Aporia, vortex and the hermeneutic circle in A.S. Byatt’s The Biographer’s Tale
Reflecting A.S. Byatt’s mistrust of the prevalence of literary theory, expressed in her own critical writings as well as in her earlier, most successful novel Possession (1990), The Biographer’s Tale (2000) recounts a literary scholar’s attempt to reach out towards a world of things, as opposed to a...
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Faculty of Philology, University of Bialystok
2019-06-01
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doaj-95ec023819864d8b95d6404eec27e8f32021-07-26T08:02:43ZengFaculty of Philology, University of BialystokCrossroads2300-62502019-06-0125668010.15290/cr.2019.25.2.04565Aporia, vortex and the hermeneutic circle in A.S. Byatt’s The Biographer’s TaleBożena Kucała0Jagiellonian University in Kraków, PolandReflecting A.S. Byatt’s mistrust of the prevalence of literary theory, expressed in her own critical writings as well as in her earlier, most successful novel Possession (1990), The Biographer’s Tale (2000) recounts a literary scholar’s attempt to reach out towards a world of things, as opposed to arid theoretical concepts. However, his biographical project, undertaken as an alternative to poststructuralist studies, ends in an impasse. This article argues that, compared with the developments in Possession, the protagonist’s “liberation” from academia is far more ambiguous; his failed attempt to write a biography illustrates rather than satirises some of the dilemmas posed by literary theory. Phineas Nanson remains trapped in poststructuralist concepts which wreck his project, such as the elusiveness of the self, textual indeterminacy, and the demise of the author.https://czasopisma.filologia.uwb.edu.pl/index.php/c/article/view/565a.s. byattacademic fictioncampus novelliterary theorymetafictionbiography |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Bożena Kucała |
spellingShingle |
Bożena Kucała Aporia, vortex and the hermeneutic circle in A.S. Byatt’s The Biographer’s Tale Crossroads a.s. byatt academic fiction campus novel literary theory metafiction biography |
author_facet |
Bożena Kucała |
author_sort |
Bożena Kucała |
title |
Aporia, vortex and the hermeneutic circle in A.S. Byatt’s The Biographer’s Tale |
title_short |
Aporia, vortex and the hermeneutic circle in A.S. Byatt’s The Biographer’s Tale |
title_full |
Aporia, vortex and the hermeneutic circle in A.S. Byatt’s The Biographer’s Tale |
title_fullStr |
Aporia, vortex and the hermeneutic circle in A.S. Byatt’s The Biographer’s Tale |
title_full_unstemmed |
Aporia, vortex and the hermeneutic circle in A.S. Byatt’s The Biographer’s Tale |
title_sort |
aporia, vortex and the hermeneutic circle in a.s. byatt’s the biographer’s tale |
publisher |
Faculty of Philology, University of Bialystok |
series |
Crossroads |
issn |
2300-6250 |
publishDate |
2019-06-01 |
description |
Reflecting A.S. Byatt’s mistrust of the prevalence of literary theory, expressed in her own critical writings as well as in her earlier, most successful novel Possession (1990), The Biographer’s Tale (2000) recounts a literary scholar’s attempt to reach out towards a world of things, as opposed to arid theoretical concepts. However, his biographical project, undertaken as an alternative to poststructuralist studies, ends in an impasse. This article argues that, compared with the developments in Possession, the protagonist’s “liberation” from academia is far more ambiguous; his failed attempt to write a biography illustrates rather than satirises some of the dilemmas posed by literary theory. Phineas Nanson remains trapped in poststructuralist concepts which wreck his project, such as the elusiveness of the self, textual indeterminacy, and the demise of the author. |
topic |
a.s. byatt academic fiction campus novel literary theory metafiction biography |
url |
https://czasopisma.filologia.uwb.edu.pl/index.php/c/article/view/565 |
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AT bozenakucała aporiavortexandthehermeneuticcircleinasbyattsthebiographerstale |
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