My goal in this dissertation has been to undertake a questioning of the writing process as it unfolds in contemporary fiction. The methodological steps taken rest on a phenomenological approach applied to Marguerite Yourcenar's novel, L'oeuvre au noir. Through a reading of L'oeuvre au noir I show that the realm of alchemy serves as a metaphor for the writing process. The principles of disintegration (solve) and reintegration (coagula) at play in the practice of alchemy point to the "unreality" of phenomenological life while disclosing a "center" which represents the transcendental world. Within the framework of a pseudo-historical narrative, the central character, Zenon, undertakes a journey which leads him through various stages of perception of his own subjectivity. My argument rests on the assumption that Zenon's personal trials may be viewed as the rendering of an attempt to transcend one's own finitude.
The dissertation is divided into three parts. In the first part the concepts of writing and time come sharply into focus. There I analyze the fundamental duality upon which Marguerite Yourcenar's narrative practice rests. The world of sixteenth-century Flanders which has been chosen as a setting of L'oeuvre au noir lends itself to an exploration of the opposition between political and religious chaos on the one hand and the positing of an immobile center (Ouroboros) on the other hand.
The question of the subject and of its role in the narrative process constitutes the focus of the second part of the dissertation. As a character who wishes "to be more than a man" Zenon attempts to engage in a process of individuation. His suicide leaves two questions open. Does Zenon accomplish what is called by the alchemists "the work in red"? In other words does he reach a sense of absolute or should his death be interpreted as self-destruction? Through a close reading of the last chapter, I attempt to demonstrate that Marguerite Yourcenar does not answer those questions and that Zenon's challenge is also that of the writer. I engage in a discussion of L'Oeuvre au Noir within the broader context of philosophical and critical issues that are representative of our modernity. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:RICE/oai:scholarship.rice.edu:1911/16159 |
| Date | January 1988 |
| Creators | Joly, Michelle Elise |
| Contributors | Logan, Marie-Rose |
| Source Sets | Rice University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | 380 p., application/pdf |
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