My MA

Chapter I - Introduction

Ireland had a close relation-ship with England for a very long period of time. It actually started during the twelfth century through an invasion by the Anglo-Normans. After the Norman’s invasion Ireland’s relation with its neighbours was weak, until the Tudor period to whom Ireland was of great importance. The Tudor had their fears of the Catholic Europe, and Ireland seemed to be their protection. Starting from this point, England began to have the upper hand on every thing in Ireland. In the introduction of Ancestral Voices, by Otto Rauchbauer he describes the state in Ireland:

The main part of Ireland was characterised by a feudal system, which meant that the land owning Protestant Ascendancy consisting of aristocrats and gentry were thinly spread over the country.......it represented a network of families whose income derived from the land that the Catholic Irish worked for them.1

This was the main situation in Ireland; the owners were Protestants who belonged to the English race, while those who worked for them were supposed to own their own land. The land workers, or the peasants, to be accurate, suffered in their low position. The main feature of that age, for them, was poverty. There was no sign of civic life, it was totally banished and nothing was to be mentioned about art, education or any kind of ceremonies and public life. As the eighteenth century progressed, things were getting worse, England, at that time, looked upon Ireland as its feeding land of the future; what blackened Irish conditions more and more was the famine years (1740-1741).

At the end of the eighteenth century, inspite of the minority of the aristocratic Protestant ascendancy and also their abstract culture, they achieved a great deal of prosperity and self-confidence. They created for themselves a position which was neither Irish nor British, and they had their unique position as the elite of the Irish society. Furthermore, an important event took place during the year (1801), which was The Act of Union. The editor of Ancestral Voices said “The Act of Union (1801) put an end to Irish aspirations of independence and locked the fate of Ireland with that of Great Britain.”2

After the Union, the economical and social life of Ireland was deteriorating. The Irish had to cope with the lowest standards of living and to bear the British laws. According to the Irish people, these laws were made just to stand by the land-owners. The tenant farmers were eager for any change that could improve their situation, but they could not bear anything to be worse. Joseph Lee in The Modernisation of Irish Society, writes about the British laws and Ireland’s economical position:

Ireland suffered severely from the consequences of the touching faith of educated opinion in the economic importance of law and in the power of abstract economic theory.3

Also free trade, at that time, harmed the Irish economical situation. The Irish failed to protect their industry, while, at the same time, Great Britain kept on using Ireland as an economical support. Similarly, the state of education was not in a better position. There were schools for the Anglo-Irish students; who were Protestants. These schools worked on, aiming to erase the Irish language and culture; for the Irish students it was of no benefit except in damaging their own culture and trying to implant new ideas that could help the Anglicans to keep on controlling the Irish land. This was described simply in The Modernisation of Irish Society:

the government certainly intended the national school system to perform a massive brain-washing operation, obliterating subversive ancestral influence by inculcating in the pupils a proper reverence for the English connection, and proper deference for their social superiors, defined according to the exquisite English concept of class. The subsequent history of Ireland, and of the Irish abroad, however, suggests that the pupils proved, too retarded to recognise their betters.4

These different situations encouraged a resisting and opposing movement to de-Anglicise the Irish society. This movement was accompanied by Land Acts (1860-1904) till the result was a break-up of the feudal system. Hence further, these movements and their gained benefits encouraged the Irish people to carry on. In Ancestral Voices “The increasing radicalisation of 1916,and the Anglo-Irish war (1918-21)”5. After that and through out the years till the First World-War, the number of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy was reducing, in addition to the fact that a lot of them served with the British forces.

Beginning from the Anglo-Normans till the end of the nineteenth century, the Big House was one of the major features of Ireland. These Big Houses were first built and designed to be as in the historical survey by Jacqueline Genet in her book The Big House in Ireland “a landmark of English domination and a protection of English identity.”6. Therefore, it stood for the upper class in the English society represented by the land-owners. These Houses were passed down from one generation to the other till the Irish revolution broke-out to destroy them as a concept that ruled for a long period of time.

In The Big House in Ireland these Big Houses were described in full details:

The rooms were generously proportioned and high-ceilinged. The central features in nearly every room,..............., was the fire place: many of these were highly decorative pieces carved in white marble...............Feeding the fire.......... was an endless chore for the servants...........Much of the furniture was made in Dublin, or imported from England.7

That shows the richness and luxury where Anglo-Irish, or land-owners lived. At the same time it mentions the servants who had to do the different kinds of house-work; these servants were Irish and this helped them to compare between their master’s and their own life and, therefore, stand against the land-owners and Big Houses.

After the Irish revolution and after burning a large number of Big Houses, there were still a lot of them left. The government used them as universities, schools, hotels and different kinds of centres to serve in different fields. The Big House in Ireland summarises the end saying:

The houses and gardens which were once the centres of private fiefdoms are now public parks and museums enjoyed by everyone. The term “Big House” has gone out of general usage and has been replaced by Country House, an appellation with no political nuances.8

Another element of social life; besides the theme of the “Big House”, which was acquired in many literary works, is the constant religious strife between the Catholics and the Protestants. The Catholics, mainly of Irish origins, had their own preconceptions of Protestantism combined with their hatred not only to the trend, but also to those who follow it who were mainly British. This could be easily observed up to the twentieth century. Since the creation of Northern Ireland (1922) although the Protestant community tended to be economically dominant, the division cuts across the normal class structure till the present time. Moreover, Irish suffrage affected the whole society, men, women and children. Men shouldered the responsibility of bread winning and political clashes for freedom as well as the British oppression. Children and women suffered from the lack of education, negligence of health and deteriorating social conditions. For instance, till the 1860’s all women were denied access to higher education, apprenticeships and professional training, and were legally prevented from the right to vote.

These social conditions were reflected in literary works; which in their turn tended to confusion and interrogation, in Irish Literature a Social History, Norman Vance explains:

In Ireland a sense of cultural discolocation, insecurity, or reviving national pride, or willed identification of coloniser with colonised, has at different times inspired different perceptions and constructions of Irish literary tradition.9

The beginnings of Irish literature in the English language coincided with a decline in the use of written and spoken Gaelic, which began about the end of the eighteenth century. The idea of the “Big House” gathered all the conflicting situations in the Irish society. Consequently, it became one of the major themes in literature, especially in the Irish novel. Much distinguished fiction was written in the nineteenth century by Irish authors writing in English. Protestants treated Irish life from the point of view of the Anglo-Irish upper classes or gentry. To follow the historical sequence of the novel plus the idea of the “Big House” in Ireland, we have to refer first to Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849), who belongs, originally, to the Big House ascendancy. Her famous book Castle Rackrent, which was published (1800) was one of the first regional

novels in English; it gives a realistic picture of social conditions, tempered with understanding and ironic humor. This novel may be considered the first book about the Big House’s theme. The novel shows the decline of the land lords, Rackrent family, and how they are losing their financial sources, but at the end it shows how this could be acquired and retained. But, the first to write about the Big House in specific details and from all of its sides were the works of Sommerville and Ross (1880-1949). Before them there were other famous writers but The Big House in Ireland considered them “The most elaborate.”10, it also simplifies the idea of introducing this theme into Irish literature:

The Big House has been an element in the course of Ireland’s history and it is as such by contemporary novelists...........It has been the crucible in which two civilisations failed to melt and yet became inseparably bound together.11

George Moore (1852-1933) has introduced the theme of the “Big House” in his novels. He inherited his families estate in Mayo and at that time he was eighteen years old. Moore had a feeling of hatred and a sense of guilt towards the injustice of the social system. Hestands by the side of the peasants but, also, he remembers the good old times of the Big House. In his Drama in Muslin, he introduced the idea of the hierarchy of Big Houses and country families through a story about a group of girls on the Irish “marriage market”. In The Big House in Ireland, Moore’s idea about Irish society are represented as incomplete:

Moore’s picture of Irish society is incomplete. His Ireland is a world without artisans and shopkeepers. Surprisingly also, we meet neither priests nor clergymen at the various dinner parties and receptions described, but this does not mean that Moore neglects the religious implications in the social battle that is going on.12

In his novel, Moore represents the Big House as an individual figure, while the peasants cabins are unified and seem to be a unit gathered together to co-operate. At the Big House, Moore represents the manners of the upper class as lacking morals and also not aware of the time. Concerning religion, Moore is serious in approaching this point because his idea is that the people of the Big House are spiritually weakand so far from this concept. Moore is showing a sort of balanced situation between the generations descending from the Big House owners and the other side represented by Irish peasants.

Irish novelists of the nineteenth and the twentieth century have shown great interest in the “Big House” motif. Their technique varied while their theme was about the same. It was with James Joyce (1882-1949) that we have a break. Modernism in English fiction begins with his works. Joyce was born in Ireland and also educated there. His novels started by a series of short stories, but his novel A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man (1916) is considered one of his master pieces, where he represents himself as the hero “who is formed by the powerful forces of Irish national, political and religious feelings”13. In this novel he frees himself from these bonds and tries to fulfil his own destiny. James Joyce writes without restricting himself to any rules or punctuation, his novels contain many different shifts in style; polished realism, literary and journalistic methods, surrealist fantasy and the technique called “The Stream of Consciousness”. In An Outline of English Literature Joyce’s style is:

Joyce uses references to ancient stories to express the themes of the nature of creation (of the artist and of God) and the humour and tragedy of human life; but the difficulty of the language, in which Joyce is forcing as many associations as possible into each word, gives many readers great problems of understanding.14

Nearly, at the same time of Joyce, there were other writers with other trends, such as Molly Keane (1905- ?) with her Full House (1935). Also, Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) who wrote about the Big House with deep concern about moral themes; using the Big House as a symbol not as a social feature. Her works Bowen’s Court (1942) and A World of Love (1955), reveal a lot of her style and ideas.

It seems through the Irish history that the social, political and economical life and situations governed each and every literary work which was to spring out of the Irish society and so, any kind of discussion concerning an Irish literary work should be linked to the Irish origins, dilemma and way of life. By regarding the previous Irish writers, the way is paved to John Banville as one of the important contemporary writers.

John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland (1945). He is a novelist of ambition who cherished all works of literature of high imagination as well as craft and experimentation. He returned to literature itself as a source of imagination and aspiration for his fiction.

Banville wrote eight novels and a collection of short stories. His first book Long Lankin was published in (1970), followed by Nightspawn a year later. The third novel Birchwood was published in (1973), it won two prizes. First, the “Allied Irish Banks Prize” and second, the “Macaulay Fellowship” by the Irish Arts Council. In (1981) he was rewarded the “James Tait Black Memorial Prize” for his work Doctor Copernicus, during the same year, his novel Kepler won the “Guardian Fiction Prize”. The remaining novels are The Newton Letter (1982) which concluded the trilogy of novels dealing with historical scientists and is considered a relief to the reader after the heavy previous novels. On the other hand, Mefisto (1986) is a novel that displayed his mastery of language as a great stylist. Banville’s last work is The Book of Evidence which was a shortlist for the 1989 “Booker Prize” and won the “GPA Literary Award”. Banville’s trilogy included Doctor Copernicus, Kepler and The Newton Letter. Throughout these three novels, Banville shows how each one of the scientistslearned and became more enlightened after great efforts and commitment.

Banville’s novels offer a difficulty to the reader since he uses many images, metaphors, puns and indirect narration. In other words, a dramatisation with a shift in time which tests the reader’s awareness and holds his attention all through. The stream of consciousness technique also added to the complex style. Besides, he gave great concern to the structure of his works. In an interview with Rudiger Imhof, Banville declares:

........., this is what art is about: form. I work very well under this kind of formal discipline. Indeed, it is the only way I can work. Always I begin with the shape.15

The voices of his narrators or the mouthpieces that he uses are all modern in their sense of rejection and anger at the absurdity and misery of the world.

Banville’s post modernism depends on the careful use of language and stretching it to its utmost limits. He followed the steps of George Moore and James Joyce doubting and accepting life and adopting a distinctive style. He believed that literature can write only about other books and each book or work of art enhances the other. In other words, he delves through history, classical works, quotations, images and places to recapture a certain mood or feeling and to express it in an elegant and rich style. Francis C. Molloy in an essay intitled “The Search for Truth”: [ The Fiction of John Banville ] writes:

Banville protests against the notion that a novel can be a mirror to reality. He too moves from ‘realistic’ to an ‘artistic’ kind of fiction; there is an intense interest in the artistic shapes of works and in the possibilities for building up a complex system of symbols and images and, in addition, ideas about the nature of fiction constantly recur. There is a fascination for the thing written rather than for the thing written about.16

Among the literary genres which have a political, social and historical background is the theme of the “Big House”. The genre suited Banville’s post-modernistic treatment. He exploited it, reshaping its stereotypes, plots, structure and social dimensions. He also applied to it various symbols and imaginative touches. The main element that he added is that of discovery achieved by the hero and the reader, at the same time, the use of satire and the farcical touch which, sometimes, turned into an outrageous parody.

His use of this motif has a certain originality; as he gives it strange dimensions. For example, in the novel Birchwood, he gives the house an identity; as it judges the people who inhabit it. It finally accepts the narrator only, while it gets rid of all the other people through travel, madness or death. In The Newton Letter, the characters are given more importance, but the house still remains central. In both cases the narrator ends in a more positive attitude and achieves a certain kind of knowledge. As a matter of fact, Banville, himself, admits that at the end of his novel Kepler, both, the reader and the protagonist discover that “we are creatures to whom everything is told, but nothing is explained.”17

Mefisto is a confusing and challenging novel as Banville does not identify the places in the book and it is also written in an awkward structure to an unknown community. But the reader may realise the familiar Irish places, like Dublin and Wicklow. The novel includes the “Big House” theme as well as the “Faust” theme; which had its force in the Catholic community. The characters are isolated and homeless. In the second part of thisnovel, Gabriel, the hero, has returned from a visit to hell, and hell here is physical, as his face has been disfigured by burns, and psychic, as he is intellectually separated from the rest of the world.

Banville denies his complete attachment to national Irish literature and explains that his fiction may be applied to any human nation at any time or place. Yet, we can observe his answer when Rudiger Imhof asked him about the “Big House” genre used in Birchwood, we see it refutes his denial of belonging to the Irish tradition:

Oh, just the genre. Obviously I was thinking of Carleton, Somerville and Ross, but no one book in particular. I took stock characters, you know, the overbearing father, long-suffering mother, sensitive son, and then also other strands, the quest, the lost child, the doppelganger.18

All the aspects that Banville mentions in the previous quotation are closely attached to the Irish tradition and can be traced in his other works. Thus, his works reveal the Irish tradition even through his satire and parody.

He succeeds in producing an image of the whole world through his use of the Irish metaphor and symbol.

Banville deals with his themes in such a rich language and complex style which wishes to shake the reader into an awareness of the difference between illusion and reality. His fiction presents the reader with contrast such as the evil power and the sympathetic touch, faith and despair, or, in other words, a sense of loss and a hopeful redemption. One of the assets of his style is the use of the narrator or the outsider that enables him to comment and add different images. By the end of each novel, the reader has the feeling that the character has risen up from a dream and gained more knowledge and self-realisation after a confusing ignorance. Joseph Mc Minn comments on his work explaining:

His fiction, at once tragic and playful, is largely about the recreation of fictions. In this sense, we are faced with a writer who keeps returning to literature itself, a history of the imaginative life, for inspiration.19

The title ‘Post-modernist’ applies to Banville; in the sense that he doubts that the traditional and conventional style can present the confusion of real life. His themes as well as this modern picture of man and society can not be easily attained except through a rich intricate style, “the artist has to read carefully through this hall of mirrors and find images that best express his different sense of purpose.”20. His narrators have the ability to recollect, to inquire and to search in their past for anything that relieves their present till they have to learn and drop all naive thoughts. These narrators are writers themselves, which creates a feeling of sympathy and understanding and makes them appreciate other writers, scientists and even inventors.

There is a compassionate strain throughout Banville’s work which can celebrate and pity such ambition and vanity, humanise and individualise its inevitable grief.21

Banville’s art depends also on his use of the Irish experience and in his choice of words and language, thus, giving his novels a distinctive tone and purpose. This brings us to the influence of the two authors; Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) and James Joyce, on Banville’s works. As for James Joyce, Banville follows his steps in the use of the “Stream of Consciousness” with all its confusions. The two characters, Gabriel in

Birchwood and the narrator in The Newton Letter, recall their past memories, notions and feelings. They are both artists trying to recapture any point of significance and reveal the meaning of fiction as it differs from reality. This technique helps him, especially, since the novels are stories within stories; all mingled together and observed by one character trying to understand the present.

As for Samuel Beckett, Banville is a great advocate of his style and use of language. He is closely attached to this author’s belief in the imaginative nature of fiction and its relying on the richness and beauty of language. Banville’s characters find their only solace in words and figures of speech which really reveal both doubt and acceptance at the same time.

Another influence from Beckett is his rejection of religion as a means of consolation. Society and intellect cannot be governed by religion, even if the individuals fell lonely and alien, this does not mean that religion can help. Both, Beckett’s and Banville’s characters, share this feeling of isolation and a refusal to be ruled by religious views.

The greatness of Banville lies in the sense that his novels offer a revelation of a gentle beautiful picture,but, at the same time, this is spoilt by the interference of thought and logic. His fiction shares both the romantic and the humanistic touch of the artist’s imagination, as well as, the spirit of enlightment, knowledge, inquiry and doubt. Joseph Mc Minn remarks:

God may have abandoned the world, but Banville’s characters, through intense imaginative effort, can still catch glimpses of an earthy Eden.22

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Notes

1. Otto Rauchbauer: “The Big House and Irish History” in Ancestral Voices The Big House In Anglo-Irish Literature, ed. Otto Rauchbauer. Dublin: The Lilliput press, 1992, p. 3.

2. Ibid., p. 4.

3. Joseph Lee: The Modernisation of Irish Society 1848-1918, Dublin: Gill and Macmillan Ltd, 1984, p. 22.

4. Ibid., p. 28.

5. Guy Felhmann: “A Historical Survey” in The Big House In Ireland Reality and Representation, ed. Jacqueline Genet. Kerry: Brandon Book Publishers Ltd, 1991, p. 15.

6. Breandan Mac Aodha: “The Big House in Western Ireland” in The Big House In Ireland Reality and Representation, ed. Jaqueline Genet., p. 25.

7. Joy Rudd: “Cast a Cold Eye” in The Big House In Ireland Reality and Representation, ed. Jacquline Genet., p. 42.

8. Guy Felhmann: “A Historical Survey” in The Big House In Ireland Reality and Representation, ed. Jacquline Genet., p. 17.

9. Norman Vance: Irish Literature A Social History, Oxford: Basil Blackwell Inc, 1990, p. 3.

10. Guy Felhmann: “A Historical Survey” in The Big House In Ireland Reality and Representation, ed. Jacquline Genet., p. 17.

11. Ibid., p. 18.

12. Jean Noel: “George Moore’s Drama in Muslin” in The Big House In Ireland Reality and Representation, ed. Jacquline Genet., p. 116.

13. G C Thornley and Gwyneth Roberts: An Outline of English Literature, Essex: Longman Group Ltd, 1984, p. 148.

14. Ibid., p. 150.

15. Rudiger Imhof: “An Interview with John Banville” in Irish University Review (John Banville Special Issue), Vol. 11, No. 1, ed. Maurice Harmon, Dublin: Irish University Riview, Spring, 1981., p. 10.

16. Ibid., p. 29.

17. Ibid., p. 11.

18. Ibid., p. 11.

19. Joseph McMinn: John Banville A Critical Study, Dublin: Gill And Macmillan Ltd, 1991, p. 1.

20. Ibid., p. 3.

21. Ibid., p. 5.

22. Ibid., p. 6.