POSTMODERNISM MURIEL SPARK

CHAPTER VIII

ENDINGS

"As we go through this eveningandinto tonight 15
- TheFinishing School:Conclusion

For nearly half a century,wishing to liberate the mind andliberate
the novel, Muriel Sparkhaswritten twenty-two novels. With her
latestnovel, TheFinishing School(2004),just off the press,the
now eighty-six-year-old artist looks back at - andtalks about
"looking back7- her life andher art:

With hindsight, ... which is a wonderful thing, I could
rewrite my life entirely. I canseemotives that I couldn't
seeat the time for having donethings. I canseevery good
motives,very goodreasons,why I actedasI did.
Generallyspeaking,I must say I approveof what I did. I
often look back andthink, "Should I havedonethat?" I
think, "Given the circumstances,yes I should." And also,
you know, looking back - if onemust look back - it's
sometimesgood to look back- one canover-simplify.
(1-13,2004)
In the sameconfident manner,shealsoapprovesof what she
wrote. Shespeaksof her conviction that shehasactually done
what shehasalwayswished to do by her writings:
I believe I have liberatedthe novel in many ways
showing how anything whatsoevercanbe narrated,any

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experiencesetdown, including sheerdamncheek. I think
I have openeddoorsandwindows in the mind, and
challengedfears- especiallythe most inhibiting fearsabout
what a novel shouldbe. (1-13,2004)
Spark's tone is simply factual in her retrospectionand in her
response,too, to the speculationthat TheFinishing School could
be her last novel - probably it would be, maybeit is, shethinks,
though not quite with an air of the Last Judgment,asshehas
anothernew novel at hand (shefeelslonely without a novel, she
claims).
Sparkis not affectedby a thought of the end,but shehas
given a greatdeal of thought to the end,this problematic concept.
The themeof the end is apparentin her new novel shetitled The
Finishing School,103andher poet's accuracyis alwaysappliedto
the whole novel, indeed,including its title: the very first one or
few words to herald her themesboth most clearly and
mysteriously. In her latestnovel, looking back on life, art, and
this postmodernworld, Muriel Sparktells her version of history of
today,of hereandnow - with hindsight.

Seeingthings from the end- the phraseLoma Sagechosefor the
title of her review on Spark'sSymposium(1990) would gain the
novelist's approvalfor its pertinencenot only to this particular
novel, but alsoto her generalconcern. Sage'semphasison "the
geometricaland end-directednature" (Sage,1990,278) of her

"I The title of this novel wasreportedto be TheMobile Finishing School in an
interview by Gillian Bowditch in 2001.

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novel points to somethingtotally different from a certain

"mainstream" criticism, which hasoften linked the "end-directed

nature" of Spark's fiction to an authorial knowledge of the end in

terms of religious transcendence. Sage'spoint is that the artist's

interestis closely tied to eventsin life and in this world, which she

seesfrom the end andrewrites to openup a new perspective-
anotherdimension. No matterhow palpably the configuration of

destiny is felt in her fiction, sheis not trying to evoke a pious

view or awe of Providence. Sage'sremark that "Muriel Spark

thesedaysis cutting comers,looking back, re-writing herself'

(Sage,1990,278) doesnot merely refer to autobiographicalpieces

such asLoitering with (1981) andA Far Cryfroni
-Intent

Kensington(1988). This, lightly touching on the relation

betweenhigh economyof Spark'swriting andher hindsight,

curiously correspondswith the writer's rather enigmatic

understatement",one can over-simplify" by looking back.

Sage'sreview title soundslike a rarepiece of good advice

from the critic endowedwith what Sparkcalls "a literary

sense,.104 It is useful,following herwords,to seethingsfromthe

"' In her autobiographySparkexplainsthis idea of "literary sense"asa kind of

sixth sense,saying,"it was by this 'sense'that one shouldjudge literature" (CV 138).

Here, I might add a fact for a generalinterest- though it is not my concernhere- in
Spark's attitude to psychoanalysis. Sparkconceivedthe idea of literary sense,
triggeredby her literary discussionwith Marie Bonaparte,Freud's prominentpupil,
at the time of their intellectual fiiendship in SouthernRhodesia. (Spark later met
Anna Freud, too, in London for her mission to carry a letter from Marie Bonaparte).
Marie Bonaparte'sapproachto literature from a psychologicalpoint of view was
new to her then. Sparkwas "intrigued," but she"felt it left too much unsaid" (CV
138),and shenamedwhat lacks from this approach"a literary sense". Ather

remark-,"I'm really not very versedin Freud" (1-11,1998,218), one may wonder
how much sheactually knows. Shecameto know a few things about
psychoanalysisand, it seems,shedecidedthat shedid not needit. I think shecan
work out subjectmatters,which both her fiction and psychoanalysisdealwith, on

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end,to look back to her talk with Sparkin 1976. Here is her
observationof this writer almost fifteen yearsbefore the
publication of Symposium:

It's worldliness that enablesher to absorbpublic events,
and "do" fashionsin feeling almostbefore they've
happened. What's hard to take is not any literary
remotenessb, ut simply her attitudeto human failing -
which shedescribed(gently, amusedly,bleakly) as"a lack
of expectancy". (1-8,1976,11)
What intrigued Sageat that time was the compatibility of Spark's
ability to "'do' fashionsin feeling almostbefore they've
happened"with her sereneacceptanceof "a lack of expectancy",
human failing which doesnot excludethe writer herself. Both in
Spark's novelistic world and in the real world, while mindless
massesof peopleareleft behind by the times, the artist illuminates
the presentandevenfarther ahead. This is not only to saythat
the artist's mind, ever so quick, never fails to keeppacewith the
times,,but alsoto saythat her art, ever so avant-garde,neverfails
to find a new shapeto representit. The significance of Loma
Sage'sobservationnow emergesmore clearly: in a similar way
eachnew novel by Spark addsa new, clearerpicture to her
previousworks. And againin her review, her graspof "the
geometricalandthe end-directednature" of Spark's novel,
indicating its pure form which hassomethingsimilar to a
mathematicalprecision,provesitself to be valuable.
The year of Sage'sinterview, which reportedthat Spark

her own, and shedoes.

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found herself having become"more historically-minded" (1-8,

1976,11), sawthe publication of The Takeover(1976). This
novel is one of earliestexamplesthat articulatethe world entering
the postmodernphase(therefore,"the passingof an era" (T 9),
too), asRod Menghamclaims in his article, " 1973The End of
History: Cultural ChangeAccording to Muriel Spark" (1999).
Around this time, the 1970sonward,what becamemore andmore
visible was a changein how Sparkrepresentsthe reality of the
world by bringing abouta different dimension,or "supernatural"
elements. Shebeganto let postmodernphenomenapresentitself
assomethingsupernatural- hyper-reality of reality. With every
kind of virtual reality trafficking in endlessinformation, simulacra,
andreffled objectsincluding people,her charactersbegin to suffer
their own illusions of destiny,ratherthanmysteriousagentsfrom
anothersphere,mysteriousvoices that dictatedestiny.

Another suggestivefact in Sage'sconversationwith Spark
is that the writer then had an idea for her new novel: a story of a
foresightedCelt in the Dark Ages. This story, in fact, was to
comeup much later and indirectly in Reality and Dreams
(1996),105but the essenceof the idea,though differently, was
spelledout in The Takeover. As thepostmodernerahasarrived
with the collapseof grandnarratives,of conceptsof the authentic
or the original, many charactersin The Takeovercling to, or resort
to the past,seekingfor lost myths of origin - and an illusory

115The idea appearsasits film-director character'sidea for his film, which rendersa
Celt into a legendaryprophet figure, who is "sent mad by completeknowledgeof
the future, andyet with little control over his own life' (RD 132), asis referredto in
ChapterV.

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knowledgeof end,of destiny,on its reverseside- to recycle, like
everything else. In Spark's fiction, apartfrom recycledmyths or
self-madegrandnarratives,the legendaryCelt's foresight leads
nowhere. If not tragedy,madnessis what Spark associateswith
"foresight," namely,the illusion of destiny,like the legendof the
soothsayeritself It is delusionsof identifying oneselfwith
destiny,elevatingoneselfbeyondhuman condition, which Spark
dealswith harshly andruthlessly,whereasshetreats"a lack of
expectancy", this humanfailing, "gently, amusedly,bleakly," as
Sageprecisely described.

Sparkis not onewho tries to or wishesto assumethe role of
prophet. Even when shesendssupernaturalvoices of destiny
into lives of charactersin her earlier novels.,suchvoices do not
comeasauthorialpower to condemnher creationsto destiny.
For instance,in TheComforters(1957), the heroineis to liberate
herself from her painful experienceof hearingtyping sounds
accompaniedby voicesthat prescribeher life; in MementoMori
(1959), a group of old peoplereceiveanonymoustelephonecalls
telling them "Rememberyou must die," and the reminder of death
is to intensify the awarenessof what they have at the present
moment.,life. For the artist, to live andwrite here andnow, a
lack of expectancyis somethingto cometo terms with, and
hindsight is a wonderful thing - with which shecanrewrite her
life entirely.

In her review, crisp and all to the point, Ali Smith rightly remarks,
"The Finishing Schoolis its own historical novel" (Smith). In

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this contemporaryhistory written by Spark,the finishing school of
the title - namedCollege Sunrise- is "by its foundation, free and
mobile" (FS 117),floating in a frame of misty sky. Rowland
Mahler andhis wife, Nina, run the schoolpresently on the feesof
nine pupils from wealthy Europeanfamilies. SinceNina largely
looks after their business,Rowland is allowed to dedicatemost of
his time to writing a novel, which is his ambition - thoughhis
novel hasbeenunmaterialisedfor a few years. Now, he is
disturbedby oneof the pupils, a "threaf 'to his creativewriting:
seventeen-year-oldr,ed-hairedChris, who is alsowriting a novel,
a historical novel aboutMary Queenof Scots,with easyself-
assurance. Rowland's "writer's block" turns into "jealousy."
Inside the small school, a processof creativewriting, of fimishing
a novel, revolves on a psychodramabetweenthe pair of would-be-
novelists. As this dramaunfolds, Nina, amongothers,keeps
watching the dark cloud of tension,fearfully waiting some
catastropheto come,waiting her speculation"to be possible,quite
probable,altogetherreal" (FS 32).

TheFinishing Schoolnot onlY addsanothermore
contemporaryhistory by Spark,but also, in a way, compilesthe
history of the artist's own exploration into the postmodemworld.
Its structureis astight and denseasever. And more than ever,
many life storiesshehastold in her fiction echoin this slim book,
andmany important themesshehasdealtwith convergeon it. "'
It is no surpriseto find her constantbig themes- e.g. the interplay

1OFGor example,asa writer herself, Smith finds that TheEinishing School"has a lot
in common" (Smith) with Spark's first novel, The Comforlers,in relation to the
themeof "art" intruding life.

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of art and life - in the new novel asin others. However,what is
interestinghereis that Sparkseemsto play jokes on the characters
by somegesture- or rather,mimicry - of recycling detailsand
motifs of her previousworks. To suggestthat this is a conscious
gesture,a sharpsatireon the postmodemage,andits relevanceto
the themeof the end,first, the subtle framework of the novel
shouldbe examined.

The voice Sparkintroducesinto this novel - neither the
voice of destinynor that of legend- is a pleasurablywitty one.
As if to symboliseher attitudetowardshuman failing, a lack of
expectancy,"the dearvoice of Hazel forecastingthe weatheron
Sky News" tunesin TheFinishing School,singing a leitmotif, "As
we go throughthis eveningandinto tonight. . ." (ES 156).
Whereasthis voice of forecastingthe weatherresoundsat the end
of the novel, in its opening,we hearRowland telling his creative

writing class:
"You begin," he said, "by settingyour scene. You haveto
seeyour scene,either in reality or in imagination. For
instance,from hereyou canseeacrossthe lake. But on a
day like this you can't seeacrossthe lake, it's too misty.
You can't seethe other side." (FS 1)

No soonerhasRowland heapedmore gibberish on the themeof
"setting the scene"than Sparkhasthe narrativevoice display how
to setthe scene,how it canbe done,by adding simple threelines:

It was early July, but not summery. The sky bulged,
pregnantwith water. The lake had beeninvisible under
the mist for somedays. (ES 3)

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Thus,the sceneof TheFinishing Schoolis setimpressively,in its
- say,weather-bound(in every sense)- framework; Rowland's
nonsenseis transformed,bulging with themesof the novel,
pregnantwith eventsto come,though the other side,the end, is
yet invisible.

The voice forecastingthe weatheris, indeed,radically
different from the voice of destiny,but at the sametime, it is a
very suitableand ironic substitutefor the latter - in times like ours.
As to the meteorologicalframework of TheFinishing School,it
would be helpful to take notice of the distinction betweenDestiny
and Chaosmadeby JeanBaudrillard in TheIllusion ofthe End
(1992). All through his book he arguesthe impossibility of the
end, aswell asany kind of real, and alsoits Idea. Becauseevery
thing hasbeenimmortalised andevery Ideahasbeenliterally
materialisedinto simulacra/virtualrealities/ illusions, the world
hasbecomeonebig illusion. Discussingthe disappearanceof
the end- aswe have alreadyreachedbeyondit - in terms of the
disappearanceof the causalrelation, he goeson to explain the
notion of predestination. To begin with, he wams us not to
confusepredestinationwith "sensitivity to initial conditions"; it is
"much rather,a hypersensitivityto thefinal conditions of a

process":
In predestination,the end is therebefore the beginning and
every effort to move away from the endbrings that end
closer:this is why it is tragic andironic in character,and
not merely eccentricor catastrophic,asin the patternsof
chaos. Meteorology is chaotic; it is not a figure of

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destiny...

Chaosis a parody of any metaphysicsof destiny...
Destiny is the ecstaticfIgure of necessity. Chaosis merely
the metastaticfigure of Chance.
(Baudrillard, 1992,112-13)

Baudrillard criticisesthe world where Chaosspreadsover the void
of Destiny. The world is condemnedto chaoticphenomena,
which areinorganic and indifferent in essencew, hich areall
effectswithout causes;we arethe silent masseswatching the
timelessand endlessrecycling of the event,that is, the emptiness
betweena sign of catastropheand its virtual reality.

Sparkseemsto shareBaudrillard's argumentin The
Finishing School,particularly concerningthe idea that thereis no
longer an origin or an end,or any fixed point in this postmodern
world. The framework that is so casuallyestablishedin the
opening,alongsideHazel's voice andher repeatedphraseat the
end,is an essential,satirical deviceto illustrate the postmodern
substitutefor destiny,to reflect the systemof the world asa
formation of chaos. Within sucha frame,the mobile fmishing
school- preposterousthough it seems- is a perfect close-upof
and a perfectmetaphorfor the world simulating its own system.
Importantly, it is Rowland who hits on the idea of their school
being mobile (running a finishing schoolwasNina's idea) in the
hopethat he canstarthis novel afreshand finish it by moving one
placeto anotlier.'O' His novel in effect hasstayed,andstill is, at

"I The outcomeof Rowland's mobile schoolidea is closeto the effectsof what
Baudrillard terms"exponential instability" and exponentialstability" (and they are
alsothe title of acbapter). 'fliese termsarereferredto asversionsof CbaosMeory.

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the samezero point, in the void. No matterhow he wants to
finish it, it is always in the progressiveform with no progress.
Furthermore,it is revealedthat he had oneplay, one success- "a
young-personsuccess"(FS 54) he wishesto have again- asa
playwright, when he was a graduatestudent:he alreadyhad the
end,and now is beyondit. An ironical turn is that Chris" entry
asa catastrophe"interrupts" his creativewriting and,instead,
makeshim write a book of observation,a, re-productionof mere
responsesto circumstances.

The pattern of recycling that inevitably emergesfrom the
world beyondthe end,in the form of CollegeSunrise,is asclear
asin Baudrillard's thesis:History, as"its own dustbin," "has only
wrencheditself from cyclical time to fall into the order of the
recycle" (Baudrillard, 1992,26-27). A finishing school,
accordingto Rowland, is "a placewhereparentsdump their teen-
agechildren" (FS 46), andthesechildren aresupposedto be
"really andtruly finished," in Nina's more civilised expression,
"like the finish on a rarepiece of furniture" (FS 5). They arean
extravagantwastecirculating with their rich parents' money;
alreadya commodity- whether "polished off ' (FS 46) or not -
passingthrough the school in a processof recycling. Similarly,
the school's curriculum, including Rowland's creativewriting

He explains"exponential instability" asa catastrophiceventinterrupting the
linearity of history,making history impossibleby its unpredictability and
incalculability, by its uncontrollableeffects. As for "exponential stability," it is a
statein which "everything tendstowardsthe Zero point" because"everything has
alreadytakenplace." The two incompatiblehypothesis,he claims, arecombinedin
the systemof our world, in "an excessof ends:the transfinite" (Baudrillard, 1992,
111-12).

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class,consistsof "all text-book stuff' (FS 53); visiting lecturers
areput in order of the feesin Nina's list, despiteher aweof
scholarswhoseworth is "priceless" (FS 37), askedto give "the
sameor a similar lecture" (FS 43). CollegeSunriseis really an
educationfactory - without the paradoxof Miss JeanBrodie.108

Certainly,the work of art, inseparablefrom life, the world,
andits times, suffersthe sameconsequencea, sWalter Benjamin
discussedin "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical
Reproduction" (1936). In Benjamin's terms,the work of art lost
"the aura," andso did the event,asBaudrillard elaborates.
Benjamin definedthe auraas"the unique phenomenonof a
distance,however closeit may be" (Benjamin 216). What
eliminatesthe auraof the "original" is reachingbeyondthis
distance,by coveting the perfection of reproductionin a
technologicalfrenzy. Transgressingthe limit of the work of art
by meansof reproduction,"Any man today can lay claim to being
filmed"; "At any momentthe readeris readyto turn into a writer"
(Benjamin225). Anybody canbean artwork or an artist."'
Sparkelegantlyputs this issueon the cat-walk, inviting the
readersto a schoolevent,a fashion-showat College Sunrise.

This school fashion-showis not a merefashionablesketch
of contemporarylife, but an "event" in "the ageof mechanical
reproduction." The little sceneof severalpagesalsohasSpark's

"I In ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie, this progressiveteacherof a girls' schoolcalls
the school "an educationfactory" (PMJB 14). The paradoxis that, while she
encouragesher pupils to be original, greatheroines,sheherself becomesan
institution of original individuals to makeher own copiesof her girls.
11 Spark's "The Desegregationof Arf' is an extraordinarydiscussionasto this issue.
About this lecture,seeChapterVI.

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expertiseto expressthe themeof excess- with high economyof
her own writing - all on display. For the fashion-show,
everything is preparedwell to createan "authentic" setting around
the cat-walk (convertedkitchen table tops), decoratedby paper
flowers andbed-covers,andunnecessaryluxurious fire. The
"authenticity" of the show is, indeed,underlinedby the home-
movie, in which it looks "quite the real thing" (FS 73). Except
for a few visitors, everybodyis to participate in the show. All
the staff and,particularly, the teenagestudentsareperfectly at
easeto coming out of their audienceseatsto stepon to the cat-
walk. Rowland (the lighting director) and Chris ("the Master of
Ceremony" (FS 74)), with anotherboy student(Rowland's
assistant),taketheir seamlesstriple role of spectator,model, and
show-maker. Reproducing"the real thing" is so easily done.

As the studentmodels.,eachin a costumereflecting her or
his self-image,appearin turn, the extravagantspectacleson stage
draw the attentionof the audience- andthe readers- while a
latent catastrophegrows off stage. In the shadowof the
successionof excessimagesilluminated by the artificial lighting,
anotherpatternwoven by excessillusions lies donnant. The
patterntakesa shapeof an odd triangle amongcentral characters.
Nina, asusual,watchesher husbandandnoticeshisjealous fury
with Chris. Rowland's gazeis, asusual,fixed on Chris all
through the show. Meanwhile, Chris observesNina exchanging
little intimate smileswith Israel Brown, a guestandher lover-to-
be. What eachof them is looking at is an empty spaceoccupied
by an object that projects their illusions.

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Among the three,Nina is to make an escapefrom the
triangle. Shehasrealisedthat what shemarried was her
aspirationtowardsthe scholarship,which shehopedto be
materialisedby Rowland, who is no longer evena person,but "a
stateof mind" (FS 56), assheputs it. Sheconcentrateson
coping with the presentthough sheknows that sheis leaving her
husband. In contrast,t,he presentis lost to the two men since
they live in therecycling of illusion, into which the pastandthe
future aswell have vanished. Chris is to join divorcedRowland
in "a Same-sexAffirmation" (FS 155),replacingNina and
running the mobile schoolwith him, after a strangeturn of event.
Theyjoin togetherin their sharedillusion of destiny,that is, the
illusion of authorshipthey wish to etemaliseby their books,to
reachbeyondthe end. Deterring eachother from finishing a
novel, they areplaying the endlessend gamebetweenthe mirror
images,doubly tautological asthey areidentified with their books.
The matchingpair is absorbedin the recycling of illusion, in a
seriesof displacements- parallel to the idea of a mobile school.

Spark's fiction hasrevealedthe excessillusion assuchin a
form of madness,which Baudrillard alsodiscussesasspecific to
the whole culture of our times and definesas"identity syndrome":

... a delirium of self-appropriation- all the monstrous
variantsof identity - the delirium not of the schizophrenic
but of the isophrenic,without shadow,other,transcendence
of image- that of the mental isomorph,the autistwho has,
asit were, devouredhis doubleandabsorbedhis twin
brother (being a twin is, conversely,a form of autismiý

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deux). (Baudrillard, 1992,109)

In relation to various aspectsof postmodernphenomenaand from
various focal points, Sparkhasclarified, aswell asother essential
themes,the figure of this contemporaryform of madness. A
history of the madnessby the artist canbe found in the "story" of
double figure of Rowland and Chris.

The doublefigure in TheFinishing School,in fact, rings a
bell loudly: Spark's hilarious invention of two Lucans,the
original missing Earl andhis impersonatorendingup a pair of
copies,in her previousAiding and Abetting (2000). Hertwo
latestnovelsmake a contrastbetween"the aristocraticillusion of
the origin andthe democraticillusion of the end" (Baudrillard,
1992,123), two forms of illusion of destiny. Both illusions
derive from groundlessbelief in destiny:the claim for blue blood
- which Sparkcomparesto "the madnessof a gambler" (AA 131)
- andthat for the authorship. In Loitering with Intent these
illusions mergetogetherin the madnessof Sir Oliver Quentin,
who impersonatesthe protagonistof the novel written by its artist-
heroine. If paying attentionto suchmotif asthe figure of father
and unfinishedbusiness,the illusion of destiny canbe tracedback
to the madnessof the missing daughter(who would dreamof
Lucky Lucan whosedisappearancehasmadehimself a legend)in
Reality and Dreams and that of the girl "with evil eye" in
Symposium. The Rowland-Chris relationship is alsoan
innovative variation on the themeof The Takeover:a futile fight
over the ownershipbetweenpeoplepossessedby possession.
This time, the pair is driven mad by the fight over the authorship,

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possessedby possession- ofjcalousy. "'
TheFinishing School,blessedwith the Sparkian

compatibility of contradiction,juxtaposesa contemporaryhistory
of the world in the order of recycle and a history of her own
writings with everykind of metamorphoses. Hencethe playful
gestureof "recycling": sheseemsto sendher readerssignalsto
tell the differencebetweenre-productionsandnew inventions,
especially,concerningthe contemporarycreativewriting. To
mention only one of most obvious signalsassuch,Chris shares
his trademark,striking red-hair with Margaret in Symposium,and
nonetheless,that sheis obviously a kind of his predecessorfigure
doesnot causeanybodyto categorisethe two novels asthe same
or a similar type."' Instead,this "recycling" gesturecreatestwo
different satirical effects. On the onehand, it directly satirises
the world whereboth peopleandworks of art becomerecycled
objects. On the other,particularly aiming at the would-be-
novelist pair, it showshow to tell things differently, evenif using

samematerials.

To write "a historical 55 fiction basedon facts,was a

novel,

pronouncedproject in Aiding and Abetting. For this project,,

"'Chris says,"I needhis [Rowland's] jealousy. His intensejealousy. Ican't
work without ie'(FS 101). The questionis whosejealousy is it -Rowland's or
Chris'?
"I Among otherpupils, JoanArcher, a Daddy's girl writing to her father to ask for
money,is a blend of alsoMargaretin Symposizinai nd Isobel in A Far Cryfront
Kensington;Mary Foot would remind us of anotherhopeless,stupid Mary in The
Prime ofMiss Jean Brodie. Mr Fergussonis an editor with paternalauthority,who
hasthe samenameasthe similarly father-figurepoliceman in TheBachelors.
Visitors of the school,GiovannaandIsrael Brown are an aunt andher older nephew
like Lister andEleanorin Not to Disturh. Many more examplesof this minor kind
(in most characters,in fact) and alsomore important recycled motifs, which I will
refer to in my argument,canbe found.

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Sparktook up a material fairly wom out by the massmedia: the
famouscaseof the seventhEarl of Lucan, who went missing after
his allegedmurder of his children's nanny and attemptedmurder
of his wife, sideby sidewith anotherfact-based"story" of a fake
stigmatic woman. In Note to Readers,the authorstates,"What
we know about 'Lucky' Lucan, his words, his habits,his attitudes
to peopleandto life, from his friends, photographs,andpolice
records,I have absorbedcreatively,andmetamorphosedinto what
I have written" (AA vi). In TheFinishing School,to write a
historical novel becomesitself a theme,and it comprisesthe
whole structureof the novel. The omniscient,third-person
narrator seemsto be somebodywho knows very well aboutnot
only a processof creativewriting, but alsowriting a historical
novel. Its voice with an informative air, sometimesaddressingto
the readers,is a sharedcharacteristicin Spark's later works.

The narrativevoice of TheFinishing School,ironic and
knowing, is distinct from other charactersin its point of view, tone
and style. This voice makesit clear-almost showsit off - that it
cantell things differently - with icy disdain for Rowland and
Chris. By employing free indirect style in a deliberatelyoblique
way, Sparkhasher narrator appropriateother characters'thoughts,
aswell astheir words, for the main narrativeto heightenirony.
In other words, the fundamentalnarrative devicehere- and a
themein Loitering with Intent - is to put the samethoughtsand
the samewords into a different perspectivewith a sudden
change.112 Similarly, though gradually,the two novels-

112'Flie openingscenequotedearlier is the most impressiveinstancefor such

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supposedlyin progress- by Chris andRowland arefitted into the
main narrative.

Chris, at first, seemsto follow the creativewriting process
Spark explainsin the Note to Aiding andAbeffing, tackling his
material which hasbeenusedmore than the Lucan story: the
murder of the husbandof Mary Queenof Scots. He is even
entrustedwith his creator's own theory on this subject.`3
However, for all his own successfulpublicity andthe marketing
value of the coming historical novel by a seventeen-year-old
genius,it turns out to be "a lot of shit" (ES 124)in a tough
worldly editor's view. As his historical novel is withering, his
life, a "story" of Chris, spirals into his creator'shistorical novel.
As for Rowland's "The SchoolObserved", TheFinishing School
asa creativenovel is itself the sharpestsatire on the bookhe
eventuallymanageto write by accumulatingmereobservations
andtrite comments. The artist canmetamorphoseideasand
observationsof facts into a creativenovel, and alsoa historical
novel of its own times.

Here, it may be interestingto have a look at Benjamin's
more old-fashioned(old asit is) essay,which seemsto validate
andbe validatedby the auraof Spark'spostmodemart of fiction.
As Benjamin valuesthe archetypalquality of the story in its
traditional from, specifically Nikolai Leskov's works, with
nostalgiain his tone, thereis a similar quality abouthis insight in

change.
"' Explaining her theory about the Mary Queenof Scots' story,which is told by her
character,Chris, in the novel, Sparkcomments,I have only touchedon it in my
novel asa valid theme" (1-13,2004).

317

"The Storyteller" (1936). He distinguishesthe novel andthe
story asdifferent art forms in terms of their relationsto time:
temporal elementssuchasmemory,death,andhistory. He
contrasts"the perpetuatingremembranceof the novelist" with
"the short-lived reminiscencesof the storyteller" (Benjamin 97).
The novel operatesby the remembrancebecauseit resiststime
andtranscendslife to graspits meaning,andtherefore,it hasits
own death. In the story deathof reminiscencesoccur,one after
another,but it alwayshas a beginning, andtherefore,,it hasits

continuity.
Actually thereis no story for which the questionasto bow
it continuedwould not be legitimate. The novelist, on the
otherhand, cannothopeto take the smalleststepbeyond
that limit at which he invites the readerto a divinatory
realization of the meaningof life by writing "Finis."
(Benjamin 99)

hi short, Benjamin favoursmany small narrativesin the story over,
say,one (teleological) grandnarrative of the novel. Besides,he
finds a historian in the storyteller who is rooted in actualpeople,
the world, life in his/her own times, andtells all the experience.
When he appreciates"co-ordinates" (Benjamin 98) of the two art
forms, it rathermeansthe elementof the story in the novel: some
little sceneof the novel expandingand embracingthe essenceof
anybody's experience(onemight think of Proustianmoment).

Benjamin concludesthe essaywith his ideaof "the aura7
aboutthe storyteller who canoffer a life story and a sort of
philosophy for an everydaylife:

318

He [the storyteller] hascounsel- not for a few situations,as
the proverb does,but for many,like the sage. For it is
grantedto him to reachback to a whole lifetime (a life,
incidentally,that comprisesnot only his own experiencebut
no little of the experienceof others;what the storyteller
knows from hearsayis addedto his own). His gift is the
ability to relatehis life; his distinction, to be ableto tell his
entire life. (Benjamin 107)
If this is the basic condition of the auraaboutthe storyteller, Spark
definitely hasit, though thereis more to say abouther art form.
Shecanwell write her entire lik, but more importantly, shesays,
shecanrewrite her life entirely - telling it entirely differently.
When Sparkmetamorphoseslife into her writings, shedoes
so with hindsight that enablesher to "over-simplify." The
paraphraseof this proceduremay be found in her talk with Philip
Toynbee,in her explanationfor her highly stylisednovels suchas
TheDriver's Seat(1970) andNot to Disturb (1971): "What I am
trying to do is to pare everything away which I feel to be
superfluous"(1-9,1971,74). This seemsto havemadeToynbee
wonder how, for instance,the exotic themeandthe exotic setting
of Not to Disturb - "an elementof extravaganzY (1-9,1971,74)
in the author'swords - could fit in suchprinciple. But then,
what Sparktalks aboutis the purity of the form, describedas"the
geometricalnature' by Loma Sage. The artist's businessis to
clarify the essenceof things through its purestform. -To do so,
sheneedsto look back, and the fixed point to look back to. This
point for Sparkhappensto be her conversionto Catholicism.

319

If Spark's Catholicism had anything to do with her writings,
it is as"a point of departure", asshestates:

It's very important to me to have a point of departure,
becausein the modem world nobody has any fixed belief or
fixed ideaof anything, and in a world like that a fixed point
is very important. (1-10,1985,445)
Her faith, indeed,is neither a convenientchoicefor the norm nor
an intellectual decision. As sheoften claims, shecannotnot
believe becauseof her understandingof what shebelieves,and
becauseof the paradoxicaltruth shehasfound in it through her
own understanding(which is intellectual), asLoma Sagepoints
out, again,with her astuteness:
What Mrs Sparkvaluesin the Church is its sophistication-
all thosecenturiesof expertisein human failing, the
sensibleway it acknowledgesthat the unfathomabletangle
of motives is unfathomable,and concentrateson thoughts,
words and deeds. Herfaith meansthat she'sshockingly
scepticalabout everythingunder the sun.
(1-8,1976,11 [my italics])

For this faith/scepticism,Sparklooks back to her point of
departure,that is, her own conviction (not doctrinesanddogmas
of the Church). Through suchpractice,shehasbecomewhat she
is andher own norm by which shegraspsherself, life andthe

world.
Spark's kind of belief and its relation with truth canwell be

brought into the field of philosophy. Introducing Alain Badiou's
philosophy in his comprehensiveandperceptivebook, Badiou: a

320

Subjectto Truth (2003), PeterHallward explainsthat to this
philosophertruth is "a matter of conviction first and foremost":

The word truth (virile), asBadiou usesit, connotes
somethingcloseto the English expressions"to be true to
something" or "to be faithful to something." What Badiou
calls subjectivization essentiallydescribesthe experienceof
identification with a cause,or better,the active experience
of conversionor commitmentto a cause-a causewith
which one can identify oneselfwithout reserve.
(Hallward xxvi)
Subjectivizationin Badiou's sense,astruth procedure,lays stress
on its singularity (distinguishedfrom "particularity" for the
latter's connotationof specific attributes),and any singular truth
must be generic(understoodasa kind of "purity" by Hallward).
The most notable distinction of Badiou's philosophy that pursues
purely subjectivetruth, its procedure,is "subtractioW':"the first
task of any genericpractice of thought is the "subtraction" of
whateverpassesfor reality so asto clearthe way for a
formalization of the real" (Hallward xxxi). Spark's
philosophical thinking would agreewith the idea of pure
formalisation. However, asthe artist, shewould defy the
philosopher'sradical indifferenceto representation(rather,"re-
presentation"in his view, to underline specifying signification of
its procedure)- or simply leaveit to her artworks.
To be an artist is Spark's conviction andvocation. Sheby
no meansclaims to be a philosopher. Nonetheless,her art of
fiction aims at provoking a thought "to have a whole new

321

philosophy of life" (1-11,1998,223) in variousways. In her life,
shehasher own norm by which shequestionsany kind of existing
norm, order,system,or way of thinking in the world. In her art,
too, shehasher own form by which shecanupsetthe order of
signification with her revolutionary, almost anarchicspirit. She
is fully in control of her language,showing "how anything
whatsoevercanbe narrated", including the unfigurable, the
real.114 In this regard,how shecanexpressthe themeof excess-
often andin many forins suchasdesire,evil, extravagance,death,
art, things outsidethe normal order or use- exemplifiesher
mastery. Her art communicates,liberatesthe mind to seetruth,
andrelatesit to reality of life, offering a new philosophy of life.

Spark's twenty-secondnovel, TheFinishing School,hasessential,
original qualities of her fiction. Ali Smith concludesher review
with herjoy:

Lithe andblithe andphilosophical, it [TheFinishing
School] makesit possibleto dismissthe malevolent;how
TheFinishing School fmisheswith such a revelation of
reassuringcohesionis itself ajoyful mystery. It is Spark
at her sharpest,her purestandher most merciftil. (Smith)
"A joyful mystery" soundsfitting to Spark's extraordinaryability
to invent a new shape,a pure form. The novel may well be
regarded"Spark at her sharpest,her purest," and also"her most
merciful," maybebecauseof "the dearvoice of Hazel."
It is the voice dearto Nina. Before sheleavesthe school,

"I The figure of the heroinein TheDriver's Seatis its best example.

322

shehasbeentired of the tensionbetweenRowland and Chris, of
the mobile quality of the school,its cleanand austereenvironment
- asif it were inhabited. Shelonged for life evenwith its
messiness. Like the schoolroutine, the never-changingvoice
forecastingthe ever-changingweathermight offer her a comfort
asa semblanceof a fixed point - in the world like CollegeSunrise.
Nina herselfhaswell adjustedto suchworld asan able
businesswoman,guiding her pupils with her hilariously
implausible- but practical - "comme i1faut' lessons.
Nevertheless,shecopedwith the "present" then, knowing that
"there was a life to be lived ascomfortably andpleasantlyas
possible" (FS 69). For her effort andher attitudetowardslife
hereandnow, andthe author's merciful gazeon her lack of
expectancy,the voice may take the edgeoff its satire.

"As we go through this eveningandinto tonight. . ."
This endingis a fantasticdisplay of the essenceof Spark's art, of
Sparkthe poet- we may call it in her famousphrase:"the
transfiguration of the commonplace". Turning the setphraseof
the weatherforecastinto the leitmotif of the novel, the author
vividly brings out the point of her satireon "the work of art in the
ageof mechanicalreproduction": the work of art is different from
recycled objects;it is a creationof an entire metamorphosis. To
take the world, people,andindeedlanguageitself - eventhe most
commonplacewords - into anotherdimension,with the sweepof
her poetry, is this postmodemistartist's speciality. In his review
of TheFinishing School,PeterKemp rightly observesthis quality

323

of Spark's in the novel's ending: "Always keen to endher novels
on a lingeringly resonantnote, shedoesso herewith especial
ingenuity by turning the routine words of a television weather
girl ... into haunting and affecting intimations of mortality"
(Kemp, 2004,52).

Certainly,asthe weatherforecasttransformsinto Spark's
leitmotif, a factual descriptionof the transition from day to night
turns into the themeof the end. But, here,,this themeseemsto
expandto the notion of time - at its eternalmoment. It would be
fruitful to recall Spark's own distinctive interpretationof eternity:
"when we usewords like 'forever,' 'etemal," phraseslike
'everlasting life, ' 'world without end,' we refer to an existence
hereandnow" ("RAý' 1). In this sense,what resoundsin "the
dearvoice of Hazel" at the end of TheFinishing Schoolmay be,
rather,amusedlygentle "intimations of immorlaliV' (1-3,1970,
411 [my italics]), which arethe words Sparkusesto describe
ThomasTraheme'sline: "The com was orient andimmortal
wheat." Shein fact turns Traherne'sverseinto one of her
ingenuous,poetic endings,that of TheAbbessof Crewe:"that
comfield of sublimity ... orient and immortal wheat'' (AC3 15).
ThePublic Image too endswith a similar motif, aswell asthe
artist's peculiar lyricism: "an empty shell contains,b, y its very
structure,the echoandharking imageof former and former seas".
(PI 125). It is no coincidencethat the endingsof thosenovels
evokea senseof everlastingtime at the heroines' departuresfor
future: Alexandra the Abbesssails off for Rome to give her new
performance;andAnnabel beginsherjourney to find her own role,

324

ceasingto be "an empty shell." Like thesewomen,Nina in The
Finishing School also leavesthe mobile finishing schoolandstarts
on her new life. The presentof the ending is an openspacefor
anothermorning, a future to come.

Spark's endingsconjureup this openspace,evenwhen she
focuseson characterswho areentrappedin the illusory "reality"
of the world, andto whom the presentis lost, ratherthan women
who areliberatedfrom such"reality" andliving lives here and
now. For instance,in the last sceneof TheDriver's Seat,the
authorpoints to the absenceof the presentmomentthrough the
viewpoint of Richard the murderer,his vision of his ending"':

He seesalreadythe gleamingbuttons of the policemen's
uniforms, hearsthe cold andthe confiding, the hot andthe
barking voices, seesalreadythe holstersand epauletsand
all thosetrappingsdevisedto protect them from the
indecentexposureof fear andpity, pity and fear. (DS 490)
This vision not only indicatesthe lost presentin itself, but also
tells of lost reality: "those trappings" by which policemen
maintain their "reality" and concealthe reality of the ffightening
"murder" caseof the heroine. Thereare elsewhere,too, forms of
words for this openspaceof the present:"the tract of no-man's
land betweendreamsandreality, reality and dreams"(RD 160),
the endingwords of Reality and Dreams. Itis the spaceof here
andnow - life - that Sparkcreatesby her art and in her art.
While it is easyto saythat an ending containsa new beginning,
what Sparkdoesin her endingsis to representthis idea- like any

115See Chapter III for the detailed argument of this ending.

325

idea- aslyrically recycled truth, which may lead to a philosophy
of everydaylife. As much asshequalifies asthe storyteller
accordingto Benjamin's definition, her novels alsohavethe
quality of the story in his sense,that is, many small narratives
with continuousendingsandbeginnings,insteadof one grand
narrativewith its grand finale, telos. Spark's endingsrepresent
not only her postmodernistart itself, which belongsto no grand
narrative,but alsoher postmodernistphilosophy of life and art.
Wishing to changethe world by liberating our minds from
illusions, delusions,o, r oppressionsof any grandnarrativewhich
governsthe world, her art of fiction leavesthe presentopenasa
spacein which we canpractice art in life, inventing ourselves,
betweenpastand future. And in this space,thereis no endto
Muriel Spark's metamorphosesof hereandnow.

326

BEKIOGRAPHY

1. Worksby Muriel Spark
There havebeenmany reprintings, but Sparkdoesnot reviseor alter, apart
from correcting obviousprinting mistakes. Here I indicate the dateof first
publication; and wheremy pagereferencesareto a later printing or re-edition,
full details of the texts cited then follow.

Novels by Muriel Spark
The Comforters. (1957) TheNovelsof Muriel Spark: Volulne 1.

NY Houghton Mifflin, 1995.115-292.
Robinson. (1958) London: Penguin, 1964.
MementoMori. (1959) TheNovelsofMuriel Spark. Volume1.

NY. HoughtonMifflin, 1995.493-671.
TheBallad ofPeckham Rye. (1960) TheNovels ofMuriel Spark.

Volume2. NY. Houghton Mifflin, 1995.509-624.
TheBachelors. (1960) TheNovelsofMuriel Spark: Volume2.

NY. HoughtonMifflin, 1995.319-508.
ThePrime ofMfss Jean Brodie. (1961) TheNovels ofMuriel Spark.

Volumel. NY. Houghton Mifflin, 1995.9-111.
The Girls ofStender Means. (1963) TheNovels ofMuriel Spark.

Volume2. NY. Houghton Mifflin, 1995.143-239.
TheMandelbaum Gate. (1965) London: Penguin, 1967.
ThePublic Image. (1968) Muriel Spark: Omnibus4.

London: Constable,1997.417-510.
TheDriver's Seat. (1970) TheNovels ofMuriel Spark. Volume1.

NY. HoughtonMifflin, 1995.423-92.
NotIoDisfurb. (1971) Muriel Spark Omnibus3.

London: Constable,1996.203-73.
TheHothouseby the East River (1973) London: Penguin, 1975.
TheAbbessof Crewe. (1974) TheNovelsofMuriel Spark: Volume2.

NY. HoughtonMifflin, 1995.243-315.
TheTakeover (1976) London: Penguin, 1978.
Territorial Rights. (1979) London: Macmillan.
LoiteringwithIntent. (1981) TheNovels ofMuriel Spark: Volume2.

NY. HoughtonMifflin, 1995.9-140.
The Only Problem. (1984) TheNovels ofMuriel Spark: Volume1.

NY. HoughtonMifflin, 1995.293419.
AFarCryfromKensington. (1988) London: Penguin, 1989.
Symposium. (1990) London: Penguin, 1991.
Reality and Dreams. (1996) London: Penguin,1997.

327

Aiding andAbetting: A NoveL (2000) London: Viking.
TheFinishing SchooL (2004) London: Viking.

StoriesandPlaysby Muriel Spark
VoicesatPlay. (1961) London: Macmillan. [Storiesandradio plays for

the BBC.]
Doctors ofPhilosophy. (1963) NY. Knopf, 1966.
All the StoriesofMuriel Spark. (2001) NY. New Directions.

Poetry by Muriel Spark
CollectedPoemsL (1967) London: Macmillan.

Non Fiction by Muriel Spark
Tribute to Wordsworth:A. Miscellany of Opinionfor the Centenaryof

ThePoet's Death. (1950) Ed. by Muriel Sparkwith Derek Stanford.
London: Wingate.
CliildofLiglii:, 4ReassessnientofMarySlielley. (1951) Hadleigh, UK:
Tower Bridge Publications.
A SelectionofPoemsbyEmi1yBrontj. (1952) Ed. with Introduction.
London: Grey Walls P.
JohnMasefield. (1953) NY. Coward& McCann, 1996.
Emily Bronte: Her Life and Work. (1953) Ed. by Muriel Sparkwith Derek
Stanford. London: PeterOwen.
My BestMary: SelectedLetters ofMary Shelley. (1953) Ed. byMuriel
Sparkwith Derek Stanford. London: Wingate.
TheBronte Letters. (1954) Ed. with Introduction. London: PeterNevill.
Letters ofHenry Newman. (1957) Ed. by Muriel Sparkwith Derek
Stanford. London: PeterOwen.
MaryShelley. (1987) NY.-Dutton. [This is a revisededition of Childof
Light: A ReassessmenotfMary Shelley(1951).]
Curriculum Vitae:Autobiography. (1992) NY. HoughtonMifflin.
TheEissenceoflheBrontes. (1993) London: PeterOwen. [Thisisa
compilation of Spark's writings on the Brontas (thoseon Anne Bronta are
omitted), a selectionof family lettersand a selectionof Emily Bronta's
poemsthat appearedin her previousbooks:A SelectionofPoems by Emily
Bront&(1952), Emily Bronte: Her Life and Work(1953) and TheBront,ý
Letters (1954). Two piecesbroadcastedby the BBC areaddedto this
volume.]

328

Articles by Muriel Spark
"The Religion of an Agnostic: A SacramentalView of the World in the

Writings of Proust." (1953) Church of England Newspaper,
27 November, 1.
"The Mystery of Job's Suffering." (1955) Church ofE 17glandNewspaper,
15April,. 7.
"How I Becamea Novelist." (1960) John OLondon's Weekly,
1 December,683.
"The Poet's House." (1961) TheCritic (Chicago),19(4),February-March.
Reprinted in Encounter,XXX, no.5,5 May 1968,48-50.
"My Conversion." (1961) TwentiethCentury 170,Autumn, 58-63.
[I cite from the reprint in Hynes' Critical Essays,24-28.]
"Edinburgh-bom." (1962) New Statesman,10August, 180. [Reprinted
as"What ImagesReturn." Memoirs ofa Modern Scotland. Ed. Karl
Miller. London: Faber& Faber,1970,151-53. [1cite from the reprint
in Hynes' Critical Essays,21-23.]
"The Desegregationof Art. " (1971) The Annual Blashfield Foundation
Address,Proceedingsofthe AmericanAcademyofArts and Letters.
NY. Spiral Press,21-27. [1cite from the reprint in Hynes' Critical
Essays,3340. ]
"I Would Like to Have Written" (1981) New YorkTimesBook Review, 86
(49), 7; 68; 70..
"OnLove" (1984) Partisan Review,51 (4), 780-3.
"PersonalHistory: The School on the Links." (1991) NewYorker
25 March, 75-85.
'Tersonal History: Visiting the Laureate". (1991) NewYorker
26 August, 63-67.
"PersonalHistory: Ventureinto Africa. " (1992) New Yorker,
2 March, 73-80.

11. Interviews with Muriel Spark

Armstrong, George. (1970) Guardian, 30 September,8.
Bowditch, Gillian. (2001) "Still a Bright Spark." SundaY Pines, Ecosse,

16 September,1-2.
Brockes,Emma. (2000) "The genteelassassin". Guardian, Saturday

Review,27 May, 6-7.
"Bugs andMybug." (1974)Listener, 28 November,706.
Emerson,Joyce. (1962) "The Mental Squint of Muriel Spark." (London)

SundayTimes,30 September,14.

329

Frankel, Sarah. (1985) "An Interview with Muriel Spark." Partisan
Review54, Summer 1987,443-57.

Gillham, lan. (1970) "Keeping It Short-Muriel SparkTalks aboutHer
Books to Ian Gillham." Listner, 24 September,411-13.

Glendinning, Victoria. (1979) "Talk with Muriel Spark." New YorkTimes
Book Review,20 May, 47-48.

Hamilton, Alex. (1974) Guardian, 8 November, 10.
Holland, Mary. (1965) "The Prime of Muriel Spark." Ohserver(colour

supplement),17 October,8-10.
Howard, ElizabethJane. (1961) "Writers in the PresentTense". Queen

(centenaryissue),August, 13646.
Kermode,Frank. (1963) "The Houseof Fiction: Interviews with Seven

English Novelists." Partisan Review30, Spring, 61-82. The Spark
interview covers79-82. [1cite from the reprint, "Muriel Spark'sHouse
of Fiction" in Hynes' Critical Essays,29-32.]
Lord, Graham. (1973) "The Love LettersThat Muriel SparkRefusedto
Buy" SundayExpress,4 March, 6.
McQuillan, Martin. (1998) "'The SameInformed Air': An Interview with
MurielSpark. " [Publishedin McQuillan's TheorizingMuriel Spark,
210-29.]
Sage,Lorna. (1976) "The Prime of Muriel Spark." 0hserver, 30Mayll.
Scroggie,Jean. (1970) "Mementos for Muriel Spark." DailyTelegraph,
25 September.
Taylor, Alan. (2004) "The GospelAccording to Spark." SundayHerald,
22February. Onlineposting. newsquest(Sundayherald) ltd.
27 FebruaM 2004.
Toynbee,Philip. (1971) "Interview with Muriel Spark." Ohserver(colour
supplement),7 November,73-74.

III. Primary Sourcesby Other Writers

Dinesen,lsak. (1958)AnecdotesofDestiny. London: Penguin,1988.
(1957)Last Tales. London: Uof ChicagoP.
(1934)SevenGothic Tales. London: Penguin, 1963.

Greene,Graham. (1958) OurMan in Havana. London: Penguin, 1971.
Hoffmann, E.T.A.. (1816-1817?) "The Sand-Man". Trans.J.T.Bealby.

TheBest TalesofHoffmann. Ed. andIntroduction. E.F.Bleiler.
NY. Dover Publications, 1967,183-214.
Lessing,Doris. (1962) TheGoldenNotebook. London: Flamingo, 1994.

(1994)UtiderMySkiii: VoL]ofMyAzitobiograpliyto]949. London:
Flamingo, 1995.

330

(1997) Walkingin the Shade: Vol.2 ofMyAutobiography, 1949-1962.
London: Flamingo, 1998.
Sophocles. Antigone. Trans.Hugh Macnaghten. Cambridge:Cambridge
UP, 1926.
TolkienjR. R.. (1947) TreeandLeaf ["OnFairy-stories" is basedon the
lecture given at the University of St. Andrews in 1938,andpublishedin
1947. The short story,"Leaf by Niggle" (written 6939), first appearedin
Dublin Reviewin 1947.] Ed. andNotes.Nobuyoshi Aoki. Tokyo:
Tsurumi Shoten,1974.
Woolf, Virginia. (1958) "The New Biography." Granite and Rainbow.
London: Hogarth, 149-55.
(1928) Orlando: A Biography. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992.

(1927) Tothe Lighthouse. Ed. and Introduction MargaretDrabble.
[Including Frank Kermode's Preface] Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992.

W. SecondarySources
In this section,I do not separateout criticism on Spark's writings from more
generalworks becauseof the broaderissuesconcerned.

Althusser,Louis. (1970) "Ideology andIdeology StateApparatuses".
Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. Trans.Ben Brewster.
London: NLI3,1971,121-73.

Aristotle. Poetics [Aristotle on the Art of Poetry]. Trans.Ingram Bywater.
Oxford: ClarendonP, 1920.

Baudrillard, Jean. (1970) TheConsunierSociety Myths and Structure.
Trans.J.P.Mayer. London: SagePublications, 1998.
(1992) TheIllusion ofthe End. Trans.Chris Turner. Stanford:
StanfordUP, 1994.
(1983) In the Shadowofthe Silent Majority. Trans.Paul Fossetal.
NY. Semiotext(e).
(1968) TheSystemof Objects. Trans.JamesBenedict. London:
Verso, 1996.

Belsey, Catherine. (1985) "Constructing the Subject:Deconstructingthe
Text." Feminist Criticism and Social Change. Eds.J. Newton andD.
Rosenfelt. London: Methuen. [I cite from the reprint in Warhol's
Eeminisins,657-73.]
(2002)Poststructuralism:A VeryShort Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
UR

Benjamin, Walter. (1970) Illuminations. Ed. -withIntroduction. Hannah
Arendt. Trans.Harry Zorn. London: Pimlico, 1990. [first published
in GreatBritain in 1970by JonathanCapeLtd.]. -

331

Berger,John. (1972) WaysofSeeing. [basedon the BBC television series]
London: BBC - Penguin.

Bold, Alan. (1986)Muriel Spark. London: Methuen.

Ed. (1984)Muriel Spark-. An Odd Capacityfor Vision. London:
Vision P.

Bradbury, Malcolm. (1972) "Muriel Spark's Fingernails." Critical

Quarterly 14,Autumn, 241-50. [1cite from the reprint in Hynes' Critical
Essays,187-93].

Brooks, Peter. (1993) Body Work:Objectsof Desire in Modern Narrative.
Cambridge:Harvard UP.

(1994)Psychoanalysisand Storytelling. Oxford: Blackwell.
(1984)Readingfor thePlot: Design and Intention in Narrative.
Oxford: ClarendonP.

Butler, Judith. (1993) Bodies That Matter. NY. Routledge.
(1990) Gender Trouble:Feminismand the SubversionofIdentity.

London: Routledge.

Byrne, Eleanor. (2002) "Muriel SparkShotin Africa, " in McQuillan's
TheorizingMuriel Spark, 113-26

Cixous, H616ne. (1968) "Grimacing Catholicism: Muriel Spark'sMacabre
Farce." Trans.Christine Irizzary. [First appearedin Le Monde 7157,17
January. I cite from the reprint in McQuillan's TheorizingMuriel Spark,
204-207.]

(1968) "Muriel Spark's LatestNovel: ThePublic Image." Trans.
Christine Irizzary. [First appearedinLe Monde 7410,9 November. I
cite from the reprint in McQuillan's TheorizingMuriel Spark,207-209.]
Copjec,Joan. (2003)Imagine There'sNo Woman:E,thics and Sublimation.
MassachusettsM: IT P.

(1994) ReadMy Desire: Lacan against the Historicists.
MassachusettsM: IT P.

Debord, Guy. (1967) TheSocietyofthe Spectacle. NY. ZoneBooks,
1994.

Derrida, Jacques. (1978) Writing and Difference. Trans.with
Introduction.. Alan Bass. London: RoutledgeandKeganPaul.

Doan, LauraL.. Ed.,%vithIntroduction. (1991) OldMaids to Radical
Spinsters: Unmarried Womenin the Twentieth-CenturyNovel. Forward.
Nina Auerbach. Urbana:U of Illinois P.

Duncker, Patricia. (2002) "The SuggestiveSpectacle:QueerPassionsin
Bronta's Villette and ThePrime ofMiss Jean Brodie," in McQuillan's
TheorizingMuriel Spark, 67-77.

Edgecombe,RodneySterming. (1990) Vocationand Identity in the Fiction
ofMuriel Spark. Missouri: U of Missouri P.

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