POSTMODERNISM MURIEL SPARK

Ramsay (philosopher-theorist) and Lily (artist-practitioner)
around Mrs. Ramsay (text)" (Spivak 30). She discussesLily's
project in terms of "copula"; the metaphor is appropriate in two
ways: "the axle of ideal language" and "a sexual charge" (Spivak
31). To analyse how Lily tries to grasp the truth of text - Mrs
Ramsay's subjectivity, in other words - Spivak proposes "a
grammatical allegory of the structure of the book: Subject (Mrs.
Ramsay) -copula -Predicate (painting)" (Spivak 30). Forone
more equation, she traces biographical facts to find another source
of Lily's character in Woolf's sister, the painter VanessaBell:
"Lily, as she is conceived, could thus be both artist (Virginia) and
material (Vanessa), an attempted copula ("the artist is her worle')
that must forever be broken in order that the artist survive"
(Spivak 40).47 In Spivak's grammatical allegory, this copula,
attempted and broken, is "the language of madness" (Spivak 31),
corresponding to "Time Passes", Part 11of the novel, and also the
time of the author's severe breakdown.

For the other fonn of copula,Spivak looks into Lily's
sexuality. Shewondersif Lily asan artist is androgynous
(Woolf's own aspirationtowards"artificially fulfilled copula"),
self-sufficient, andhas"no usefor men" (Spivak 42). Then she
makesher point that, in fact, Lily "makesuse of them''(Spivak
41) especiallyin relation to Mr Ramsay,who is "the tool for the
articulization of her self-representation:a sort of shuttling
instrumentalcopula7(' Spivak 43). Here sheappliesthe Freudian

" Spivak, here,suggests"erotic textuality" in Woolf s fascinationwith her sister,
too. Shepresumesthe author's possibleview of Vanessaasher ideal "other."

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paradigm,a woman's wish to sleepwith her father to make a baby,
to the relationship- "rivalry andpartnership" (Spivak 31)-
betweenLily andMYRamsay- but, the baby sheis to produceis
the mother:Mrs Ramsay. To conclude,shetries to promote "a
thematicsof womb-envy," the womb as"a place of production,"
for Lily's art in the novel is "an attemptto articulate,by using a
man asan instrument,a woman's vision of a woman" (Spivak 45).
Thus, sheattemptsto presenta possibility of the methodof a
woman artist by aptly using the Freudianconceptwith a twist.
As for Woolf herself,Freud's influence on her is undeniableto the
extentthat we caneasily fmd the Freudianimagery in Tothe
Lighthouse- and,asis well known, Freud was publishedby her
own Hogarth Press.

Comparedwith Woolf s woman artist, Spark's heroinedoes
not seemto haveany use for men or makeuseof them topractice
her art. Sparkdoesnot hold the ideasthat well fit in Spivak's
metaphorof copula,nor is sheinterestedin such an idea as
androgynyherself. Here, it shouldbe noted that shemakesa
remarkablecommenton Emily Bronta's vision of the absolute
unity betweena man and a woman: her point is that sucha vision,
in Emily's case,was a product of sexlesspassion." Calling her
"a passionatecelibate," Sparkcomments,"To a post-Freudianage,
it is difficult to convey,without giving rise to scepticism,the
natureof the type of celibateit is suggestedEmily was, in the

" Interestingly,Sparkalso observesthat "In an earlier age,Emily Bronta would
most possibly havethrived in a convent" without failing to add, "Charlotte
comparesher to a nun" (EB 262), andher own heroinewho "lays out the plot of her
own life, " Alexandrathe Abbess,doesthrive in her convent.

101

context of the term 'passion' which rightly adheresto her name"
(EB 260). Nonetheless,Sparkthinks that it is possiblewith one
who hasa specialcalling, a vocation.

Spark's artist-heroine,Fleur, is by no meansa celibate,but
shehasher vocation. Fleur muses,"That I was a woman and
living in the twentieth centurywere plain facts. That I was an
artist was a conviction so strongthat I never thought of doubting
it" (LI 22). For her,being an artist is - almost- no lessa plain
and inseparablefact of her whole being than being a womanis.
Spark displaysthe natureof her vocation andher radical
individualism in the contrastbetweenFleur's love for her books-
first, WarrenderChase,andthen,411Souls'Day - andher
relationshipswith her fading lover, Leslie, andwith her present
boyfriend, Wally. The shift of her preoccupationwith her
writing, from the first novel to the second,roughly coincideswith
the transition of her affairs with men, from Leslie to Wally.
Spark arrangesthe two casesof Fleur's parallel affairs to show
that the book andthe man areneither complementarynor
interdependentelementsin her life. If seeinga book to write and
a man to meet astwo alternatives,it is, more or less,a matterof
how much time shecan spendon them. In this competition,then,
it is madeclear that her vocation comesfirst. Moreover, writing,
this fundamentalactivity of the artist's life, by nature,prevails
over all experience,including writing experienceitself, whereasa
love affair with a man is a part of the whole preciousexperience.

Fleur's doubleaffair with the book and the man, in fact,
entersinto her story in a very peculiar way. As Sir Quentin and

102

his secthave left for his "property" (LI 105) in Northumberland,
sheis free andhasa weekendwith Wally at his cottageat Marlow.
The motif of this weekendis the irony of situation: "It is astrue as
any of the copy-bookmaxims, that love is by natureunforeseen"
(LI 129). To Wally's embarrassmentw, hat they find in his
cottageis "the evidenceof a previousweek-endfor two" (LI 128),
for his cleaninglady failed to come. On the onehand,their
much expectedholiday turns into an unexpectedscenario. On
the other hand,the evidencedisplayedbefore them is undeniably
reality, but presentsan almostfictional scene"as if by a
competentstage-manage"r,"overdone from the point of view of
scenicproductioif ' (LI 129). For Fleur's part, she"didn't mind
becausethe situation itself was a lively one" and shedoes"dearly
love a turn of events"(LI 128).

However,Fleur meetsanotherobstacleto this weekend;the
love affair, which hasbeenalmost over,preys on her mind - not
with Lesfie,,but with Warrender. As her thought restson the
opening sceneof her novel, a further irony follows to magnify the
fictionality of reality. It turns out that Sir Quentin endsup in the
samefate asWarrender'son the sameday when Fleur is with
Wally, thinking of the very scene,in which Warrenderis killed in
a car crash- onepageto reproducethis sceneis insertedin her
weekendwith Wally. The coincidence,the meetingpoint
betweenthe literal truth andthe symbolic truth emergingfrom her
fiction, indicatesa kind of double-sightednessof the artist. Fleur
observesthe detailsof the weekendsituation with "a myopic
airiness"to be a material for her fiction while sheis "not there"

103

(LI 129) asher mind's eyeis away on her fiction, which is
becomingreality. The interplay of art and life inside her is on

stage.
Fleur succeedsin getting Warrenderout of her mind only

by telling Wally abouther new novel, which seemsto interesthim.
In this regard,her book andWally sit easily togetherin her mind.
Sheconfesses,in bed with Wally, "Anxious not to be abstracted
and 'not there' with Wally, my mind was now only too
deliberatelyconcentratedon the actuality of the occasion", and
"poor Wally" finally hasto say,"I'm afraid I've had too much
beer"(LI131). This is not to suggesther sexlessness. It
merely provesthat shedoesnot needa man to provide a sexual
chargeto produceher work of art.

In her intuitive practice to capturethe essenceof a person,

Fleur reflects, CCiIst strange how one knows one's ftiends more
clearly as one seesthem imaginatively in various situations" (LI
99). When Wally goes to check what has happened to his
cleaning lady, she applies her mind's eye to her more general view
of him: "I was now so far away in my thoughts that I could only
note in his absencethat I had a soft spot for Wally, anyway" (LI
129). The lovemaking of "poor Wally" is just one actual
situation. But then, a love affair with a man - essentially
different from that with her book - might be situational in general
for her. This is clear in her past affair with Leslie, who is likened
to the Cornish pasties she eats with Gray Mauser in one refreshing
evening - two diced cubes of steak in hers, only one in Gray's:

And this I find most curious: looking back on it, the idea of

104

that Cornishpasty,day old asit was, is to me revolting but
at the time it was delicious; and so I ask,what did I seein
that lard-ladenCornishpasty?- in much the sameway asI
might wonder,now, whateverwas the attraction of a man
like Leslie? (LI 67)

Still, Fleur may well say,"Wally was a love" (LI 100),compared
with Leslie, who is a critic andwriter himself, self-centredand, as
Edwina onceobservesj,ealous of Fleur for her artistic talent.

Fleur canbe in love both with her book and a man, but she
cannothavea possessiverelationshipwith a man, becauseher
vocation requiresher independenceandbecausesheis an
independentwoman. Shedespisesthe type shenames"English
Rose" suchasDottie andBeryl Tims for their characteristic
vulgarity, which is deeplyrelatedto their possessivenesasndthe
lack of independentmind, especiallyin their relationshipswith
men. Sheis usedto Dottie's self-righteousnessandmaterial
scruples,and is almost fascinatedby Beryl Tims' visible greed
and stupid attemptsto provoke Sir Quentin sexually. Shehasno
sympathywith them: Beryl Tims is simply horrible and absurd;
Dottie, the lesserEnglish Rose,degradesherself more andmore
by offering her life to get hold of a man, her property. "English
Rose," the nameFleur gives them is a harshmockery of these
women who call this role they aretaking a woman, andthe
characteristicsof their type womanly.

While Fleur's intellect is apparent,her warmestemotion
residesin her genuinefiiendships with Lady Edwina andwith
Solly, her unforgettableffiends who arenow gone. Shereports

105

that Edwina died at the ageof ninety-eight:
But it is Solly MendelsohnI mourn for. Solly,

clumping andlimping over HampsteadHeathwith his large
night-paleface. Oh Solly, my friend, my friend. (LI 139)
Thesefew lines tangiblv evokeFleur's sincereand deepfeeling
for Solly. Fleur asan undoubtedlygenuineartist characteris a
rare examplein Spark's fiction, but evenrarer is Solly, a male
characterwho is grantedsuchgreatadmiration- "he was a poet,
anda real one" (LI 104). The token of their friendship is some
of Solly's bookshe sentto Fleur during his last illness.,and among
thosebooks are"a rare edition of JohnHenry Newman'sApologia
pro VitaSua" and"a green-and-gold-boundedition, in Italian, of
my [Fleur's] belovedBenvenutoCellini's La Vita" (LI 53). This
friendship betweentwo equally independent,individual artists,
regardlessof their sexes,must be Spark's ideal - if thereis one.

Loitering ivith Intent is the extraordinaryfictional version of
Spark's life story,the original reconstructionof the essenceof the
artist's life. The structure,in which Fleur tells her life story by
looking back at the experiencein past,is an effective andnot
unusualoperationfor an objectifying distance- not only between
her life andher art, but alsobetweenthe heroine andher creator,
who aremadevisibly closeby the first-personnarrative.
However, this operationbetweenthe presentFleur andher
younger self hasa greatersignificancethan a simple, temporal
device for objectification. Sparkseesto it that the framework,
which mediatesFleur as an establishedauthor andFleur asa yet

106

unrecognisedartist on the specialday of the middle of the
twentieth century,predictsthe themeof the author. Fleur's story
of her experienceis at oncean attemptto redeemthe time lost in
doing anythingbut writing, which is her vocation, and an attempt
to restoreher self asa living, individual artist, to explain her being
beyondher well-known name. Fleur seeksto establishher
individuality by writing her life story,which is a story abouther
experienceof surviving in a chasebetweenlife andwriting: the
author survives,,both literally and symbolically.

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CHAPTER III

LOST IN A DRIVE

'I'm going to have the time of my life."
- TheDrivers Seat

"A Postmodern Fable"
TheDriver's Seat(1970) is Muriel Spark's favourite amongher
own novels. The authorcommentsin an interview in 1998:

1think it's the bestwritten and constructed,it's the most
interesting. It's got interestingcharacters. All the
charactershave something;thereareno subsidiary
nonentities. There's always somethingaboutthem one
way or another. I think it's probably my bestnovel to date
andit's the creepiest. (1-11,1998,229)
Interviewed in 1970,the year of its publication, Sparkconfessed
that shehad frightenedherself in writing this shockingly dark tale
about a girl looking for her murderer- which shecalled a study of
self-destruction- to the extentthat shehad to go to hospital to
finish it (1-3,1970,8).
As for Spark'snarrative technique,TheDrivers Seatis her
first novel which employsthe present-tensenarrativewith future-
tenseflashforwards. Sparkachievesher particular high economy
of writing: her aim to write a novel with the quality of poetry."

" In an interview for TheObserver,Sparkcomments:"I like to think, though,that
my novelshave somethingof the compressionandtidinessof verse.... In the
early 1950's therewas no Robbe-Grillet, and scarcelyanyonehad heardof Beckett.

108

Thematically,aroundthe figure of her heroine,Lise, Sparkraises
issuespertainingto individual subjectivity - the crisis of the
subject- in the postmodemworld." Far aheadof her times, she
evokesevery questionwhich is to be posedunderthe postmodem
condition. For more than a few decadessince TheDriver's Seat
was first published,the conceptof postmodernismhasbeen
discussedand the time is ripe for a new investigation of this
postmodemfable by Muriel Spark.

To re-examineTheDriver's Seatthrough a wider
perspective,in termsof its postmodernmultiplicity and
indeterminacy,it is important to abolishthe old format appliedto
Spark's fiction in terms of Catholic aesthetics:a humanplot
versusthe divine plot - plus complications addedby the author's
plot. In "Muriel Spark's Fingernails," stating that Spark"is
turning into a very high stylisf' (Bradbury 187),Malcolm
Bradbury recognisesher aestheticachievementandpaysdue
attentionto significant detailsandmotifs of this novel. For all
the interestingpoints he makes,he is still keen to choosethe
winner of a competition amongthe heroine, the authorand God-
who is the masterplotter: the author in control? It is true that the
Sparkianplay with contingencyis fully on display; the patternof
inescapabledestinyis conjuredup more impressively than ever.
Besides,Lise - who plots her own death- is doubtlesslyone of

Hardly anyonewas trying to write novels with the compressionand obliquenessI
was aiming at" (1-6,1971,73).
"I will explorethis themeof the crisis of the subjectparticularly in relation to the
postmodernworld sincethe novel highlights individuals who are equally objectified
andburied in the massesdueto postmodemphenomenasuchasan accelerated
consumerismandthe developedmedia with flooded images,signsandcopies.

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the most extremecasesamongSpark's "plotters."51
Nevertheless,the patternasto masteryof plot is not an ending
point, but an openingpoint for Sparkto questionauthoritativeand
teleological narrativesassuch. This is equivalentto the
postmodemschemeof questioninggrand narratives, asdefirted
by Lyotard in 1979.52 Lise, it seems,plots her own murder,
plays her own gameaccordingto her own rules andknowledgeas
a plotter. Literally and metaphorically,shetakesover the
driver's seat- from men. However, it is not Lise who is
laughing at the end. Who, or what, is to mock Lise in the
driver's seat,headingfor her final destination? Is it men, or the
author- or SomeoneElse?

Loma Sagebriefly mentions TheDriver's Seatin Womenin
the House ofFiction (1992), in which sheintelligently and
expansivelyexamineswomen writers andtheir works in relation
to the women's movementand feminist politics. In the section
on Diane Johnson'sTheShadowKnows (1974), Sagearguesthat a
doublerole of victim and criminal is takenby its heroineknown
as"N. " Referring to Lise of TheDrivers Seatasanother
exampleof suchdouble-roleheroinesin contemporarywoman

" Spark's novels havea variety of plotters. Frederick Christopherof ThePublic
Iniage, like Lise, plots his own death. Lister, a butler in Not to Disturb, fits his
master's fate in the plot of his scenario. Alexandra is the plotter and heroineof her
drama,TheAbbessofCreue. Thereareratherpetty plotters suchasMargaretin
Symposium,who plansto kill her mother-in-law, andMarigold in Reality and
Dreams,who plots her disappearanceand commits a criminal act. The famous
Miss Brodie hasher own plots for her girls aswell.
52Lyotard explainsthat "Postmodemknowledgeis not simply a tool of the
authorities;it refines our sensitivity to differencesandreinforcesour ability to
toleratethe incommensurable. Its principle is not the expert's homology,but the
inventor's paralogy" (Lyotard xxiv-xxv).

110

writers' fiction, Sage- not unlike Spark- getsto the point, and
keepsit short:

In TheDriver's SeatGod-like omniscienceobtains... and
the ritual processof mystery and detectionis rendered

redundant. Spark's concernsarewith literary theology,
andthe way contemporarylife looks from the improbable
perspectiveof Almighty irony, but sheconvergeswith

Johnsonbecausesheunhesitatinglytakeswomento stand

for the humancondition, caught up in SomeoneElse'splot.

In otherwords, shetoo outflanks the middle men-
detective,murderer- who maintain peaceand order and
plausibility. (Sage,1992,142 [my italics])

Certainly, Sparkdisplaysher heroine's problematic challengeto

multiple patriarchaldiscourses- by which societyhaslegitimised
and centreditself - and curioussubversionsof genderroles as
fundamentalcomponentsof TheDriver's Seatwith her particular
blend of matter-of-factnessand subtlety.13 Yet, asSagediscerns,

speakingfor womenwould not be Spark's aim; shegoesfurther,

expandingwomen's predicamentto the human condition, to

problems of individual subjectivity - whether of a woman or a

" Justfor oneexampleof Spark's sharppolitical cornmentarieson genderissues,a
social position, an unequal"equality," women haveso far achievedis exposed-
only with two shortsentences- in this novel: in the accountants'office wherethe
heroineworks, "she hasfive girls under her and two men. Over her aretwo
women and five men" (DS426). The numbersof women "under" and"over" Lise
form a deceptivesymmetrywith thoseof men,but they areapparentlyand greatly
asymmetricalin their power relation. Besides,that Lise, whoseaverage
appearanceis emphaticallyrepeated,occupiesthe undistinguishedmiddle position is
alsohighlighted in this pattern. Being an unmarriedandmediocrewoman in her
thirties around 1970,Lise can be seensuspendedbetweenolder women with
resignationandyoungergirls with hope. The social backgroundof the heroine
aptly generatesa senseof frustration, of being trappedin the present.

ill

man. In this respect,Sage'sobservationis very acute.
However, perhapsbecauseher main concernhereis.with the
human condition assomethinguniversal- absolutetruth aboutit
shefmds in Spark's fiction - Sageuncharacteristicallyomits to
pay attentionto the particularities of the novelistic world of The
Driver's Seat. Spark,in fact, representsthe human condition not
asbeing caughtup in "SomeoneElse's plot," but rather,asbeing
caughtup in the impossibility of any single masternarrative-
even God's plot, which Sagesuggests. Here, I specify what
entrapsLise by replacing "SomeoneElse's plof' with the
postmoderncondition.

A Postmodernist Narrative Drive
Lyotard would hardly expecta better artist than Sparkfor the war
he wagesin ThePostmodernCondition. He rejectsmodem
aestheticsthat "puts forward the unpresentablein presentation
itself," but doesso in the totalising unity and the wholenessof the
form "for solaceandpleasure";he urgespostmodempracticesof
art, which, instead,aim to "impart a strongersenseof the
unpresentable"(Lyotard 81). Regardlessof the comfortable,
totalising effect, Spark's postmodem.art is engagedin issues
concerningindividual subjectivity alongsidegenderandsexuality,
in social andpolitical contexts,and alsoexploresthe domainof
unconscious,by her invention of the peculiar plot: a woman
wishing to be killed by a man- Lise's deathdrive.

In TheDriver's Seat,with the controversialfigure of Lise,
Spark effectively evokescontradictionsthrough the heroine's

112

various struggles:betweena woman andpatriarchy,an individual
and a culture,an unknown self and a presupposedfree will. Lise
embodiesall contradictionsinherent in thosebinary oppositions
and inevitably endsup asa simulacrum.while the authorillustrates
the impasseof the heroine, and therebythe crisis of the subject.
In otherwords, Lise's figure is designedto play her adversary's
gamewithin their territory: this gameis to bring various contrasts
and alsosimilarities betweenher "illegitimate" grandnarTative
and"legitimate" grandnarratives- andso to highlight
contradictions. This doesnot meanthat her plot is contrived asa
simple tool to detachthe author from the heroine's futile
challengeto patriarchy,society or destiny. Nor doesthe author
assumethe position to seta new, comfortablesynthesisof such
grandnarratives. Sparkhasthem fight againstandundermine
one anotherthrough the postmodemperspective,by deployingher
postmodemstrategies:indeterminacyof meaningful and
enigmatic details;variousparodic practicesof form and character;
effective adoptionof deconstructionistpractices.

To follow Lise's drive to her final destination,first, it is
necessaryto examinein detail Spark's own narrative drive: her
aggressivepostmodernistproject to changea way of seeingi-eality
by openingup questions,discussions- and anotherdimension.

The Postmodern Condition According to Spark
In TheDrivers Seat,to compoundthe darknessof the story,it is
the almostviolent power of its languageand its form that shocks
the reader. Willy Maley is quite right to focus on Spark's

113

commandof languageand form to illuminate political, radical,
and subversivequalities of her writing in "Not to Deconstruct?
Righting andDeferencein Not to Disturb" (2002), which
emphasisesSpark's affinity with Derrida. Multiple patternsare
overlappedin the structureof TheDriver's Seat,andthe novel
doesnot fall in any single one of them. As the writer's mastery
andsubtlety of languageand form generatea satirical effect more
than ever,this novel upsetsa commonexpectationfor coherent
meaningsin a story,a commonnotion of literary genre,and alsoa
commonuseof language- commonmeaningsof words, too.

At the outset,Lise is well preparedfor her masterplot, her
grandnarrative. As Lise "lays the trail" (DS 453) by providing
witnesses,Sparkmakesit clear that, aswell asLise's narrative,

the whole systemof signifying reality - of the world and
individuals in it - is at stake. In the openingscene,the heroine
appearsasa "customer" (DS 425). Shoppingis the site where
Lise's resistanceagainstestablishedsocial codesandher
incommunicability lucidly show up andwhere sheostentatiously
wins in languagegames5. 4 Lise is trying a dress,one of three
dresses,"identical but for sizes,hangin the back storeroom
awaiting the drasticreductionsof next week's sale" (DS 425) in
oneshop. Whetheror not shewould find an analoguebetween

" CatherineBelsey's very accessiblePosistrucluralism: A VeryShort Introduction

hasa sectionabout"languagegames"explainedby Lyotard: "a statementof 'fact'

placesmaking the statementin the position of someonewho knous, andthe

addresseeasthe personwho agreesor disagrees. By contrast,a questionreverses

(thHeerroeleBsel.s..e. y If I give an instruction, I lay claim to authority" (Belsey,2002,97).
adds,in brackets,"No wonder men find it harderto askfor directions

than women do!")

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her social identity andthe dressleft on the shelf, sheis tearing it
away from herselfwhen shelearnsthat it is stain-resistant". A
salesgirl's logic - which is obvious for her - that stain-resistantis
a merit as"there is alwaysthe marksthat pick up on your
journey" (DS 426) doesnot fit to Lise's unusualpurposeof
leaving the marks. Lise takesthe girl's words asinsult -
shrieking, "Do I look asif I don't eatproperly?" - andbaffles
other peoplearound,but her aim is "her own dominanceover the
situation" (DS 426). In anothershop,shefinds a dressand a coat,
which makean ideal combination of colours- too vivid to others'
eyes- for her,but sheagainargueswith a salesgirlwho insists,
"Of course,the two don't go well together" (DS 427). To
forestall the girl, to preventher from saying anythingmore, Lise
speaksfirst and declares:"Thesecolours are a natural blend for
me. Absolutely naturar'(DS 428 [my italics]).

ThroughLise's subversiveperformances,the novel
deconstructsthe signifying systemfrom inside, questioningwho
is to make logic obvious; who is to saywhat is "natural" - who is
to set suchnorms andmeaningsof words. Lise lays a claim to
authority: her statementdoesnot allow any doubt asit is
"absolutely" true for her; it is shewho knows what is "natural,"
who setsthe nonn. Sheexposeshow groundlessand irrational
social norms or cultural codesare- by mirroring this construction
ofidentity. In Gender Trouble(1990), Judith Butler focuseson
the idea of "performative" - identity is constructedthrough

I Later, shealsothrows away her old role, her social identity, with a purposeful
gestureof leaving her passportin a taxi.

115

repeatedacts,perfonnance- and argues:
Practicesof parody can serveto reengageand

reconsolidatethe very distinction betweena privileged and
naturalizedgenderconfiguration and onethat appearsas
derived,phantasmatic,and mimetic -a failed copy, asit
were. And surely parody hasbeenusedto further a
politics of despair,onewhich affirms a seeminglyinevitable
exclusionof marginal gendersfrom the territory of the
natural andthe real.... thereis a subversivelaughterin
the pastiche-effectof parodic practicesin which the original,
the authentic,,and the real arethemselvesconstitutedas
effects. (Butler, 1990,146)
Although Butler acknowledgesthe dilemma that parodic practices
would inevitably fall into the very vacuum of the original, shestill
finds in suchpracticesa possibledeparturefor undermining
gendernorms andopeningup feminism as identity politics.
Spark- thoughher concernis not solely with women's identity -
achievesthis "subversivelaughter in the pastiche-effecf'through
Lise's performance,"a failed copy."
Sparkestablishesher kind of realism in her set-upof the
contemporaryworld, which is contrastedwith and representedby
Lise. It is the kind of reality that JeanBaudrillard fmds in the
relation betweenthe loss of realities andthe escalationof the
simulacre. His book, In the Shadowofthe Silent Majorities
(1983), argues:"it is a circular process- that of simulation, that of
hyperreal:a hyperreality of communicationand of meaning,more
real than the real. Hencethe real is abolished" (Baudrillard,

116

1983,99). Bradbury perceivesthis hyperreality in Spark's
novelistic world, observingthat the author's skill "tum[s] our
familiar world into an exceptional,evena surreal,milieu"
(Bradbury 193). He seesher work, which "conveys significant
absences", in relation to the hardnessof contemporaryart -
including nouveauromqn- from which "the psychological centre
virtually disappears"(Bradbury 190). He rightly links her
aestheticsto her themesin pointing out that while things are"very
presentin their presentness"in a material world of the novel,
"people move amongobjects,asif they themselveswere object-
like, in a presentshadinginto a future" (Bradbury 190)."

In a world rushing into floods of multiplying images,signs,
and copies,it is crucial for Lise's purposenot to be buried in the
homogenisedmasses- to look "original." Lise efficiently
subvertssocially acceptedcodesby unusualcombinations,adjusts
them to her own, which areimpossiblefor anybodyto
communicatewith or decipher. However, imagesand signsshe
assumestogetherwith her purchasealso suggestthat shedepends
on imagesand signswhich havebeenalreadythere andrevealthat
sheis devoid of any identity: no original Lise canbe found under
her abandonedsocial identity. Her identity crisis is casually
madeinto a generalissuein her brief encounterwith a woman
from Johannesburgw, ho definesherselfby her possessionss: he

I PeterKemp alsotakesnotice of "referencesto movementand en "lasse: 'July
thousands'(p.29) milling round the airport, streamsof traffic, mobs of tourists,even
a stampede"(Kemp, 1974,125). His emphasisis with a motif of movement,but
perhaps,customersin a departmentstoreand a duty free shop shouldbe addedto the
list of the objectified masses,for Lise is seenshoppingin many scenes,including
the opening.

117

hastwo houses,hasa lawyer son,who alsohasa house,and all
the houseshavesparerooms and so on. At an airport duty free
shop,while Lise choosesa bright-coloured paperback,which she
hopesto be a conspicuoussignal to her man, the womantries to
buy bookswhosecoloursmatch the d6corin her houses,suchas
green,pink, beige. Next to the vivid andpurposefulLise, the
absurdityof the innocentwoman appearsin her pastelshades,but
they sharethe sameproblem. It is not goodsthat circulate
amongpeople,but "object-like" peoplethat move and flow
aroundthings.

To fill the void of her identity, Lise constantlychangesher
roles by fortifying her performanceswith lies accordingto
contingentincidents and chanceencounters- till sheis found
dead,murdered. Her identity is to be established- "followed by
Interpol and elaboratedupon with due art by thejournalists of
Europe" (DS 453). Like otherwitnesses,the woman from
Johannesburgis to inform the police "all sheremembersand all
shedoesnot remember,and all the detailssheimaginesto be true
andthosethat aretrue in her conversationwith Lise"(DS 435).
Consequently,Lise's figure is emergingfrom suchinformation,
only asin "the likenessconstructedpartly by the methodof
identikit, partly by actualphotography", which - the narrator
announcesin the first flashforward- is "soon to be publishedin
the newspapersof four languages"(DS 432). The figure
reconstructedout of Lise's imagesgiven to andby the public is
what Lise is - an incommunicableandunintelligible sign.

In TheConsulnerSociety:Myths and Sti-tictw-es(1970),

118

publishedin the sameyear as TheDriver's Seat,Baudffllard
scathingly criticises the consumersociety,in which the public and
social or political events,both absorbedinto the order of the sign,
merely reflect eachother. Here, he too likens "the greatDelphic
Oracle of Public Opinion" - madeby thesecirculating reflections
- to "identikit pictures" (Baudrillard, 1970,195). In tenris of
lossesof communicationandof meaningin the media age,he
further discussesinformation asthe simulacre: "it [information]
exhaustsitself in the act of stagingthe communication;insteadof
producing meaning,it exhaustsitself in the stagingof meaning"
(Baudrillard, 1983,98). Spark's heroinestandsfor the condition
of contemporarysociety at large- asa patchwork of images,with
no substance,asa meresimulacre;the contradictoryhyperreality
of communicationand of meaning. Spark,in her original
postmodernartwork, stagesthe contradictionsinherentin the
natureof reality in the postmodernworld.

Postmodern Models for Narrative
The patternsappearingin TheDriver's Seatareall very different
from oneanother,but they areinterrelatedand convergeon the
themeof an unknown part of self. Around this theme,Spark
createsa polishedpasticheout of parodiesof two types of
c9popular"literature, a detectivenovel and a cheapromance:a
story of a womangoing on holiday to look for a man,not a lover
but a murderer. Among endlessingenious.twists, in this parody
of a "whodunit," which disturbingly blurs the line betweena
victim and a criminal, the police areto tracethe unidentified

119

victim, insteadof her murderer. With this figure of the heroine
dying for her belief in the end of her plot, Spark's "whodunit" is
layeredby a travestyof Greektragedy,which alsosuggestsa
grotesqueparody of martyrdom by the ironical resemblance
betweendestinyandthe mechanismof belief - both of which
afflict "individual subjectivity."

TheDilver's Seatendswith the heroine's death,andwith
words from a classicaldefinition of tragedyby Aristotle in the
Poetics- addingthe samedictum in a reversedorder: "fear and
pity, pity and fear" (DS 490). While the referenceto tragedyhas
beenacknowledgedbut generalisedin terms of the divine (and/or
"Sparkian") plot asan inexplicablemystery, interestingclassical
parallels emergingfrom sedulouslyarrangeddetailshavebeen
overlooked. The novel roughly follows the unities - of action, of
place andof time - also foundedby Aristotle, aseventsmainly
take place somewherein the SoutharoundLise's plot in the last
day of her life. The story of Oedipuswould offer the clearest
link betweenthis novel and a form of tragedy.

Like Oedipus,Lise looks for a murdererand, aswhat the
novel points to, this totally undignified heroine doesnot know
who sheis any more than the tragic king knows who he is. In
both stories,destinyplays a significant part: it is a seriesof
contingenteventsthat leadsthe protagonistto the wanted
murderer;the protagonistis to succumbto destinybeyondany
humanlogic of causeand effect. Both OedipusandLise are
exiles. At his birth, dueto the ominousprophecythat he will kill
his father,Laius, and sleepwith his mother,Jocasta,Oedipusas a

120

baby shouldhavebeendoneaway with, but instead,he was cast
away in a foreign country. Later, Oedipusasthe king of Thebes,
not knowing the truth, lays a curseof exile on the murdererof
Laius - which is indeedfalling on himself. Lise too appearsas a
kind of outcastin society from the outset,and then assignsherself
for a fate of exile, leaving for the South."

Lise's "tragedy" hasits unlikely chorusat the margin of the
stage. At her departure,a femaleporter of her apartmentlaughs
at her for her vivid-coloured dress,saying,"Are you going tojoin
a circus?"

shethrows back her head,looking down through half-
closedlids at Lise's clothes,and gives out the high, hacking
cough-like ancestrallaughterof the streets... (DS 431)
This spontaneousu, nrestrainedlaughteris followed by another
laughter,which is the woman's deliberateinsult to Lise.,who is
meanwith her tips. Then there is onemore laughingwoman on
Lise'sjourney:

"Dressedfor the carnival!" saysa woman, looking grossly
at Lise asshepasses,and laughing asshegoesher way,
laughing without possibility of restraints,like a stream
boundto descendwhateverslopelies before it. (DS 465)
At least,for thesewomen,Lise is to be mocked at,,not to be
fearedandpitied. They areonly exceptions:women who
manageto insult her before shecansayanything to defeatthem
verbally. And such"ancestrallaughterof the streets"is not

" We might alsohearan echoof the nameof Oedipus- "swollen-footed" - at one
point, when Lise limps into the view with her injured foot.

121

dissimilar to the femalevoice of Wisdom in the Bible, which
condemnshumanarrogancewith a sarcasticlaughterand
threateninglywarrishumanbeingsto realisethe supreme
knowledge of God.58

Thereis anotherpossiblecastfor this travesty,which
alludesto destinyplaying its part behindLise's back andmocks
her arrogantconfidencein her knowledge. Although Lise's
eccentricperformancesandthe psychedeliccolours of her
costume,which areploys to draw the attentionof peopleand
make them her unwilling witnesses,scareoff most people,shehas
her temporarytravel company,an old lady called Mrs Fiedke.
The old lady spendsa relatively long time with Lise andshouldbe
a top witnessof the unidentified victim of the murder,but the
narratorunusuallytells us nothing abouther reporting to police.
Insteadof being Lise's witness,Mrs Fiedke could be a witnessof
God andof his plot, destiny- sheis a "Jehovah's Witness" (DS
460), indeed. Furthermore,like the blind prophetTiresias,Mrs
Fiedke, who takesno notice of Lise's conspicuousnessdueto her
weak eyesight,seemsto havesecondsight. Sheaffirms - for no
reason- that her nephew,Richard, is the man Lise looks for - and
he really is.

A curiousconversationfollows Mrs Fiedke's "prophesy":
"Well, it's your idea," saysLise, "not mine. I

wouldn't know till I'd seenhim. Myself, I think he's
aroundthe comer somewhere,now, any time."

"Which comer?" The old lady looks up and down

58Proverbs1: 20-27

122

the streetwhich runs below them at the bottom of the steps.
"Any comer. Any old comer."
"Will you feel a presence? Is that how you'll

know?"

"Not really a presence", Lise says. "The lack of
absence,that's what it is. I know I'll find it. I keepon
making mistakes,though." (DS 466)
Interestingly,Lise perceivesthe presenceof this man as"the lack
of absence". The phrase,"the lack of absence", in itself would
soundlike a deconstructionistjoke abouta hierarchy- an
especiallyvital onein relation to languageasa systemof
difference- if we recall a conceptof absencefor JacquesDerrida:
"absence", only by which "presence"canbe defined,but the latter
is granteda privilege by logocentrism. It would be evenmore
interesting,if we alsorecall JacquesLacan's signifier of signifiers,
the phallus asthe sign of lack, representingthe Law of the
Father." Through Lise's ambition to be in the driver's seat,in
power, a fatherwhom sheis going to challengeseemsto emerge
from the absenceof her father": a symbolic father as"the lack of
absence".
In termsof the figure of the absentfather,Lise's
unspecifieddestinationsomewherein "the SoutW'may invite a
guessthat it could be Rome, the papal city. Then, thereare
Lise's enigmaticgifts, black necktiesfor "Papa7'(DS 475) - the

" For relateddiscussions,see"Structure, Sign andPlay in the Discourseof the
Human Sciences"in Derrida's Mrifing and Dýfference(1978) and"The Meaning of
the Pliallue' in 17enzininSeexuality.JacquesLacan and the icolefreudienne (1982)
editedby Juliet Mitchell andJacquelineRose.
" Let aloneher father,noneof her family is mentioned.

123

Popein Italian, indeed,if not her absentfather - and a black and
white scarf for "Olga" (DS 476) - the namederivesfrom the word
"holy "M Thesegifts match the equipmentfor her death:her
murderer's necktie to bind her anklesandher vivid orangescarf to
tie her hands. They could be simple gifts, could be her mockery
at "Papa7'(Father,or Pope,or God?), or on the contrary,could be
gloomy offerings which signify her perversebelief The
significanceof thosegifts, or of her destination,is indeterminable,
but suchindeterminacyopensup questionsasto Lise's "free
will, " andthe complex themeof the subject. As well asher
murderer,the absentFathercould be found at "Any comer," "Any
old comer" (DS 466) - perhaps,especiallywhere the accepted
signifying systemis concerned. Lise breaksul)"with this system,
the social codes;sherefusesto be subjectto long-established,
patriarchal laws.

Here, apartfrom the travestyof tragedy,Mrs Fiedke also
plays the part of a caricatureof an outmodedpatriarchaldiscourse.
Sheclaims that men are demandingequalrights with womenwho
aresupenorto them, and givesher pseudo-feministspeech:

they [men] will be taking over the homesandthe children,
andsitting abouthaving chatswhile we go and fight to
defendthem andwork to keepthem. They won't be
contentwith equalrights only. Next thing they'll want the
upperhand,mark my words. Diamond earrings,I've read
in the paper. (DS 467)
Mrs Fiedke's view seemsto be sharedwith her late husband,Mr

" 'nic namealsomeans"healthy" (Breiver's Diclionary offanies 390).

124

Fiedke,who "knew his place asa maif'(DS467). (Again, this
might remind us of the hermaphroditeprophet.) As Mrs Fiedke
merely inverts women over men in the samediscourse,the novel,
from the view of deconstruction,i,ndeedaims to ridicule not only
patriarchy but alsosuchhierarchical order as canbe found in
somefeminist positions. This implies that Lise is taking over the
driver's seatfrom a man, butl in his car,sheis deeplycaughtup in
her own contradictions. On the onehand,this marginalised
woman headingfor "the centerof the foreign city" (DS 455) is to
appearto challengepatriarchy and socialhierarchies;on the other,
assumingonemask after another,her figure inevitably appearsas

an ever-deferredsign - with no origin.
The man Lise looks for - her male counterpart- entersin a

dark parody of a holiday romance,asanotherempty spaceoutside
herself, whereher unknowableself is projected. Onherjourney,
from the outset,Lise spotsthe right man; he hasnevermet her
before, yet, he somehowrecognisesher - though it is not love, but
fright at first sight. As they happento take the sameflight for
the South,this young man, Richard, suddenlylooks at Lise sitting
next to him, "openshis mouth, gaspingand startled,staring at her
asif sheis someonehe hasknown and forgotten andnow sees
agaiW'(DS438). He flees in panic faraway from her,to another
seatwherehe looks relieved "as if he had escapedfrom deathby a
small margin" (DS 439). It is not revealedthat Richard- if not
(casexmaniac" - hasbeenput in prison for two yearsandspent
six yearsin a clinic for having stabbeda woman (DS 487-88) until
Lise finally catcheshim. This is againa shrewdparody,which

125

combines a common format of a romance with a murder mystery,
and thereby applies an irrational, blind state of falling in love to
the uncanny mutual recognition between the heroine and her
murderer - and alludes to complicated, interlocked psychological

"drives.,,62 Lise andRichard mirror eachother's unknown self,
and so cannotknow eachother. Lise saysto herself aloud, "I
wonder who he is?" (DS 440); Richard saysto her, "I don't know
who you are" (DS 487). They arenot to be united to makea
whole, but to remain aseachother's double-imageof victim and
criminal in a patternwhich consistsof countlesssimulacra.

Around Lise or/andRichard,more and more mirror images
proliferate in the hallucinatory symmetry of the pattern- images,
reversed,but one andthe same. Sometimes,Lise's imageis
diminished in a smaller frame,,and sometimes,caughtin a larger
frame. As Lise comesacrosswrong men on her way to the right
one,sheconfrontsthem in terms of the sexualdifference;at the
sametime, they appearasher copiesto a different degreeand in
different ways. Boarding the airplane,Lise is alreadyfollowing
Richard, andalsofollowed by a man called Bill, a self-appointed
"Enlightenment Leader," who assumesa mission of propagating
the macrobiotic diet basedon the conceptsof "Yfif 'and "Yang,"
parallel to negative/femaleenergyandpositive/maleenergy1. 3

62This is the basisfor the scenarioof Lister, who is selling his masters'story,in Nol
to Disturb. About his pre-written scenarioabouthis master,who is to kill his wife,
lliofev-eurr,gaen!d" h(iNmDse2l0f,9L)i.steTrosagrivdeongircaanldlyesuarytos,t"hHeoswtolriykeof..t.hethaerisdteoactrhawticismhaisstteors,
her
the
lie insists that "Sex is not to be mentioned"; "On their spheresexis nothing but an
overdoseoffife. They will die of if'(ND209).
' Here is anotherenigmaticpurchaseof Lise: "a cheapelectric food-blender"(DS
459). This may showher mockery at Bill's "Yin" and "Yang," or reflect the

126

Bill is Lise's male caricature:asif to imitate her pursuit of her
plot and of Richard, he chasesher single-mindedly for his other
principle, "one orgasma day" (DS 445). Like Lise, he lays a
trail -a trail of wild rice, good food belonging to "Yang," dropped
from a plastic bag he alwayscarrieswith him. Later Lise
respondsto his principle accusinghim of an assaulton her and
getting away with his car while he is takento the police.

Lise's mirror imagesreflect the ambiguity of her double-
role of victim and criminal, the irony of her situation. Thereis a
hidden hunterwho awaits "big game" (DS 477): following a smell
of its prey killed andkept in a bush, andwaiting for the predator's
return. This allegory comesfrom a sick-looking man,who was
sitting betweena young girl and a plump woman, symmetrical
with Lise sitting betweenRichard andBill, in the airplane. It is
no wonder that Lise, at somepoint, thinks this strangercould be
her man. Although he seemsto be in a high social position, his
identity, including his name,is neverrevealed. He looks like a
passiveversion of Lise, sharing"some sort of mental distance
from reality" (DS 443) with her, aswell assomesimilar
expressionssuchashis tight lips, his eyesabsentlywide open.
In the figure of this man, Richard's imageoverlapsLise: the man
follows the plump woman to a car waiting for him "as if bound
for the scaffold" (DS 447) - asif to simulatethe game,which is to
be played betweenLise andRichard, inside oneperson.

Eventually,Lise catchesRichard, or he catchesup with her,

doubled imageof Lise/Richard,or could be anotherironical sign for Lise's
problematic challenge.

127

asthe conciergeof her hotel told her,who was somehowlost at
her arrival: "you left part of yourself at home ... That otherpart,
he is still enroute to our country but he will catchup with you"
(DS 449). Lise insiststhat shewants to be killed, but no sex.
Richard insiststhat he doesnot want to kill her - but ...Sexis
normal,' he says,'I'm cured. Sexis all right... (DS 488).
Richard deniesLise's view that many women arekilled because
they look for it. Lise denieshis assumptionthat women look for
sex,,not being killed. Lise's dubious argumentabouta murder
victim imitatesthat about a rapevictim; andRichard's scenarioof
rapeemergeshereand confrontsher scenarioof murder:

"You're afraid of sex,l" he says,almostjoyfully, asif
sensingan opportunity to gain control.

"Only of afterwards", shesays. "But that doesn't
matter any more." (DS 488)
Insteadof pursuingthe argument,Lise instructsand even
performshow he should kill her, and emphasisesthat shedoesnot
want sex- "All the same,h, e plungesinto her, with the knife
poisedhigh" (DS 490). Thushe kills her, observingher
instructionsexceptfor that onepoint - he refusedher order to tie
her anklesbeforethe murder/rape,but doesnot forget doing so
afterwards. As a result,,eachof them seemsto get what they
claim - deathfor Lise, sex for Richard. He passivelyfollows her
plot, but makesan alterationby insertinghis own. This
alterationhindersthe fulfillment of Lise's plot renderedinto her
own death. Not in unity, but in discord,of their doubledscenario,
eachof them takesthe double-roleof victim andcriminaL led to

128

the sameend andlooking the samein the end. Lise subverts
social codes,c, hangesher images,carrieson her plot, but her death
changesnothing. Richard repeatshis past,stabsthe woman- to
death,this time -and is to be arrestedat the end of his hopefor a
new life. Both Lise andRichard endup assimulacraandsuch
oppositionsasvictim and criminal futilely fall into ambiguity,
indeterminacy.

A Drive to Death
Spark calls the heroineof TheDriver's Seata "destiny-driven
creature"in an interview by SaraFrankel:

Lise knows exactly what she's going to do, althoughshe
sniffs arounda lot, looking for it - but in fact she'sjust
going straightto seea man who's got tendenciesto kill, and
hewillkillher. Intheendshejustgoesuptohimand
says,"You're coming with me," it's nearly midnight by that
time. TheDriver's Seatis a book aboutthat sort of
destiny-drivencreature:a girl who didn't realize what she
was doing, but who was in fact going direct.
(1-10,1985,451-52)
This suggestsenoughto associatewhat Lise representswith the
unknowablerealm within us- especiallyin ternis of her "drive."
Sparkmaterialisesthe unfigurable in the figure of Lise, whose
murderousplot comesinto view through its effect, but its cause
remainsever in the dark. Spark's writing hasno dogmatismand
so providesno answerto Lise's story asa "whydunnit in q-sharp
major" (DS 487), the nameLise ironically gives to her vivid-

129

colouredpaperback. Instead,Spark offers a concrete,individual
study of self-destruction- without a rhetorical deadlockof theory.

The Economy of Lise's Drive, and Excess
From the beginning,Lise is presentedasan empty inanimate
object, an empty space. The novel beginswith one of Lise's
shrill performances,followed by a kind of hysterical outburst,
which is alsorepeatedafterwards,to mark her eccentricity. In
this first chapter,however,Sparkinsertsa detaileddescriptionof
Lise's flat - with its deathlysilence- in the apartment,which was
designedby an artist who hasnow becomean award-winning

architect:
The lines of the room arepure; spaceis usedasa patternin
itself, circumscribedby the dexterouspinewood outlines
that ensuedfrom the designer'singenuity and austeretaste
when he was young, unknovvms,tudiousand strict-
principled. (DS 429)

Sparkexhibits this spaceboth asan admirablework of art - very
much like her own - and asthe emptinessof Lise. Lise is like
her room.,this inscrutableempty space- "not closely overlooked"
(DS 429) from the outside- to which shehas addednothing
unnecessary. We can find no memoriesof people,eventsor
herself addedto her life story - her personalhistory:

Lise keepsher flat asclean-linedand clear to return to after
work asif it were uninhabited. The swaying tall pines
amongthe litter of coneson the forest floor havebeen
subduedinto silenceand into obedientbulks. (DS430)

130

This scenebeautifully and icily conjuresup the preordainedend
of a silent and obedientobject, a "destiny-driven creature", and
ironically contraststhis work of art with Lise's plot in tenns of
rceconomy".

The scenesomehowindicatesLise's senseof economy,
which looks similar to the architect's. However, it highlights
differencesbetweenher plot andhis minimalist artwork, rather
than similarities. Shemerely imitates the high economyof the
artist, aswell asthe act of plotting. Her senselessn, oisy
improvisation on her image for the death-plotis opposedto the
architect's work which is aestheticallyand carefully devisedfor
all purposesand activities of daily life. Moreover, despiteher
full knowledgeof her ending,it is not Lise who exploits the
contingencyof destinyasmaterialsfor her plot, but it is destiny
that doesitsjob andmakesher an object- like pine treessubdued
to obedientbulks. Lise is an empty spaceon which destiny
inscribesits pattern.

An inexplicablepatternof destinyis reflected upon a
mechanicalsystemof Lise's economy,for sheis in fact
economical- much more literally than aesthetically. The scene
of Lise's apartmentrefers to a material world, in which everything
andeverybodyarereffied, evaluated,andequally becomeob ects,
including Lise, her apartment,its material, and evenits designer.
For Lise and othertenantswho haslived for a long time,
fortunately,"Pinewood aloneis now nearly asscarceasthe
architecthimself, but the law, so far, preventsthem [landowners]
from raising the rents" (DS 429). Lise confonns to this kind of

131

materialistic view. While sheis estimated,for example,rated
low "on the spendingscale"by the "built-in computersystem"
(DS 475) of a doormanof the Hilton Hotel, like a "precision
instrument" (DS 426), shealsoexaminesthings andpeopleand
estimatesthem. Shespendsher money only on what is useful to
mark her path to death,what is relevantto her plot. Shepays
attentiononly to somepeoplewho canhaveparts in her plot, but
simply eliminatesotherswho are irrelevant, "with her lips straight
asa line which could cancelthem all out completely" (DS 427), as
if they havenever existed.6' As shetakesa shortcutto death,
driven by destiny,her economymeetsher excess. Rather,her
excessregulatesher economyand appearsthrough it, the system
in which shemechanicallyacts,not realising what sheis doing.

ThusLise's excessemergesat the surfaceasvisible but
unintelligible signs. Thesesignsof her excessproducedand
reproducedthrough her extremeimage-making,basedon her
economy,reflect society asa whole, the society of spectacleand
of prevalentreification. Lise becomesboth an object asa
product of suchsociety and an object asan unknown Other,on
which peopleproject fear and desire.

The Detour of Lise's Drive, and Desire
When Lise arrives in the South,,wherepeoplehave different social
norms from thosein the North, sheinvariably gives otherpeoplea

" We seeLise trying to settle her account with her lips suitablefor her profession:
"Her lips, when shedoesnot speakor eat,arenormally pressedtogetherlike the
ruled line of a balancesheet,marked straightwith her old fashionedlipstick, a final
and ajudging mouth, a precision instrument,a detail-wardcnof a mouth" (DS 426).

132

shockingimpression,but here,her imaginedidentity is brought
into a focus in termsof sexuality and gender.

Skirts areworn shorterherein the South. Justas,in
fon-nertimes, when prostitutescould be discernedby the
brevity of their skirts comparedwith the normal standard,
so Lise in her knee-coveringclothesat this momentlooks
curiously of the streetprostitute class... (DS 453).
Lise happensto meet a garageowner called Carlo, when sheis
involved in a riot causedby a studentdemonstration,andsheis
going to take a car from him. This man elaborateson her image
linked to prostitutes. He at first mistakesher asa troublesome
student,and swearsat her, imaginatively making up her history of
illegitimacy: "He advisesher to go hometo the brothel where she
camefrom, he remindsher that her grandfatherwas ten times
cuckolded,that shewas conceivedin someditch andborn in
another" (DS 469). What could havebeenlabelled asa
represseddesireof a frustratedspinsterin the North turns into an
excessof desire,a promiscuity of a prostitute, in her image
interpreted,or misinterpreted,by peoplein the South.
Carlo's sexualdesirefor her is arousedwith his dismay.
He finds a role of "temptressin the old-fashionedstyle" (DS 471)
in Lise, who on this occasionassumesa false identity as"a
widow" and "an intellectual" (DS 470) -a woman who offers a
different kind of availability from that of a prostitute in Carlo's
view. After so much hesitation,"with an air of helpless,
anticipatory guilt" (DS 471), he decidesto sleepwith her though
later her violent protestproveshis misunderstanding. Even Bill,

133

Lise's odd caricature,uncomfortably copeswith her frustrated
outburstwhen shefails to catchthe right man. He tries to
appeaseher when shesuddenlybeginsto cry, and says,"What's
thematter? I don't get if'-"as ifto affirm thatthe
incomprehensibleneedsmust be ajoke" (DS 447). (Heis
unlikely to realisethat his ridiculous needfor "one orgasma day"
- anotheralternativeregulation- canbe ajoke, though.)
Psychoanalysiscanwell link her figure to desire,repressedand
destructive.

In TheDriver's Seat,we areto witness the convergentpoint
of Eros andThanatosthrough the specific representationof the
"death drive." Although Lise seeksa shortcutto death,her plot
is not a simple suicide. Shehasto follow a detourto her
destination. Her contradictoryplot, her drive to death,may
remind us of "the paradoxicalsituatioif 'Freud laboriously tries to
resolvein BeyondthePleasurePrinciple (1920), to locatethe
instincts of self-preservationin relation to death,which is life's
aim, its return to the inanimatestate:

They are componentinstincts whosefunction it is to assure
that the organismshall follow its own path to death,andto
ward off anypossibleways of returning to inorganic
existenceotherthan thosewhich areimmanentin the
organismitself. We haveno longer to reckon with the
organism'spuzzling determination(so hard to fit into any
context)to maintain its own existencein the faceof every
obstacle. What we areleft with is the fact that the
organismwishesto die only in its own fashion. Thus

134

theseguardiansof life, too, were originally the myrmidons
of death. Hencearisesthe paradoxicalsituation that the
living organismstrugglesmost energeticallyagainstevents
(dangers,in fact) which might help it to attain its life's aim
rapidly - by a kind of short-circuit. Suchbehaviouris,
however,preciselywhat characterizespurely instinctual as
contrastedwith intelligent efforts. (Freud, 1920,614)
This death"in its own fashion" echoesLacan's conceptof desire,
asJaneGallop explainsin ReadingLacan (1985):
Lacan seesin the sexualdrives a primacy of recognition
over the attainmentof the goal desired. In order for the
desireto be recognizable,it must pursueits aim "only in its
own fashion." It is more important that a desirepursuethe
correctpath- that is, its own path- to fulfillment than that
it be fulfilled. (Gallop 103-104)

The analystdefinesdesire,so complicatedand paradoxical,as
what cannotbe signified. Spark's heroinedesperatelyneeds"her
type" of man, theman to kill her and so to representher
unrecognisable,repressedwish which is leading her to destruction.
Lise senseshis presenceall the time as"the lack of absence"and
shecanrecognisehim if sheseeshim though shecannotarticulate
what the man of "her type" is. In her drive to death,meeting
wrong men, sheponders,"I make a lot of mistakes" (DS 479), and
her frustration arisesfrom thosefailures to fi-nd"her type," this
sign of recognition. Spark,with her extraordinarycon-unandof
language,proveswhat artists- andonly a few of them- can do
aboutthe unfigurable,with which analystswould muddle.

135

Spark ftwther"outflanks" what Sagecalls "the middle men"
suchasthe detectiveandthe murderer(Sage,1992,142) - and
alsothe analyst. In "Two Waysto Avoid the Real of Desire"
(1991), Slavoj Zikk pays attentionto the form of narrative
commonto psychoanalysisandthe detectivenovel as"the logic
and deductionstory" (2i2ek, 1991,108), comparingthe detective
with the analyst,both supposedto be capableof readinghidden
signs. He leadshis argumentto thefilm noir, in which the
detectivegetsinvolved in the real of desire("the 'impossible' real,
resisting symbolization" (2iýek, 1991,117)), representedby the
"femme fatale." Unlike the Sherlockiantype, who avoidsthe
real by retaining the position of the professionalanalystandbeing
paid for hisjob, the hard-boiled detective(the Philip Marlowe
type) can do so only by rejecting the "femme fatale."
Concerningroles the "fernme fatale" takes,Zi2ek distinguishes
the role of "the pure subjectfully assumingthe deathdrive" from
the role of objectified woman asthe mereprojection of male
fantasy,"the boundlesserjoymenf ' (2i2ek, 1991,124). He
points out that the "femme fatale" becomesthe real menaceto
men when shetakesthe role assumingthe deathdrive. His
distinction is right, but to distinguishis not enoughfor Spark,who
setsLise's deathdrive aggressivelyagainstmale fantasy,an
androcentricdiscourseof sexuality.

Sparkleavessomewhatcalculatedambiguity aboutLise's
responseto her imageas an object of sexualdesire. The author
shrewdlyjuxtaposesLise's awarenessof her imageassuchand
her emphatically claimed indifferenceto sex. In this respect,as

136

well asthe author,Lise plays with a commonassumption- she
saysno, but shewants it. Lise loudly saysto Bill, "You look like
RedRiding-Hood's grand-mother. Do you want to eatme up?"
(DS438), which he delightedly takesasa provocation. Shelets
him kiss her ashe tries, though this is accompaniedby her harsh
laugh andraisedeyebrows(DS 448). Similarly, Carlo's
anticipation is triggered assheputs her injured foot on his desk,
askshim if he is married, andmakesup her identity (DS 470-71).
When shemakesit clear that shedoesnot want sex becauseshe
hassomethingelse- indeed,her drive to death- on her mind,
thesemen in no way listen to it. In both cases,getting awaywith
their cars,to her sardonicsatisfaction,sheprovesthat they are
wrong - sexis irrelevant.

Lise's "drive" to deathappearsasif it were a parody of
Freud's "masterplot"; PeterBrooks' Readingfor thePlot (1984)
offers an intertextualreading of BeyondthePleasurePrinciple
with fictional plots in the section,"Freud's Masterplot: A Model
for Narrative." Brooks illustrates an analogybetweena narrative
ftinction andthat of humanpsycheasdeftly ashe accumulates
examples- from the tradition of nineteenth-centurynovels- that
serveto his desirefor emphasisingEros, "Narrative Desire" (the
title of anothersection),which virtually appearsas"male plots of
ambition" (Brooks, 1984,39). He finds "a dynamicmodel that
structuresends(death,quiescence,nonnarratability) against
beginnings(Eros, stimulation into tension,the desireof narrative)
in a mannerthat necessitatesthe middle as detour" (Brooks, 1984,
107)in Freud's text', which he calls "metapsychology" and

137

"metapoesis"(Brooks, 1984,106). Lise's encounterswith the
men form a detour,a deviation from her shortcutto death;Lise,
figuratively "assumingthe deathdrive" herself, resistsand
overridesthe pleasureprinciple postulatedand representedby the
men. Here, however,comesthe ironic end of the novel with the
disturbing ambiguity. Lise's ambition of her masterplotfails,
andthereis neither the fulfillment of desirefor meaningnor a
consolingsimulation of dischargeof all tension;thereis only the
perceptionof her actualdeath:"how final is finality" (DS 490).

Freud's masterplotindeedhasa totalising closure,as
Brooks observes:'Treud, in a remarkablegesture,turnstoward
myth, the myth of the Androgyne in Plato's Symposium,which
precisely ascribesEros to a searchto recover a lost primal unity
that was split asunder"(Brooks, 1984,106). Spark's novel does
not resort to suchmythic obscurity. In its ending,the author
brings abouta genderissue,a battle betweenthe sexes- and
betweenthe victim andthe criminal - which cannotbe dissolved
into suchnotions asandrogyny. In this social andpolitical
context, Sage'ssuggestionthat "Spark is mocking a forensic
fashion of the time - victimology, the investigation of the active
role of the victim" (Sage,1992,142) is veritable andimportant.
Irony emergesfrom the murder investigationthat screensoff the
confrontationbetweenLise's deathdrive and the sexualdiscourse
representedby the men; that coversup therape scenarioand
thereforethe failure of Lise's grandnarrative. In flashforwards
in the future tense,we seepolicemeninvestigatingher murderer,
Richard. As a murder case,evidence"coming in seemsto

138

confirm his story" - the victim takeshim to the spot shehas
marked andinstructshim to kill her - and causesthe investigators
"their secretdismay" (DS 489). Thereis no mention of
Richard's rape of Lise, though. The rapescenario,absorbedinto
the murder scenario,is missing while these"middle men" are
muddled in their redundantinvestigation of the murder. The
detectivewill haveno clue to this "whydunnit in q-sharpmajor";
no matter what effect they traceback, they do not getto the cause.

To seeSpark's mockery at "victimology" in ethical terms,
we may briefly look into 212ek's"femme fatale": "the pure
subjectfully assumingthe deathdrive." To elevate"a tragic
figure" to "an ethical figure" in line with Lacan's readingof
Antigone, Ziz'ek alsorefersto "Peter Brooks' version of Bizet's
Carmen"65(2tz'ek, 1991,122) asajustifiable example. From the
Lacanianperspective,Mek explainsthe "subjectification" of
Can-nenw, ho "assumesan ethical status,acceptingwithout
reservethe imminenceof her own death";who "is herself the
victim of fate. .. but alsofully acceptsher fate by not cedingher
desire":

Carmenwas an object for men, her power of fascination
dependedon the role sheplayed in their fantasyspace,she
was nothing but their symptom, althoughshelived under
illusion that shewas effectively "pulling the strings."
When shefinally becomesan objectfor herselfalso, i.e.,

' 2iiek contrastsBizet's original version (Carmen,in love with the treador
Escamillo, is killed by the rejectedand desperateJos6)with Brooks' version
(Can-nen,who haslost her love asEscamillo is killed by the bull, is broken, and
offers herself to Jos6to be stabbed)(2i2ek, 1991,123).

139

when sherealizesthat sheisjust a passiveelementin the
interplay of libidinal forces,she"subjectifies" herself, she
becomesa "subject." (2i2ek, 1991,122-23)
To detecta kind of heroism,"an ethical status", in sucha female
figure seemsa ratherinsidious business. In TheDrivei's Seat,
the authorstrips the heroine of suchattributesasthe grandeurof a
Greektragedyor the glamour of an operaticheroine andpresents
her self-destructionasabsurd. From the Sparkianperspective,
thereis nothing heroic or ethical abouta "destiny-driven
creature", who tries to turn her passiverole into an active one in
the inescapablescenarioof mortality. This is not somuch to say
that the analystaestheticisesthe idea of self-destruction. Rather,
the problem lies in the way they nullify any specific context and
reducefictional figures into their own masterplot. In suchcase
studiesof fictional figures, often slyly exploiting the imageof
woman, they obscurethe distinction betweenthe act of "not
ceding desire" at the cost of life - asthe power of resistance- and
its representation,the distinction betweenlife andworks of art.`3
If the analystcould escapeSpark's mockery at "the middle
men," her art of fiction makesthe analyst'smasterplotand sliding
signifiers - abstract,totalising andmythic (i.e. persistentreturn to
archetypessuchasthe Oedipusscenario,Plato's Androgyne)-
redundant. However,now, we can consideranothertangible
figure provided by a femaleanalystandwriter, Julia Kristeva: the

6'3Here I only point out that Sparkbrings this issueconcerningdifferencesbetween
life and art into her big themeof practicing art in life (with her pseudo/artist
characters),as I will discussin ChapterVI, while psychoanalysis,in short,tries to
explain an artistic practicein itself asone of substitutesfor a pursuit of desire.

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foreigner. In Strangersto Ourselves(1988), Kristeva deftly
deploysvariousmetaphorsaroundthe foreigner with her poetic
language,while Sparkcreatesher foreigner in her study of self-
destruction.

A Fate of Exile
ConcerningTheDriver's Seat,Sparkcomments:"There is a
tendencyfor everybodywhen they comefrom a repressedor
puritanical society,to go abroadto sin. You can seetourists
doing things herein Rome which they wouldn't dreamof doing at
home asif the cork had beentaken out of the bottle" (1-5,1970,8).
In the novel, far from this casualandrather commonplace
comment,sheexploresdeepinto the unknown domainof the
unconscious. Leaving the North for the South,Lise aggravates
her incommunicability, becomesa threateningOther,brings with
her the dangerousliberty - the other sideof it is the poignant
alienation- of the foreigner,whosestrangenessis familiar to
ourselves. The drastically artificial andexaggeratedfigure of
Spark's foreigner emergeswith camivalesquesubversions-
resoundingin Lise's loud laughterand alsothe unrestrained
laughter of passingwomen. This "universe of strangenesses"
(Bradbury 193),aboutwhich thereis nothing realistic, appears
frighteningly real. For Lise, who intensifiesher alienationnot
only from othersbut also from herself, to be an exile is destiny
which drivesher to destruction.

Lise frequently looks at herself in a mirror, but nobody can
know what sheseesthere. When shedoesso in her total

141

isolation, curiously,her attemptof self-identification and alsoher
alienation from herself areevoked. A telephonecall shemakes
at her departurestrengthensthe senseof a split within her:

When sheis readyto leaveshedials a numberon the
telephoneandlooks at herself in the mirror which hasnot
yet beenconcealedbehind the pinewood panelswhich close
upon it. The voice answersandLise touchesher pale
brown hair asshespeaks. "Margot, I'm just off now,"
Lise says. "I'll put your car-keysin an envelopeandI'll
leavethem down stairswith the door-keeper. All right?"

The voice says,"Thanks. Have a goodholiday.
Have a goodtime. Sendme a card."

"Yes, of course,Margot."
"Of course", Lise sayswhen shehasreplacedthe
receiver. (DS 430)
A similar conversationwith "the voice" on the telephoneoccurred
on the previous day,and alsoat that time, Lise saidto "the mute
telephone,'Of course.Oh, of course"' (DS 429), after having
hung up, laughedandlaughed. "Margot," who seemsto be the
owner of Lise's uselesscar-keys- which Lise fails to leavewith
the porter becauseof her insolent laughter at her dress- is
addressedonly as"the voice" by the narrator,andher identity -
and evenher existence- remainsasobscureasLise's. We
observeLise's absorptionin automatic,repetitive actsof picking
up her belongingsfor thejourney from her bag, scrutinising them,
putting them back, oneby one, andthereis always a looking-glass
at suchmomentsassheis alonein her hotel room or in a dressing

142

room. Her distancefrom reality and from herself is uncannily
noticeablewhen shetouchesher hair asshespeaksto the
somewhatunidentified voice, asshelooks at herself in a mirror -
asif to confirm her imaginary identity and evenher existence.

However,to otherpeople,Lise boasts,"I canspeakfour
languagesenoughto makemyself understood"(DS 434). This
fact most ironically highlights her fundamentalincommunicability,
andmost obviously symbolisesher lack of national identity, as
well asany. As sherepeatsto Richard, "Kill me," in the four
languages(DS 490), shechoosesthis rootlessness. Shewell
exemplifies Kristeva's accountof the foreigner's "empty
confidence,v, alueless,which focus on his possibilities of being
constantlyother,accordingto others' wishes andto

circumstances":
Without a home,he disseminateson the contrary the actor's
paradox:multiplying masksand"false selves"he is never
completelytrue nor completely false, ashe is ableto tune in
loves and aversionsthe superficial antennaeof a basaltic
heart. A headstrongwill, but unawareof itself,
unconscious,distraught. (Kristeva, 1988,8)

In this novel, thereis also an ironical exampleof an indulgentbut
indifferent attitudetowards foreignersin a modem cosmopolitan
city. Lise finds "a small oblong box bearingthreepictures
without words to convey to clients of all languageswhich bell-
push will bring which room attendanf'(DS450). Shefiguresit
out "with a frown, asit were decipheringwith the effort necessary
to thosemore accustomedto word-reading" (DS 450), but noneof

143

thosebells brings an attendant. Communicationsbreak down
both outsideand inside her. Although shewishesto resortto her
solitary liberty, wailing, "I want to go home and feel all that
lonely grief again" (DS 483), asan exile, shehasno home and
keepswanderingin a foreign city till shewill havereachedher
destination,her death.

In order to describethe loss of the exile, Kristeva returnsto
the Oedipustriangle:

the exile is a strangerto his mother. He doesnot call her,
he asksnothing of her. Arrogant, he proudly holds on to
what he lacks,,to absence,to somesymbol or other. The
foreignerwould be the son of a father whoseexistenceis
subjectto no doubt whatsoever,but whosepresencedoes
not detainhim. Rejection on the one hand,inaccessibility
on the other: if onehasthe strengthnot to give in, there
remainsa path to be discovered. (Kristeva, 1988,5)
Lise could havebeenagaina very fitting examplefor this section,
"The Loss andthe Challenge", but Kristeva finds a better one,
Camus' Meursault, to make casefor the scenarioof matricide, the
lost mother,the motherlandand the mother tongue. Kristeva's
return to this matricide scenarioseemsto be a rather reductive
move. Certainly,also for TheDriver's Seat,to regardthe
completeabsenceof Lise's mother itself as a sign of her repressed
desirecanbe onepossibleinterpretationamongmany,but we can
allude to the figure of mother only outsidethe text. Sparkseems
to part ways with Kristeva when the latter lays too much stresson
bodily differencesbetweensexesor on motherhood.

144

Nevertheless,ratherthan somefemalecritics' readingsof The
Driver's Seat,which tend to fix the heroinein one categoryor
another,Kristeva's writing still hasmuch more in commonwith
this novel.

At the beginning of "Women's Time" (1981), Kristeva
deliberatelyand convincingly highlights a conceptionof time to
discusswomen's struggleswith the time of history, "time as
project, teleology,linear andprospectiveunfolding; time as
departure,progression,and arrival" (Kristeva, 1981,863) - and
masculine,which correspondswith the conceptof grand
narratives. In this regard,Lise's remark- when sheis going out
of the door shestares"as if to seebeyondif ' (DS 429), leaving
her empty room for her destination- would soundevenmore
meaningful: "I'm going to have the time ofmy life" (DS 427 [my
italics]).

Kristeva arguesthat women fought to gain a placein the
ccmasculinet"ime, but then.,havereacheda new phase,in which
they revolt againsttheir contractwith this time which is not of
their own. Shedetectsboth dangersandpossibilities in sucha
new attitude: women "are attemptinga revolt which they seeas a
resurrectionbut which society asa whole understandsasmurder.
This attemptcanleadus to a not lessandsometimesmore deadly
violence. Or to a cultural innovation. Probably to both at
once" (Kristeva, 1981,869). Shefurther suggeststhat women
who arein a subalternstatusmay well be apt for a paranoiac
pursuit of counterpower,asis seenin a shapeof terrorism- and in
TheDrivers Seat,in the figure of Lise - which actually imitates

145

their enemy'spower structure.
Finally, like Spark,Kristeva aimsto posequestions

concerningevery individual, both women andmen. Kristeva
expects"aestheticpractices"- by which shemeans"the modem
reply to the eternalquestionof morality" - to take an important
role:

In order to bring out - alongwith the singularity of each
personandevenmore, along with the multiplicity of every
person'spossibleidentifications ... the relativity of hislher
symbolicas well as biological existence,accordingto the
variation in his/her specific symbolic capacities. And in
orderto emphasizethe responsibility which all will
immediately face of putting this fluidity into play against
the threatsof deathwhich areunavoidablewheneveran
inside andoutside,a self and an other,one group and
another,areconstituted. (Kristeva, 1981,876)
In TheDriver's Seat,a radical individualism Sparkalwaysevokes
in her fiction comesinto view only in a shockingly harshway as
sherendersthe heroine's challengeagainstpatriarchy andher
alienation from society,reality andherself on herjourney asan
exile. The novel remainssilent aboutthe prehistory of the
subject,providesno universalpattern,and leavesthe spacefor us
to communicatewith ourselves:what answerwill eachof us fmd
in this "whydunnif'? Revealingthe absurdity of giving up on
communicatingwith reality, others,and oneself,of being lost in a
predestineddrive, Spark concernsherself with the pressing
problein of the present- the crisis of the subjectin the

146

postmodemworld. In terms of the "aestheticpractices", still,
canwe take it only asa dark andbleak manifestationof the
impossibility of the subjectwith any consciousselP

"The World - Where Is It Going?"
In TheDriver's Seat,the omniscientnarrator,focusing on Lise,
observesevery detail of eventsaroundher in the presenttense,
and insertsflashforwardsin the future tenseto tell us what is
going to happen. By employing this presenttense,Spark"makes
it [The Driver's Seat]more immediateand terrifying" (1-5,1970,
8). Shetook so much interestin the presenttensethat shekept
exploring this techniquein the following novels. In Not to
Disturb (1972), which intelligently plays with the materiality of
theatre,representationsof peoplearedistributed like any other
commodity. The 4bbessof Crewe(1973) offers anotherreal-
time andreal-life dramadirectedandperformedby its heroine.
According to the writer, TheHothouseby the East River (1973),
setin a New York inhabitedby ghosts,was very difficult to write
in the presenttense,"Particularly, perhaps,if one is living in a city
where everything is either in the pastor round the bend" (1-5,
1970,8), asGeorgeArmstrong supposed- and it might havebeen
the samefor TheDriver's Seat. As in the eerieNew York ghost
story, in the immediateandterrifying dramaof TheDriver's Seat,
the presentis lost not only to the heroine,but alsoto everybody,
inasmuchasthey areall lost in the postmodemworld. With this
present-tensenovel, Sparkbrings back the lost presentby
observingit attentively andruthlessly.

147

As is well known, Sparkwas attractedto the nouveau

roinan though sheby no meansacceptedthe theory of the anti-

novel - her storytelling hassuch drive. Her writing knows no

boredom. The economyof her writing allows no time - or no

spacein terms of her form - or evenno single word for anything

irrelevant to her themes. Shekeepsit short, andmakesus

laugh 67 SheadmiresRobbe-Grillet, asshestates,"His novels
.

havea specialkind of drama- perhapsthe dramaof exact

observatioif'(1-6,1971,73). For TheDriver's Seatasher own

"drama of exactobservation", a "destiny-driven creature"turns

out to be a perfect subject. Later shemakesit clearthat for this

novel "it was from the point of view of someonewho doesn't

know what anyoneis thinking, but who can see,who canobserve"

(1-10,1985,454). Sincethe authorcan seeeventhe future from

this point of view, Bradbury supposesthat "no authorcould be

surerwherethings aregoing.... Her peopleariseat the last,

from the last; what haswithered is a world of motive, purpose,

aspiration. The curious inescapabilityof plot is her subject,in

somereal senseher satisfaction" (Bradbury 189-90). Like Frank

Kermode,Bradbury lays too much stresson "the senseof an

ending."" - Certainly, the authorknows what is going to happen

" In an interview, Sparksays:"I like purple passagesin my life. I like drama.
But not in my writing. I think it's bad mannersto inflict a lot of emotional
involvement on the reader- much nicer to makethem laugh andto keepit short.
And then so many writers have alreadydoneit; why repeatit? It's betterjust to
speaki-n a kind of shorthand"(1-3,1970,412).
' "Frank Kermode tells us that endingsin fiction and apocalypsein history are

analogues,that a problem of fictional ad is to relatethe time of the world, that
endingsattachsignificanceto time" (Bradbury 189). Kermode alsotells us that:
"Mrs Sparkis evensomewhatarrogantaboutthe extent of the novelist's power:
knowing the end of the regular climatic momentsshefudgesthem, simply because

148

to her heroine. However, is the "inescapability of plot" her
subject,and evenher satisfaction? Does shesaythat things
shouldbe happeningasthey arein this novel?

In relation to the mindlessmassesmoving around,Kemp
rightly paysmuch attentionto the artificial, mechanical,modem
world, andevery individual swallowed up in that machineryin
TheDriver's Seat. He suggeststhat a lecture called "The World
- Where Is It Going," which Bill, the ridiculous "Enlightenment
leader," is planning to give, could be a fitting subtitle to the novel
(Kemp, 1974,125). "The World - WhereIs It Going?" - apart
from the motif of movement,and evenmore suitableasa subtitle
than he would havethought- is anurgent and fundamental
questionof the novel. In his own ingeniously titled section,
'Tuture Conditional," Kemp discussesSpark's narrativetechnique
in TheHothouseby the East River:

The fiction,,like all fictions and asits initial statement
underlines,is a hypothesis:and,furthermore,a most
extremeexampleof one,in that what it is concernedwith is
a speculativefuture being shatteredby internal and
proliferating possibilities -a kind of conditional civil war.
Thereis, therefore,steadyavoidanceof the definite,
indicative, or positive. The book beginswith the word
"if' andendswith a referenceto "unknowing"; its narrative
drawsheavily on the subjectiveand conditional mood;
doubt-indicatorslike "perhaps" and "possible" and

the designof her world, like God's, hasmore interestingaspectsthanmere
chronologicalprogressandthe satisfactionof nalve expectationin the reader"
(Kermode, 1965,179).

149