Milton, Alexandria (2018) The short story as a language of demystified modernities: a study of Yusuf Idris' and Julio Cortazar's visualizing aesthetics.. PhD thesis. SOAS University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/30292 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. The Short Story as a Language of Demystified Modernities: A Study of Yūsuf Idrīs’ and Julio Cortázar’s Visualizing Aesthetics ALEXANDRIA MILTON Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2016 Centre for Cultural, Literary, and Postcolonial Studies SOAS, University of London 1 ABSTRACT This project takes the “visualizing capacity of language” in the short story as a language unto itself, asserting the genre as text rather than a literature per se, conceived from within and in the service of an as-yet unrealized social reality in societies undergoing profound transition. It raises questions about the nature of textuality, and poses visuality as a language of textuality. A pervasive comparative approach in short story criticism locates its agency vis a vis the novel, which it situates as the literary embodiment of the modern world, considering modernity within a corresponding hegemonic framework. I frame the resulting problematics using John Berger’s idea of “mystification,” whereby the short story and its discourses are obscured. This study questions whether articulating the short story’s language as a visualizing text may contribute to a new understanding of the form and its place in society. It seizes on the textual dynamics of (in)visibility, a visually distilled aesthetics whose essence is located in sublanguages of visibility and invisibility, conveyed through a salient materiality at the intersection of form and language. The aesthetics that assert these ideas constitute examples of the method of reading the short story’s visualizing aesthetics within their local and textual scenarios and offers a method of entering short story criticism through the local, rather than vice versa. I focus on two short story writers whose visualizing aesthetics are imbued with a legacy of ideas that encompass the short story’s intimate relationship with discourses arising out of their regions’ modernizing projects. For Yūsuf Idrīs the trope is amāra, a conceptual Arabic word that refers to the implicit knowledge of a populace. For Julio Cortázar, it is a self-referential mythopoesis as a form of resistance against hegemonic elements. Achieving these ideas aesthetically requires a “prolonged struggle” to wrest the short story from its Eurocentric elements to inscribe it with the languages constitutive of an organic modernity. Ultimately, this study offers a method of reading the short story as a language of social concern rather than merely a conduit for such a language. It rethinks ideas connected to modernity, to the short story’s situatedness as a world literature, and the complexities and contributions of Egyptian and Argentine/Latin American literature vis a vis postcolonial studies. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work of studying the short story has led me down paths I could never have foreseen, and this thesis is but a kernel, albeit an imperfect one, of that process. As with most things in life, people have made all the difference. I owe the conception of this project to the writers whose stories so permeated my consciousness that I could not look away. Javier Marías, Grace Paley, César Aira, Tayeb Salih, Gabriel García Márquez, Yasunari Kawabata, Hanif Kureishi, Jhumpa Lahiri, Yahya Taher Abdullah, Ernesto Sábato, Sayed Manzurul Islam, Junot Díaz, Anton Chekhov, Edgar Allan Poe, and James Joyce among them. And of course Yūsuf Idrīs and Julio Cortázar, the two men with whom I have spent more time than anyone else these past four years. I have been privileged to work with and be guided by amazing colleagues at SOAS. My third supervisor Dr. Grace Koh’s uncanny ability to zero in on the questions that perfectly encapsulated my confused, chaotic thoughts has been a guiding light in difficult moments. Prof. Wen-chin Ouyang, my second supervisor, provided me with helpful readings and useful feedback. Dr. Rachel Harrison is one of the kindest and most intelligent people I have had the privilege to know and her example is a constant inspiration. My kind and brilliant friend Maha AbdelMegeed’s sharp critical mind has contributed much to this project over hundreds (thousands?) of cups of coffee, texts, Skype calls, and emails. This project would not have been possible without her. Celeste Gianni has been a rock of support, an unwavering friend, and a shining example of what is possible when intelligence meets remarkable work ethic. Rasha Chatta’s generosity of spirit and unfailing ability to make me laugh and enjoy a good meal has brought joy to my life when it was most needed. Irene Fernández Ramos is a burst of light, a creative soul-sister, and her passion, creativity, and intelligence know no bounds. Tareq al-Rubei has introduced me to some amazing authors and has an uncanny knoack for offering out of the box perspectives. Yakoob Ahmed, Portia Owusu, and Nate Mannone, with whom I have shared so many coffees, meals, drinks, laughs, and the occasional adventure and/or hand-wringing. My great friends Lieke Palies, Karen Chammas, Léa Studer, and the Wyatts (Zack, Jolie, Lavender, and Wilco) have enriched my life in London in ways I cannot begin to explain here, and their friendship has been invaluable. My long-time friends who have shown so much love and have inspired me from such a great distance: 4 Tawana Munford, Zullay Pichardo, Dyani Tisdol, Jordan Farray, Mary Prabhaker, Mohamed Ezz el-Din, Ahmed el-Gafy; and finally Stacey Budhwa and the Rodriguezes (Lynn, Danny, Ruby, and Bushwick) whose positivity has lifted me and with whom I have shared the most unforgettable adventures! My dearest friend, the incomparable Nikki Sharma, has brightened my days and made sure that no matter how much I retreated into my head, I never missed out on the hilarities of life. My primary supervisor, Dr. Ayman El-Desouky, has set the greatest example of sharp intelligence with uncompromising integrity. I could not have asked for a kinder, more patient, or humble person as a guide, friend, and inspiration on this journey. No words can describe the love, sacrifice, inspiration, and incredible generosity of my family, who have made everything possible, and have done so with strength and kindness. My Mimi, Marguerite Holdman; my mom, Marcia Provoncha; my sister (and editor!), Sarah Milton; my dad, Tim Milton; my stepdad, Richard Sprague; my “superwoman,” Gale Hurd; the incomparable and adventurous Ann Webster; and finally my happy go lucky Boston Terrier Luna. I love you all to the stars. Finally, I dedicate this project to my late Poppie, William Patrick Holdman. I love you and I miss you. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4 NOTES ON TRANSLATION AND TRANSLITERATION 7 INTRODUCTION 8 PART I: CRITICAL HORIZONS: DEFINITION, SOCIALITY, AND MODERNITY 29 Chapter One: Current Debates in Short Story Criticism and World Literature 32 Chapter Two: The Visualizing Capacity of Form: Language, Aesthetics, Textuality 55 Chapter Three: Aesthetics of Social Concern: Amāra and Mythology 80 PART II: YŪSUF IDRĪS: THE AESTHETICS OF AMĀRA IN A THREE-STORY ARC 114 Chapter Four: The Light Code as a Visualizing Textuality 124 Chapter Five: Material Symbolism and the Discourse of Artifact: (In)visibility, Knowledge, and Egyptian Modernity 145 PART III: JULIO CORTÁZAR: MYTHMAKING AND BESTIARIO 179 Chapter Six: Bestiario as a Trope of Visibility for Invisible Narratives 191 Chapter Seven: Metamorphosis and the Fiction of Modernity: “Axolotl,” Xolotl, and the Imperative of Allegorical Subversion 217 CONCLUSION 238 BIBLIOGRAPHY 245 6 NOTES ON TRANSLATION AND TRANSLITERATION Arabic Transliterations from the Arabic generally follow the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES) system. I have applied full diacritical notation to the names of persons and places, and to the titles of published works, except in cases where the author is widely published in English. I have transliterated concepts, while longer quotes are offered in both the original Arabic and English translation. I have relied on already available translations whenever possible and these are explicitly referenced and I have qualified these translations insofar as it has bearing on the project. Where the Arabic original and English translation are cited side by side, I have denoted which is which by using the Arabic title for the Arabic language citation, and the English title for the English language citation. Spanish Quotations are offered in both the original Spanish and English translation. Translations are my own except where explicitly noted otherwise. Where the Spanish original and English translation are cited side by side, I have denoted which is which by using the Spanish title for the Spanish language citation, and the English title for the English language citation. Where the title for each is the same in both languages (for example, Facundo and “Axolotl”), I have noted the difference in the citation by following the title with “Spanish ed.” or “English ed.” for clarification. 7 INTRODUCTION This study considers the short story as a literary form that arises out of and is inhered of localized conflicting discourses intended to figure the modern in societies undergoing moments of profound transition.