Esta dissertação de mestrado propõe-se a apresentar um estudo sobre a obra ficcional de Seamus Deane Reading in the Dark à luz das recentes idéias sobre a redefinição do conceito de identidade norte-irlandesa. No pano de fundo deste romance autobiográfico, identificamos a presença de episódios históricos envolvendo o choque entre unionistas pró-britânicos e Nacionalistas irlandeses, que levou ao conflito conhecido como "The Troubles". Esses episódios, e suas conseqüências, são apresentados através da perspectiva de um protagonista autodiegético, que relata três décadas, de 1940 a 1960. Enquanto o personagem cresce, sua percepção obviamente vai-se alterando. O efeito final da minha leitura do romance - que foi escrito na década de 1990 - é a abertura de uma nova perspectiva, relacionada com a necessidade de redefinir questões da nacionalidade irlandesa. Reading in the Dark é um romance sobre contradições entre duas culturas que não conseguem - mas necessitam - co-existir, vistas através da perspectiva de um adolescente inteligente e bem intencionado. Este texto literário oferece uma formulação sobre os novos avanços a em relação às questões de identidade e tolerância, as quais podem ser abordadas de três formas: o conflito pode ser analisado internamente, através da oposição entre as comunidades Católicas e Protestantes, ou externamente, considerando os interesses da ilha da Irlanda, em oposição aos oitocentos anos de dominação inglesa. A terceira solução propõe uma redefinição de todos os conceitos implicados. Como conseqüência dessa crise, o romance denuncia e redefine os sistemas políticos usados como instrumentos de dominação e de manutenção e validação do choque entre as duas ideologias existentes que levaram ao sectarismo no território da Irlanda do Norte. A discussão levada a cabo nesta dissertação está baseada nos presentes debates sobre estudos culturais, especialmente como propostos por Terry Eagleton e por outros membros do "Field Day Theatre Company", que analisam as questões relativas à identidade. Esses intelectuais escolheram reavaliar as narrativas dominantes sobre a Irlanda, incluindo a formação dos mitos que motivou o acirramento dessa hostilidade contra a parte oposta. Esta dissertação está estruturada em três capítulos principais. Dois deles contextualizam o plano de fundo da narrativa e da agenda política crítica do "Field Day Theatre Company". O capítulo de análise é centrado em treze cenas fortes selecionadas do romance, as quais são comentadas a partir de considerações tecidas nos limites dos capítulos anteriores. No final do trabalho, eu espero validar a importância do romance autobiográfico de Seamus Deane Reading in the Dark no processo de reexame dos discursos que levaram à falta de comunicação entre duas comunidades que vivem em um mesmo território. / This thesis consists of a study of Seamus Deane's Reading in the Dark in the light of recent ideas regarding the redefinition of the concept of Northern Irish identity. In the background of this auto-biographical novel we identify the presence of historical episodes involving the clash between British Unionists and Irish Nationalists, which led to the conflicts known as "The Troubles." These episodes, and their consequences, are presented through the filter of an autodiegetic protagonist/narrator, through a time-span of three decades, from the 1940s to the 1960s. As the character grows, perception is obviously altered. The final effect of my reading of this novel - which was written in the 1990's - is the opening a new perspective, related to the need of redefining issues of national identity. Reading in the Dark is a novel about the contradictions between two cultures which cannot - but must - co-exist, as seen through the eyes of one growing perceptive, well-meaning intelligent young man. This literary text offers a statement about a new advance towards the issues of identity and toleration, which can be approached in three ways: the conflict can be analyzed internally, through the opposition between the Catholic and the Protestant parts of the community; or externally, considering the interests of the island of Ireland, as opposed to eight-hundred years of English domination. The third solution proposes a redefinition of all concepts implied. As a consequence of this crisis, the novel simultaneously denounces and redefines the political systems used as instruments of domination, and the maintenance and validation of the clash between the two existing ideologies that led to sectarianism within the northern territory. The discussion held in this thesis is based on the present state of the debate regarding Cultural Studies, especially as proposed by Terry Eagleton and by other members of the Field Day Theatre Company, who analyze the questions concerning identity. These intellectuals choose to revaluate the dominant narratives about Ireland, including the formation and the use made of myths that have heightened the sense of hostility against the opposite part. This thesis is structured in three main chapters. Two of them contextualize the background of the narrative and present the critical-political agenda of the Field Day Theatre Company. The chapter of analysis centers on thirteen strong scenes selected from the novel, which are woven within the framing previous chapters. At the end of the work, I hope to validate my belief in the social function of literature, by stressing the importance of Seamus Deane's Reading in the Dark in this process of re-examination of old discourses that led to the failure of communication between the two communities living in the same territory.

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Cette thèse est une étude chronologique de la présence militaire irlandaise en France sous l’Ancien Régime associé à une analyse du mythe de la Brigade Irlandaise au XVIIIe siècle. En s’appuyant sur des sources primaires, dont certaines sont inédites, les quatre premiers chapitres proposent un cadre historique de la communauté militaire irlandaise et de l’acculturation progressive, mais parfois difficile, de ses membres. Le premier chapitre se concentre sur les écrits de l’élite française et de la littérature populaire d’Angleterre face aux Irlandais lors de la « Guerre des trois rois », tandis que le deuxième se penche sur l’image des soldats irlandais dans la presse des deux côtés de la Manche à la même période. Le troisième explique comment ces hommes sont devenus au fil du temps une troupe reconnue par ses pairs dans l’armée royale, tandis que le quatrième explore les stratégies mises en place par les militaires irlandais et leurs familles pour intégrer la société d’accueil. Ces deux chapitres montrent également le déclin de la présence effective d’Irlandais dans la Brigade. La question de la mémoire de la bataille de Fontenoy est au coeur du cinquième et du sixième chapitre qui étudient minutieusement la part des Irlandais dans la journée du 11 mai 1745 et le rôle des écrits du XIXe siècle dans la naissance d’une identité militaire proprement irlandaise. L’étude se focalise sur des sources contemporaines des faits pour le premier et des documents anglais, français et irlandais datant du XIXe siècle pour le second. / This PhD is a chronological study of the military presence of Irishmen in Franceunder the Ancien Regime linked to an analysis of the myth surrounding the Irish Brigade in the18th century. Based on primary sources, some of which have been hitherto unpublished, the firstfour chapters propose an historical framework of the Irish military community and thesometimes difficult but progressive acculturation of its members. The first chapter focuses onthe writings of the French elite as well as popular literature from England about the Irish in the“War of the three kings”, while the second one is about the image of the Irish soldiers in thepress on both sides of the Channel during the same period. The third one explains how thesemen came to be recognised by their peers as a valuable unit in the French royal army and thefourth one explores the tactics used by Irish militarymen and their families to integrate intoFrench society. These two chapters also show the gradual decline of the actual presence ofIrishmen within the ranks of the Brigade. The question of the memory attached to the battle ofFontenoy is at the very core of the fifth and sixth chapters where the part played by Irishmenon the 11th of May 1745 is minutely studied. The birth of a distinct Irish military identity in19th century writings is also discussed. The study focuses on 18th century sources for the fifthchapter and 19th century sources from France, England and Ireland for the sixth.

Ireland is not a country unfamiliar with trauma. It is an island widely known for its history with Vikings, famine, and as a colony of the English empire. Inevitably, then, these traumas surface in the literature from the nation. Much of the literature that was produced, especially after the decline in the Irish language after the Great Famine of the 1840s, focused on national identity. In the nineteenth century, there was a growing movement for Irish cultural identity, illustrated by authors John Millington Synge and William Butler Yeats; this movement was identified as the Gaelic Revival. Another movement in literature began in the nineteenth century and it reflected the social and political anxieties of the Anglo-Irish middle class in Ireland. This movement is the beginning of the Gothic genre in Irish literature. Dominated by authors such as Sheridan Le Fanu and Bram Stoker, Gothic novels used aspects of the sublime and the uncanny to express the fears and apprehensions that existed in Anglo-Irish identity in the nineteenth century. My goal in writing this thesis is to examine Gothic aspects of contemporary Irish fiction in order to address the anxieties of Irish identity after the Irish War of Independence that began in 1919 and the resulting division of Ireland into two countries. I will be examining Patrick McCabe's The Butcher Boy, Seamus Deane's Reading in the Dark, and Anna Burns' No Bones in order to evaluate their use of children amidst the trouble surrounding the formation of identity, both personal and national, in Northern Ireland. All three novels use gothic elements in order to produce an atmosphere of the uncanny (Freud); this effect is used to enlighten the theme of arrested development in national identity through the children protagonists, who are inescapably haunted by Ireland's repressed traumatic history.; Specifically, I will be focusing on the use of ghosts, violence, and hauntings to illuminate the social anxieties felt by Northern Ireland after the Irish War of Independence.