"Retro" is a novel which attempts to depict the psychological reality of the spiritually isolated individual characterized in traditional gothic novels, in this case the alienated individual in the contemporary American South. The novel follows the doctrine set down by Roland Barthes, Frank Kermode, and other postmodern critics, which holds that, as Kermode puts it, "all closure is in bad faith." Therefore, rather than offering resolution to the problems and events presented in the text, the novel attempts instead to illustrate the psychological effects its main character experiences when confronted with a world that offers only irresolution and uncertainty. The novel's strategy is to depart from conventional, realistic modes of narration and to adopt instead certain characteristics of satire, surrealism, and the type of grotesque often associated with the gothic novel.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc501003 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Norwood, Robert N. (Robert Nicholas) |
| Contributors | Cairns, Scott, Lee, James Ward, Mitchell, Giles R. |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | xxi, 297 leaves, Text |
| Rights | Public, Norwood, Robert N. (Robert Nicholas), Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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