Durham E-Theses Paul Scott: 'a writing purpose' Armstrong, Simon H. How to cite: Armstrong, Simon H. (1984) Paul Scott: 'a writing purpose', Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7497/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. PAUL SCOTT: ' A WRITING PURPOSE' Simon H. Armstrong University of Durham 1984 Contents Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 6 Chapter 1. Reality and Illusion - an Aspect of the Truth. 7 Chapter 2. Narrative Technique 35 Chapter 3. The Use of Symbolism in the Raj Quartet 80 Chapter 4. The Presentation of Character in the Raj Quartet 105 Chapter 5. The Indian Metaphor. 161 Chapter 6. Staying On - A Logical Conclusion? 181 Notes Page 2 ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to identify the essential components of what Paul Scott described as his "writing purpose" (1), and to chart its development from the early novels, through the Raj Quartet to the last novel, Staying On. An analysis of the early novels, with their concentrated focus on the subjectivity of truth and the prevalence of illusion, forms a useful springboard from which to continue an investigation of the themes which interested Scott as a novelist and which he pursued to a logical conclusion in the Quartet and beyond. The Raj Quartet forms the basis of this study because it contains the fullest exposition of Scott's philosophy both as a writer and as a disillusioned member of a society which failed to fulfil the promise of the immediate post-war years. The multiplicity of characters, classes, destinies, roles, jobs and so on which forms the foundation of the Quartet creates the background against which the metaphor of India and the Page 3 Indian situation can work. Scott's narrative technique which compiles this background is involved and multi-faceted rather than complicated, and works successfully towards the creation of a literary work which mirrors something of the infinitely varied textures and patterns of life. The techniques Scott uses to prevent and explore character are interesting primarily because of their diversity. I have discussed character presentation in the Quartet by trying to arrange the individuals into the character groups which they represent in the terms of their thematic, and not structural importance - The categories I have chosen are my own and are selected for ease of analysis and I accept that there is a strong argument for dealing with them all as individuals. However, those characters who resist categorization most strongly and have an individual role to play (Sarah Layton and Ronald Merrick, for instance) are dealt with separately. There is also a chapter on Scott's use of symbolism because it is too important an aspect of the overall narrative technique not to be dealt with in its own right. The richness of many of the images in the Quartet is one of the more obvious catalysts to the successful functioning of the metaphor. Page 4 Although there is an overall chronological construction to this thesis, I have not attempted a novel-by-novel analysis. There are some novels which do not contribute very much of value to an examination of this nature, and which have therefore not been discussed. Other novels may seem to receive a disproportionate amount of emphasis, but I have tried to illustrate innovative developments in style and thematic preoccupation with the best illustrations available and therefore make no apology for either the space given to The Birds of Paradise and The Corrida at San Feliu or the ommission of The Bender and A Male Child. I have attempted to pull together the separate strands which form the basis of Scott's narrative technique in the concluding chapter, concentrating on his last novel. Staying On is a distillation of the abundance which precedes it, and provides the concentrated focus necessary to isolate the themes and techniques which absorbed Scott until his death in 1978, and which distinguish his "writing purpose". The last impression of Scott's work is of a manifold richness which demands detailed analysis, but defies over-simplification. I hope I have managed to find a few of the answers to the many questions posed by a study of Paul Scott's fiction. Page 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people whose help in the compilation of this thesis has been invaluable. I would like particularly to thank Bruce Hunter of David Higham Associates Limited, the Secretary for the Royal Society of Literature and the staff of the B.B.C..'s Written Archive Centre and Script Library. My mother and Rebecca have provided welcome encouragement, Tony has been a constant source of inspiration and I shall be indebted forever to my father and Frances for making this year's work financially possible. Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to Professor J.R.Watson for acting as my supervisor with such enthusiasm, and for the immeasurable help and guidance he has given me during the composition of this work. Page 6 CHAPTER ONE REALITY AND ILLUSION - AN ASPECT OF THE TRUTH "...perhaps he hoped that he would be present when a dream revealed the dreamer's image so that the moment of truth could be shared too and the belief in the existence of images vindicated." (The Chinese Love Pavilion, p.50) Page 7 Throughout Paul Scott's fiction the concurrent themes of dream and illusion and the elusive qualities of reality and 'truth' are of considerable importance. Several of the pre- Quartet novels are written in the form of a literary quest; a quest for reality in the past, for identity and vindication, for rational explanations of irrational deeds. Central to this idea is the notion that if a man's past is exposed as a selective idealization of reality, the present can be seen as equally illusory, built as it is upon the shaky foundations of past experiences and values. Patrick Swinden points out in his book Paul Scott- Images of India (1) that Scott was particularly concerned with two different responses to the illusionary status of the British in India: that of those who foster the illusion of permanence on the one hand; and that of those who are beginning to recognize the illusion for what it is and to do something about it - to escape, or to immerse themselves in an anaesthetic cocoon of perpetual dreams. This concept of how people cope when the pillars of their own private temples begin to crumble and fall was an idea that Scott pursued up to and beyond The Raj Quartet, perhaps most effectively through the characters of Mildred and Sarah Layton, and of Lucy Smalley in Staying On. However, the evolution of this particular theme begins in the earlier novels which are the subject of this first chapter. Page 8 But nothing in India is identifiable, the mere asking of a question causes it to disappear or to merge in something else.(2) It is probable that Paul Scott agreed with Forster's sentiments as expressed in the above quotation, with perhaps one small refinement. Omit "in India" (for to retain it is to limit the implications of the statement) and we come a little closer to one of the most central driving forces in Scott's fiction. Read the novels themselves and we find not the answers we might expect, but a myriad of questions and counter-questions, questions Forster himself seemed happy to leave unvoiced, drawing his own conclusions (or non-conclusions) in the caves at Marabar with the indiscriminate reverberations of an echo. Johnnie Sahib, Scott's first novel, is distinguished by an unparalleled (for Scott) directness of narrative, and touches upon many of the important themes which will come to dominate various later novels. The main theme of Johnnie Sahib is the attitude of men to their work (a theme given lengthy attention elsewhere), but the quest for truth in the face of illusion is still very important. Although Johnnie Brown (the Johnnie Sahib of the title) is absent for Page 9 almost half the length of the narrative, his presence fills the book and dominates the minds of the other characters - especially those of his second-in-command Jim Taylor, and the company Major. Johnnie has what amounts to a mystical belief in the importance of his relationship with the men of his section, fostered by "the direct communication between himself and the men he picked". His egotism leads him to subjugate all other concerns, such as military discipline and tidiness, to his own code of values, much to the chagrin of the Major. When the air supply companies come under the more rigid framework of 'Ramo' (the Rear Airfield Maintenance organization), the informal atmosphere begins to change and Johnnie's illusion begins to crack, although he himself can do nothing to arrest the decay.