This paper aims to investigate the possible connection between specters and silence in Graham Swift’s Tomorrow (2007) and Mothering Sunday (2016). In both novels, the protagonists predominantly speak in interior monologues, recounting the memories and secrets that haunt them, in what could be construed as an attempt to exorcise the ghosts of their past. The paper’s understanding of specters is based on Jacques Derrida’s Specters of Marx (1993), and the idea that specters - as figures that exist in states of in-between - disrupt not only temporality, but what we know to be true. Much like specters, the protagonists vacillate between states, neither speaking nor remaining silent, as they address absent or imagined listeners. This undecidability leaves one to wonder if their ghosts are - or ever can be - truly exorcised.

This thesis explores the remarkable dearth of old woman narrators in British fiction between 1790 and 1860, both documenting their under-representation and explaining it as, in part, a product of a wave of medical discourse disparaging the physical and mental vitality of post-menopausal women. Regarding methodology, I perform a random sample upon a corpus of first-person novels published in the period and categorize each according to the gender and age of the narrator. This analysis exhibits, unsurprisingly, that most narrators in the dataset are either in the first half of their life, male, or both. Old women represent only a fraction of the narrators in the set. Regarding explanation, I point to widely cited and republished writings of physicians from the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century. These documents suggested that menopause, though often occurring in what we today would consider middle age, marked the onset of female senescence. After this "change of life," as it was euphemistically termed, women who did not mellow and recede as expected were seen as transgressing biological "laws" that prohibited their bodies from biological reproduction. And as the biological was often conflated with the social, post-menopausal women were also, by extension, sometimes thought unfit for creative or literary production. Though such medical discourse is by no means the only influence on this era's marginalization of older women, it is a significant one that merits further study. By investigating how gyno-gerontological discourse came to bear on the inclusion--or rather, exclusion--of old female narrators within nineteenth-century fiction, this thesis contributes to a growing body of works within literary gerontology. The hope is that as literary gerontology continues to expand as a field of study, more scholars, students, and eventually general readers will become more conscious of the obstacles and frustrations faced by older generations--especially older women--in a world that, even by means of institutions as apparently disinterested as medicine and health care, is constantly overlooking, demeaning, or sidelining their experiences in favor of those of the young.

This essay considers the interplay between character narrators, the implied author, and the authorial audience in Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Talents. The aim of the study was to investigate how narrators, the implied author, and readers position themselves in relation to each other and in relation to the novel’s ethical dimensions. The theoretical framework is based on James Phelan’s theories on the rhetorical and ethical aspects of fiction. The essay argues that the implied author’s communication to the authorial audience is one of the reasons that the novel, like its prequel Parable of the Sower, often succeeds to function as warnings to the audience of dangers ahead. This is especially true regarding one of the implied author’s most consistent messages to the audience throughout the Parable novels: every choice has consequences, and those consequences need to be considered when we decide how to act and react in different circumstances, both as individuals and as a society.

Com a proposta de analisar as principais características de narradores contemporâneos, esta dissertação parte de um corpus de seis originais recusados para publicação pela Companhia das Letras em 2014. O processo analítico se dá por meio das escolhas sintáticas, da voz narrativa, dos jargões e muletas narrativas (palavras, expressões, metáforas desgastadas), da originalidade, ritmo, verossimilhança, metáforas, diálogos e precisão. As características foram coletadas e classificadas entre 2009 e 2015, a partir da leitura de originais submetidos para publicação pela editora. Ao longo do processo de leitura e avaliação, cinco tipos narrativos apareceram com mais frequência, que deu origem a uma tipologia de narradores sistematizados em suas peculiaridades. Esses narradores, nomeados como Saudosista, Comedido, Poético, Esnobe e Autobiográfico são examinados do ponto de vista do editor, da estilística, da complexidade do romance, da crítica textual e da análise do discurso de Bakhtin. Com a leitura crítica de ensaios de Erich Auerbach, Bakhtin, Tchekhov, H. S. Becker, Steven Pinker, Francine Prose, Stephen King David Lodge, Schopenhauer e José Luiz Fiorin, esse trabalho tenta responder por que tantos autores estreantes se amparam em recursos narrativos de pouca força expressiva e em falsas premissas sobre o que seria a \"boa literatura\". Os resultados apontam para narradores que desconhecem a diferença entre estar apto para se comunicar em uma língua ou usá-Ia como instrumento estilístico. Somado a isso, há a complexidade do romance, um gênero que contempla inúmeras possibilidades e por isso dificulta as decisões assertivas; os resultados mostram ainda que os narradores se amparam na crítica literária antiga e em sua definição sobre o que vem a ser a boa literatura - dogmática, absoluta, inacessível e produzida por um grupo restrito de autores; por último, apoiando-se na teoria de Bakhtin, que defende que todo discurso é político, e por isso moldado pelas relações de poder, os narradores usam a narrativa obscura e palavrosa para camuflar inseguranças ou se proteger de possíveis críticas. / From a corpus of six manuscripts which had been turned down for publication by Companhia das Letras in 2014, this paper analyzes the main characteristics of contemporary narrators based on their syntactic choices, narrative voice, jargon and crutches, originality, rhythm, verisimilitude, metaphors, dialogues and precision. The classification was achieved from the reading of manuscripts submitted for publication at Companhia das Letras by their authors from 2009 to 2015. While sorting these texts, five narrative types appeared more frequently and, therefore, a typology of narrators was created to systematize these narrative voices and their peculiarities. The narrators, named as Nostalgic, Moderate, Poetic, Snobbish, and Autobiographical are examined from the point of view of the editor, and through stylistics, for the complexity of the novel, textual criticism, and using Bakhtin\'s discourse analysis. With the help of the essays by Erich Auerbach, Bakhtin, Chekhov, H. S. Becker, Steven Pinker, Francine Prose, Stephen King, David Lodge, Schopenhauer and José Luiz Fiorin, this paper attempts to answer why so many authors rely on fragile stylistic resources of little expressive force and on false premises about good literature and the art of narration. The results point to narrators who do not know the difference between being able to communicate in a given language and using it as a stylistic instrumento Added to this, there is the complexity of the novel, a genre that contemplates endless possibilities and therefore turn assertive decisions more difficult. The study yet shows that narrators rely on an old idea of what good literature is - dogmatic, incomprehensible, complex, inaccessible and produced by a small group of writers. Lastly, also according to Bakhtin\'s theory, which states that every discourse is political and therefore molded by the power relations, the narrators use obscure and wordy narratives to disguise insecurities or feel protected from possible criticism.

This literary study examines the formulation of masculinity in Syrian novels authored by women. The thesis covers the period between 1959 and 2000, corresponding to both the development of the female-authored novel in Syria and the creation of the modern Syrian state. This research engages with studies of masculinity in general and literary masculinity studies in particular. Drawing on the seminal work of Raewyn Connell as well as engaging with studies on masculinity and feminine narratology in Swedish, English and Arabic, the thesis analyses the formulation of literary masculinity through the fictional societies’ ideal masculinity on the one hand, and the female characters’ views and reactions to masculinity on the other. From a general survey of the field, 34 novels undertaking the formulation of gendered relations were identified and chosen for this study. From this selection, five themes emerged, forming the foundation of this thesis’ main chapters. The five themes explore, in turn, how stereotypes are utilised to critique gender roles, ways in which male and female characters collaborate to formulate gender norms, how female characters capitalise on patriarchy in order to enhance their lives, male characters as symbols for social and political change and finally, the difficulties included in the performance of masculinity. Each theme is exemplified through one novel, which is analysed in detail. Throughout the five chapters, the main novel chosen for analysis is put into conversation with other novels with similar themes but from different decades. This allows for an examination of changing ideals of masculinity in addition to the theme itself. The first theme, how stereotypes are utilised to critique gender roles, is studied through a close reading of al-Ẓahr al-‘ārī (The Naked back) by Hanrīyit ‘Abbūdī. The analysis illustrates how the expected normative behaviour of men and women is utilised in order to comment on the formulation of gender roles. The chapter further demonstrates ways in which what is seen as gender specific behaviour can be appropriated by the opposite gender. This is further developed through the examination of female writers taking over the male voice through a first person male narrator. The second theme, ways in which male and female characters collaborate to formulate gender norms, is discussed through a close reading of the novel Khaṭawāt fī al-ḍabāb (Steps in the fog) by Malāḥa al-Khānī. This chapter illustrates the similar expectations that both male and female characters have on their sons and fellow male characters. This includes taking on the role of provider and protector, even in the cases where the female characters are able to look after themselves. The third theme, how female characters capitalise on patriarchy in order to enhance their lives, is elaborated through a close reading of Ayyām ma‘ahu (Days with him) by Kūlīt Khūrī. This theme demonstrates how the female character constructs herself and her world around the idea of a perfect male, whom she thinks will save her. The analysis examines what is seen as ideal traits in a man. It further discusses the change of the female character and how her initial utilisation of patriarchal structure transforms into a critique of the same structure. The fourth theme, male characters as symbols for social and political change, is seen through a close reading of Dimashq yā basmat al-ḥuzn (Damascus, o smile of sadness) by Ulfat al-Idlibī. The chapter connects between changing social ideals and ideal masculinity. Through Bayrūt 75 (Beirut 75) by Ghāda al-Sammān, the fifth theme, the difficulties included in the performance of masculinity, is studied. The problematic masculinity presented is then put in contrast with what appears to be a suggestion that a performance of femininity could be an alternative to unsuccessful masculinity. Whereas the novels differ in their presentation of masculinity and the utilisation of ideal masculinity, they agree on a set of core traits summarised in a hegemonic ideal of masculinity as an ability to provide and protect. The ways in which this should be performed is however closely connected to the female characters’ ideas of emancipation and women’s rights. The female writers’ formulation of masculinity can hence be said to mirror the development of the female characters and their awareness of women’s rights. The thesis hopes that its original contribution to knowledge is the identification and examination of constructed masculinities in Syrian female-authored fiction. Moreover, this thesis studies a body of Syrian fiction previously largely unstudied in Western academia, and in a framework of Swedish, English and Arabic secondary sources.

Osamu Dazai é um dos poucos escritores japoneses da primeira metade do século XX que emprega mulheres como narradoras. Procuramos explorar essa peculiaridade de seus textos comparando-os, embora brevemente, com aqueles de alguns de seus contemporâneos, como Yasunari Kawabata e Junichirô Tanizaki. Fazemos algumas incursões na ideia de feminilidade que permeava a sociedade japonesa no início do século XX e as transformações que ela sofre até o final da Segunda Guerra, pois acreditamos que essas mesmas mudanças na imagem do feminino também sejam refletidas pelos textos de Dazai. Analisamos alguns de seus textos com narradoras para observar o quanto elas se distanciam ou se aproximam dos ideais de feminilidade da sociedade da época. Por fim, também comparamos as figuras femininas de suas obras do pós-guerra com suas figuras masculinas, estas, muito parecidas com o próprio autor, presas do niilismo e em rota de autodestruição. Nossa intenção, em suma, é explorar, mesmo que de forma limitada, as relações entre a cultura da época e a literatura por meio da análise de alguns textos com narradoras de Osamu Dazai, bem como sublinhar o caráter peculiar dessas mesmas narradoras no interior das obras do autor e em relação aos textos de seus contemporâneos. / Osamu Dazai is one of the few Japanese writers from the first half of the 20th century in whose texts we find female narrators. We intend to explore, although briefly, this peculiarity comparing his texts with those written by authors like Yasunari Kawabata and Junichirô Tanizaki. We make some incursions into the idea of womanliness which permeated the Japanese society in the beginning of the 20th century and the changes which it undergoes until the end of the Second World War because we believe that the same changes in the female image are reflected in Dazais texts. We analyze some of his texts with female narrators to see how far or close they are to societys ideals of womanliness. Lastly, we compare the female characters of Dazais postwar texts with the male ones (who resemble the author himself in their nihilism and self-destructive tendencies). In short, our objective is to examine, even if not as comprehensively as we could wish, how the culture of the period and the literature are related by analyzing some texts with female narrators written by Osamu Dazai. We also hope to stress the uniqueness of these female narrators within the authors texts and in relation to those of his contemporaries.

Com a proposta de analisar as principais características de narradores contemporâneos, esta dissertação parte de um corpus de seis originais recusados para publicação pela Companhia das Letras em 2014. O processo analítico se dá por meio das escolhas sintáticas, da voz narrativa, dos jargões e muletas narrativas (palavras, expressões, metáforas desgastadas), da originalidade, ritmo, verossimilhança, metáforas, diálogos e precisão. As características foram coletadas e classificadas entre 2009 e 2015, a partir da leitura de originais submetidos para publicação pela editora. Ao longo do processo de leitura e avaliação, cinco tipos narrativos apareceram com mais frequência, que deu origem a uma tipologia de narradores sistematizados em suas peculiaridades. Esses narradores, nomeados como Saudosista, Comedido, Poético, Esnobe e Autobiográfico são examinados do ponto de vista do editor, da estilística, da complexidade do romance, da crítica textual e da análise do discurso de Bakhtin. Com a leitura crítica de ensaios de Erich Auerbach, Bakhtin, Tchekhov, H. S. Becker, Steven Pinker, Francine Prose, Stephen King David Lodge, Schopenhauer e José Luiz Fiorin, esse trabalho tenta responder por que tantos autores estreantes se amparam em recursos narrativos de pouca força expressiva e em falsas premissas sobre o que seria a \"boa literatura\". Os resultados apontam para narradores que desconhecem a diferença entre estar apto para se comunicar em uma língua ou usá-Ia como instrumento estilístico. Somado a isso, há a complexidade do romance, um gênero que contempla inúmeras possibilidades e por isso dificulta as decisões assertivas; os resultados mostram ainda que os narradores se amparam na crítica literária antiga e em sua definição sobre o que vem a ser a boa literatura - dogmática, absoluta, inacessível e produzida por um grupo restrito de autores; por último, apoiando-se na teoria de Bakhtin, que defende que todo discurso é político, e por isso moldado pelas relações de poder, os narradores usam a narrativa obscura e palavrosa para camuflar inseguranças ou se proteger de possíveis críticas. / From a corpus of six manuscripts which had been turned down for publication by Companhia das Letras in 2014, this paper analyzes the main characteristics of contemporary narrators based on their syntactic choices, narrative voice, jargon and crutches, originality, rhythm, verisimilitude, metaphors, dialogues and precision. The classification was achieved from the reading of manuscripts submitted for publication at Companhia das Letras by their authors from 2009 to 2015. While sorting these texts, five narrative types appeared more frequently and, therefore, a typology of narrators was created to systematize these narrative voices and their peculiarities. The narrators, named as Nostalgic, Moderate, Poetic, Snobbish, and Autobiographical are examined from the point of view of the editor, and through stylistics, for the complexity of the novel, textual criticism, and using Bakhtin\'s discourse analysis. With the help of the essays by Erich Auerbach, Bakhtin, Chekhov, H. S. Becker, Steven Pinker, Francine Prose, Stephen King, David Lodge, Schopenhauer and José Luiz Fiorin, this paper attempts to answer why so many authors rely on fragile stylistic resources of little expressive force and on false premises about good literature and the art of narration. The results point to narrators who do not know the difference between being able to communicate in a given language and using it as a stylistic instrumento Added to this, there is the complexity of the novel, a genre that contemplates endless possibilities and therefore turn assertive decisions more difficult. The study yet shows that narrators rely on an old idea of what good literature is - dogmatic, incomprehensible, complex, inaccessible and produced by a small group of writers. Lastly, also according to Bakhtin\'s theory, which states that every discourse is political and therefore molded by the power relations, the narrators use obscure and wordy narratives to disguise insecurities or feel protected from possible criticism.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:27:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-10-08 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This dissertation has as a main objective to discribe and explain the narrative of Santa Cruz do Deserto, a religious monnument, located in the small city of Tavares, situated in the backwoods of Paraíba. It has been considered miraculous and protected by spirits. The cross works as a identification support and it´s a powerful instrument in a group of old men, considered superitendants and guardians of the local memory. This specif group of old men assumes the holy narrative control transmited by their forefathers, conforming a general memory solid enough. It reinforces the myth from this community origin, represented by the death and mistery of the strange cowboy and that stablished the creed in the power of soul and devotion to Santa Cruz do Deserto. The divison of power in this community allows ourselves to watch an existence of an hierachy scale, consisted by residents, devotes, non devotes and superitendants. The context we have checked is typic from popular catholicism, where the envolved guys ascribe to the sacred, several meanings, to amplify the individual events and transformed them in symbolic formalization, in a reported picture, mystic in potential, where eclesial hagiografic signs are ressemantized, and some re-created creeds had appeared. / Esta dissertação tem como objetivo, descrever e interpretar a narrativa da Santa Cruz do Deserto, monumento religioso localizado na pequena cidade de Tavares, situada no sertão da Paraíba. Considerada milagrosa e protegida pelas almas, a Cruz funciona como suporte da identidade e instrumento de poder de um grupo de homens velhos considerados zeladores e guardiões da memória local. Este grupo específico de velhos assume o controle da narrativa sagrada transmitida pelos seus antepassados, conformando uma memória coletiva bastante sólida, que reforçou o mito de origem da comunidade, representado na morte e no mistério do desconhecido vaqueiro e instituiu a crença no poder das almas e a devoção à Santa Cruz do Deserto. A divisão de poder na comunidade permitiu-nos observar a existência de uma escala hierárquica constituída por moradores, devotos, não devotos e zeladores. O contexto analisado é típico do catolicismo popular, onde os sujeitos envolvidos atribuem ao sagrado significados diversos, ampliando os acontecimentos individuais e transformando-os em formalizações simbólicas, num quadro narrativo potencialmente mítico, onde os signos da hagiografia eclesial são ressemantizados, surgindo crenças reinventadas.

Orientador: Irene Jeanete Lemos Gilberto / Banca: Luiz Roberto Velloso Cairo / Banca: Mário César Silva Leite / Banca: Maria Lídia Lichtscheidl Maretti / Banca: Ivete Lara Camargos Walty / Resumo: Esta tese compreende um estudo da poesia oral pantaneira no momento de sua atualização, ou seja, durante a performance. Para tanto, ela se divide em três partes principais. Na primeira, com base em relatos de viagem, foram identificados embates discursivos entre o narrador e o viajante. A partir desses embates, foi demonstrado como, durante a performance, a presença do auditório exige do narrador uma postura frente àquilo que conta, ou seja, como ele cria uma identidade, que se manifesta pelo discurso da narrativa. Outro ponto discutido diz respeito ao registro da poesia oral pelo viajante, em que enfatizei como elementos ligados à performance foram ignorados e como a transcrição interfere na compreensão do texto oral. Na segunda parte, foram analisados os aspectos discursivos da narrativa oral. Constatei que o narrador cria uma "autoridade" (relação frente ao auditório) e "autoria" (atualização do texto que ouviu), pelas quais ele engendra um discurso identitário. A questão das variáveis e invariantes no texto oral foi estudada na terceira parte. Assim, detive-me no estudo das narrativas de enterro pantaneiras. Identifiquei elementos invariantes (origem, anunciação, marcação, provação, desenlace), que congregam algumas variáveis (tipos de origem, formas diferenciadas de anunciação, etc.). Além disso, as narrativas se reorganizam mudando de significado, como constatei com o protoconto, a explicativa, o logro e a descritiva. O último capítulo tratou da performance, em que foi analisada a manifestação da narrativa na performance e, também, alguns dos mecanismos que o narrador emprega para persuadir o seu auditório. Os estudos assim divididos visam a dar uma visão sincrônica da poesia oral, pois partem do texto oral em seu espaço de constituição, levando em conta a voz (identidade e ruído) do narrador. / Abstract: This thesis contains an oral poetry study at the moment of its updating (sometimes subtractions are possible), that is to say, during the performance. For clarification's sake, it is divided in three main parts. In the first part, I identified the discoursive clashes between the narrator and the foreign traveler, based on travelers' reports. After that, it was demonstrated that the audience presence requires from the narrator, during the performance, an attitude about what he tells, i.e., an identity creation manifested by the narrative discourse. Another item is about the oral poetry recorded by the traveler. At this point, I emphasized that some performance features were ignored and that the transcription interferes in oral text comprehension. In the second part, the oral narrative discursive aspects were analyzed. I verified that the narrator creates an "authority" (the relationship face the audience) and an "authorship" (the listened text update) by which he engenders an identity discourse. The matter of variables and invariables was studied in the third part. Thus, I detained myself in the study of burial "pantaneira" narrative. I identified invariable elements (origin, annunciation, marking, probation, epilogue) that have some variables (kinds of origin, different forms of annunciation, etc.). Besides, the narratives reorganize themselves by changing their meanings such as the prototale, the explicative, the bluff and the descriptive, according to my verification. In the last chapter, I discussed the performance. I also analyzed the narrative manifestation in the performance and some of the narrator's mechanisms used to persuade his audience. Divided this way, the studies intend to make a synchronic approach of oral poetry, because they depart from oral text in its composition space taking into consideration the narrator's voice (identity and noise) / Doutor

Este trabalho apresenta uma análise dos narradores homodiegéticos e de suas respectivas focalizações na obra A Long Way Down, de Nick Hornby, publicada em 2005, com o intuito de estimular os estudos sobre este autor no Brasil e de elucidar discussões aprofundadas sobre a narrativa deste escritor. Primeiro, apresentamos brevemente sua biografia e informações relevantes sobre a obra em análise. Em seguida, apresentamos os conceitos de narrador, bem como discutimos a ideia de sujeito de focalização e de objeto de focalização, valendo-nos de autores como Gerard Genette, Mieke Bal e Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan, para embasar a análise deste estudo. A terceira parte deste estudo consiste na análise dos quatro narradores homodiegéticos de A Long Way Down. Esta análise consiste principalmente em explorar os discursos narrativos desses quatro narradores – respectivamente Martin, Maureen, Jess e JJ – e explorar como cada um articula-se como focalizador ou objeto de focalização dentro da narrativa. Através das palavras desses múltiplos narradores a história se desenrola, bem como todo humor e dramaticidade é criado a partir de tal mecanismo. As quatro personagens, que se conhecem em uma tentativa frustrada de suicídio, compartilham ao longo da narrativa diversas experiências e criam um vínculo afetivo que lhes possibilita sobreviver e, consequentemente, contar essa história retrospectivamente. No final, refletimos acerca das últimas considerações apresentadas pelos narradores, discutindo de que forma cada um deles encontrou sua própria redenção e resolveu seus problemas com a vida, ainda que temporariamente. Este estudo destaca a importância de explorar a narrativa de Nick Hornby em termos acadêmicos, bem como salienta a relevância de A Long Way Down em sua obra. / This work presents an analysis of the homodiegetic narrators and their respective focalizations in Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down, published in 2005, aiming at stimulating further investigation on this author in Brazil and at elucidating deeper discussions regarding this writer’s narrative. First, we briefly present his biography and relevant information about the book under analysis. Then, we present the concepts of narrator, and we discuss the idea of subject of focalization and object of focalization, based on the studies of scholars such as Gerard Genette, Mieke Bal and Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan. The third part of this study is the analysis of the four homodiegetic narrators in A Long Way Down. This analysis mainly consists in exploring the speech patterns of these four narrators - respectively Martin, Maureen, Jess and JJ - and investigating how each one of them works as both the focalizer and object of focalization. Through the words of these multiple narrators the story unfolds, as well as all humor and drama is created from such a mechanism. The four characters, who meet in an unsuccessful suicide attempt, share along the narrative different experiences and end up creating an emotional bond that allows them to survive and, hence, tell this story retrospectively. Finally, we reflect on the latest considerations presented by these narrators, discussing how they find their own way to redemption and solve their problems with life, even if temporarily. This study highlights the importance of exploring the narrative of Nick Hornby in academic terms, and emphasizes the relevance of A Long Way Down in his oeuvre.