POSTMODERNISM MURIEL SPARK

Sawada, Chikako (2004) Muriel Spark's postmodernism. PhD thesis.
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Muriel Spark'sPostmodernism

CHEKAKO SAWADA

Ph.D.
University of Glasgow
Faculty of Arts
Departmentof English
September2004

0 Chikako Saivada2004

ABSTRACT

This study exploresthe shifting notions of postmodernism
developedthroughMuriel Spark's fiction, and therebyclarifies
this artist's own postmodernism. I useJean-FrangoisLyotard's
definition of thenotion in his ThePostmodernCondition (1979),
that thereis no grandnarrative, asmy starting point, and deploy
variouspostmodernisttheories,which can illuminate Spark's art
and can in turn be illuminated by her art, in my arguments.
Tbroughoutthe thesis,I focuson two of Spark's most important
themesascrucial keys to understandingher postmodernism:the
themeof individual subjectivity andthe themeof the interplay of
life andart.

The thesisbeginswith the claims Sparkmakesfor her
individuality andher individual art through the voice of 'T"
ChapterI considersissuesaboutbeing a woman and an artist,
which Sparkraisesaroundthe narrator-heroineof a fictional
memoir,A Far Cryjr'om Kensington(1988). Here I presentthis
heroine asa definition of the strengthof Sparkianwomen who
liberatethemselvesby practicing art. Chapter11discusses
Loitering with Intent (1981), a fictional autobiographyof a
fictional womannovelist, alongsideSpark's own autobiography
andher various biographicalworks. This sectionillustrates
Spark's notion of the "author" in relation to the "work" - and an
authorin control in her sense- by investigatingthe dynamic
interplay of life and art in the form of this novel.

ChapterIII analysesTheDriver's Seat(1970), the novel

2

which most shockingly elucidatesthe postmoderncondition
accordingto Sparkand demonstratesher postmodernistnarrative
strategies. Her concernwith the crisis of the "subjecf' in the
world in its postmodemphaseis observedin the figure of the
heroine,,a woman who hastried andfailed to be an authorin
control. I arguethat Sparkheretheorisesthe notion of subject,
by providing her own version of thepsychoanalytical"death
drive" and alsorepresentsthe Lacanianreal asthe unfigurable
with this figure. ChapterIV and ChapterV follow the
developmentsof Spark's discussionof the crisis of the "subject"
in two of her later novels. ChapterIV concentrateson the theme
of Othernessin Sytnposium(1990). ChapterV discussesReality
and Di-eams(1996), in which Sparkpursuesthe themeof excess
and opensup the contradictionsinherentin this notion to bring
abouta new philosophy of life by art asexcess.

ChapterVI and ChapterVII focus on Spark'sperformer
heroines,who embodyvariously an interplay of life and art.
ChapterVI first examinesSpark's 1971theoreticalmanifesto,
"The Desegregationof Art, " to introducethe ideaof practicing art
in life andto clarify her aestheticandphilosophical principles, on
which her postmodernismis based. I then illustrate how she
theorisesperformancefurther by analysingthe film-actress
heroineof ThePublic Image (1968). ChapterVII brings the
heroinesof ThePrime ofMiss JeanBrodie (1961) and The,4bbess
of Creive(1974)- womeninventing themselves- into the
perspectiveof Spark's postmodernism. Through re-readingsof
thesenovels, I presentthe Abbessasa Sparkianwoman and asthe

3

most self-consciousinstanceof what I call postmodernsubject.
To concludethe thesis,ChapterVHI discussesSpark's latest

novel, TheFinishing School(2004), asher contemplationon the
themeof the endand in termsof her postmodernendings.

4

CONTENTS 2

ABSTRACT 7
8
Acknowledgments
Referencesand Abbreviations

INTRODUCTION:
TBE ARTIST IN ANOTIHERDIMENSION

CHAPTER 1: REDEEMING THE TIME 32

"My crime had beento call him to his facepisseur de

copie."

-A Far Dyfrom Kensington

CHAPTER 11: SURVIVING ECRITURE 64

"I alwayshopethe readersof my novels areof good
quality."

- Loitering with Intent

CHAPTER III: LOST IN A DRIVE 108

"I'm going to havethe time of my life."

- TheDriver's Seat

CHAPTER IV: THE MAKING OF THE OTHER 154

"Absolutely inunersedin the philosophy of LesAutres."
- Symposium

CHAPTER V: SOMETFUNGEXCESSIVE 191

"It's unfinished business".
- Reality and Dreams

CHAPTER VI: PRACTICING ART IN LIFE 229

"Life is all the achievementof an effect."
- ThePublic Image

CHAPTER VII: INVENTING THEMSELVES 256

"Sandy was fascinatedby this methodof making patterns
with facts..."

- ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie
278

"Think up your bestscenarios,Sisters".

- TheAbbessofCrewe

CHAPTER VIII: ENDINGS 300

"As we go through this eveningand into tonight...
- TheFinishing School: Conclusion

BIBLIOGRAPHY 27

Acknowledgments

I might not haveembarkedon a postgraduatecareer,were it not for the
inspiration of Prof Yoko Sugiyama,who hastaught me the seriousjoys of
literature- andMuriel Spark'sfiction - andProf TakashiSasayamaw, hose
wise adviceand warm encouragemenct ontinuedthroughand after my years
at Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan. Throughoutthe courseof my
researchat University of Glasgow,my supervisorPaddyLyons -%vas
constantlyon handwith enlightenment,encouragementa, nd hospitality, so
that I neverdoubtedI am in my prime. I would also like to extendmy
gratitudeto SueSirc for her generousadviceand supportduring a crucial late
stageof my project.

Nothing is possiblewithout financial support,and I benefitedfrom the
generousassistanceof the RotaryFoundationin the first year of my research.
Thanksto the worldwide reachof Rotarianism,I hadthe good fortune to
meetMrs andMr Nakamaru,and Mrs and Mr Loney, who havegiven me
friendship and supportfar beyondany duty. I owe acknowledgementstoo
to the ORS Committeeof Universities UK, from whoseannualAward I
benefitedin the secondandthe third yearsof my course.

Finally, I would like to put on the recordmy thanksto my friends and
family who havesupportedme in many ways and in various places,and-who
are so preciousto me: Kazumi Sato,Junko Shigematsu,Yukiko Toda,Saeko
Nagashima,KatsueOnda,OscarHuerta Melchor, CourtneyBain, Mathilde
Beaulieu,KassandraAguayo, Emma Faulkner,Monika Binder, Carlo Pfeiffer,
and StefanBinder - andmy grandmotherKazue,my mother Yoshiko,my
father Shigeru,andmy sisterEiko.

7

ReferencesandAbbreviations

Textsby Muriel Spark

All pagereferencesin this thesisareto the editions listed in the Bibliography,
which appearsat the end of the thesis. The dateof first publication is given
in brackets. The titles are abbreviatedasfollows.

Novels TheCoinfforters (1957)
MementoMori (1959)
C TheBallad ofPeckham Rye (1960)
ThePrime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961)
MM ThePublic linage (1968)
BPR TheDriver's Seat(1970)
PMJB Not to Disturb (1971)
PI TheHothouseby the East River (1973)
DS TheAbbessof Crewe(1974)
ND The Takeover(1976)
HER Loitering with Intent (1981)
AC A Far Cryfi-om Kensington(1988)
T Symposium(1990)
LI Reality and Dreams(1996)
FCK Aiding andAbetting (2000)
S TheFinishing School (2004)
RD
AA 8
FS

Stories A11the Stories ofMurie I Spark (2001)

AS

Non Fiction Tribute to Wordsworth:A Miscellany of
Opinionfor the Centenaryof thePoet's
Tw Death (1950)
Mary Ae Iley (1987)
ms Curriculum Vitae:Autobiography (1992)
Cv TheEssenceof theBrontis (1993)

L, D

Articles "The Religion of an Agnostic: A Sacramental
cLIZA33 View of the World in the Writings of Prousf
(1953)
c6mcll "My ConversioW'(1961)
"The Desegregationof Art" (1971)
"DX'

9

Interviews with Muriel Spark

In this thesis, reference to an interviewwill cite the letter "I" followed by the
date and the source number as listed below, For instance, (1-4,1970) refers
to an interview by Jean Scroggie. Full details of the sources are given in the
Bibliography.

1-1 Interview by Frank Kermode (1963)
1-2 Interview by Mary Holland (1965)
1-3 Interview by Ian Gillham.(1970)
1-4 Interview by JeanScroggie(1970)
1-5 Interview by GeorgeArmstrong (1970)
1-6 Interview by Philip Toynbee(1971)
1-7 Interview by Alex Hamilton (1974)
1-8 Interview by Loma Sage(1976)
1-9 Interview by Victoria Glendinning (1979)
1-10 Interview by SaraFrankel (1985)
1-11 Interview by Martin McQuillan (1998)
1-12 Interview by Gillian Bowditch (2001)
1-13 Interview by Alan Taylor (2004)

10

INTRODUCTION

TBE ARTIST IN ANOTBER DIMENSION

DameMuriel Sparkhasbeenan arcanepuzzle in the mappingof
contemporaryliterature. Norman Page,in his Muriel Spark
(1990), spellsout the fascinationof her unclassiflablenovels:

Sheacknowledgesand owesfew literary debtsandbelongs
to no school,group or movement;thereis no onequite like
her, andonerereadsher novels in the hope of coming a
little closerto their meaningand in the certainty of repeated
pleasure. (Page122)
Her art of fiction is so entirely new andunique that it hasbaffled -
and indeedeventerrified - asmuch asit has fascinatedher
readers. Patrick Parrinder's "Muriel SparkandHer Critics"
(1981), for instance,well representsthe attitude of thosewho
unfortunately flindthemselvesdisliking:
a witty, graceful andhighly intelligent writer who often
fails to provide the emotional satisfactionsandto produce
the sort of intellectual conviction traditionally associated
with novel-reading. (Parrinder75)
He continuesto complain,
Sparkis a genuinelydisturbing writer - onewho disturbs
our deepestconvictions andprejudicesaboutnovel-writing.
(Parrinder75)
but ironically, his complaintsconfirm her successin breakingwith
suchliterary traditions - realist traditions - ashe has in his mind.

11

Sparkindeeddoesnot write for any simple "emotional
satisfactions"and,rather,her writings aim to disturb any
expectationof what novelsought to be.

JosephHynes,the editor of Critical Essayson Muriel Spark
(1992), categorisesSparkcritics into severalcamps,underthe
captions:"Opposition, Loyal and Other" and "The Critical
Mainstream." Their responsesto Spark's radical art arewidely
divergent,though they arein agreementhat they cannotignore
her. TheCambridgeGuide to Women'sWriting in English
(1999),' providing an accountof this critical trendrather than of
Spark's art, remarkson the opposition to "her quirky, lapidary
technique", which hasbeensometimesinterpretednegatively as
fhvolous,,superficial, or trivial; andher "Olympian attitude"
(Moseley 592), which hasbeendeemedcold andharsh. This
quite recentGuide alsotells us that "in her booksthe issueis the
freedomof her characterswithin the world of a godlike novelist'
(Moseley 592). For long time, her critics haveaddressedthis as
"the issue"- the main issue,i,f not the only one- andhave
discussedher fiction in termsof the analoguebetweenGod's
creationandthe novelist's, betweenlife and art. They have
becomestuck in the staticmyth of "a godlike novelist," with her
omniscience,her supremeknowledge of an ending,andher
Catholic faith. It is time to dernythologisethe authorandto
rediscoverMuriel Sparkin a more dynamicpostmodeminterplay
of life and art.

' This referencework was editedby Loma Sage;the contributor of the sectionon
Sparkis Merritt Moseley.

12

"The Spark Myth" Since the 1960s

Spark's 1957debutas a novelist coincidedwith her conversionto
Catholicism,though shehad alreadyby then producedpoems,
short stories,andseveralbiographical and critical works. Her
first novel, TheComforters,2 causedquite a stir, andwas
welcomedby writers suchasEvelyn Waughand GrahamGreene.
It was Frank Kermode who establishedher as"the authorof The
Comforters," settingthe tone for what Hynesthen registeredas
"the critical mainstream"in Critical Essays. In his interview
with Spark,seizingon her statementthat "the plot is the basic
myth," Kermode instantly referredto TheComforters:"This is a
book in which you've got your mytW'(1-1,1963,29). 3 In"The
Novel asJerusalem:Muriel Spark's MandelbaumGate" (1965),
he encapsulatedandgeneralisedher fiction as"novels aboutthe
novel": "the control of the writer's presumptuousprovidence"
(Kermode, 1965,179-80) is what is at issue;the analogous
relation betweenreality andfiction, the divine plot andthe
novelist's, constitutesthe basic structureof her novels- "her
myth." In short, Kermodeidentified the forms of her fiction
with the configuration of destiny- the one and only "myth" -
with new variations.' Although the patternof destinysheevokes

2'Me heroineof this novel is alsoa novelist-to-beand a Catholic convert; she
suffersthe experienceof hearingtyping soundsaccompaniedby voicesthat tell her
real-life story asif shewere a "character" createdby an invisible author.
' As for Spark'sresponse,shefirmly put it down to the fact that shehad written a
novel aboutwriting a novel becauseit had beenher first exploration of this art form;
but for him, her debutnovel was "somethingwhich is very handy to the whole
thscussion"(1-1,1963,29 [my italics]).
' Here is one examplehow lie explainsher fiction from the conclusionto oneof his
essays,"To TheGirls ofSlenderMeans"(1963): "[her novels] assumea reality
unawarethat it concealspatternsof truth. But when an imagination (naturalifier

13

in many different ways is indeedan important component,
especiallyin her early fiction, to take it asher " basicmyth"
comescloseto sayingthat shewrites only onenovel againand
again. Kermode contradictsthis implication by his own
assertionthat "she is always finding new ones[forms]" (Kermode,
1965,179).

Many critics havefollowed Kermode's picture of Sparkas
(canunremittingly Catholic novelist committedto immutable
truth" (Kennode, 1963,174) with her serioussenseof morality
andher profound senseof charity,probably becausethey also
sharehis own immutable,pious view of the world. Despitetheir
constantemphasison the newnessof her art, other critics too have
discussedher forms asnew ideasfor "the myth" - which is, in
fact,,the Kermodemyth7failing to graspSpark's capacityto
generatewholly new structures,andtherebyoverlooking larger
themes. Despitetheir emphaticgestureof distinguishingher
faith from Catholic dogmasand doctrines,they have continuedto
speculateasto wherethe author's compassionor moral senselies,
and do soby philosophising either through what they (mis)take as
an authorialview, or by propoundingtheir own orthodox view of
Catholicism. "The critical mainstream", thus stagnatingin an
old myth, hasnot beenableto resolveits own contradictions,let
alonecontradictionsthis artist dealswith so expertly in her

chrisliana) makesfictions it imposespatterns,andthe patternsare figures of trutlf'
(Kermode, 1963,178). If it werenot that he is alreadytalking about "figures of
truth" in termsof the patternof destiny,he might have known that his abstractwords
hardly elucidatewhat shefamously called "absolutetruth" - truth emergingfrom
her fiction, which sheadmittedis "a pack of lies" (1-1,1963,30) - or the forms of
her fiction.

14

novels.

Ruth Whittaker's TheFaith and Fiction ofMuriel Spark

(1982) hasbeenan influential study in this genre. Whittaker, as

reverentialasKermode,,hasunderlinedthat Spark's religious faith

"is at the heartof her work" and then interpreted" her belief in the

supernaturalasan aspectof reality" (Whittaker 54) asthe

essentialmethodfor uniting her faith andher fictional forms.

The late Alan Bold addedftirther weight to the artist's poetic

vision,,andpaid more attentionto her backgroundratherthan her

faith - her Scottishness,andher literary careerbefore shebecame
a novelist - but without broadeningthe alreadysettledview of her
art. Hyneshasremainedrather too addictedto paraphraseto be

ableto bring his accountof her kind of reality - which he calls
"the real"' - or her "neverthelessprinciple"' into any theoretical
argument. Other "loyal" supporterslike David Lodge andJohn

Updike muddiedthe watersfurther with irrelevant questionsbased
on their own judgments on the differencebetweengood andevil.7

He discussesthis in his book, TheArt ofthe ReakMuriel Spark's Novels (1988).
Sparkexplains,"nevertheless"is the word sheassociates",as the core of a
thought-pattem,with particularly Edinburgh," and finds that "much of my literary
composition is basedon the neverthelessidea7("Edinburgh-bom" 22). Hynes'
interpretationof this principle hardly goesfurther than his idea that sheis "a
'both/and' writer, rather thanan 'either/or' writer" (Hynes, 1992,2) in Introduction
for Critical Essays.
' Lodge expresseshis desireto know "Whether I shouldapproveor disapproveof
Miss Brodie" (Lodge 158)in his "Ilie Usesand Abusesof Omniscience:Method
andMeaning in Muriel Spark's ThePrime ofMissJean Brodie" (1970). Updikein
"Topnotch Witcheries" (1975) is baffled by Spark's attitude towardsher another
tyrannical heroinein TheAbbessofCre)ve (1974): "confusingly, though the author
cannotapproveof the AbbessAlexandra,shedoeslove her, love her asshehasn't
loved a characterin a decade"(Updike 211).

WhenhearingaboutUpdike's doubt asto whethershecould provide "a
convincing portrait of evil" without presenting"a compelling portrait of the good" -
which he thinks her novels lack - Sparkairily put her most famousAmerican
supporterin his place: "I don't know whetherJohnUpdike hasgiven us a

15

In the early 1970s,however,therewere a few studiesthat
did morejustice to Spark's avant-gardefiction: Malcolm
Bradbury's essay"Muriel Spark's Fingernails" (1972) andPeter
Kemp's book Muriel Spark (1974). Bradbury ("a very
intelligent fellow" (1-11,1998,218) accordingto Spark)gives an
impressivetextual analysisof TheDrivers Seat(1970), thoughhe
definesher novels as"novels of ending" (Bradbury 189),under
the apparentinfluence of Kermode. Kemp's polishedlanguage
effectively capturessomeimportant technical aspectsof her
fiction in sharpchapterheadingssuchas"TensePresenf' or
"Future Conditional." They both brought keen observationto
bearon her experimentswith nouveauroman schemesandwith
postmodernhyper-reality - eachin his way - at the time when
appropriateliterary theory and its analytic termshad yet to be
elaborated.

In Kathleen Wheeler'sA Critical Guide to Twentieth-
century WomenNovelists(1997), compiled when the term
"postmodemism" had becomemore prevalent,Sparkis placed
among"Early Post-modemistInnovations, 1944-1975".
Wheelerenthusiasticallydiscusseswomen novelists' significant
contributionsto modem literature, mapping them out, apparently,
againstandrocentricnotions of the canonwhich havebeencalled
into questionalongwith realist traditions. Her sectionon Spark
might havebeenmore faithful to her own mapping, if shehad
developedher picture of postmodemistSparkwith her overt, self-

convincing portrait of the good, mind you; his charactersarejust in andout of bed
all the time" (1-10,1985,452-53).

16

consciousplotting more in line with Patricia Waugh'sreadingof
Spark in Metafiction: TheTheoryand Practice of&ý'-Conscious
Fiction (1984).or the studiesby Kemp andBradbury. Instead,
sadly,the tradition of Sparkcriticism, namely,Kermode andhis
"senseof ending," was still all too alive: Wheelerlinks her own
greatinterestin the elementof power relationsto the analogous
relation betweenfiction andreality in ten-nsof the competition for
authority. Her one-pagedescriptionof the artist (very short,
evenasa summary,and much shorterthan, for instance,her
sectionson Doris Lessingand Iris Murdoch) is useful only insofar
it seemsto confirm that Sparkremainsa puzzle in many literary
mappings.

Sparkestablisheda high-economy,high-style writing
around 1970,andthe changein her fiction was obvious. Since
Bradbury andKemp perceivednot only this changebut also
changesin the world, they could recognisein her new forms the
figure of the world at its own moment of moving and changing-
asopposedto the Kermodeantimelessdivine pattern. Sparkis
not necessarily,not any longer a "godlike novelist" weaving the
patternof destinyout of "truth," "faith," or "imagination." She
is a writer who is firmly rooted in the world shelives in. She
writes aboutthis world wherethings happen,peoplewho come
her way, andherself- who transformsin the interplay between
her life andher art. Shekeepsinventing new forms not only to
representthe world shelives in, but alsoto discussissuesmost
relevantto the hereand now, and in doing so, shetheorisesher art

17

andherself,too.' By theorisingMuriel Spark,we canidentify
her contributionsto both contemporaryliterature and

contemporarytheories.

"Theorising Muriel Spark"

TheorizingMuriel Spark: Gender,Race,Deconstruction,a
collection of "theorised" critical essayseditedby Martin
McQuillan, cameout in 2002. Here,twelve critics undertakethe
long overduemission of readingSpark'sworks through the new,
the most contemporary- andthus the most Sparkian- literary
theory. A few contributorsuseeachof their theoreticalstances
asa startingpoint, andposeworthy questionsto opena way to
"theorize Muriel Spark." EleanorByrne's essayis a careful
study of Spark's post-colonialwriting, of her short storiessetin
Africa. PatriciaDuncker's reading of ThePrime ofMiss Jean
Brodie, sideby sidewith Bronta's Villette,is suggestivewhen she
touchesgeneralaspectsof Spark's fiction-making. Judith Roof s
analysisof Spark's narrativedrive in comparisonwith Marguerite
Duras's is alsoa worthy effort, althoughsheseemsto attachmore
weight to Duras. However,on the whole, TheorizingMuriel
Spark turns out to be disappointing. All too often throughout

' Sparkmakesthis explicit, indeedemphatic,in a lyrical intedection in the courseof
her 1976novel, TheTakeover."But it did not occurto one of thosespirited andin
various ways intelligent peopleround Berto's tablethat a completemutation of our
meansof nourishmenthad alreadycomeinto being where the conceptof moneyand
property were concerned,a completemutation not merely to be defined asa collapse
of the capitalist system,or a global recession,but sucha sea-changein the natureof
reality ascould not havebeenenvisagedby Karl Marx or SigmundFreud. Sucha
mutation that what were assetswereto be liabilities and no armedguardscould be
found and fed sufficient to guardthosearmedguardswho failed to protect die
propertiesthey guarded. . ." (T 91).

18

theseessays,evenwhen they comecloseto important themes-
suchasexcess,doubleness,or Otherness- narrownessand a lack
of flexibility with theory resultsin readingsso formulaic that they
fail to illuminate either theory or Spark's art.

It is two articles (both first appearedin 1968)by Hdl&ne
Cixous, andjustifiably included in this volume, that demonstrate
an open-minded,independentview of Spark's novels. Her
review of ThePublic Image (1968) may be flawed becauseof her
rather too simple interpretationof the heroine's performancein
this novel.9 However,what is impressiveabouther old articles is
that, evenat this early stagein her careeras a critic, sheshoweda
sharpunderstandingof someof the most fascinating qualities of
Spark's fiction. Willy Maley, one contributor from the younger
generation,alsoprovides illumination with his way of "theorizing
Muriel Spark." In "Not to Deconstruct? Righting and
Deferencein Not to Disturb," proposingthat "theory hasin fact
much to learn from Spark" (N4aley171),Maley at oncemakesa
clear statementabouther position in terms of theory- that of
Derrida, whom he specifically follows - and showshow her text
canbe employedto reargueandredefinethe aim of
deconstruction.

The last chapterof the collection provides an interview with

' Calling the heroineAnnabel "an ice-cold little vampire" andregardingher
art - in life as"an art of the hollow" (Cixous;208),
performance- her practiceof heroine's gradualawakening,which emergesfrom
Cixous seemsto overlook this
Spark's subtlehandling of the paradox- not the binary - of her heroine's
"character" and her "public image." Accordingly, Cixous statesthat "blind female
vitality wins a gameagainstmale sensitivity"(Cixous 208), but neveracknowledges
Annabel's liberation in the end. I will discussthe heroine andher art in Chapter

V1.

19

Sparkin which sherefers explicitly to herself asTost-
modernist." Here shegivesher own explanationfor what she
meansby the word:

thereis anotherdimensionwhich is a bit creepy,
supernatural... not supernaturalbut not necessarily
consequential. (1-11,1998,216).'0
This is hardly a clear-cutdefmition of postmodemism,but it
makesclear that sheintroduces"another dimension" -
"supematural"- not only asan aestheticbut alsoasa theoretical
strategy. This "dimension," which perhapscould be understood
asher creativeimagination, flourishes on her solid thematising
andtheorising, in a way that could indeedenlighten contemporary
theoriesand could in turn be enlightenedby them. This thesis
will examinehow Sparkcarrieson her discussionson
contemporaryissues,with relation to, mainly, postmodemist(a.k.a.
post-structuralist)theories,to clarify the artist's own

postmodemism.
As for postmodemismitself - which will become

elaboratedandmutatedin the courseof Spark's career-a useful
starting definition for this now almost indefinablenotion was
given by Jean-FrangoisLyotard in ThePostinodernCondition
(1979):

1definepostinodernasincredulity toward metanarratives.
(Lyotard xxiv)
Thus, thereis no grand narrative, which canlegitimise

" Curiously, Spark's phraseechoesFreud,but McQuillan doesnot pursuethis echo
in his interview. Neil Hertz's "Freud andthe Sandman"(1980) offers some
interestingandrelevantdiscussionon Freud's essay,"The Uncanny" (1919).

20

knowledgeor truth." In this sense,inherlife asmuch asinher
art, Sparkcanbe viewed asan artist who embodiesthe notion of
postmodemwith her hybrid background,which hasbeenoften
referredto. Shewas born of an English mother and a Jewish
father,grew up in PresbyterianEdinburgh andbecamea Catholic
convert, andlived in SouthAfrica, London, andNew York before
shesettledin Italy While all theseareimportant factsthat
constitutewho sheis, noneof them is the final or defming
element:no single grand narrative explainsivho sheis. The
samecanbe saidabout anotherplain fact that sheis a woman.

Spark and Sparkian Women
Being a woman- this is a simple fact to Muriel Spark. It is an
initial andessentialcondition, on which her radical individualism
hasdeveloped. This simple but significant fact hasmore often
than not slipped out of Sparkcriticism. Most of her
"mainstream" critics seemto think laying stresson her peculiar
"faith, " which they distinguish from Catholic dogmasand
doctrines,is enoughto explain her individualism.

This thesisputs a spotlight on a variety of femalecharacters
createdby Spark,alongsidea portrayal of the author as"a woman,
an artist, and an individual." The intention hereis to integrate

,
feminist discussionsemergingfrom her writings - althoughthere

" Certainly,Lyotard's definition cannotsumup postmodernism,which is loyal to its
own creedof multiplicity and indeterminacyandresistsany single, final definition.
Yet, in the pronouncedirreverencetowardsany single narrative,Lyotard is best
tallied with Spark-,whoseconsistentelaborationon the notion of postmodernism
makesher art of fiction oneof thebestexemplarsamongvariouspostmodernist
projects.

21

is often a fairly tenuousrelation betweenSpark andsomestrands
in contemporaryfeminism - into postmodernistdiscussions
aroundthe notion of subject. Sincethe ultimate aim of my study
is to illuminate her individuality andindividualism, it will not add
any respectivelyfeminist reading of her texts to the few past
attempts;thesehaveturnedout to be rathertoo limited and
reductive. For instance,therehasbeenJudy Little, who focuses
on the figure of a spinsterin Spark's fiction, both in Comedyand
the WomenWriter: Pbol(, Spark and Feminism (1983) and
"EndlessDifferent Ways:Muriel Spark'sRe-visions of the
Spinster" (1991); Judy Sproxton's argumentsin The Womenof
Muriel Spark (1992)too areas limited asher equally simplistic
categorisationof Spark's femalecharacters. In contrast,Loma
Sage,perhapsthe critic who graspsSpark's art in her interview
andreviewsbetter than any Spark critic, haswritten little about
her fiction in termsof feminism. In her Womenin theHouseof
Fiction (1992), while discussingwomenwriters - suchasDoris
Lessing andAngela Carter- and openingonto feminist issues
with greatpassion,SagemarginalisedSpark in this discussion,as
if to imply that Spark's way of discussingwomen's problemsis
better called individualism, rather than any kind of feminism.

In this study,I do not deal extensivelywith many of Spark'searly
novels written in the 1960s,nor do I approachher successive
fictions in the chronological order of publication. Instead,to
underlinethe developmentof her changingart of fiction, of her
postmodernism,I focus on her novelswhich exemplify her

22

theorisingvarious contemporaryissues. Therefore,thenovels
selectedhere aremostly her later works, in which shedealswith
thoseissuesmore explicitly in relation to postmodernphenomena.
I return to a few of her early novels- which havebeenmuch more
discussedthan her later novels- to tracethe developmentof her
postmodernismand alsoto reconsiderthem from her
postmodernistperspective. In her earlier fiction andmany of her
short stories,Sparktendsto introduce apparentlysupernatural
elementssuchasthe typing ghostin TheComforters and
mysterioustelephonecalls in MementoMori asdevicesto call
into questionthe reality of the world. Becausetheseelements
often appearasif they were the voice of destiny or disembodied
agentsof the author,the "mainstream" criticism hasemphasised
Sparkasa god-like novelist, has failed to recognisethe
developmentof her fiction, and sohasnot fully discussedher later
works. To changethis dominantview of her fiction, I
concentrateon her later novels. I refer only to a few shortstories
alsobecauseher novels- which consistof many narratives- are
more appropriateexamplesfor her formal experimentsand
innovations.

I begin with the strongclaims shemakesfor the
individuality of the artist andher individual art in the voice of 'T"
I start from her two novels of the 1980s,which most explicitly
consider"life-writing, " to introduce two of her important themes,
the themeof the individual subjectivity andthat of the interplay of
art andlife, strandswhich arealways intertwined togetherin her
fiction, and on which her postmodernismdeveloped,andmake

23

this my springboardto openup the artist's postmodernist
perspective. It is from this perspectivethat it becomesapparent
how shetheorisesherself andher own art, andthroughwhich I
approachthe artist andher works. From this point of view, I re-
examineTheDriver's Seatasthe novel which elucidatesher grasp
of the postmodernc. ondition and demonstratesher postmodernist
narrativeschemes;it is a text which possessesgreatsignificance
not only in her art of fiction but alsoin contemporaryliterature.
The thesisthenpursuesthe themeof individual subjectivity which
Sparksuperblyproblematisesandbrings into questionin this
1970novel andwhich shefurther exploresin her somelater
novels with different emphasesandfocus. To clarify her own
postmodernismemergingfrom both aestheticandphilosophical
principles, I then discussSpark's perfon--nehreroines,who
embodythe idea of the interplay of life and art, in relation to the
interplay of the artist's life andher art. I concludethis study
with an analysisof her latestnovel, in which shetheorisesher
philosophy of life and art in terms of the themeof the end.

The thesisbeginswith attemptsto detachMuriel Spark
from the myth of the authorby examining Spark's own attempts
to detachherself from "the author," or "the name," in various
forms of life-writing, both fictional andnon-fictional. For this
mission, Sparktakesthe issuewith the notion of author- not
unlike Michel Foucault in his theoretic enquiry into "What Is an
Author?" (1969)- and figures her argumentinto her fiction.
Two of her novels in the 1980s- the decadebefore Spark
producedher own non-fictional autobiographyCurriculuni Vitae

24

(1992)- in which her heroinestell their life storiesin the first
person,exemplify the way sheseeksto affirm the individuality of
an artist and a woman- andof her writing - through an
interactionbetweenher self-explorationand her heroine's.
Thesenovels at onceshow her concernwith themesaround

women aswriting subjects,which sheshareswith otherwomen
writers.,and demonstrateher distinct voice,,her unique forms: her
individual art - beyond feminism, for all the importanceof being
a woman.

My first chapterexaminesA Far Cryfrom Kensington
(1988), a fictional memoir of women by a woman, to openup
questionsaboutbeing an artist and a woman by relating the
heroine's transfon-nationto the kind of questionsraisedin Spark's
format: Am Ia woman/victim or a monster/criminal?;If a woman
speakstruth, is that a crime? The analysispresentsthis heroine
asa figure to define the strengthof Sparkianwomen: womenwho
survive, transform and liberatethemselvesfrom the oppressive
alternativesimposedon them.

Chapter11discussesLoitering with Intent (1981), a fictional
autobiographyof a fictional author,alongsideSpark's
autobiographyandbiographical works. In this novel,
transforming her artist-heroine'sstrugglefor authorshipinto the
literal pursuit of hei-icriture (that is, her stolenmanuscripts-a
body of writing), Sparkbrings the discussionaroundthe "author"
andher "work" into what shecalls anotherdimension. Theahn
of this chapteris to elucidateSpark's fictional forms both
aestheticallyandthematically,in relation to the dynamic interplay

25

of art andlife, and therebyilluminate Spark,aswell asher heroine,
as an authorin control in her sense.

ChapterIII provides a reading of TheDrivers Seatasa
postmodernfable, which canwell clarify the postmodern
condition accordingto Spark,aswell asher postmodernist
narrative strategies. Here, a decadebeforeLyotard, the artist
gives her purestdefinition of the postmodern- no matterhow
enigmatic it might have looked decadesago. In this novel as
clearly asin her later novels sheobservesand articulatesthe
influencesof postmodernphenomena- such asthosecriticised by
Guy Debord or JeanBaudrillard - over "individual subjectivity."
Concernedwith individuals who areat a loss to graspthe
changingnatureof reality in the world entering into its
postmodernphase,revealing itsfictionality more than ever,she
makesthis world ffighteningly real with all her postmodernist
schemes. It is evident in this quite early masterpiecethat Spark
relatesthe idea of an authorin control to the notion of an
individual subject,not by making a simple analoguebetweenart
andlife, but by her postmodernistperspectiveon the natureof

reality.
It is also evident in the heroine's figure that Spark's voice

of 'T' asan authorin control doesnot take for grantedher
individuality, or the truth of her words, without questioningthe
problematicnotion of subject. To representall the contradictions
lying betweenreality and fiction, the unidentifiable heroinemoves
aroundunidentified places,driving to the fate of the exile, to her
own death,with her murderousambition of becomingan authorin

26

control - only to get lost in a grey areabetweenthe role of victim
andthat of criminal, in her own plot." The focus on a woman's
failed aggressionaddressesfeminist issues,asalways,highlights
grandnarrativesaspatriarchal discourses,and servesto
deconstructthem. Furthermore,through the figure of the heroine,
Sparkworks out various themesemergingfrom the problematised
notion of subject. Sinceher theorising and thematisingof this
notion anticipatetheorieswhich arenow highly developedaround
the issueof "the subjecf'- notably, amonga new generationof
Lacanianpsychoanalysis- it is especiallyworth contrastingthe
artist's representationswith psychoanalyticalaccounts.

In this analysisof TheDriver's Seat,I will arguethat the
contradictory figure of the heroineis Spark's version of the "death
drive," which indeeddeconstructsFreud's "masterplot" - as
elaboratedby PeterBrooks in Readingfor the Plot: Design and
Intention in Narrative (1984)- ratherthan substantiatingit.
Instead,Sparkcountersanddefiesthe Lacaniannotion of the Real
asthe unfigurable by materialising it in this figure. The

12The heroine's figure asan exile - which I will discussin detail - seemsto be
anotherway to explain what Sparkmeansby describingherself as"a constitutional
exile" ("Edinburgh-bom" 21), for whom the condition of belongingto no place
"ceasesto be a fate; it becomesa calling" (1-10,1985,448). Her heroinetries to
createa grandnarrative out of her own death- which, ironically, meansto createfor
herself no place on earth- whereasthe author,belongingto no place (no grand
narrative), createsa real place out of the world shelives in - whereverit is. This is
to saythat fiction asa createdplaceis not a "utopian" space,an escapefrom the real
world: no place canbe createdwithout living in the world hereandnow.
Interestingly,Sparkappliesthe distinction between"a fate" and"a calling" to the
situation of her artist-heroineof TheAbbessofCreire: to be the Abbessis not her
fate, to makeherself the "Abbess" -her own artwork - is her calling. The author
amusinglyturns her descriptionof the condition of the exile into that of the artist
when the Abbessdeclares,"I move asthe Spirit movesme" (AC 247), asthe Holy
Ghost for Sparkis the namefor her creativeinspiration.

27

heroine's figure is also examinedin relation to a diversity of
feminist issuesas,for instance,discussedby Julia Kristeva.

The following two chapterslook into Spark's later novels,
in eachof which the authorpursuesthe crisis of the "subject'' in
the postmodemworld, with a particular focus on her key theme,
and alsocreatesa female figure in line with the heroineof The
Di-ivet-'sSeat. ChapterIV concentrateson the themeof
Othernessevolving arounda woman who takesthe doublerole of
victim and criminal, a figure asan enigmatic Other,an object of
desire,in Symposium(1990). Settingthe figure of the Other at
the "centre" in the decentredworld, Sparkportrays other
characterstoo asobjectscirculating in their own consumerist
value system- like paintings on the art market. To illustrate the
whole picture of the novel, regardingthe themeof Othernessas its
frame,this sectionputs togetherseeminglyfragmentaryplots
involving variouspaintings.

ChapterV discussesReality and Di-eams(1996) in ten-nsof
the themeof excess,one of Spark's essentialthemes. Her
theorising of "subject" in the postmodernworld convergeson the
excess- evil, violence, desire,Otherness- of a missing girl and
on the excess- from extravaganceto redundancy- detectedin the
postmodernworld. Bringing an empty spacecreatedby this girl,
the Other,andthe world of film industry,of image-making
business,togetherinto the field of vision, the novel explores"the
tract of no-man's land betweendreamsandreality" (RD 160).
By probing contradictionsin the notion of excess,the author
transformsher study of "subjecf' into the "new philosophy of

28

life" (1-11,1998,223) shewishesto offer. I will concludethis
chapterwith an analysisof an Isak Dinesenshort story which
showsin fable form the power of a female artist who wishesto
offer a parallel philosophy,and to changethe world, by figuring
her art asexcess.

Tbrough ChapterVI and ChapterVII, I aim to clarify how
Spark's postmodemismis basedon both her individualism and
her aestheticprinciples in terms of the idea of practicing art in life,
andthus to define Sparkand Sparkianwomen aswomen
inventing themselves- aswhat I would call a "postmodern
subject." Among the variouspractitionersof art in life in her
fiction, both chaptersaddressissuesof performancein three of her
most "theatrical" novels, andfocus on the most "prima donna" of
her heroines:ThePublic Image (1968), ThePrime ofMiss Jean
Brodie (1961), and The,4bbessofCrewe (1974).

ChapterVI introducesthe idea of practicing art in life -
essentialin Spark's view of art - and chartsthe transfon-nationof
the authorandthe evolution of her performerheroinesin the
interplay of her life andher art. To considerher postmodernism,
in which art itself plays a more significant part than its object or
its medium, it is necessaryto return to the artist's radical
manifestoin 1971,"The Desegregationof Art, " and carefully
examinethis essaysideby sidewith her fiction. What is at stake
is to questionthe "originality" of an individual, aswell asof art,
andthis questionhasto be askedby dealingwith various
dichotomousnotions (e.g. authentic/fake,natural/artificial). As
an important andrelevant examplehere,sheupsetsthe dichotomy

29

of "surface" and"depth" - accordingto her own defimitionsof the
words - through her view of art itself assurface.

With her performer heroines,Spark carriesout her
discussionsasto "subjecf' with an emphasison the role of art in
subjectformation, andthus goesfar beyondthe theory of
"performativity" expoundedby Judith Butler in GenderTrouble:
Feminismand the Subversionof1dentity (1990). 1willexplore
Sparktheorisingperformancethrough an analysisof ThePublic
Image, attendingto the paradoxesthat arisebetweenits heroine's
"character" andher "public image." In this analysis,I will
presentthe heroineasa performer figure to form a contrastwith
the othertwo performers,Miss Brodie andAbbessAlexandra.
From this heroine,who isjust at the beginning of inventing
herself, I will then move on a new chapterfor women who are
more advancedin self-invention.

ChapterVII brings both ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie and
TheAbbessof Creweinto the perspectiveof Spark's
postmodernism,by regardingeachof them asits heroine's real-
life drama:Miss Brodie andthe Abbessasartistswho invent
themselvesastheir own - amoral- works of art. In doing so,
this chapterbreaksaway from the moreusual, moralist readings
of thesenovels, on the groundsthat they fail to seehow Spark's
postmodernartworks aim to changeways of seeingthe world,
people,and indeed,art.

Sparkexploresa possibleway to affirm the individual
subjectivity in her heroines' arts, in their excessesa, nd from the
paradoxrepresentedby Miss Brodie to the paradoxesAlexandra

30

presentsto defendherself. With her controversialMiss Brodie
andher Abbess,sheentersthe field of ethics,offering a new logic,
a kind of alternative- suchasJoanCopjec seeksfor in ReadMy
Desire: Lacan against the Historicists (1994) - for the logic of the
superego. As the evolution of Spark'sperformersarrives at
Alexandra the Abbess,this Sparkianwomanwho getsawaywith
eccrime-" that is to say,speakingtruth, meaningwhat shesays-
standsin her own symbolic order,aboveandbeyond feminism,
like her creator.

Endings give grandeurto the narrativesthey finish off
But postmodernismsas a diversity of projectsto questiongrand
narrativesaresuspiciousof attributing grandeurto any narrative.
And Sparkhasexperimentedconsiderablywith endingsand
conclusions. In my final chapter,her latestnovel, TheFinishing
School (2004), is approachedas a meditation on this theme. I
considerit not asa "novel of ending," but asher contemplationon
the notion of endin a form of fiction, a contemplationwhich can
well correspondto Baudrillard's thesisin TheIllusion of theEnd
(1992). Spark's niyth of thenovel- its new form andtheme -is
writing a history of the world hereandnow. It canbe argued
that hereshewrites not only anotherversion of thehistory of the
contemporaryworld, but alsoanotherhistory of her own art.

31

CHAPTER I

REDEEMINGTHE TWE

"My crime had beento call him to his facepisseur de copie."
-A Far Cryfrom Kensington

Telling her life story in a variety of ways in many of her novels,
Muriel Sparkhasengagedin a dialoguewith herself, in a constant
and fundamentalexploration of "Who am IT' and "What is my
art?" 13 Loitering with Intent (1981) wittily exemplifies suchan
exploration, taking the shapeof a fictional autobiographyby a
fictional authorcalled Fleur Talbot and elucidating Spark'sview
of the relationshipbetweenthe author andthe work. In this
autobiographicalmasterpiece,shereturnsto the first-person
narrative- which previously did not satisfy her because"the
narrator can't be everywhereat once" (1-8,1976,11) - for the first
time sinceher secondnovel, Robinson(1958). Sparkwithher
maturity and confidence,no longer hasany problem with "I": the
time is ripe to proceedwith her self-explorationin the voice of
C41.15

In the sameyear of 1981,when Loitering with Intent was
published, Sparkwas amongwriters who respondedto a question
- by curiouscoincidence,quite relevantto her main concernat the
time - posedby TheNew YorkTimesBook Review:which literary

13Answering to a questionwhether sheis consciousof audiencewhen sheis writing,
shesays,"an audience,yes,but peoplelike myself... probably I'm writing for the
original Miss JeanBrodie or somebodylike that. I don't havea preciseideain my
head. It's got to satisfy me though. I talk to myself- it's a dialoguewith myself
]argely" (I- 11,1998,213).

32

compositionwould you like to havewritten?" To this, for

instance,MargaretDrabble listed Antony and Cleopatra, saying,

"There areplenty of evasiveanswersI could have given but why

not comestraight out with the truth?" (NY TimesBook Review,

1981,68). A different truth camefrom Spark: "In fact, I would

not want to havewritten anythingby anyoneelse,becausethey

are 'them,' andI am 'me"' (NY TimesBook Review, 1981,70).

This is a straight answer,which spellsout why any writerwould be

temptedto give someevasiveanswerin the first place. Simply,

there is no othertruth to Spark;shehasno hesitationin claiming

for the uniquenessof her writing - of her self.
SinceSparkaffirms the inseparability of the artist andher

work (here,setting asidethe material existenceshedealswith in

Loitering with Intent), doesit matter who is speaking? It does-
a greatdeal, inA Far Oyfroin Kensington(1988), anotherof

Spark's warm andpoignant autobiographicalnovels. Its heroine,

" Referringto TheBook ofJob amongbooks shehasadmired or beenfascinatedby,
Sparkemphasisedthat shewould not want to havewritten it, but added,"if so,there
arepoints of characterizationandplfflosophy on which I think I could improve' (NY
TimesBook Revieu,,1981,70). This little interview might well haveled Sparkto
produceThe Otily Problem (1984), which is basedon the idea of TheBook ofJob.
Ratheroddly situatedbetweenthe two most affectionatenovels by Spark,TheOnly
Problem is a dry, logical novel with its unlovablemale protagonist- thereis
somethingbarrenabouthis characterdespitehis material affluence. While he
preoccupieshimselfwith his monographon TheBook ofJob, his creatordisplays
her ability to makeher ouii work of TheBook ofJob. Whereassheintroducesthe
missing story of Job's wife layeredby a story of missing wife of the protagonistand
the painting by Georgesde La Tour,Job visili par safeinnie, shesticks to the idea of
the original as shetheorisesit: Job's comfortersare"identified only by name,"
telling him one and die samething; "they really areFascistinterrogatorsandJobjust
rebelsagainstit and throws them ofl" (I- 11,1998,211). Here is alsoSpark's
contemplationon the unfathomablemystery of humansuffering, which resounds
throughA Far Cryfrom Kensington,and which Sparkdiscussedin her essay,"T'he
Mystery of Job's Suffering" (1955): the mysteryJob "had to cometo termswith in
order to gain his peace;somewisdom which combinesheavenlyideaswith earthly
things" ("The Mystery of Job's Suffering" 7).

33

Nancy - who usedto be known asMrs Hawkins - telling her life
story, is not presentedas a professionalwriter like Fleur, but a
competentandreliable editor, aswas her creator." In this
fictional memoir of 1950sKensington,various tales of names
unfold: namesof people,alive and dead,good andbad, famous
and obscure- nameshave a magic, Sparksays.16 Togetherwith
many preciousdetails,namesarelittle keys to reachlost time, lost
people,lost possibilities. What happensasit doesis a far cry
from what was expected,what could havebeen. To Nancy, it is
"a far cry," for which shecarriesout her businessof

remembrance.
In this novel, the heroinetells her life story aroundthe time

of her transformation,taking off her excessweight (by just eating
half) andthe excessbaggageof being "Mrs Hawkins," a war-
widow with a motherly, comfortably bulky figure: shereinvents
herself asNancy. In the last daysof her life as"Mrs Hawkins,"
oneHector Bartlett comesin her way. He is the hanger-onof a
brilliant writer called EmmaLoy. This man who "vomited
literary matter," "urinated andsweated", "excretedit" (FCK 46) -
asNancy forcefully describeshim - continually tries to exploit
her influence asan editor for his futile ambition "to seehis name
in print" (FCK 151). What makesthe matter worse is the

15As is well known, from 1947to 1949,Sparkhadjoined the Poetry Societyand
becameGeneralSecretaryand editor of the Poetry Revieis% And it is FalconPress
for which sheworked in 1951, andof which shesays,"Much of this environment
goesinto my novel,A Ear Cryfroin Kensington" (CV 197).
" At the beginning of her autobiography,Curricithint Vitae(1992), Sparkmentions
key elementsin telling her life story - detailsandnames:"Details fascinateme. I
love to pile up details. '17heycreatean atmosphere. Names,too, havea magic, be
they never so humble" (CV 11).

34

influence of intelligent and attractive,but ruthlessEmma, who is
notjust an "Author," but a big "Name," whosebook anypublisher
cravesfor. Emma,ultimately andinevitably realising her
mistake in picking up the horrible man who styleshimself asan
authority on her life andher art, wantsto pay him off by helping
his writing to be published,to get rid of him onto reliable "Mrs
Hawkins." In the publishing scenewhere "Names" mattermost,
Nancy holds her own work ethics,following "the adviceof St
ThomasAquinas": "rest one'sjudgement on what is said,not by
whom it is said" (FCK 102). Exactly becausesheis true to her
conscience,both professionalandpersonal,shecannotseparate
the man andhis work. "Hector Bartlett" asEmma's "protdgd"
doesnot count; his repulsive writing is what he is, and so she
cannothelp denouncinghim and his work equally. Shecommits
a "crime" nobody expectsfrom "Mrs Hawkins": "My crime had
beento call him to his facepisseur de copie" (FCK 169). She
namesthe name.

For her "crime," Nancy losesherjob, twice, but it is not her,
but WandaPodolakwho becomesthepisseur's victim. InMilly
Sanders'housewhereNancy lives, Wandais one of the tenants,a
Polish dressmaker,"whose capacity for suffering vergedon
rapacity" (FCK 7). Unknown to anybody,Hector carrieson his -
ironically - anonymouswork on Wanda,trying to useher, first, to
approachNancy, andthen,to "punish" her for her "crime" of
calling him pisseur. Wanda'sdownfall is first announcedby a
"long, loud, high-pitched cry" (FCK 29) when shereceivesa letter
warning her abouther incometax from an unidentified

35

"Organiser," who much later turns out to be Hector. Everybody
but Wandaregardsthe letter asa malicious but harmlessjoke.
Hoping to appeaseWanda'sfear by fitiding the identity of this
enemy,Nancy andMilly reluctantly play a Sparkiancastinggame:
who fits the role of "Organiser"? This painful gameof
suspectingmostly good anddecentpeoplebrings them a senseof
guilt, and"Wandabecamealmostherself a culprit in our minds:
shewas guilty of being a victim of the guilty missive lying on
Milly's table, authorunknown.,exudingmalignity all over the
kitchetf'(FCK38). Nancy thinks of Wanda,'Tlainly, shehad
come from a world of bureaucratictyranny infinitely worse than
ours,"' and feels,"she wantedto embracethis suffering; shewas
conditionedto it" (FCK 32). Before sheputs things togetherand
fmds out that sheherself is the link betweenWandaandHector,
Wandajumps into the canal- "Verdict: suicide while of unsound
mind" (FCK 143).

Hector Bartlett isjust asmuch an "Organiser" ashe is
pisseur. He is actually an organiser:a Box-operator of a pseudo-
scientific movementcalled radionics,which claims to cure
ailmentsby working a small black box, in which the hair or the
blood of thosewho areto be curedis placed. Among the
remaindersof Wanda'slife, therearethe Box, grotesque
photographsof WandaandHector with their facesposedon
somebodyelse'sbody, a ridiculous newspaperarticle abouta
dubiousBox-practice by Wandathe dressmaker,and a pieceof
Nancy's hair. The photographsandthe article, certainly, are
fakesmadeby Hector. It becomesapparentto Nancy that

36

"Hector Bartlett had put every sort of pressureon Wanda7;"He

had usedterror, sex,the persuasionsof love, the threatsof

exposureto induceher to work the Box7 (FCK 169)- against
Nancy. Shecould not seethe poor, middle-agedPolish widow as

a woman in love, especiallywith the vain man who hasbeen

hauntingthe publishing scene. Shecould not understandwhy

Wanda,a fervent Catholic, becameso afraid of a priest, the mild

Father Stanislas,and of Nancy herself Wandawas suffering a

senseof guilt, asshewas deludedinto believing in the Box, which

shewas working againsther Catholic faith and againstNancy,

who was actually "wasting" (FCK 127)- to Wanda'seyes-
though Nancy was simply getting thin by her diet. Nancy hasto

acceptthat shecan changenothing by asking if shehad known

more aboutWanda,if shehad got the priest to help Wandain time,

ifshebadnotcalledthemanpisseur...? And, her suicide,is it

Wanda's"crime" or Nancy's "crime"? In her memoirs,however,

Nancy attemptsto settlethe account.

A Far Cryfrom Kensingtonbeginswith the heroine's talk about
her habit of insomnia,whereSpark is clearly paying playful
homageto Proust. Unlike "Marcel," "Mrs Hawkins" is a big,
healthy,motherly woman of twenty-eight:

So greatwas the noise during the day that I usedto lie
awakeat night listening to the silence. Eventually, I fell
asleepcontented,filled with soundlessnessb,ut while I was
awakeI enjoyedthe experienceof darkness,thought,
memory,sweetanticipations 1heardthe silence. It was

37

in thosedaysof the early 'fifties of this century that 1
formed the habit of insomnia. (FCK 5)
Later in the novel, Proust'snameis mentionedin a little
conversationbetweenthe heroine and a would-be-authorwhose
bulky book shehasto reject. On her adviceto write about
"something in particular," this young man, startingto discuss
famousbooks andtripping her up on her own remark on Proust's
work, claims that his book is also "about everything in particular"
(FCK 84). "But it isn't Prousf' is her reply, to which he retorts,
"So you're looking for anotherProust?... Oneisn't enough?"
(FCK 84). While the sceneconveysthe good-naturededitor's
sympatheticair towardsthe beautiful young man, despitehis
distortedargument,it alsomakesit clear that Sparkherself does
not try or needto be "anotherProust." Having formed her own
notion of the fundamentalidea shefound in Proust.,Sparkknows
that shehasher way to handleit. In her essay,"My Conversion"
(1961), shestates,"I alwaysthink of ideasasfree currency. I
only claim the credit for what I do with my ideas" ("MC" 28).
The very important idea Sparkshareswith Proustis "to
redeemthe time": "I think that the set-upof my writing is
probablyjust ajustification of the time I wasteddoing something
else. And it is an attemptto redeemthe time"; "It wouldn't be
wastedif I had my way" (1-1,1963,29), shetold Frank Kermode.
Shelucidly explainsthe ideaof time in her article on Proustin
1953:

Proustin many ways anticipateda revisednotion of
Time which is still in processof formulation. He regarded

38

Time subjectively,andrealisedthat the whole of eternity is
present"now." Of the spanof his life recollectedin its
eternalaspect,Proustwrites "I had at every momentto keep
it attachedto myself... I could not move without taking
it with me." Proustfixes in our minds that when we use
words like "forever," "eternal," phraseslike "everlasting
life," "world without end," we refer to an existencehere
andnow, to which we cannotnormally approximate.
("RA" 1)

In A Far Cryfrom Kensington,Sparkbrings "the eternalaspect'
of life, that is, the essenceof being, at oncethe pastandthe
presentinto a new form, by an act of remembrance- to redeem
the time.

Spark,with her unfailing graspof contradictionsin ideas,in
peopleandthings (or rather,their representations),calls her Proust
essay"The Religion of anAgnostic." In Proust,sherecognises
"the insight of a gifted religious andthe fidelity of one devotedto
a spiritual cause", but without "the two attributesindispensablein
a religious writer, amoral senseand a faith" ("RA"l). She
identifies Proust'sreaderswith "intelligent aspiring souls
[embracedin the irreligious milieu of modem Europe] who are
neverthelesslooking for a 'religion' which offers all things
beautiful and demandsnothing practical" ("RA" 1). For Spark,
this "religion" doesnot contradicther own moral senseandher
own faith. However, asshewrites, "An involuntary act of
remembrance,to Proust,is a suggestiveshadowof what a
voluntary act of remembranceis to a Christian" ("RA" 1), her

39

own faith is one of important factorsthat makeher a very
different writer from Proust,or any other. (And perhaps,it also
makesher a happierpersonthan Proust). The heroineof A Far
Cryftom Kensington,endowedwith the moral senseandthe faith
of her creator(thoughthis doesnot makeher a "Catholic
character"any more than it makesSparka "Catholic writer"),
weavesher memorieswithout any traceof copying Proust's
memoireinvolontaire. The point is that Sparktoo hasdevoted
herself to offering everythingbeautiful, regardlessof its use:
capturingthe essenceof things- excessin its purestform - in her
art, which is excessin itself But then, sheknows well that
"excess"hasits reverseside,"waste."

In A Far Cryftom Kensington,Nancy meetsMrs Hawkins
during her insomnia,in a dark, silent time of night, in which the
pastandthe presentresidetogether,asshefills it with her life
recollected. Shelistens to her memories,listensto "a far cry
from that Kensingtonof the past,that Old Brompton Road,that
Brompton Road,that Brompton Oratory,a far cry" (FCK 6)."
Shebeginsto realisehow shewas constructedasthe remarkably
reliable "Mrs Hawkins" - aseverybodycalls her, dependingon
her andheapingtheir problemson her. The old name,Mrs
Hawkins, hasbeenthe residueof her brief marriage,of the already
lost possibility in her life - an excessbaggage,a waste.

A key moment of the heroine's transformationtakesone

" Sparkrepeatsagainand againthat her memoriesand her imagination are aural,
ratherthan visual, in her Note to Voicesat Play (1961), in Loitering ivith Intent (as
Fleur's remark), andin her interview. Shetold SaraFrankel, "I think it's more true
of poets. All poetshearinner voices- words, sentences- ratherthan seeing
visualized scenes"(1-10,1985,450).

40

strangechapter,accompaniedby a suddenand entire changein
tone. Here, her growing senseof not being herself underthe
nameof Mrs Hawkins sendsher on an uncharacteristically
depressedtour of London, which makesher feel "like Lucy
Snowein Villette" (FCK 113)at her somewhatsurreal,solitary
walk amongthe festival crowds in Brussels.18 London suddenly
presentsitself with a camivalesquedefamiliarisationto her eyes,
andto her ears:

Therewas no suchhectic celebrationin soberLondon
but I experienceda throb and a choking of hysteriain the
London voices aroundme and in the bland andpasty,the
long and dour,the pretty andpaintedfacesof the people.
I was temptedto reflect that my diet had the sameeffect as
a drug, but I put the thought from me. I thought aboutmy
life asMrs Hawkins and cameto no conclusionwhatsoever.
"Good evening,Mrs Hawkins," said our next-door
neighbour'snew wife ... (FCK 114)
Sheremembersthe experiencein tenns of "one of the strangest'
(FCK 112)periodsin her life - the period when "Mrs Hawkins"
cameto appearasa strangerto herself. It is little wonder that
shereachedno conclusionabouther life asMrs Hawkins.
The sceneof the heroinewandering in London slips further
back in 1944,the memory of her married life with Tom Hawkins.

" Tlat anotherfictional heroineis cited hereis important. As Spark's heroine
contemplatesand tries to graspher life, the experienceof "Lucy Snowe," ratherthan
that of an actualperson,naturally comesto her mind in comparisonwith her own
state. This kind of mentalpractice,though it is insertedvery casuallyin the novel,
is relevantto the author's view of art, the role of art in life, which I will discussin
ChapterV1, focusing on "The Desegregationof Art."

41

Nancy met him in July, married him in August; shewas only
eighteen,simply in love with the man. They barely lived
together,asit was in time of war, andhe was a parachutistthough
he was to be a fan-nerwhen the war was over. In September,at
the last andonly time they saw eachother sincetheir wedding, he
got drunk, wreckedthe placethey stayedin, injured her, swearing
andshouting,andwent back to his camp. All shecould do was
to settlethe bill for the damage. Six dayslater he was killed in
Holland, and severalmore dayslater, shegot his last letter which
did not at all refer to his violent act: "It was a love letter" (FCK
118). Sheguessedthat he was "AWOL" andthought, "What a
fool he had been... to join the parachuters"(FCK 116). Despite
her unsentimentaltone, thereis a pain in this memory,in her
realisationof an obviousbut shockingtruth: how little they knew
abouteachother. Shecanonly acceptthat shewill neverknow
abouthim, what lay in his outburst,what he was thinking, what
kind of life shewould havehad if he had lived, andhe neverknew
abouther- he was dead.

Awakening from this memory of the lost, however,Nancy
emergeswith a full awarenessof her new self, with her new good
shape. Although shehad not only a goodheartbut alsoa good
mind asMrs Hawkins, shegrows into a new self-knowledge,a
new maturity. At the sametime, sheis rejuvenated,startingher
life afreshand looking ten yearsyounger(meaningthat "ý&s
Hawkins" looked ten yearsolder than shewas). This symbolic
effect of her act of remembrance(madevisible, of course,by the
factual effect of her diet), interestingly,correspondswith what

42

Walter Benjamin detectsin time woven by Proust. In "The
Image of Proust'(1929), '9 Benjamin speaksof Proust'sthemeof
eternity revealedin "convoluted time":

When the pastis reflected in the dewy fresh "instant," a
painful shock of rejuvenationpulls it togetheroncemore ...
Prousthasbrought off the tremendousfeat of letting the
whole world ageby a lifetime in an instant. But this very
concentrationin which things that normally just fade and
slumberconsumethemselvesin a flash is called
rejuvenation. A la RechercheA tempsperdu is the
constantattemptto chargean entire lifetime with the utmost
awareness. Proust'smethodis actualization,not reflection.
(Benjamin 206-207)20

Certainly, asNancy is no "Marcel," there seemsto be little
resemblancebetweeninstinctively evokedmomentsof
recollection in Proustand Spark's heroine's primarily intellectual
processof remembering. Nonetheless,Spark in her way seizes
the moment at which the eternalaspectof life is revealed,and
which is exemplified in the heroine's reflection on her life asMrs
Hawkins, which hasled to the actualisationof her life asNancy -
not without Benjamin's "painful shockof rejuvenation."

It would alsobe worthwhile to note Benjamin's remark on

" All referencesto Benjamin's essaysin this thesisaretaken from the Pimlico
edition (1990) of Illuminations (1970).
" For this analysis,Benjamin cites from the scenein which Proust ["Marcel']
"roarnsaboutthe Combray areafor the last time and discoversthe intertwining of
the roads. In a trice the landscapejumpsaboutlike a child. 'Ah! que le mondeest
grandiz la clarli desIamps!Attxyeux du somenir que le mondeeslpelifl' [Oh, how
large the world is in the brightnessof the lamps. How small the world is in the
eyesof recollection.]" (Benjamin 206-207).

43

Proust's "radical attempt at self-absorption"with "a loneliness" at
its centre:"the overloud andinconceivably hollow chatterwhich
comesroaring out of Proust'snovel is the soundof society

plunging down into the abyss of this loneliness" (Benjamin 207).
In the strange chapter, Spark's heroine, neither the widely admired
"Mrs Hawkins" nor the spirited Nancy, is a solitary "I" who has
no external relation, listening to "the silence with my outward cars
and to a crowding-in of voices with my inward ear" (FCK 112).
She shuts away the London faces and the London voices that
suddenly look and sound altogether unreal, as well as voices
chanting "Mrs Hawkins, " into the silence. Isolating herself from
all familiar surroundings, sinking into her memory, into voices
from the past, she is absorbed in her essential being. At this time
of exploration, her solitude is underlined by the absenceof her
landlady and most dearly loved fiiend, Mill Y.21 "Milly Sanders
was away" (FCK 112) - the fact is simply recorded, but twice, at
the beginning of the chapter, and one page later again.

To signify both her rejuvenationandher maturity, the love
of her life, William Todd, entersinto Nancy's life. Here, in
contrastwith her teenagelove, the conceptof love is revisedasa
particular kind of knowledge,insteadof blindnesS2. 2 To Nancy,

" Among all peoplearoundher,known and unknown, Sparktells a lot aboutTiny
Lazzari, in whosehouseshehad lodged for yearssincethe mid-I 950s- Tiny's own
letter too is reproduced- at the end of her autobiography. Of this friend - who is
apparentlythe original Milly - Sparksays,"I could never fully depict Tiny Lazzari.
But I have doneso partially in my novel A Rar Cryfroin Kensington" (CV 213).
Here is an indication that her fictional memoir could come closerto the truth of Tiny
thanher autobiography,which necessarilyconsistsof literal truth, could do.
' In her essay,"On Love" (1984), Sparkwrites: "It is said love is blind. I don't
agree. I think that, on the contrary,love sharpensthe perceptions. The lovers see
especiallyclearly,but often irrationally; they like what they perceiveevenif, in

44

while Milly is a touchstoneof reality and of her faith, William
becomesa touchstoneof her intellect. He sharpensnot only her
awarenessof being Nancy asits constantexternalreminder,but
alsoher perceptionof peoplein love. As sheconfessesI, was
anxiousto impressWilliam with my reasonabilityand
intelligence" (FCK 152),thesetwo qualities, aboveall, arehis
goodness- "he was tough; but he was alsotough on himself'
(FCK 184)- and,in a way, his uncompromisingintelligence is
what he represents. For this reason,it seemsto be necessaryfor
his character- almosttoo perfect a match for Nancy - to be
functional, to a degree. Nancy, in her dialoguewith herself,
occasionallyappropriateshis voice to questionherself, testingher
reasonabilityand intelligenceby his. Yet, William is neither a
meretype nor a merepersonifiedidea: a sceneof Nancy in her
party dressand William in his pyjamasdancingon a moonlit night
is charming;her telling fairy storiesto him, whose childhood was
lost in his "sub-poof" (FCK 177)background,is warmly done.

Eventually,Nancy marriesWilliam, but "Mrs Todd" never
a,r.ppears2.3 Besides,in the first place, it is William who induces
her to decideto be calledNancy, to make it a public
pronouncementof her transformation,ashe asksher:

"By the way, were you christened'Mrs Hawkins," Mrs
Hawkins?"

anyoneelse,they wouldn't. They seethe reality and somethingextra" ("On Love"
781). Here shealsorefers to Proustas"one of the greatestwriters on the subjectof
love" ("On Love" 781), taking up Swann'sperceptionof Odetteasan example.
' Another casuallyinsertedtale of nameis that Nancy's good girlfriend, Abigail de
Mordell Staines-Knight,getsrid of this ridiculous name,this misfortune, by happily
marrying Mr Giles Wilson and becomingAbigail Wilson.

45

"No," I said, "I was christenedAgnes. But I'm
calledNancy." (FCK 129)

Taking this as a cue, shebecomes resolute in stepping out of her
old role, "Mrs Hawkins, " and reinvents herself asNancy.24 It is
not that the change of names completes her transform ation; it is
by her transformation, by her choice, that a name changes from an

arbitrary sign or a social code to the sign symbolising a woman as
she is. Although good and honest, unpretentious Mrs Hawkins -
perhaps, the most naturalperforinei- of Sparkian heroines - has
not consciously played her role, it has become like a situation in
which she has taken on too much weight of other people's
expectations - like putting on weight. The situation of "Mrs
Hawkins, " as a matter of fact, is a typical, traditional one for
women,, where they are expected to show wifely docility, maternal
responsibility and affection. Among all Spark's novels, A Far
Oyfrom Kensington most poignantly concentrates on women's
life stories. Where the contemporary woman's fictional memoir
pursues women's issues, the subtle echoes of Proust's recherche

recede.

As usual,without underminingher fundamental
individualism, Sparkintroducesstrong feminist discussionsinto
this novel. For instance.N, ancy's transfonnation- to which the

" We might find a spell in this name,Nancy, which "may haveoriginally evolved
from a medieval form of Agnes"
from "the Greekword, hagnos," - Spark's heroine's Christian name- that comes
meaning"pure," "chaste"(Breuvr's Diclionary of
Natnes9). "Nancy" is alsothe namethat cameto be adoptedasa diminutive of
Ann, which hasthe meaningof "grace"(if we recall the sacramentalview according
to Spark:"the ideathat the visible world is an active economyof outward signs
embodyingeachan inward grace" ("RA" 1)).

46

body matters,aswell asthe name- can well supportToril Moi's
enthusiasticandtenaciousargumentin WhatIs a Woman?And
Other Essays(1999). Examining the history of feminist theory
comprehensively,Moi confirms her stanceagainstbiological
determinism,criticisesthe deconstructionisterror of equatingsex
andgender(Judith Butler, aboveall), andreturnsto Simonede
Beauvoir. To make a casefor de Beauvoir's "feminism of
freedom" in Part I of her book, Moi takesnotice of deBeauvoir's
claim that the body is a situation. Denouncingsomecritics'
facile interpretationof this claim as"the body is a social
construction," sheemphasisesthat "Beauvoir's understandingof
situation includesthe freedomof the subjecf' (Moi 67), andgoes
on to redefine deBeauvoir's conceptof body by linking it to
Merleau-Ponty's:

"The body is to be compared,not to a physical object,,
but ratherto a work of art," Merleau-Pontywrites
(Phenomenology150). Perceivedaspart of lived
experience,the body is a style of being, an intonation, a
specific way of being presentin the world, but it doesnot
for that reasonceaseto be an object with its own specific
physical properties. Consideredasa situation, the body
encompassesboth the objective andthe subjectiveaspects
of experience. To Merleau-PontyandBeauvoir, the body
is our perspectiveon the world, and at the sametime that
body is engagedin a dialectical interaction with its
surroundings,that is to saywith all the other situationsin
which the body is placed. The way we experience- live -

47

our bodiesis shapedby this interaction. (Moi 68)
Sparkwould agreewith "the freedom of the subjecf'
inherentin thoseconceptsof Merleau-Ponty andof de Beauvoir.
Their conceptsascited anddescribedabovemay remind us of
Spark's ideaof practicing art in life, of inventing oneselfasone's
own work of art (which goesmuch further than an analogy
betweenan artwork andbody).25 It seemsthat the body - in
terms of an embodimentof one's subjectivity - mattersto Spark
and de Beauvoir in a similar way. They also sharea similar
attitudetowardssexualdifferences,asMoi states,"Beauvoir does
not believe that sexualdifferencesalways and everywherematter
more than other situations:shedoesnot have a pervasivepicture
of sex" (Moi 68). Wherewomen's victimised situationsare
concerned,the two intelligent, independentwomen may aswell
sharea similar attitudetowards otherwomen, in essenceb, ut not

altogether.
In "Intentions andEffects: Rhetoric and Identification in

SimonedeBeauvoir's 'The WomanDestroyed"' (1988), an essay
containedin WhatIs a Woman?,M, oi analysesthe contradiction
betweende Beauvoir's thematic intention and the effect of the
story written in a form of its heroine's diary. The heroineof
"The WomanDestroyed" (1967) is ajealous woman in love, who
is "victiMised by her own delusions,perverselyrefusing freedom
andresponsibility in the faceof reasoif' (Moi 451-52), and so
condemnedby her creator. Although deBeauvoir contrivesthe

'I will return to this radical idea Sparkexpressedin her 1971lecture,"T'he
Desegregationof Art," in ChapterVI.

48

plot of the story to leadher readersto this condemnation,dueto
the diary form, the readersidentify themselveswith the "I" of the
heroine,who in no way reflects the author. The concernhereis
not this contradiction,,but that de Beauvoir condemnsher heroine
for "her principal crime: that of not being the bearerof knowledge
andtruth; that of not being an intellectual" (Moi 468).

In Spark's fiction, obviously, the authorhasno sympathy
for women who ridiculously and determinedlytry to dependon
andpossessmen. As if shecould not eventake them seriously
enoughto condemn,shehassomefun in naming them "English
Roses"andleavesthem alone. As for the themeofjealousy, her
approachis very different from the French,and it interestsher
most when it isjealousy over a work of art, rather than over a man
or a woman.26 However, shedealswith women taking the role
of victim - to the extentthat they take their lives - with her
penetratinginsight into this harrowing condition, into this

" Sparkcreatesthe type called "T'lle English Rose" in Loitering with Intent. The

themeofjealousy, which canbe largely interpretedasa male ambition for literary

successin her fiction, is most apparentin TheFinishing School. Itisjealousmen,

ratherthan women, who appearalsoin Spark's autobiography. One of her

boyfriends, Howard Sergeantwas not only extremelyjealous of her othermen
friends, but also so vain that "he hadput on the letterheadhis namein enormous

type" on his writing paper- to her horror: ...Lettersafter his name' were evidently
his idea of glory" (CV 183). And obviously, Derek Stanford entersinto someof

Spark's creations:Leslie, Fleur's boyffiend, who isjealous of her artistic talent, in

Loitering with Intent; Hector Bartlett, a hanger-on(a.k.a.pisseur de copie) of a
brilliant womanwriter in A Far Cryfroin Kensington. To post-SergeanSt park-,

Stanfordat first looked refreshing,for he had no men-womenjealousy,but thenhe

cameto resenther successasa novelist so much that he had a nervousbreakdown;
the mere sight of her madehim ill. He later sold her love lettersto a dealer,who

was to approachher to buy them back- which shedid not do, for shefound no
reasontodoso. What infuriated her was his "shaky 'memoirs"' (CV211) of her,
aboutwhich shealsotold in an interview: "he doesn't know anything very much

tahbaotuntombeod..y. So I had a little affair with him, wmheamt odiorse"s]h" e(1w-a1n0t,?19..8. 5,4I4d8o). hope
takesmuch notice [of his "shaky

49