Cultures and Literatures in Dialogue: The Narrative Construction of Russian Cultural Memory PDF
Preview Cultures and Literatures in Dialogue: The Narrative Construction of Russian Cultural Memory
Cultures and Literatures in Dialogue This book addresses the narrative construction of Russian cultural memory in the work of Julian Barnes. It investigates how Barnes’s texts tend to display a memory process as a transcultural mode of the creation of English and Russian national identities. Examining a need to revisit Russian canonical works, the detailed discursive analysis of the selected English texts exposes an intertextual remembering by duplication, thus contributing to the prevention of forgetting through the recuperation of still misrecollected cultural meanings. By creatively incorporating Russian intertextual elements into his work as a novelist, the author seems to insist on sweeping across and beyond national boundaries, revealing how frail the invention of tradition is when leading to the illusion of a solid collec- tive memory and its political legitimation. The book considers not only a constructive dialogue between Barnes’s fiction and Russian classical liter- ature, but also this writer’s interpretative, mostly imaginative, integration of Russian literature and culture into his work as a novelist. Exploring the double meaning of a literary metaphor as a mnemonic image of memory and a product of imagination, it offers a comprehensive analysis of Barnes’s texts which play with intertextuality as an efficient tool of displacement of official memory, providing a deeper understanding of historical and cultural processes related to the constantly moving architecture of trans- cultural memory. Elena Bollinger holds a PhD in English and American Studies from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Lisbon. She is cur- rently a researcher at the University of Lisbon Centre for English Studies and a member of the interdisciplinary project entitled ‘Shared Memories: Literatures and Cultures in English and Portuguese’. Close to both the Centre for Slavic Languages and Cultures and the Centre for Comparative Studies, she has been working on intercultural research involving mem- ory, history and (trans)national identity within the scope of literary representations. She is also a member of Memory Studies Association. Routledge Studies in Nineteenth Century Literature Touch, Sexuality, and Hands in British Literature, 1740–1901 Kimberly Cox Nineteenth-Century Visions of Race British Travel Writing about America Justyna Fruzińska The Forgotten Alcott Essays on the Artistic Legacy and Literary Life of May Alcott Nieriker Edited by Azelina Flint and Lauren Hehmeyer The Vampire in Nineteenth-Century Literature A Feast of Blood Edited by Brooke Cameron and Lara Karpenko Wilkie Collins The Complete Fiction Stephen Knight Jane Austen and the Ethics of Life Brett Bourbon The Significance of Fabrics in the Writings of Elizabeth Gaskell Material Evidence Amanda Ford Cultures and Literatures in Dialogue The Narrative Construction of Russian Cultural Memory Elena Bollinger For more information about this series, please visit: https://www. routledge.com/Routledge-Studies-in-Nineteenth-Century-Literature/ book-series/RSNCL Cultures and Literatures in Dialogue The Narrative Construction of Russian Cultural Memory Elena Bollinger First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Elena Bollinger The right of Elena Bollinger to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. ISBN: 978-1-032-37974-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-37975-3 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-34287-8 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003342878 Typeset in Bembo by codeMantra “To Nono, Didi and Kiko” Contents Acknowledgements ix Introduction: rethinking literature through memory 1 1 Cultural dimension of literary memory 33 2 Narrative and memory in Julian Barnes 68 3 Patterning transcultural readings of memory 116 Conclusion: narrative irresolvability of memory 203 Index 209 Acknowledgements I would like to express the deepest sense of gratitude to Professor Luísa Maria Flora, whose consistent support, dedication, motivating encour- agement and patience have been invaluable throughout this project. Her insightful comments and keen attentiveness to the intricacies of intercul- tural dialogues have made the working on this book a truly gratifying experience. I extend my gratitude to Professor Margaret Tejerizo and to Professor Gueorgui Hristovsky for giving me advice and valuable suggestions relat- ing to Russian literature. Their kind help at different stages of my research has been supportive and comprehensive of the complexities which dwell beneath the surface of Russian texts. I am especially grateful to Professor Catherine Bernard, for thought- provoking conversations, constructive criticism and encouragement to proceed with my research. I am especially indebted to the University of Lisbon School of Arts and Humanities, the Department for English and American Studies, the Centre for Comparative Studies and the Centre for Slavic Languages and Cultures for their institutional, academic and personal support. Special words of gratitude are due to Professor Teresa Malafaia and to Professor Adelaide Serras, who have read and commented constructively on several articles, to Professor Helena Buescu whose questions on different theoret- ical aspects of my Russian readings have been very helpful, to Professor Fernanda Mota Alves and to Professor Susana Araújo for inspiring my interest in Cultural Memory Studies. I offer my thanks to the University of Innsbruck, as well as the London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and the Memory Studies Association, all of which have been very supportive during the writing of this book. I would also like to thank my colleagues Alexandra Cheira, Maria José Pires and Ana Carina Prokopyshin who have made available their support in a number of ways and contributed to many decisions that helped shape this research. I am grateful for permission to quote copyright material: British Council for excerpt from the Author’s statement; BOMB Magazine for excerpts from the Interview Julian Barnes by Patrick McGrath; Horizon Research
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