Intelligible History, Negated Subjects: The Pressures of Intimacy in Michael Crummey's and Michael Winter's Historical Novels

This article explores the implications of Lauren Berlant’s essay “Trauma and Ineloquence” (2001) regarding the therapeutic effects of narrative, also addressing the critical work of other theorists that have tackled the question of the artificiality of personal and historical narratives. By connecti...

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Published in:Miscelánea - Departamento de Filología Inglesa y Alemana, Universidad de Zaragoza Vol. 64; no. 64; pp. 133 - 154
Main Author: Hernáez Lerena, María Jesús
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Zaragoza University of Zaragoza, Departamento de Filologia Inglesa y Alemana 18.12.2021
Universidad de Zaragoza
Subjects:
Allusion
Ambiguity
Barthes, Roland (1915-1980)
Berlant, Lauren
Biographies
Canadian literature
colonialism
colonialismo
Colonies & territories
Epic literature
Ethics
Fate
Genre
Historical fiction
historical novel
Intelligibility
Intimacy
intimidad
Literary characters
Literary criticism
Literary devices
literatura de testimonio
Literature
Logic
Narrative structure
Narrative techniques
Narratives
Newfoundland
novela histórica
Novels
Plot (Narrative)
Professional identity
Rivers
Scandals
Society
Terranova
Testimony
testimony writing
Theorists
Trauma
Winter
Winter, Michael (1965- )
ISSN:1137-6368, 2386-4834
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This article explores the implications of Lauren Berlant’s essay “Trauma and Ineloquence” (2001) regarding the therapeutic effects of narrative, also addressing the critical work of other theorists that have tackled the question of the artificiality of personal and historical narratives. By connecting Berlant’s insights into the notion of intelligibility with those of Roland Barthes, of testimony theorists and of other critics on ineloquence, my analysis aims to throw light on two historical novels that are articulated through intimate events that prevent certain speakers (Berlant’s negated subjects) from producing testimony and, therefore, participating in mainstream narratives and accessing justice. The novels River Thieves (2001) by Michael Crummey and The Big Why (2004) by Michael Winter hold the past as a scandal where carnal entanglements degrade the epic sweep of the events and show the disruptive effects of non-normative knowledges. Intimacy, thus defined as a lawless and shameful element in society, intersects with the economic and sexual pressures imported into the colonies by the empire (Povinelli 2006; Stoler 2006a). In this context, Newfoundland, in Canada, represents a colony where the ethics of European and American civilization are called into question.
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ISSN:1137-6368
2386-4834
DOI:10.26754/ojs_misc/mj.20216056