<p> This dissertation proposes that West Indian contemporary male writers develop literary authority, or a voice that represents the nation, via a process of individuation. This process enables the contemporary male writer to unite the disparities of the matriarchal and patriarchal authorial traditions that inform his development of a distinctive creative identity. I outline three stages of authorial individuation that are inspired by Jung’s theory of individuation. The first is the contemporary male writer’s <i> return</i> to his nationalist forebears’ tradition to dissolve his persona, or identification with patriarchal authority; Fred D’Aguiar’s “The Last Essay About Slavery” and <i>Feeding the Ghosts </i> illustrate this stage. The second is his <i>reconciliation </i> of matriarchal (present) and patriarchal (past) traditions of literary authority via his encounter with his forebears’ feminized, raced shadow; Robert Antoni’s <i>Blessed Is the Fruit</i> evidences this process. The third is the contemporary male writer’s <i>renunciation </i> of authority defined by masculinity, which emerges as his incorporation of the anima, or unconscious feminine; Marlon James’s <i>The Book of Night Women</i> exemplifies this final phase of his individuation. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3585016 |
| Date | 08 April 2014 |
| Creators | Gifford, Sheryl Christie |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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