MOBILITIES OF PRESENCE: THE MOTIFS OF TIME AND HISTORY IN THE NOVELS OF PETER ACKROYD by HENDIA BAKER submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject ENGLISH at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF P D RYAN NOVEMBER 1992 Financial assistance afforded by the Human Sciences Research Council is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions reached in this study are those of the author and should not be ascribed to the Human Sciences Research council. SUMMARY After a brief contextualisation, time and history are examined in Ackroyd's novels. Chapter 1 examines postmodernism. Chapter 2 explores history perceived as fact and as construct. Chapter 3 investigates the dissolution of the distinction between history and fiction. Chapter 4 analyses the development of 'originality' and the futile search for origin. Chapter 5 examines the interchangeability of fiction and reality. Chapter 6 studies theories on time, focusing on Einstein's theory of relativity. Chapter 7 analyses the coexistence of the past and present, and the relativity of time. Chapter 8 scrutinises the myth of 'mobilities of presence', which facilitates rejuvenation. Chapter 9 considers the relation between time and space necessary for rejuvenation. Chapter 10 looks at simultaneity and the eternal present. It is clear that Ackroyd explores the mobilities of presence of historical and fictional characters, objects, and texts, thus showing that time is a web of simultaneously existing present moments. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . 1 SECTI.ON A: CONTEXTUALISATION . 4 CHAPTER 1: POSTMODERNISM: AN INTRODUCTION 5 SECTION B: HISTORY • . 13 CHAPTER 2: HISTORY AS CONCEPT 14 CHAPTER 3: THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND ITS RELATION TO THE TEXTS 28 CHAPTER 4: ORIGIN AND ORIGINALITY 53 CHAPTER 5: FICTION AND REALITY 80 SECTION C: TIME . 88 CHAPTER 6: THE CONCEPT OF TIME 89 6.1 What is Time? 90 6.2 The Characters' Experience of Time 94 6.3 Inversion (of Time) 108 6.4 Tenses 112 6.5 Images of Time 114 CHAPTER 7: THE PRESENCE OF THE PAST IN THE PRESENT 120 CHAPTER 8: MOBILITIES OF PRESENCE 134 8.1 Introduction 135 8.2 Parallels and Human Continuity 138 8.3 Special Knowledge and the Insane 154 8.4 Stone 162 8.5 Rejuvenation 170 CHAPTER 9: SPACE/PLACE AND TIME 192 CHAPTER 10: SIMULTANEITY 201 CONCLUSION . 220 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 224 Primary Sources 224 Secondary Sources 225 1 INTRODUCTION In this dissertation an attempt will be made to gain some form of understanding of Peter Ackroyd's novels. Since no writer or reader can ever wholly escape the numerous, often disparate, influences stemming from the context in which he/she lives and writes/reads, it would be futile and meaningless to analyse texts in isolation. Ackroyd writes in a postmodern time and we, as readers, inevitably read in just such a time. A Victorian reader would be struck by other elements and would read from a perspective different to that of a postmodern reader. One has to select, and the selection is determined by one's frame of reference. In this dissertation, I have selected time and history as focal points, since these are recurring motifs in Ackroyd's fiction. Both concepts have undergone a profound change in recent times and cannot be ignored by any reader, even less so by a reader situated within 'the_postmodern condition' (Lyotard, 1979) . I shall also look at what one could call 'mobilities of presence'; presence both in the sense of absence of absence, and as a term relating to the present moment. In selecting these concepts and in viewing them from a contemporary postmodern perspective (or perspectives), I do not wish to imply that Ackroyd's novels are postmodern in all respects. It would, in any case, be impossible to prove that they are/are not, within the length of such a dissertation. I merely wish to indicate that Ackroyd cannot completely escape the influence of postmodernism. At this stage, I should like to postulate the possibility that Ackroyd transgresses the boundaries of postmodern writing by advancing a way out of the quagmire of fragmentation. He apparently offers a solution to the so-called postmodern crisis, by offering acceptance of the 'network of simultaneities', the network of connection of present moments, even if this network appears to be meaningless, confusing, and dreadful in the deepest metaphysical sense. I shall trace Ackroyd's development of this 'solution' (a very temporary one) in his novels: from The Great Fire of London (1982), 2 which already contains some of the main ideas and motifs, albeit in an undeveloped form, to Hawksmoor (1985), a novel in which these ideas and motifs are perhaps most prominent and most clearly elaborated, to Chatterton (1987), where they recur, now combined with questions of originality - a highly temporal concept. Finally, I shall look at First Light (1989), where the same ideas are found in less explicit form than in, for example, Hawksmoor, but where all the previous explorations come to fruition. In First Light we are finally given a definition and explanation of time and existence in confusing times. It will be noted that I have omitted mentioning The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde (1983). The reason is that this novel is different from the others, especially in so far as the subject of this dissertation is concerned: it does not deal with 'mobilities of presence', a concept explored fairly extensively later on in the dissertation. I shall, however, mention The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde where it is relevant, specifically when dealing with history and the use of history in fiction (and the use of fiction in history), since these issues cannot be ignored in any study of this text. Ackroyd's most recent novel, English Music (1992), will regrettably not be included, since it was not available at the time of writing this dissertation. My approach to Ackroyd's treatment of the motifs of time and history in his novels will not be chronological, although it might appear to be the most obvious method of analysis in the light of the preceding argument. I believe that a chronological approach to the elements I want to address in each of the novels would at best be tedious and boring. Instead I shall begin with a brief and cursory introduction to postmodern times and writing. I shall not, however, advance any 'original' definitions of postmodernism. My purpose is not to analyse postmodernism, but merely to provide the background or context from/in which Ackroyd's writing emerges, in order then to proceed with the proper subject of the dissertation as found in its title. I shall deal separately (in so far as that is possible) with various elements in Ackroyd's fiction in two main sections: history and time. This division is obvious, but it is also artificial, because the two main motifs are closely related. Thus there will inevitably be, if not 3 repetition, at least interchangeability, in order to allow for a smooth flow of the argument. Under some of the major headings, that is, wherever it is advisable, I shall attempt to give a brief contextual introduction to the topic under discussion. The final chapter will be both a summary and an attempt to draw conclusions concerning Ackroyd's fictional view on the nature of time and history in contemporary times. This dissertation does not offer a complete analysis of Ackroyd' s fiction or of the selected motifs of time and history in these texts; similarly, it does not provide the only possible interpretation of these novels or motifs. Yet I believe that this dissertation has some value and relevance, specifically because so little (apart from reviews) has been written on Ackroyd's novels. I shall explore a few of the most obvious ideas in Ackroyd's fiction, at the same time relating these ideas and their treatment, where possible, to other relevant works of literature, criticism, and philosophy. 4 SECTION A: CONTEXTUALISATION 5 CHAPTER 1 POSTMODERNISM: AN INTRODUCTION 'Then I will die without fear?' 'You will not die in uncertainty.' 'Is that the same thing?' 'It is the same.' (Hilsenrath, 1991:17) 'I realise, as I say this, that perhaps I use "modern" and "postmodern" in a different sense from that in which you and others use it. Well, this seems to me a very postmodern attitude - don't you agree?' (Umberto Eco quoted by Breon Mitchell in calinescu & Fokkema, 1987:109) '"Postmodernist"? Nothing about this term is unproblematic, nothing about it is entirely satisfactory.' (McHale, 1987:3) 'Postmodernist inevitably calls to mind a band of vainglorious contemporary artists following the circus elephants of Modernism with snow shovels.' (Charles Newman quoted in McHale, 1987:3) 6 As has been indicated in the general introduction, this chapter is meant to serve as contextualisation of Ackroyd's writing and the act of reading, both of which take place in a contemporary, postmodern world. In the course of the chapter attention will be given to the origin and meaning of the term, factors leading to its emergence, and some of its forms and characteristics. Postmodernism probably originated in America, but it also has affinities to the French nouveau roman. It can be seen as both an international and an interdisciplinary phenomenon, ranging from architecture through the visual arts, music, literature and history, to the social and natural sciences, while bringing in contributions from several cultures beyond the anglophone world, and ignoring all boundaries or limits. The term postmodernism currently designates at once an historical category and a systematic or ideal concept (Calinescu, 1987:4) or a period and a genre-concept (Bennett, 1988:32).