This dissertation represents an interpretation of the different forms of negativity in the modernist work that can be understood in terms of that which is unsaid, unsayable, or any other means of refusing to give an affirmative proposition regarding the world the work describes. It explores this negativity as both a representation of that which cannot be represented, and as an operational negativity, or negation, that takes part in the unmaking of the work's figures. The function of this negativity, as interpreted in Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past (1913-1927), James Joyce's Ulysses (1922) and Krapp's Last Tape (1959) by Samuel Beckett, is to rewrite the representations of the work. Negativity is then also understood as a transformation and conditioning of elements already present in the literary work, that lead to ambivalent and problematic representations in the work. In this sense, negativity can be understood as a form of rewriting of the work's representations. The interpretations of the works of Proust, Joyce and Beckett are guided by this understanding, as given in the introduction, of negativity. In the analysis of Proust's novel, in "The Unmaking of Proust: Negation and Errors in Remembrance of Things Past", this form of negativity is situated in relation to Proust's handling of epistemological questions and mimetic references to reality in his work. The analysis of Joyce's work in "The Wandering of Language in James Joyce's Ulysses" discusses his treatment of language and the origins of language as being characterized by a negation that increases the difficulty of the language, and attempts to negate its origins. Finally, in the analysis of Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape", in "Beckett, Proust, and the End of Literature", it is shown that negativity conditions both the reception of the influence of Proust by Beckett, and the play's attempt to suggest the end of writing. In conclusion the dissertation returns to the idea of negativity as a form of rewriting, and briefly indicates that the function of negativity in these novels can be understood as a form of invention. / Thesis (M.A.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000.

This dissertation represents an interpretation of the different forms of negativity in the modernist work that can be understood in terms of that which is unsaid, unsayable, or any other means of refusing to give an affirmative proposition regarding the world the work describes. It explores this negativity as both a representation of that which cannot be represented, and as an operational negativity, or negation, that takes part in the unmaking of the work's figures. The function of this negativity, as interpreted in Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past (1913-1927), James Joyce's Ulysses (1922) and Krapp's Last Tape (1959) by Samuel Beckett, is to rewrite the representations of the work. Negativity is then also understood as a transformation and conditioning of elements already present in the literary work, that lead to ambivalent and problematic representations in the work. In this sense, negativity can be understood as a form of rewriting of the work's representations. The interpretations of the works of Proust, Joyce and Beckett are guided by this understanding, as given in the introduction, of negativity. In the analysis of Proust's novel, in "The Unmaking of Proust: Negation and Errors in Remembrance of Things Past", this form of negativity is situated in relation to Proust's handling of epistemological questions and mimetic references to reality in his work. The analysis of Joyce's work in "The Wandering of Language in James Joyce's Ulysses" discusses his treatment of language and the origins of language as being characterized by a negation that increases the difficulty of the language, and attempts to negate its origins. Finally, in the analysis of Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape", in "Beckett, Proust, and the End of Literature", it is shown that negativity conditions both the reception of the influence of Proust by Beckett, and the play's attempt to suggest the end of writing. In conclusion the dissertation returns to the idea of negativity as a form of rewriting, and briefly indicates that the function of negativity in these novels can be understood as a form of invention. / Thesis (M.A.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000.

Seguindo uma pista lançada pelo próprio Proust num texto crítico sobre a leitura, a crítica proustiana vem dedicando bastante espaço à compreensão deste tema na Recherche. Em geral, essa compreensão tem sido levada a cabo por meio da análise das figurações da leitura no romance de modo a construir o posicionamento teórico do escritor sobre a leitura que, por sua vez, funcionaria como modelo para a leitura da própria Recherche. Entretanto, essas análises apontam para incoerências e contradições que potencialmente poderiam invalidar seu caráter de modelo. Revisitando algumas das interpretações críticas bem como o próprio ensaio de Proust sobre a questão, esta tese defende que a compreensão da leitura da Recherche vai além da discussão da figuração do tema no texto. Para isso, propõe a análise do papel do leitor dimensão textual virtual que comporta diversas operações interpretativas potenciais. Controladas pela organização do texto, isto é, por sua disposição arquitetônica, em seus mais diversos planos, essas operações, uma vez percebidas pelos leitores (o que não se deu imediatamente na história da recepção da Recherche) sustentam essas leituras (críticas ou não) de modo que podem ser vistas como a base ou as condições de possibilidade de toda e qualquer interpretação. / Following the clue given by Proust himself on his essay on reading, recently, proustian critics have been paying a lot of attention to this theme in A la Recherche. In general, these interpretations analyse the figurations of reading in the text which, in turn, is used as a model for the reading of Prousts text. However, many of these analyses point out to incoherencies in Prousts theoretical discourse which can invalidate its status as a model for the reader. Revisiting some of the analyses on the topic and Prousts own essay On reading, this thesis tries to indicate that the understanding of the subject of reading should move beyond the discussion of its figuration in the text. In order to do that, we propose an analysis of the role of the reader a virtual textual dimension formed by the interpretive operations designed by the text itself. Controlled by the organization of the materials that form the text, these operations, once perceived by the reader, support many of the critical readings of Prousts text and so, they are, as it seems, the foundations for most of the readings of A la Recherche.

Seguindo uma pista lançada pelo próprio Proust num texto crítico sobre a leitura, a crítica proustiana vem dedicando bastante espaço à compreensão deste tema na Recherche. Em geral, essa compreensão tem sido levada a cabo por meio da análise das figurações da leitura no romance de modo a construir o posicionamento teórico do escritor sobre a leitura que, por sua vez, funcionaria como modelo para a leitura da própria Recherche. Entretanto, essas análises apontam para incoerências e contradições que potencialmente poderiam invalidar seu caráter de modelo. Revisitando algumas das interpretações críticas bem como o próprio ensaio de Proust sobre a questão, esta tese defende que a compreensão da leitura da Recherche vai além da discussão da figuração do tema no texto. Para isso, propõe a análise do papel do leitor dimensão textual virtual que comporta diversas operações interpretativas potenciais. Controladas pela organização do texto, isto é, por sua disposição arquitetônica, em seus mais diversos planos, essas operações, uma vez percebidas pelos leitores (o que não se deu imediatamente na história da recepção da Recherche) sustentam essas leituras (críticas ou não) de modo que podem ser vistas como a base ou as condições de possibilidade de toda e qualquer interpretação. / Following the clue given by Proust himself on his essay on reading, recently, proustian critics have been paying a lot of attention to this theme in A la Recherche. In general, these interpretations analyse the figurations of reading in the text which, in turn, is used as a model for the reading of Prousts text. However, many of these analyses point out to incoherencies in Prousts theoretical discourse which can invalidate its status as a model for the reader. Revisiting some of the analyses on the topic and Prousts own essay On reading, this thesis tries to indicate that the understanding of the subject of reading should move beyond the discussion of its figuration in the text. In order to do that, we propose an analysis of the role of the reader a virtual textual dimension formed by the interpretive operations designed by the text itself. Controlled by the organization of the materials that form the text, these operations, once perceived by the reader, support many of the critical readings of Prousts text and so, they are, as it seems, the foundations for most of the readings of A la Recherche.