THE OBSCURE SUBJECT: WORKING-CLASS MASCULINE IDENTITY UNDER NEOLIBERALISM IN THREE BRITISH NOVELS (1985-2009) Simone Hutchinson BSc (Hons) MLitt Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) by research English Literature School of Critical Studies College of Arts University of Glasgow September 2014 2 Abstract This thesis examines the socio-political engagements with concepts of masculine working class identity in three British novels written between 1985 and 2009 by James Kelman, Magnus Mills and Monica Ali. It argues that the three primary texts each differently explore a similar conceptualization of masculine identity tied to forms of industrial work. With reference to Jacques Rancière’s writings, this thesis applies the interrelated concepts of ‘politics’, ‘police’ and ‘radical equality’ to the primary texts in an attempt to consider why and in what ways British novels produced during the neoliberal era represent and explore such an anachronistic masculine working-class identity. To aid that discussion, the thesis contemplates Rancière’s critique of the concept of the proletariat and considers the historical development in Britain of the masculine ‘worker’ persona in order to foreground my central argument that the protagonists in each text represent an obscure subject resisting the reach of the proletariat and worker identities, and whose very obscurity enables the different engagements played out within each text. This thesis aims to emphasize the importance for literature studies to reconsider the figure of the proletariat-styled ‘workingman’ in contemporary literature for rethinking politics within an era shaped by advanced neoliberal capitalism. 3 List of Figures Figure 1 - The Red Dawn, September 1915. A magazine for young workers; this issue entitled 'A book of verse for revolutionaries and others' by Albert Young, the cover depicting militant worker figure tropes: aggressive young man in simple clothing climbing over a wall with hand raised, smoking chimneys of industry in the background. .....................................26 Figure 2 - The Red Dawn, February 1920. The masthead design is based on the September 1915 cover, while the main image shows a capitalist holding onto bags marked ‘militarism’, ‘slavery’, ‘war’, ‘banking’, and ‘capital’, and a worker whose overalls and cartoon hammer are marked with ‘knowledge’, and ‘labor organized and united’. ..........................................27 Figure 3 - National Minority Movement, 1924. The cover depicts worker figure tropes: a triumphant worker planting a flag on a hill in the foreground, with a utopian urban landscape behind him. ........................................................................................................................28 Figure 4 - Direct Action, December, 1919; published by the Scottish Workers’ Committee. In this cover image, obese, old capitalists are forced to the gallows by muscular, shirtless young men. This pamphlet advocates workers' adoption of syndicalist tactics in t heir industrial struggles.............................................................................................................................29 Figure 5 – The Catholic Workingman, 1906; published by the Catholic Socialist Society in Glasgow. Influenced by Francesco Nitti's book 'Catholic Socialism', the author of this pamphlet, John Wheatley was converted to socialism and formed the Society with William Regan, who illustrated this issue..........................................................................................30 Figure 6 - Masthead of The Worker, the weekly newspaper of the Clyde Workers' Committee, 18 March 1922. The Worker was first published in 1916 following the government's suppression of both Forward and John Maclean's publication Vanguard. ........31 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract........................................................................................................................ 2 List of Figures .............................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................ 6 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 7 1.1 Historical background of the primary texts...............................................................8 1.2 Jacques Rancière’s politics, police and equality ....................................................... 13 1.3 Theoretical concerns in the primary texts ............................................................... 14 1.4 The troubling ‘proletariat’ and the origins of ‘the worker’ in Britain ....................... 19 1.5 Working class masculinity under neoliberalism....................................................... 31 2. “Individual destinies”: James Kelman’s A Chancer (1985).....................................34 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 34 2.2 The social politics of work in A Chancer ................................................................. 36 2.2.1 Robert’s trapped destiny.................................................................................... 43 2.3 Gambling ............................................................................................................. 48 2.3.1 Repudiating gambling’s class politics.................................................................. 48 2.3.2 Tammas’ alternative work ethic.......................................................................... 52 2.3.3 From the flâneur to Tammas: speculation’s profane pleasure .................................. 56 2.4 Aesthetics in A Chancer ......................................................................................... 63 2.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 73 3. The Trouble with Industry is Character: Magnus Mills’ The Scheme for Full Employment (2002)............................................................................................................77 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 77 3.2 Historical context.................................................................................................. 79 3.3 An ideal scheme for ideal men................................................................................ 85 3.4 The eight hour day................................................................................................ 94 3.5 Mysterious authority............................................................................................. 98 3.6 Cakes and corruption............................................................................................ 99 3.7 Althusser’s good and bad subjects; or, a worse and a better police ......................... 101 3.8 Three exceptions ................................................................................................. 105 3.9 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 107 5 4. Work, morality and masculinity in Monica Ali’s In the Kitchen (2009)................111 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 111 4.2 Masculinity and work ......................................................................................... 115 4.2.1 Moral dimensions .......................................................................................... 115 4.2.2 Creative and intellectual dimensions ................................................................. 117 4.2.3 A worker’s hands ........................................................................................... 120 4.3 Gabriel’s political subjectivization ....................................................................... 121 4.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 126 5. Summary and Conclusion .....................................................................................129 Works Cited ..............................................................................................................134 6 Acknowledgments This thesis would not have been completed without the support of my supervisors, Drs Bryony Randall and Helen Stoddart: I wish to thank them profusely for their encouragement and guidance. For financial assistance, I acknowledge the University of Glasgow, which awarded me the Alexander and Dixon Scholarship (Bryce Bequest), thus enabling me to conduct my research part-time. Additionally, my parents, Ian Hutchinson and Carol Ann Pedersen, have provided indispensable financial help, though more importantly have been a source of vital emotional support. My employer, Professor Peter Behan, has played a pivotal role in my academic work by accommodating the demands of my research schedule. Dr Joe Brooker, Dr Scott Hames and Professor Alan Riach have generously shared their thoughts with me, and I remain very grateful to them for their correspondence and time. The following friends and colleagues in Glasgow provided valuable intellectual and emotional support: Dr Sadia Zulfiqar Chaudry, Nina Enemark, Dr Sam Wiseman,