The object of this study is to discover whether Joyce's many allusions to events and personages from Ireland's history and mythology are incidental to the main narrative of Finnegans Wake, or whether they serve an intrinsic thematic and structural function. Chapter 2 examines the general theories which underlie Joyce's use of the past in his novel. From Vico he derived his conception of the cyclical progress of history, and from Bruno a notion of conflict based on the confrontation of opposites. In the writings of Quinet Joyce discovered a metaphor for recurrence in the image of flowers which continue to flourish regardless of the rise and fall of civilizations. These general concepts found in Irish dimension in the work of Stefan Czarnowski. He examined the process of mythologization by which St. Patrick became absorbed into the cultural mould of the earlier Celtic heroes, and provided a parallel for Joyce's identification of his characters which corresponding figures in the past. Furthermore, Czarnowski's concept of provisional death, in which heroes were preserved by a commemorative rites, reinforces the significance of the wake as a symbol of the hope of renewal. Joyce began work on Finnegans Wake by isolating certain themes from Ireland's past, and incorporating them into the fictional frame-work of six preliminary sketches. These sketches are studied in their earliest and final forms in chapter 3. The figures of Rodrick O'Connor, Tristan and Isolde. Kevin, Bishop Berkely and Patrick are the focus of the first four, while the theme of invasion is prominent in "Nannelujo", and the relationship of subjugated people to a conqueror in "Here Comes Everybody." By tracing the original themes to their inclusion in Finnegans Wake Joyce's treatment of his subjects is seen to develop from a mood of simple parody towards the juxtaposition of a multiplicity of parallel themes. The main emphasis of the novel went beyond the initial interest in history, as the concerns revealed by the isolation of themes from the past were developed in a fictional framework designed to be archetypal and representative, rather than historical and particular. Chapter 4 examines the relationship that Joyce set up between the brothers Shem and Shaun and their past. First as Mutt and Jute and later as Muta and Juva, they observe respectively the Battle of Ciontarf and the confrontation of the Archdruid and Patrick. Throughout the novel the oppositions of Shem and Shaun are frequently given an Irish dimension. Furthermore, in the chapters of Finnegans Wake devoted to Shaun, he adopts many attitudes associated with an insular Irish point of view. As Shaun the post, he is associated with Victorious, the messenger sent by the people of Ireland in a time of crisis to recall St. Patrick. Shaun does not succeed in his mission, but dreams of usurping Patrick's position himself. He is also the adovcace of violent means to achieve national aspirations, and, through his slogans are popular, they are also suspect. HCE himself, therefore, is forced to rise from his slumbers to propose an alternative, more tolerant, prospect from Ireland. Joyce's depiction of HCE has a consistent Irish dimension, studied in chapter 5. He is shown as an outsider, associated with the many invaders of Ireland, whose wider view of reality enables him to point a new way forward. He is the founder of a city culture, which object of suspicien for many. His roles include not only the hero Finn and Saint Patrick, but also Parnell, whose personality deeply divided the country. The lose of public confidence, which paralyses HCE's creativity, is expressed in Finnegans Wake by the image of the grave, in which HCE must sleep in the state of provisional death, awaiting the popular acceptance of a broad concept of national-hood, and the establishment of a new era by mutual consent. The themes which intersected Joyce at the outset of his novel developed through his adaptation of ideas gleaned from Vico, Bruno and Czarnowski into a theory of history which re-enacts conflict as part of its onward progression, but in which reconciliation is the necessary prerequisite for the institution of each new era. This theory influenced his selection of events from Irish history, which become a model for the parallel operation of recurrence in world history. Irish history, therefore, is a sustained level of significance in Finnegans Wake, absorbed into the novel's structure, and providing a wealth of detail to illustrate its thematic concerns. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/15708 |
| Date | 09 1900 |
| Creators | O'Dwyer, Riana Marie Ann |
| Contributors | John, Brian, English |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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