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Order Number 8904678 The in-between of writing:Experience and experiment in the work of Margaret Drabble,Marguerite Duras,and Hannah Arendt Skoller,Eleanor Honig,Ph.D. The University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee,1988 Copyright C1989 by Skoller,Eleanor Honig.All rights reserved. UMI 300 N.Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor,MI48106
Order Number 8904678 The in-between of writing: Experience and experiment in the work of Margaret Drabble, Marguerite Duras, and Hannah Arendt Skoller, Eleanor Honig, Ph.D. The University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, 1988 Copyright ©1989 by Skoller, Eleanor Honig. All rights reserved. U MI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106
The In-Between of Writing: Experience and Experiment in the Work of Margaret Drabble,Marguerite Duras,and Hannah Arendt By Eleanor Honig Skoller A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Literary Studies Department of English at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August,1988
The In-Between of Writing: Experience and Experiment in the Work of Margaret Drabble, Marguerite Duras, and Hannah Arendt By Eleanor Honig Skoller A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Literary Studies^ Department of English at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August, 1988
The In-Between of Writing: Experience and Experiment in the Work of Margaret Drabble,Marguerite Duras,and Hannah Arendt By Eleanor Honig Skoller A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Literary Studies Department of English at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August,1988 (Signature) 8b28 Major Professor /Date Graduate Schbol Approval Date
The In-Between of Writing: Experience and Experiment in the Work of Margaret Drabble, Marguerite Duras, and Hannah Arendt By Eleanor Honig Skoller A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Literary Studiesy Department of English at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August, 1988 (Signature) ajor Professor VW? U)- I rajfluate School Appr
©1989 ELEANOR HONIG SKOLLER All Rights Reserved
©1989 ELEANOR HONIG SKOLLER All Rights Reserved
The In-Between of Writing: Experience and Experiment in the Work of Margaret Drabble,Margaret Duras,and Hannah Arendc By Eleanor Honig Skoller The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,1988 Under the Supervision of Professor Herbert Blau This dissertation explores the relation of women's experience and literary experiment in order to answer the question,"Why are so few women writing in the postmodern vein?"This question looms large because,in an effort to write themselves into literary history,to make a place from which they can write,to find a woman's voice and even a language,women have been writing more than ever and they have been involved with new approaches to writing and reading.Yet postmodernism (a rubric for much of the experimental prose fiction done since World War II,for much of what is new in writing)and feminism have failed to connect.It is this failure that is the locus of this exploration as it takes place in the work of three disparate women writers,Margaret Drabble,an English novelist, Marguerite Duras,a French novelist and filmaker,and Hannah Arendt,a philosopher and political theorist.What ties these writers together in this study is that each has a distinct relation to language and a close tie to world history that remains largely untreated by literary feminists. iii
The In-Between of Writing: Experience and Experiment in the Work of Margaret Drabble, Margaret Duras, and Hannah Arenuc By Eleanor Honig Skoller The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1988 Under the Supervision of Professor Herbert Blau This dissertation explores the relation of women's experience and literary experiment in order to answer the question, "Why are so few women writing in the postmodern vein?" This question looms large because, in an effort to write themselves into literary history, to make a place from which they can write, to find a woman's voice and even a language, women have been writing more than ever and they have been involved with new approaches to writing and reading. Yet postmodernism (a rubric for much of the experimental prose fiction done since World War II, for much of what is new in writing) and feminism have failed to connect. It is this failure that is the locus of this exploration as it takes place in the work of three disparate women writers, Margaret Drabble, an English novelist, Marguerite Duras, a French novelist and filmaker, and Hannah Arendt, a philosopher and political theorist. What ties these writers together in this study is that each has a distinct relation to language and a close tie to world history that remains largely untreated by literary feminists. iii
In the first chapter,the issues as indicated above are laid out along with a brief history of the development of feminist literary theory.In addition,introductions to the three writers are given in which the "scene of writing"of each one is brought to the foreground along with her special interests in and use of language.Chapters two, three and four consists of close readings of several works of each writer that are informed by several of the newer approaches to literature:psychoanalysis,semiotics, linguisitics,and deconstruction.Each of the readings discovers the scene of writing of each writer through the language of the text and shows how each has used language usually in ways not read or remarked before.In this manner the relation of women's experience and literary experiment is articulated. The Afterword explains that there is no one defintive answer to the opening question,"Why are so few women writing in the postmodern vein?"and that the question constitutes the "scene of writing"of this dissertation which records the struggle for the answer. (Signature) u小B4 323ld Major Professor /Date
In the first chapter, the issues as indicated above are laid out along with a brief history of the development of feminist literary theory. In addition, introductions to the three writers are given in which the "scene of writing" of each one is brought to the foreground along with her special interests in and use of language. Chapters two, three and four consists of close readings of several works of each writer that are informed by several of the newer approaches to literature: psychoanalysis, semiotics, linguisitics, and deconstruction. Each of the readings discovers the scene of writing of each writer through the language of the text and shows how each has used language usually in ways not read or remarked before. In this manner the relation of women's experience and literary experiment is articulated. The Afterword explains that there is no one defintive answer to the opening question, "Why are so few women writing in the postmodern vein?" and that the question constitutes the "scene of writing" of this dissertation which records the struggle for the answer. (Signature)
Acknowledgements I would like to thank Professor Herbert Blau,not only for his able direction of this dissertation,but for his encouragement and unfailing support from the time I began my PhD studies.When waves of insecurity and diffidence came over me,it was his intellectual energy and rigor that became the steadying presence I needed.He knew just when to be my teacher,when to treat me as a colleague,and, above all,when to be my friend.For that I am grateful indeed. I thank also the other members of my committee: Professor Ihab Hassan,whose classes were an inspiration; and Professor Mary Lydon,who was my first teacher at UW- Milwaukee,and who introduced me to that "new French Stuff," as we referred to post-structuralism in those early days,to feminist theory,and to the riches of a transatlantic literary strain I was only dimly aware of.It was her intellectual excitement that I caught,and her friendship that sustained me as I strove to learn a new vocabulary and to read "differently." I thank my readers,Professor Kathleen Woodward,whose friendship and support over the years has been invaluable, and Professor Marcus Bullock,whose interest in my work has v
Acknowledgements I would like to thank Professor Herbert Blau, not only for his able direction of this dissertation, but for his encouragement and unfailing support from the time I began my PhD studies. When waves of insecurity and diffidence came over me, it was his intellectual energy and rigor that became the steadying presence I needed. He knew just when to be my teacher, when to treat me as a colleague, and, above all, when to be my friend. For that I am grateful indeed. I thank also the other members of my committee: Professor Ihab Hassan, whose classes were an inspiration; and Professor Mary Lydon, who was my first teacher at UWMilwaukee, and who introduced me to that "new French Stuff," as we referred to post-structuralism in those early days, to feminist theory, and to the riches of a transatlantic literary strain I was only dimly aware of. It was her intellectual excitement that I caught, and her friendship that sustained me as I strove to learn a new vocabulary and to read "differently." I thank my readers, Professor Kathleen Woodward, whose friendship and support over the years has been invaluable, and Professor Marcus Bullock, whose interest in my work has v