contemporary mormon literature: phyllis barber's writing - ADDI

618 Pages·2011·2.88 MB·English

CONTEMPORARY MORMON LITERATURE:
PHYLLIS BARBER’S WRITING

DISSERTATION

Ángel Chaparro Sáinz
Advisor: David Río Raigadas
University of the Basque Country, 2010
© Servicio Editorial de la Universidad del País Vasco
Euskal Herriko Unibertsitateko Argitalpen Zerbitzua
ISBN: 978-84-694-1709-6
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all, I need to express my gratitude to the Department of English at the University
of the Basque Country where I found a home and an appropriate workplace to accomplish
this dissertation. I am deeply indebted to my advisor, David Río Raigadas, whose support,
advice and assistance proved fundamental to finish this work with success. He was in the
beginning of this dissertation and his presence remained faithful until the final conclusion.

Any academic endeavor needs to rely on the knowledge and passion of previous scholars
who opened ways and offered traditions which help us frame our personal projects. My
dissertation is no exception. Even if I humbly tried to open new perspectives in the study of
literature I am thankful to many scholars who anticipated this dissertation. It would be
impossible to mention all of them. In addition, any research work requires the help of
colleagues who share with us the burden of intellectual endeavor and the routinary duties of
our job. Mainly, I need to mention the names of fellow colleagues Amaia Ibarraran
Vigalondo and Vickie Olsen Osterberg whose friendship and advice was fundamental in
the years that I have spent diving into these topics. I especially owe you one, Vickie.

I need to show my gratitude to Phyllis Barber herself, who in the final steps of this
dissertation provided invaluable assistance. Her personal care and friendship gave a bigger
value to this dissertation. She schooled me in the human factor behind the words of a book.
We will sing together again.
No doubt that, after so many years, a project of this magnitude becomes part of our lives.
It is inspiring and aching at once how researching became a part of my life, and it was not
only me who suffered the duties and heartbreaks of such a challenge. That is why I feel it
compulsory and fair to dedicate the final outcome to the one who has been all the time by
my side, cheering me up when the time to surrender was close. Thanks for being there all
the time and sorry for so many days of silence and seclusion. Isa, whatever the profit we
take from here, it is yours more than mine. This is also dedicated to my brother, Álvaro
Chaparro Sáinz, who knows what all this means because he was here before me. We share
the same passion and vocation and his help was key to me. And to my mother, Nieves,
whose example is bigger than any lesson we could have taken at college. She will not
believe it, but we are prouder of her than she can be of us. And to my father, who was not
able to see anything of this and will not hear how we need to tell him that he is the one
responsible for all the good we will get in years to come. And, finally, to those who love
me and care about me and know how long it took me to come here: Ameli and Jose for
their generous love, my family and friends, Emi and Diego, and my colleagues, Irene, Mar,
Monika…, who dream, just like me, to become part of this profession. To all of them, let
me say it in Spanish: muchas gracias a todos.
INDEX

1. General Introduction: Beyond the Edges…...........................................................................1

2. The Historical Context: Mormon History…..........................................................................41

2.1.Foreword to the History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints…......................................................................................................................41
2.2.The History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…...........................51
2.2.1.First Period: 1820-1838. From the Beginnings to Nauvoo…...........................51
2.2.2.Second Period: 1838/39-1846. Nauvoo: The First Attempt to
Establish Zion…...............................................................................................68
2.2.3.Third Period: 1846-1847. The Exodus: from Nauvoo to the Great
Basin…..............................................................................................................75
2.2.4.Fourth Period: 1847-1857/58. The Kingdom of God on Earth….....................84
2.2.5.Fifth Period: 1857/58-1900. Polygamist Controversy and the End of
Isolation….........................................................................................................97
2.2.6.Sixth Period: 1900-Today. Consolidation, Integration and the Growing
Internationalization of the Church…..............................................................112

3. The Literary Context: Mormon Literary History…...........................................................133

3.1.Foreword to the Literary History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints…....................................................................................................................133
3.2.The Literary History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints….....................................................................................................................143
3.2.1.First Period: 1830-1880. Foundations….........................................................143
3.2.2.Second Period: 1880-1930. Home Literature….............................................165
3.2.3.Third Period: 1930-1970. The Lost Generation…..........................................174
3.2.4.Fourth Period: 1960-Today. Faithful Realism and New Mormon
Fiction….........................................................................................................187

4. Phyllis Barber’s Writing…..................................................................................................221

4.1.Introduction: Biographical and Cultural Background…..........................................221
4.2.Religion: Phyllis Barber on Faith and Identity….................................................247
4.2.1.Introduction: Phyllis Barber and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints…....................................................................................................247
4.2.2.How I Got Cultured and Trained to Be a Mormon….....................................256
4.2.3.Parting the Veil: Barber’s Contribution to Mormon Literature…..................269
4.2.4.And the Desert Shall Blossom: Esther and Alf and God….............................295
4.3.Gender: Phyllis Barber on Motherhood and Womanhood…...............................315
4.3.1.Introduction: the Mormon Woman as a Writer (and Character)….................315
4.3.2.Motherhood: Wombs for the Kingdom….......................................................333
4.3.3.Womanhood: Visibility versus Chores….......................................................353
4.3.4.Manhood: Roles Out of Home…....................................................................374
4.3.5.Sex: Recovering My Body…..........................................................................398
4.4.Place: Phyllis Barber on Being Raised in Las Vegas and Boulder City…..........419
4.4.1.Introduction: More than Settings…................................................................419
4.4.2.City of Las Vegas: Behind Fremont Street….................................................434
4.4.3.The Desert: Moving from the River to the Lights…......................................449
4.4.4.Boulder City and the Dam: Emptiness, Straight Lines and Solid
Concrete…......................................................................................................453
4.4.5.The Interior / Exterior Game….......................................................................475
4.4.6.West: Mormons Are People from the West…................................................486
4.5.Art: Phyllis Barber on Music and Freedom…......................................................493
4.5.1.Introduction: a Hunger for Knowledge….......................................................493
4.5.2.Postmodernism and Autobiography: Fragmenting Sincerity…......................498
4.5.2.Music: The Many Meanings of Sound…........................................................508
4.5.3.Visibility: Seeking Applause and Recognition…...........................................518
4.5.4.Words: The Proper Way to Communicate Her Vision…...............................527
4.5.5.Style: How Music and Writing Come to Terms….........................................538

5. General Conclusion: Parting the Veils…............................................................................551

6. Bibliography…......................................................................................................................589

Primary Sources…................................................................................................589
Secondary Sources…............................................................................................590
1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION: BEYOND THE EDGES

I feel I should begin with a couple of questions, not to justify my dissertation, but to
provide some sort of explanation to support my choice. Why Mormon literature? Why
Phyllis Barber?

I must admit that I got involved with Mormon literature by accident. Without going into
detail let me say that “by accident” I mean that there was no specific reason or objective at
the beginning. In fact, at first, I approached this topic with a certain degree of prejudice.
Take into account my situation: I am not a religious person, nor am I a woman. I had never
been to Nevada before I began my research, nor do I play the piano or even enjoy classical
music. Phyllis Barber is a Mormon1 woman who was raised in Las Vegas and studied
music, eventually becoming a professional pianist. Even though I seem to have very little
in common with the object of my research, I consider myself sensitive enough and
adequately prepared to undertake this challenge. But it still seems necessary to ask a couple
of questions: Why Mormon literature? Why Phyllis Barber?

I would not have been able to reply to these questions when I made the decision to
choose this topic. But now, totally convinced of my choice and my goal, I feel equipped to
give an accurate answer. My response emerges from the reading of Barber’s books and
articles as well as those of many others labelled as writers of Mormon literature. The rest of

1 Barber’s engagement with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not measured in this
dissertation. My statement that she is a Mormon is grounded in her cultural and spiritual education, even
though, throughout her literary production, different levels of attachment to the Church will be apparent.
Perhaps, that variety in her commitment to the Church shows in itself that such a defining label as Mormon
proves slippery. As a starting point, I trust my use of the term in an academic realm, since I reckon the
necessity to establish a defining context to place her literary production. In a deeper analysis, I believe that
throughout this dissertation I will show how I perceive that any notion related to a possible definition of
Barber’s literary production as Mormon fiction claims a wide conception of the term, thus following and
agreeing with the general spirit and philosophy of this dissertation.
1
this introduction is my broad response to those two questions. But, before I begin to present
that response, there is one more task to tackle: I need to explain the source and magnitude
of the label Mormon literature. It would be wise to assume that not everybody knows that
Mormon literature exists. The fact that I cannot take for granted that everyone knows about
the existence of Mormon literature defends my initial motivation in writing this
dissertation.

When I began this research, I realized that it was only forty years ago that scholars and
critics began to talk about Mormon literature. The first college classes on this subject were
held in the late 1970s, and the first anthology, A Believing People: Literature of the Latter-
day Saints (1974) was published in the same decade. Although we are now in the 21st
century, Mormon criticism is still being shaped and formed: passionate discussions about
the purpose of Mormon criticism and the limits and concerns of both the criticism and the
literature still take place among Mormon scholars and writers. The many comments that I
discovered about the peculiarity of Mormon literature stirred my interest in the subject as
did my growing awareness of the enthusiasm with which many scholars were addressing
the development of a critical framework for this literature. It is precisely within this
framework that the label Mormon literature must be defined.

Mormon literature has been isolated or ignored by college programs over the past two
hundred years. Almost no trace of or reference to Mormon literature can be found in the
literature programs of universities which are not located in those geographical areas where
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has established communities. In this
connection, Catherine L. Albanese complains that the popular reference to the United
States as a place of pluralism normally fades in scholarship: “... when we look at America’s
2
history books – and more to the point here, America’s religious history books – we find
that they generally tell one major story, incorporating the separate stories of many peoples
into a single story line arranged chronologically” (xx). The attention given to Mormon
literature is even scarcer in Europe. Michael Austin, a Mormon scholar who claims a place
for Mormon literature in the literary history of Western2 American literature and Minority
Studies, laments in his article “How to Be a Mormo-American; Or, the Function of
Mormon Literary Criticism at the Present Time” that “there are only a handful of non-
Mormon scholars outside of the Rocky Mountain West who even know that there is such a
thing as ‘Mormon literature’” (How 2). Today, when programs from different universities
focus on diversity and minorities to widen our concept of literature and expand the canon,
Mormons deserve, according to Austin, a proper place within Western American
literature3. The lack of such visibility provided me with additional motivation to begin my
research. It has certainly turned out to be a very interesting challenge.

Mormon literature is special, peculiar, different, but it is essentially American and
Western, even though the international expansion of the Church4 is opening wider
horizons. Mormon literature relies on a different bond that has nothing to do with
geographical coincidences. It is more a matter of spiritual concern, which makes it more
complex. Edward L. Hart, a renowned Mormon scholar, talks about “double jeopardy” (1);

2 Either the noun West or the adjective Western will be written in the lower case when making reference
exclusively to direction and with the upper case when referring to the genre or implying some sort of
connotation that conveys certain ideas related to the West as construction or myth. Western, with “W”, will
be also used when, as in here, referring to the discipline. And western, with “w”, will be also used when
referring to western as synonym to occidental (as opposed to oriental or eastern culture or society). This third
case would have led to confusion, especially when using the adjective. That is why I opted to use the term
Western, in the upper case, when referring to the specific historic region of the West in an attempt to avoid
misunderstanding.
3 Maybe one of the problems to achieving this has been pinpointed by Levi S. Peterson: “Mormonism is one
of the most aggressive religions in the world, and it is getting bigger and bigger. You cannot give a fair
reading to literature that you think in its deepest intent aims to subvert your spiritual bearings” (Bigelow 133).
4 I opted to use Church in the upper case whenever I am making reference to the Mormon or LDS Church.
When written in the lower case, I am talking about the institution of church in general terms.
3
another prominent Mormon scholar, Eugene England, calls it “burden”5 (Mormon 15); and
Wallace Stegner explains the congenital difficulty in writing about Mormonism (Stegner
114). All of them tried to stress the intricate balance between religion and literature. This
challenge continues to nourish controversial discussions which motivate the commitment
of a few Mormon writers and make this literature unique. This brings us back to the
question: What is Mormon literature? Is Mormon literature a book written by a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints even though it may not contain any
reference to the author’s faith? Forty years of discussion and research have still not been
able to answer that question.

In the meantime, in the forty years since Mormon literature began to emerge many
Mormons who are literature enthusiasts have tried to write good fiction, whether Mormon
or not. It is less than two hundred years since the Church was founded by Joseph Smith,
yet, in this brief time, Mormons have established a specific identity that has generated a
significant literature. In the last two centuries, a number of Mormon writers have come to
merit critical analyses and major visibility. The different periods and generations discussed
later, have given us writers such as Clinton F. Larson, Vardis Fisher, Virginia Sorensen,
Maurine Whipple, Terry Tempest Williams, Levi S. Peterson, Linda Sillitoe, Orson Scott
Card and Phyllis Barber. All of them deserve to be read and studied. Their widely praised
works have raised questions about Mormonism and about literature. Moreover, the works
of some of these authors transcend the limits of their Mormon identity, becoming rooted in

5 William Mulder, another Mormon scholar, chose the same word to indicate that the writers “coming out of
the Mormon experience, even marginally, assume what I would call the burden of Mormon literature, with
‘burden’ suggesting both obligation and opportunity” (Essential 1). Mulder uses the term to refer to a slightly
different concept. Mulder refers to burden as a symbol of the weight that the Mormon past has on writers
trying to work within Mormon culture. In fact, Mulder himself proposes a parallel with the idea of burden
proposed by C. Vann Woodward in The Burden of Southern History (1960).
4