ~4' Dean, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters :;tZ4.,./__$~ A pri \ s, 'loiOf Khaled Sob han, Ph.D. Dat Interim Dean, Graduate College lll Acknowledgements The author would like to thank the staff at the Wimberly library at FAU for all of their assistance in locating resources both in the campus holdings and through ILL, the Comparative Studies program for their enduring support, the special collections archive at the University of Arizona for their wonderful web resources and scanning department, Dr. Aidan-Paul Canavan for hours of talks as I worked through these ideas, the membership of the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts who provided excellent feedback on these ideas when presented as conference presentations, and his dissertation committee who have offered advice and expertise when needed. Most of all, the author would like to thank his wife, Skye, for hours of patience, love, and unending support. Without you, none of this would have been possible, and none of it would have mattered. iv Abstract Author: Daniel Creed Title: In Better Worlds Than These: Memory and Diegesis in Fantasy Literature Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Thomas Martin Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year: 2019 This study addresses the state of scholarship regarding fantasy literature and questions the position of scholars who have dismissed it as panegyric. This study notes that no accepted definition of fantasy exists, sets forth its own, and questions the value of fantasy literature. Moving from definition, this study notes that fantasy literature limits artistic freedom by supplementing the reality principle of minimal distance in mimetic fiction with penemaximal distance. Penemaximal distance affords fantasy a great remove from the actual world but adds the generic megatext as a frame of reference that defines reality. This allows fantasy literature to create semantic and episodic memory of diegetic worlds no longer limited by actual world foreknowledge and perception. Engaging narrative and cognitive theory, this study argues that authors utilize semantic memory to work within established truths of the genre, and readers hold authors to those rules unless authorial justification merits revision of generic epistemology. By v maintaining a link to semantic memory (truth), fantasy texts create belief in the diegesis through an acceptance of affective and cognitive significance. An examination of Charles Finney's The Circus of Dr. Lao notes the control of the reader's semantic memory in the catalogue presented following the text that forces a reconsideration of the assumptions made by the reader. This leads to a discussion of the reader's necessity regarding diegetic creation. Brandon Sanderson's The Emperor's Soul is engaged as a metacomment on writing fantasy and links the protagonist, Shai, to the author through plot and position regarding world-building and the creation of episodic memory that alters the reader in the actual world. Lastly, Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen is positioned as fantasy that satirizes generic expectations and confronts reader assumptions in the diegesis, leading to episodic memory of a meritocratic world and actual world demystification. Gary Wolfe posits the idea of deeper belief, where experiences within the text become virtual analogues for actual world experiences, and this study argues this moment as the creation of episodic memory. This is one value of fantasy literature; the memory of experiencing worlds not limited by empirical perception. vi Dedication This manuscript is dedicated to my Uncle Jimmy, whose books were there when I needed them most. It is also dedicated to my grandmother, Ida Mae, who dreamed that her grandchildren could attend college. To my mom, who dreamed of having a doctor for a son, and who helped me get back into school when I needed her most. To Tessie, Jerry, Mika, Yogin, Toad, Finney, and Morte – for accepting that I missed walks and cuddles to finish this study, and for sometimes forgiving me for it. Lastly, to my wife, Skye – for talking me off the proverbial ledge, for listening to me talk about this for the last ten years, for believing in me always, for loving me for who I am, and for knowing just what I needed long before I knew it. In Better Worlds Than These: Memory and Diegesis in Fantasy Literature Chapter One: Definition and Memory in Fantasy Literature .............................................. 1 History, Genre Formation, Definition ............................................................................. 4 Definition ...................................................................................................................... 12 Memory as Catalog of Experience ................................................................................ 16 The Problem of Realism ................................................................................................ 28 Chapter Two: Review of Scholarship ............................................................................... 35 Chapter Three: Memory and Polemic ............................................................................... 73 Neuropsychological Studies of Memory ....................................................................... 73 Theories of Interconnected Memory ............................................................................. 77 Memory as Future Thinking .......................................................................................... 80 Philosophy and Memory in the Context of Literary Studies ......................................... 84 Literature and Memory.................................................................................................. 86 On Narrative Theory ..................................................................................................... 88 Narrative Theory and the Worlds of Fantasy ................................................................ 95 The Social Imagination ............................................................................................... 103 viii Moving Among Worlds .............................................................................................. 105 Chapter Four: Charles Finney’s The Circus of Dr. Lao, Authorial Memory, and Memory-Guided Perception and Reception.................................................................... 110 Flaubert, Rabelais, Finney, and the Chimera .............................................................. 116 The Sphinx, Finney, and the Solo Dance .................................................................... 126 Apollonius, an imperfect reflection ............................................................................. 133 Doctor Browne’s Sirens and Urns ............................................................................... 141 Reader Dynamic of Secondary Creation through Imagination ................................... 144 Cabinets of Curiosities ................................................................................................ 149 Chapter Five: Sanderson’s The Emperor’s Soul as Metacommentary ........................... 156 Coleridge on Fancy and Imagination .......................................................................... 157 Magic System as Metacomment ................................................................................. 164 The Megatext and Metacommentary on Fantasy ........................................................ 175 Authorial Creation and the Fancy/Imagination Paradigm........................................... 184 Forging a Soul as Creating Deeper Belief ................................................................... 187 Chapter Six: Steven Erikson’s Malazan and Episodic Memory ..................................... 192 Erikson, Jones, and Epic Fantasy Tropes .................................................................... 197 Erikson’s Critiques of the Actual World ..................................................................... 214 Barbarism, Civilization, and "Witness!" ..................................................................... 225 Chapter Seven – Conclusion ........................................................................................... 232 ix References ....................................................................................................................... 254 x Chapter One: Definition and Memory in Fantasy Literature In his 1983 The Impulse of Fantasy Literature, C.N. Manlove asserted that "Fantasy is fundamentally