The John Updike Encyclopedia

583 Pages·2000·8.63 MB·English

by  Jack De Bellis

The
John Updike
Encyclopedia
(cid:1) 1998 Rob Upton
THE
JOHN UPDIKE
ENCYCLOPEDIA
Jack De Bellis
GREENWOOD PRESS
Westport, Connecticut • London
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
DeBellis,Jack.
TheJohnUpdikeencyclopedia / JackDeBellis.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0–313–29904–8(alk.paper)
1. Updike,John—Encyclopedias. 2. Updike,John—Chronology. I. Title.
PS3571.P4Z459 2000
813'.54—dc21 99–089163
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Copyright(cid:1)2000byJackDeBellis
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expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:99–089163
ISBN:0–313–29904–8
Firstpublishedin2000
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Dedicated
to my mother, true Viking,
“Most near, most dear, most loved and most far”
(George Barker, “Sonnet to My Mother”)

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv
Abbreviations xxi
John Updike: A Chronology xxv
The Encyclopedia 1
Appendix I: Chronological List of the Works of John Updike 499
Appendix II: Films and Film Personalities in the Works of
John Updike 501
General Bibliography 513
Index 521

Preface
Nearly two decades ago critic George Hunt wondered at the temerity of a
critic who would offer in regard to John Updike “an exacting critical study
of such a prolific author who is still relatively young.” The same conster-
nation strikes this writer. The surprising turns Updike’s career has taken
would doom any critic who thinks that he or she can offer a “summingup”
of Updike, for Updike is, like Rabbit, rich, but unlike Rabbit, he is hardly
at rest, but rather still running. Although hehaspublishedaboutfiftybooks
and, as he has said, has been tidying up his desk, his careeris farfromover,
so this encyclopedia may certainly seem premature. In fact, this volumehas
been revised repeatedly during its five-year progress because Updike’s ex-
traordinary oeuvre has continued to expand in all directions, and because
themorefamiliarareaderbecomeswithhiswork,themorehisbooksspeak
to one another and to other books. This requires constantrevisionofideas.
The aims of this encyclopedia are similar to those of W. H. Auden* in
The Dyer’s Hand, quoted by Hunt: to offer a comprehensive survey that
reveals a vast oeuvre; to provide readings that indicate that complexity; to
demonstrate Updike’s artistic “making”; and to suggest connections of Up-
dike’s writing to many subjects, such as art, science, religion and history.
Though this encyclopedia necessarily anatomizes Updike’s oeuvre, I hope
thatthereaderacquiresacoherentsenseofhisremarkableaccomplishments
through the many cross-references offered, as well as the effort to suggest,
in many entries, shared themes, ideas and matters of craft among Updike’s
books. His apostate minister Clarence Wilmot (In the Beauty of the Lilies)
knew that the encyclopedist plays God by attempting to provide a “replica
of Creation,” but I hope that the reader will pardon this blasphemy. I am
no apostate; I am a true believer in Updike.
John Updike’s critics from the beginning have sought to rise to the level
ofUpdike’squality.Indozensofbooksandhundredsofarticlesandreviews
x Preface
these commentators have provided detailed and ingenious interpretations
and refined,patientjudgments.Availabletotheinquiringreaderarelengthy
studiesofUpdike’sinterestinKarlBarth,SørenKierkegaardandCarlGus-
tav Jung; of his similarities to Philip Roth; of his use of image clusters and
computer language; of his employment of parables and fairy tales; of his
religious symbolism and the epistolary form; of his use of the critical ap-
proach called deconstruction and his interest in the theories of Sigmund
Freud; of his interest in the remoteworldofmythandtheubiquitousrealm
of popular culture in America; and of his characters’ constant immersionin
history. Yet many opportunities remain for the interested commentator.
The John Updike Encyclopedia seeks to facilitate further critical inquiry, as
well as to offer a handy resource for the general reader about plots, char-
acters, major themes, references, key ideas, biography and sources. Each
entry for Updike’s books provides a summary of that book and a modest
exposition of its major ideas. Some entries areminiatureessays,concerning,
forexample,theclassicalworld,AfricanAmericans,magicrealism,Nathaniel
Hawthorne,film,JohnCheeverandhostilecritics,aswellasplotsandchar-
acters,significantplacesanddates.Tofacilitateafulluseoftheencyclopedia
entries, I have provided three kinds of cross-references: (1) an asterisk (*)
next to a word refers the readertoanotherentry,andsuchitemsarestarred
only the first time they appear in each entry; (2) following many entries I
have indicated other entries of interest under “See,” but no asterisked item
appears under “See”; and (3) the index. Updike works mentioned in the
entries are never starred but should automatically lead the reader to entries
for those books. To direct the reader unobtrusively to Updike’s books in
theentries,Ihaveemployedtitleabbreviations,thekeyforwhichisincluded
following this preface. Also, the key for abbreviations for criticalfrequently
mentioned books can be found there.
Anexhaustivelistingofeverycharacterandplotofeverystory,ananalysis
of every essay andpoemoranexplanationofeveryreferentwouldmakethe
encyclopediaunwieldyandperhapsself-defeating.Consequently,someread-
ers may find that an allusion has not been explicated, that a quotationwent
untreated, or that a minor character has not been identified. My concernis
nottolisteverythingbuttoincludeonlyreferences,allusionsandquotations
that advance the reader’s essential understanding of Updike’s remarkable
creative imagination. Inevitably, similar informationneedstoberepeatedin
severalentries,sinceitislikelythatmostreaderswillreadselectively.Ihave
provided more extended entries on Updike’s recent works, since they have
not yet received ample critical attention. Since the “Rabbit” tetralogy con-
tains his best-known and perhaps mostenduringnovels,manyofmyentries
refer to those novels. Since RA is Updike’s definitive edition of the four
novelsthatcomprisetheRabbitsaga,IrefertothistextevenwhenIindicate
the individual novels within it: RR, RRed, RIR and RaR.
Updike, one of the most intertextual of modern writers, has employed