INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313 761-4700 800 521-0600 Order Number 9325605 Communities of last resort: Representations of the elderly in the contemporary British novel Tyler, Natalie Christine Hawthorne, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1993 Copyright ©1993 by Tyler, Natalie Christine Hawthorne. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 COMMUNITIES OF LAST RESORT: REPRESENTATIONS OF THE ELDERLY IN THE CONTEMPORARY BRITISH NOVEL DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Natalie Christine Hawthorne Tyler, A.B., M.L.S., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1993 Dissertation Committee: Approved by B. Rigney K . Burkman Adviser M. Conroy Department of English Copyright by Natalie Christine Hawthorne Tyler 1993 For David: Thou wall, 0 wall, 0 sweet and lovely wall, Thanks, courteous wall. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I grew up as a member of a large community, consisting of my mother, another Natalie Tyler, my father, the late Clarence Mallory Tyler, my aunts, Marjorie Jacobs and Harriet Martin, my brother, John, and my four sisters, Carol, Cynthia, Elizabeth, and the late Andrea Tyler, my own cherished memento mori. An astonishing assortment of amusing cousins and in-laws, including those irrepressible bon vivants Joseph Weller Jacobs and Betty Jane Riede have also contributed much to the formation of my identity as a community member. All of these people have challenged and inspired me to interpret and understand the fascinating narratives of their lives. "What wealth!," as Barbara Pym would have said, after Wordsworth. I thank my friends: I received encouragement from David Grant, Cynthia Martin, and Jane Dietrich who all believed in my abilities when I could not believe for myself. Lisa J. Kiser remains sui generis, and is a refreshing source of invigoration. Helen Spier provided intellectual inebriation, encouragement, and enthusiasm in generous doses; Ann Beck was magnanimous with her sympathy, additionally she helped guide me through the intricacies of Word Perfect; Jackie Gribble is an agent provocateuse. a presence who agitates and inspires thought, and Merla J. Olsen, an engaged and engaging challenger, an interested and interesting communicator. Doulton and Myra, a dashingly romantic and farouche couple, entertain me with their vivid reenactments of Victorian literature. Henryk Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs was inexplicably consoling as I wrote, as was the eerily beautiful voice of soprano Dawn Upshaw. More explicably consoling was Tess Gallagher's wonderful poem, "We're All Pharaohs When We Die." Professors Barbara Rigney, Katherine Burkman, Mark Conroy, Harry Vredeveld, and James Battersby made many good suggestions and astute comments, for which I am grateful. Finally, my chosen community of first, finest and favorite resort, is my family -- David, Benedict, and Austin, who have retained their good humor, their ample and ungrudging patience and even their remarkably sympathetic understanding of me throughout all the moments of madness surrounding this project. iv VITA September 16, 1950 ......... Born - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1973 ........................ A.B., Cornell University Ithaca, New York 1983 ........................ M.L.S., State University of New York, College at Geneseo, Geneseo, New York 1987 ........................ M.A., The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1986-1992 .................... Teaching Associate Department of English Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1992-1993 .................... Lecturer Department of English Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Area: English Studies in: Twentieth-Century English Literature Nineteenth-Century English Literature The Novel v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................. iii VITA .............................................. V CHAPTER PAGE I. BEYOND ISOLATION OR FAMILY: COMMUNITIES OF THE ELDERLY ................. 1 II. "THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE COMMONPLACE": PAST IMPERFECT AND CONDITIONAL FUTURES IN SPARK'S MEMENTO M O R I ........................ 38 III. THE LONG SHADOW OF OUR SCHOOL DAYS: WILLIAM TREVOR AND HIS "OLD B O Y S " ......... 83 IV. WE AREN'T ALLOWED TO DIE HERE: MRS. PALFREY AT THE C L A R E M O N T .................. 142 V. FINAL OBSERVATIONS: DESUETUDE AND DEATH .............................179 LIST OF REFERENCES .............................. 226 vi Chapter I BEYOND ISOLATION OR FAMILY: COMMUNITIES OF THE ELDERLY ...if an old man is dealt with in his subjective aspect he is not a good hero for a novel; he is finished, set, with no hope, no development to be looked for ... nothing that can happen to him is of any importance. Simone de Beauvoir, The Coming of Age. It is a scorchingly hot July afternoon in a midwestern suburb. The bony old woman pulls herself up from her bed and, bent over, arms painfully stretched behind her, clutching her back, almost propping it up behind her, drags herself into her bathroom. She festoons her face with Princess Anne Cherry Bisque powder and then laboriously applies Royal Egyptian amethyst eye shadow from the bottom of her eyelids up to her eyebrows. She uses a small wand to apply "Black Forest Eyebrow Enhancer" to the sparse line of her eyebrows. Suddenly they sprout into luxuriously thick and dark flying buttresses which also serve to accentuate the amethyst highlights beneath. She smacks her lips with approval and then turns to a less painstaking job--she brushes "In the Pink" blush-on all 1 over her face from her neck and chin up to her forehead. Then taking a darker, richer shade of purple-red, sportingly dubbed "Cheeky," she emphasizes her cheekbones. Now some delicate labour is required. She peels a thin and gluey edge of the false eyelashes from their holder and meticulously, but with a well- practiced hand, applies them expertly to one eye. And then the other eye. Now some "Midnight in Madrid" mascara will make the eyelashes even more opulent. Panting with exhaustion, the bony old woman returns to her bed and rests for an hour before she can marshall enough energy to return to her labors. After a restorative doze she returns to the bathroom. Much of her work is finished. Now she applies a bright lipstick, "Cherries in the Snow," to her lips and carefully blots them with thin rice paper imported from the Orient. Next she outlines the lips with a lip pencil labelled "Cleopatra's Scarlett Fiesta." Then she zips a net make-up preserver over her face. This filigreed helmet will preserve the punctilious painting job and also protect her clothing from the violaceous smears of her "maquillage" as she calls her make-up. She takes a brief rest before she dresses. Again laboriously lifting herself from the well-worn contours 3 of her bed, she selects her outfit for the day. Gazing at a collection of burgundy, silver lame, black, plum, and magenta bikinis, she finally selects the burgundy because of its contemporary hip line--the tops of her thighs will be accentuated, the still appealing curves of her crotch will be highlighted. Once she has pulled on and adjusted the two tiny pieces of shimmering fabric she takes another well-deserved rest before she commences the completion of her couture. Once again she enters the bathroom and slowly upzips and removes the makeup preserving mask. She reaches for a wiglet, a jet-black chignon which, after years of expertise, she can adroitly pin to the back of her head. A lacy black snood and long, Oriental ornamental hairpins complete the tonsorial preparations. She slips into a pair of gold lame Ferragamo dress sandals. The three inch chunky heel will add much desired height without sacrificing support--her days of wearing spiked heels are lamentably over. She is ready to leave her home. Her mission: to epater le bourgeoisie. She will strut (that is, as much as anyone with congestive heart failure and osteoporosis can strut) down her street and imagine the gaze of her neighbors--the men lusty and covetous; the women 4 jealous, admiring her elegance yet fearful