En uppsats om kvinnor och feminism inom den moderna kriminal litteraturen.

This thesis examines the representation of masculinity in the work of three contemporary male crime writers – George Pelecanos, Henning Mankell and Ian Rankin. It considers whether or not the feminist movement, and the resultant deconstruction of gendered identity, has had an impact on the work of male authors. As the topic of masculinity becomes increasingly visible both within sociological discourse and popular culture, have male writers sought to critically engage with their own gender roles or are they more concerned with propagating hegemonic norms? Crime fiction has a history of accommodating revisionist, feminist projects but is there similar space in the genre for male writers to create viable, non-phallic detective heroes? By focusing on writers of three different nationalities – Pelecanos is American, Mankell is Swedish and Rankin is from the UK – the thesis examines the interaction between masculinity and national identity, and compares the extent to which American, Swedish and British masculinity can be viewed as being ‘in crisis’. Chapter I provides a theoretical outline, discussing the academic approach to Men’s Studies, before addressing the specific issue of the representation of gender within the crime fiction genre. Chapters II, III and IV focus on a close reading of the texts of Pelecanos, Mankell and Rankin, respectively.

Writers of golden age crime fiction (1920 to 1945), and in particular female writers, have been seen by many critics as socially and politically detached. Their texts have been read as morality tales, theoretically rich mise en scenès, or psychic fantasies, by necessity emerging from an historical epoch with unique cultural and social concerns, but only obliquely engaging with these concerns by toying with unstable identities, or through playful, but doomed, private transgressions. The thesis overturns assumptions about the crime novel as a negation of the present moment, detached and escapist, by demonstrating how crime narratives responded to public debates which highlighted some of the most pressing legal and philosophical concerns of their time. Grounded in meticulous historical research, the thesis draws attention to contemporary debates between antagonistic psychological schools – giving equal space to debates within psychoanalysis and adaptive neuroscience – and charts how these debates were reflected in crime writing. Chapter two explores the contestation of the M’Naghten laws on criminal responsibility in light of Ronald True’s case (1922), followed by readings of crime narratives in which perpetrators have ambiguous and controversial legal status in regard to criminal responsibility. At the intersection of psychiatric discourse and the popular literary imagination, a critical and ethical perspective developed which not only conveyed a version of psychological discourse to a wider public, but profoundly reworked the foundations of the genre as the ritual unveiling of deviancy and the restoration of the rational institutions of society. In similar vein, chapter three explores the status of the ‘Born Criminal’ in law and medicine, and looks at crime writer Gladys Mitchell’s efforts to expose both the pitfalls of categorisation, and competing discourses’ limitations in adequately accounting for crime. Chapter four, whilst maintaining close medical-legal focus, opens up the study to consider how understandings of deviant selfhood in modernist writing inflected crime writers’ representations of unconscious and epileptic killers. Finally, chapter five continues this intertextual approach by asserting that certain crime novels express an exhaustion with the genre’s classic rational and scientific heroes, and turn instead to the affective epistemologies and notions of subconscious synthesis concomitantly being celebrated in modernist writing. Altering the position of the authoritative detective in ways that profoundly alter the politics of the form, the chapter and the thesis in total propose a reading of golden age crime fiction more responsive to cultural, psychological and legal debates of the era, leading to a reassessment of the form as neither escapist nor purely affirmative of the status quo.

Dans un contexte postmoderne où la perception du réel est affaiblie, les arts mimétiques, auxquels la littérature ressortit, sont désormais à même de proposer une nouvelle lecture du monde, géocritique, où interviennent la théorie littéraire, la géographie culturelle et l’architecture. Actuellement, le roman semble tout englober et, en focalisant notre étude sur la représentation de l’espace qu’il propose, nous sommes conscient de réduire sa portée. Mais il nous procure, outre le plaisir de lecture, des réponses claires et décisives à la question du traitement de l’espace dans la littérature policière, dans notre cas spécifique dans le roman noir contemporain. Notre ouvrage se situe donc dans le domaine de la géocritique afin de définir une «compossibilité» entre l’espace référentiel et sa représentation fictionnelle dans les romans noirs de Lorenzo Silva, Patrick Raynal et Massimo Carlotto. Dans cette perspective, la géocritique peut devenir un véritable modèle d’analyse pour le roman noir, fournissant un support actif en connaissances potentiellement utiles lors de la production des processus narratifs. En tant que champ d’investigation qui mêle à la fois une étude anthropologique, la sociologie, la géographie, la philosophie et la cartographie, la géocritique nous donne la possibilité de transcrire l’expérience des lieux (modes de perception et de production de l’espace) évoquée par nos auteurs dans leurs romans et, en même temps, d’enrichir le vocabulaire du «lexique spatial» à travers la création de nouveaux concepts. Les œuvres de notre corpus (El alquimista impaciente, La estrategia del agua, Nice-est, Un tueur dans les arbres, Nord-est, Arrivederci amore, ciao), chacune selon sa mesure, introduisent des éléments d’hétérogénéités qui contribuent à rendre plus manifeste la perception sensorielle, ou sensuelle, que les auteurs ont de l’espace. / In a postmodern context where the perception of reality appears weakened, mimesis is now able to introduce a new interpretation of the world we live in. This new perspective is analyzed by Geocriticism where various studies such as literary theory, cultural studies and architecture are applied. Currently the literary fiction includes vast amount of themes, but we concentrate our study in spatial representation. Even though the novels give us the pleasure of reading, moreover they provide us the main answer to the representation of space regarding crime fiction, specifically the contemporary noir genre. Our work is related to Geocriticism in order to define an interaction between referential space and the fictional representation of crime novels of Lorenzo Silva, Patrick Raynal and Massimo Carlotto. Geocriticism in this context is capable to become an ideal model of analysis providing full acknowledgement support to form different narrative modes. Furthermore, integrating the study of anthropology, sociology, geography, philosophy and cartography, it gives us a chance to interpret with ease the living spaces evoked by the authors in their novels. At the same time, Geocriticism enriches our lexicon via the creation of new concepts. The novels presented in our thesis (El alquimista impaciente, La estrategia del agua, Nice-est, Un tueur dans les arbres, Nord-est, Arrivederci amore, ciao), will introduce heterogeneous elements emphasizing the sensorial perceptions which the authors have of space.

abstract: For over a century, writings in the Law & Literature genre have been largely restricted to works concerning lawyers and courtrooms. This despite early preeminent Law& Literature scholars' assertions that the genre should incorporate any writing that examines the intersection of law, crime, morality, and society. For over a half-century, Detroit novelist Elmore Leonard has been producing well-written, introspective novels about criminals, violence, and society's need to both understand and condemn these things, all under the broad, oft-marginalized genre of crime and detective fiction. This paper pairs the work of Elmore Leonard, using his successful novel Out of Sight as a stylistic framework, with the Law & Literature genre. After a dissection of the true definition of a Law & Literature and detective fiction, as well as an excavation of underlying themes and imports of Out of Sight, it is found that Law & Literature scholars need to be more inclusive of crime novels like Leonard's. And, given the characteristics of both genres, Leonard's novels are more appropriately classified as Law & Literature rather than detective fiction. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. English 2012

Magister Artium - MA / In this dissertation, I consider how South African crime fiction, which draws on a long international literary history, engages with the conventions and boundaries of the genre, and how it has adapted to the specific geographical, social, political and historical settings of South Africa. A key aspect of this research is the work’s temporal setting. I will focus on local crime fiction which is set in contemporary South Africa as this enables me to engage with current perceptions of South Africa, depicted by contemporary local writers. My concern is to explore how contemporary South African crime fiction narrates post-apartheid South Africa. Discussing Margie Orford’s Daddy’s Girl and the possibilities of South African feminist crime fiction, my argument shoes how Orford narrates post-apartheid through the lens of the oppression and abuse of women. The next chapter looks at Roger Smith’s thriller Mixed Blood. Smith presents the bleakest outlook for South Africa and I show how, even though much of his approach may appear to be ‘radical’, the nihilism in his novel shows a deep conservatism. The third South African crime novel I examine is Diale Thlolwe’s Ancient Rites and I discuss it in the light of his use of the conventions of ‘hardboiled’ crime fiction as well as rural/urban collocations. In this case, the author’s representation of postapartheid South Africa appears to reveal more about the author’s personal views than the country he attempts to describe. The fourth and final novel I discuss is Devil’s Peak by Deon Meyer. My discussion here focuses on the notion of justice in post-apartheid South Africa and Meyer’s ambiguous treatment of the subject. This discussion of contemporary South African crime fiction reveals what the genre might offer readers in the way they understand post-apartheid South Africa, and how it might be seen as more than simple ‘entertainment’.

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Este estudo parte de uma visão teórica da literatura policial para analisar obras de três escritores latino-americanos: Machado de Assis, Jorge Luis Borges e Roberto Bolaño. O objetivo é fornecer um novo subsídio teórico para a leitura destes autores e, por outro lado, aprofundar a visão sobre o gênero policial no Brasil, ampliando, a partir dele, as discussões relacionadas à teoria literária. A causa secreta é um conto contemporâneo ao marco do nascimento do gênero policial nos Estados Unidos, com Edgar Allan Poe. Neste momento em que a literatura policial ainda não está consolidada, Machado de Assis cria também um personagem apaixonado pela análise dos caracteres humanos, o médico Garcia. Desde o título, como nos livros policiais, o leitor está procurando um segredo, cuja solução depende de sua confiança na autoridade narrativa, mas, em última análise, nunca pode ser realmente liquidado, porque nele reside o enigma fundamental da literatura: a impossibilidade de apropriação do Outro. Em El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan, Jorge Luis Borges usa o gênero para travar uma discussão sobre o tempo na narrativa e revolve o relato sobre si mesmo, usando uma autoinserção temporal. Foi considerado, assim, uma subversão na medida em que, pretensamente, destrói as balizas de gênero. Entretanto, segundo Jacques Derrida, um gênero é formado não só de marcas que identificam uma obra com a outra, mas também por alterações dentro da forma, que aumentam os limites genéricos. Desta forma, Borges, do ponto de vista da literatura policial, ajuda a criar um novo subgênero, o policial metafísico. Desde a perspectiva de um novo policial que discute seu próprio estatuto, analisamos o romance do escritor chileno Roberto Bolaño, Los detectives salvajes, em que lemos a história da busca de uma pessoa que, na verdade, está morta e só sabemos de sua morte no final da narrativa. Isso opera uma diferença fundamental: esta obra narra pela lente do luto, enquanto no policial esta dimensão é suplantada pela necessidade da intriga. De outra forma, o percurso dos personagens também responde à sombra do enigma que é a voz do Outro. A literatura policial, assim, é um gênero caracterizado por uma busca incessante, motivada por um enigma que o detetive precisa solucionar. Tradicionalmente, esta demanda é bem sucedida. Entretanto, nunca vemos o personagem, satisfeito por mais um trabalho resolvido, voltar para casa, o que prova que, de alguma forma, nem ele mesmo está convencido da solução do enigma. O segredo, portanto, exige uma dedicação infinita. De alguma forma, o personagem modelar do detetive reflete o trabalho do crítico literário. A busca incessante, o solilóquio que esconde o enigma, a necessidade de autoridade narrativa são questões importantes do nosso trabalho. Qual seria a responsabilidade, portanto, do crítico? Estaria disposto a sacrificar sua autoridade pela verdade? / This research begins with a theoretical vision of crime fiction to analyze works of three Latin-american authors: Machado de Assis, Jorge Luis Borges and Roberto Bolaño. The objective is to offer a new theoretical basis for reading these writers and also to deepen the study of crime fiction in Brazil, widening, thus, the debates regarding literary theory. A causa secreta is a short story contemporary of the birth of crime fiction in the United States, with Edgar Allan Poe. In that moment, when crime fiction wasnt consolidated yet, Machado de Assis also created a character passionate for the analysis of human character, doctor Garcia. From the title, as to the mystery book itself, the reader is looking for a secret, and the solution will only be brought through the readers distrust of the narrative settings. But the enigma, in fact, can never be solved because within it there is the fundamental secret of literature: the impossibility of appropriation of the Other. In El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan Jorge Luis Borges uses the genre to discuss time in fiction and turns the narrative upon itself by creating a temporal auto insertion. It is considered, thus, a subversion as it allegedly destroys the laws of the genre. However, according to Jacques Derrida, a genre is formed not only by the marks that defines it, but also by the alterations within its form, which enlarges its limits. In this way, through the point of view of crime fiction, Borges contributes to create a new subgenre: the metaphysical crime fiction. Through the perspective of a new crime fiction that questions its own statute, we analyzed the novel Los detectives salvajes, by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño, in which we read the story of a search of a person who, actually, is already dead, and we only get to know it in the end of the novel. This operates a structural difference: the book narrates through the lens of mourning, while in crime fiction this sentiment is superseded by the necessity of intrigue. In another way, the course of those characters also responds to the shadows of the enigma that is the voice of the Other. Crime fiction, thus, is a genre based on a relentless quest, motivated by an enigma that the detective has to solve. Traditionally, this demand is well succeeded. But we never see the detective, satisfied after another job well done, going back home, which proves that, in a way, not even he is convinced that the enigma is solved. In a way, the model character of the detective reflects, as some authors suggest, the work of the literary critic. The endless search, the monologue that hides the enigma, the necessity of narrative authority all this elements are important to our work. Then, what is the responsibility of the critic? Is he willing to sacrifice his authority for the truth?

<p>In my study I analyse Reijo Mäki’s four books Pimeyden tango (1997), Pahan suudelma (1998), Keltainen leski (1999) and Black Jack (2003).  I’m interested whether Mäki as a writer belongs to traditional Finnish prose which started from Aleksis Kivi than genre of crime literature.</p><p>After Kai Laitinen humour, nature and democracy are typical to Finnish literature tradition.  Mäki’s milieu descriptions are closer to the Finnish literary tradition. Through nature the characters mirror their emotions, feelings and events. The environment is not only seen, but it is also smelled, touched and heard. Through the marks of the nature characters give right as well as misleading clues. It is particularly characteristic to the Finnish literary tradition to describe division of life, social status and the freedom and lack of it through weather, which is not typical to the crime literature.  Also Mäki’s characters are democratic and everyday and strongly individualistic and anti-social despite of person’s social standing.  Laitinen’s point of view is that in the Finnish literary tradition equality is only between men. In Mäki’s fiction women characters are narrow and they are only seen how they look.</p><p>Mäki represents the modern criminal literature in which are characteristics of puzzle, hard-boiled and police novels. Unlike hardboiled detective stories his books are full of verbal descriptions. In conclusion Mäki’s books clearly represent the Finnish literary tradition.</p>

Contrary to popular belief, Tartan Noir is not a synonym for Scottish noir but a mystifying marketing label for a national literature: dark, contemporary Scottish crime fiction. As it comprises an immense diversity of writing done in such mainstream sub-genres as detective, police, and serial killer fiction, as well as actual noir, I will investigate both the contrasts and the crossovers between said sub-genres. I will show that only few of the writers who are most associated with Tartan Noir write much, or any, noir, whereas most of those who do are not commonly associated with the term. With a view to remedying this, I will discuss the novels which have most influenced the reputation of Tartan Noir alongside those which have most influenced its identity. And by showing how this literature integrates the tension between several highly charged counter concepts – such as conformity and individuality, convention and innovation, sensationalism and thoughtful social, cultural, and political commentary – I hope to demystify Tartan Noir, that is, define the term and refine its use.