The thesis is an analysis of the aesthetic possibilities of names in literature, with a focus on the names of characters in Samuel Beckett's French and English texts. The initial aim of this research is, therefore, twofold: to produce a study that will show and comment not only on the richness and diversity of Beckett' s naming practices, but also present literary onomastics as an inexhaustible and important source for the aesthetic appreciation of literature. In order to attain these objectives, the thesis gradually moves from the theoretical questions of literary onomastics to the more specific problems of the study of names in Beckett's fiction, eventually coming to the empirical analysis itself that unites the two directions of the research. Adopting the techniques of deconstruction, linguistics and comparative literary studies, the thesis offers a wide range of possible readings of each name, without giving preference to a particular interpretation. Apart from being one of the first attempts to provide a comprehensive critical overview that looks into the history of the study of names in Beckett's texts, this thesis also examines the function and possible meanings of the letters and roots that reappear in the names of Beckett's characters, and explores the means by which names may destabilise and mystify a character, creating a new type of unrepresentability and anonymity. Further, and more broadly, the thesis tries to redefine and re-evaluate literary onomastics, exploring the questions of meaning and reference, discussing the differences between proper and general names and looking into the ways proper names function in a literary text.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:553634 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Hramova, Tatjana |
| Publisher | University of Reading |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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