The Politics of Storytelling: Violence, Transgression and Intersubjectivity

159 Pages·2002·20.32 MB·English

by  Michael Jackson

MichaelJackson
THE POLITICS
OF
STORYTELLING
Violence, Transgression, and
Intersubjectiviry
MUSEUM TUSCULANUM PRESS
UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
2002
MYII.etnnci.
Forsch,Halle
GR72
ThePoliticsofStorytelling
©2002byMuseumTusculanumPress
Jack
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CompositionbyOle Klitgaard 2002
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ISBN8772897376
Comparedwiththerealitywhichcomesfrombeingseenandheard,
Coverillustration:Susan Norrie,Inquisition/five, 1996. eventhegreatestforcesofintimatelife~thepassionsoftheheart,
Sepiatonedgelatinsilverphotograph,fibrebasedpaper,wood,lacquer,andglass.
the thoughts ofthe mind, the delights ofthe senses - lead to an
505 x405 x45.
uncertain, shadowy kind ofexistence unless and until they are
Collection:TheArtGalleryofNewSouthWales, Sydney,Australia.
transformed, deprivarizedanddeindividualized,asitwere, intoa
shapetofitthemforpublicappearance.Themostcurrentofsuch
transformations occursin storytelling...
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements 9
Preface II
For BrijenK. Gupta
TheNarrativeImperative..LinesintheSand..StoryingandJourneying..Broken
Journeys
I DISPLACEMENTS 37
TheStoriesthatShadow Us 39
ViolenceasReciprocity..SilentCasualties..StolenChildren..RecoveringNarrative
..TheAncientMariner
'YouNeverSawYourOwnFaces':ReflectionsonPrivacyandPublicity
in theLivesofRefugees 65
IntersubjecriviryandViolence"StigmataandStatus..TheFallintoInwardness..
PublicisingtheLivesofRefugees..Judgment, Redemption,and Recognition
In Extremis: Refugee Stories/Refugee Lives 87
APhenomenologyofFlight..FlightandNarrativiry..SheerHappening..Sociality
and Emotionality..WhatHappensto WhoWeAre
Displacement,Suffering:,andthe Critiqueof
Cultural Fundamentalism 107
CultureintheDiscourseoftheOther..UsandThem..ThinkingOurselvesBeyond
the Nation
2 RETURNS 127
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Preamble 129
Retaliation and Reconciliation 137
In 1998 I returned to my homeland, New Zealand, to embark on
Where Stories Take Us • The Faces ofJanus • The Two Momoris ..Two
researchamongthirdworldrefugees.Thoughthisbookhaditsorigins
StorytellingSessions ..TheStoryofNaNyale
inthis research,myprojectdidnotgoaccordingtoplan,inpartbecause
From theTragic to the Comic 169 therefugeeswithwhomIworkedwere anxiousthattheirexperiences,
views,andlifestories theverymaterialIwantedtoforeground might,
RigidVirtuesandFlexibleVices..TheDrummerandtheMuslims"TheSeductive
Womanand the Muslim"TheComic..ThePromiscuousWoman"TheMan inbecomingpublicknowledge,condemnthemtothekindsofdiscrimina
WhoMadeLovetoHisMother..TheBereavedHusband..TheGreatFarter.. tion,prejudice,andviolencetheyhadfled.Incomingtotermswiththese
TheBodyasCommonGround..TurningTragedyAround..TheHistoricFart
anxietiesandinhibitions, mythinkingturnedincreasinglyto the con
ditions under which stories are told or not told, to the relationship
PreventedSuccessions 191
betweenauthorship,authority,andauthorisation,andto theinterplay
OedipusinAfrica"TheStoryofYara..Yara»ToBeorNottoBe..TheMande
betweenpersonallifestoriesandcollectively-sharednarrativesandmyths.
Connection..TheYataNarrative:AnAnalysis..AspectsofSuccession..Heracles
..OntogeneticApproaches..PsychophysicalImagery..OnWalkingintotheWorld The writings ofHannah Arendt proved crucial to my exploration of
these issues, particularly the way she treats the 'political' as a power
relationshipinwhichprivateandpublicrealms,societyandtheState,"flow
3 HISTORIES 227 intoeachotherlikewavesinthenever-restingstreamofthelifeprocess"
(1958:33), implicatingstorytellingasacritical andcreative force.
Preamble 229 Myprimarydebt, then,istoHannahArendt,theshadowyinterlocu
toronwhoseground-breakingworkIhavebuiltmyownunderstanding
TheSocial LifeofStories 231
ofthepoliticsofstorytelling.Thirtyeightyearsago,whenanundergra
TheBlindImpress-BackgroundResearch ..MyDearMother..ThePastinthe duateat AucklandUniversity,Iwasawardedthe annualanthropology
Present..MovingOn"StoriesWithinStories
prize and with my modest prize money bought a copy ofHannah
Arendt'sTheHumanCondition.Inthedecades sinceIhavereturnedto
StorytellingandCritique 251
this book many times though still remember, as though it were
Judging..EthnographicJudgment..TheVisitingImagination
yesterday, the leftwing basement store (Progressive Books) where I
purchaseditandthesenseIhadofhavingfoundsomethingthatmight
The SingularandtheShared 267
clearmywaythroughthewildernessinwhichIwasthenlost - for The
The.~ccurrencein Dreams ofMaterial from Fairy Tales ..The Privacy and
Human Condition gave me my first glimpse of how the questions of
PublicityofDreams..CensorshipandtheEpisteme..CelebrityDeath..Refiguring
the Personal philosophymightbeexploredthroughthe methodsofethnography,how
acontemplativelifemightbeintegratedwithalifeofactiveandpractical
Coda 287
References 297
Index 317
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9
engagementinthe,world,andhowethnographyandliteraturemightbe
broughttogether Inn_ewandedifyingways.
PREFACE
In~ewZealand,theStoutResearchCentreatVictoriaUniversityof
Welhngtongaveme acalm andcongenialfellowship year in which to
pursue my research and to write. I am deeply indebted to Vincent
Thisbookisan anthropologicalexplorationofHannahArendt'sview
O'Sullivan,DirectoroftheStoutCentre,andNikoBesnier,Professorof
that storytellingisnever simplyamatterofcreatingeitherpersonalor
AnthropologyatVictoriaUniversityofWellington,forthewarmthof
the~rfriendship, thegenerosityoftheirsupport,andtheinspirationof socialmeanings,butanaspectoflithesubjectivein-between"inwhicha
multiplicityofprivateandpublicinterestsarealwaysproblematicallyin
their company during my time in Wellington. To Abdi Bihi, Les
Cleveland,Ro~daCooper,Royajazbani,andEruManueraIalsoowemy play(Arendt1958:182-184).Powerrelationsbetweenprivateandpublic
t~anksfor theiropportuneandunstintinghelp. InSydney, Australia, realms imply a politics ofexperience. While storytellingmay help us
reconcilefieldsofexperiencethatare,ontheonehand,feltto belongto
livelyconversationswithmyfriend,colleagueandneighbour, Ghassan
Hage~helpedme develop importantinsightsintorefugee andmigrant ourselvesorourownkindand,ontheother,felttobesharedortobelong
toothers,storiesmayjustastrenchantlyexaggeratedifferences,foment
expenence, and at the University ofCopenhagen, Denmark, where,
tha~kstoinit~ativesbySusanReynoldsWhyteandMichaelA.Whyte, discord,anddoviolencetolivedexperience.Foreverystorythatseesthe
IenJ~yedastmtasGuestProfessorat theInstituteofAnthropology,I lightofday,untoldothersremainintheshadows,censoredorsuppres
p~ofitted sed.
fro.n:numerousexchangesofideaswithcolleaguesandstudents
al~ke.Forcntlcal,commentsonvarioussectionsofthisworkIespecially InTheHumanConditionHannahArendtspeaksofthepublicrealmin
wish to ~,hankNIlsOleBubandt,SverkerFinnstrom,BruceKapferer, twoclosely...relatedways.Phenomenologically,thepublicrealmisaspace
O~varLofgren,AnhNgaLongva,FrancineLorimer,MajaPovrzanovic, ofappearancewhereindividualexperiencesareselectivelyrefashionedin
ways that make them real and recognisable in the eyes of others.
NIgel Rapport, and Vibeke Steffen. To Marianne Alenius, who em
Sociologically, the public realm is a space ofshared inter-est, where a
bracedthisworksowholeheartedly,andsuperviseditspublicationwith
pluralityofpeopleworktogethertocreateaworldtowhichtheyfeelthey
such care,loweaspecial debtofgratitude.
allbelong(Arendt1958:50...52,cf.Duby1988:4).ForHannahArendt,
Last but not least I would like to acknowledge the intellectual
the private realm denotes a conglomeration ofsingular and reclusive
magnanimityofBrijenK.Gupta,adearfriendandallyforalmostforty
subjectivities deprived ofthe reality that comes from beingseen and
years, to whomI dedicatethis book. II
heard by others." In so far as privacy suggests confinement to lithe
subjectivityof[one's] ownsingularexperience,"itspells"theendofthe
commonworld"(58).Twodifferentsensesofprivacyareentangledhere,
forwhiletheresprivatadefinesdomesticspace thedomus,subjecttothe
authorityofthepaterfamilias,aworldwithinfourwalls- italsoconnotes
thehidden, reserved, clandestinefieldofthepersonalin whichcertain
thoughts, intentions, and desires are masked because they are not
consideredcompatiblewiththerespublica.Accordingly,privacyshould
not be equated with individuality, for the term may be used ofany
10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE II
intimateorexclusivedomainwhoseaffairsarenotopento,orlegitimate
to actions by others, as well as forces ofcircumstances thatlielargely
in,thepublicgaze.AsHabermas(1989)notes,thelifeworldsandvoices
outsidehis or hercontrol.Thisoscillationbetweenbeinganactorand
ofmarginalizedclassesalsotendtobe"privatized"bybeingdeniedpublic
beingacteduponisfeltineveryhumanencounter,andintersubjectivelife
recognition.
involvesanongoingstruggleto negotiate,reconcile,balance,ormediate
BehindArendt'sapproachliesan unspokenontologicalassumption
theseantitheticalpotentialitiesofbeing,suchthatnoonepersonorgroup
thatourindividualhumanityalwayshas extensionin space andtime_
ever arrogates agency so completely and permanently to itself that
hencetheuniversalityofmetaphorsofhumanexistenceasanet, aweb,
anotherisreducedto thestatusofamerething,acipher,an object, an
abranchingtree,oraskeinofroots."Toberooted," notedSimoneWeil,
anonymouscreatureofblindfate. Thenotion ofhome, I have argued
"isperhapsthemostimportantandleastrecognizedneedofthehuman
elsewhere,isamatterofbeing-at-home-in..theworld- ofworkingout
soul"(1952:41).Butrootednessis,Weilalsoobserved,asocialfactbefore
somekindofbalanceoradjustmentbetweenactiveandpassive,autono
itisanythingelse,inextricablylinkedtoaperson's"real,activeandnatural
mous and anonymous, modes ofbeing (jackson 1995:123). In this
participationinthelifeofacommunity."Tobelongisthustobelievethat
existential view, being is never some fixed or intrinsic attribute, an
It
one's beingisintegratedwithandintegraltoawiderfieldofBeing,that
essencethatone hasordoes nothave"(Hage1998:20);insofarasbeing
one'sownlifemergeswithandtouchesthelivesofothers- predecessors,
isbeing-in..the-world- tiedto contextsofinteractionwithothers- itis
successors,contemporariesandconsociates,aswellastheoverlapping
incontinualflux.Notonlyisone'sbeingaffirmedornegated,bolstered
worldsofnature,thecosmos, andthedivine.AlthoughHannahArendt
or reduced,accordingtothesocialandphysicalcircumstancesinwhich
generallylimitsherdiscussionofstorytellingtothepoliticalrelationship
finds oneself;one'ssenseofbeingundergoesperennialredistributionin
betweenprivateandpublicrealms,Iwillarguethatthiscontrastgains
thecourseofone'sstrategicstruggleto sustainandsynthesiseoneselfas
greatercomparativeandanthropologicalforce whenitisassimilatedto
asubjectinaworldthatsimultaneouslysubjugatesonetootherends. In
therelationshipbetweenmicrocosmandmacrocosm,therebyembracing
psychoanalyticterms,one'sbeingiscathectedandrecathectedontomany
therelationshipbetweenthevisibleandinvisible,thefamiliarandforeign,
othersandmanyobjectsinthecourseofone'sstruggletoachieveasense
andthe livingandthe dead.
ofsecurity and viability. Thus, totemic species, inanimate objects
MysecondrevisionofArendt'smodelseekstoavoidanyinadvertent
including prized personal possessions, dwellings, landscapes, and
ontologisingoftermssuchastheprivateandthepublic, theindividual
automobiles - as well as abstract ideas and ideals may become, by
andthecommunal,byplacingamoreexistentialemphasisoninterexperi
extension, aspectsofoneselfthatonecouldnotconceiveofbeingwithout,
ence.'
whileantisocialindividualsandenemiesmaybederogatedassubhuman,
As Arendtherselfnotes (passim181~188),everypersonisat oncea
deniedtheattributesofmoralbeing,andtreatedasthoughtheyhadzero
'who'anda'what'- asubjectwhoactivelyparticipatesinthemakingor
ontologicalvalue.Beingisthusnotonlyabelongingbutabecoming.Like
unmakingofhisor herworld,andasubjectwhosuffersandissubjected
thePolynesiannotionofmana,theArabicbaraka,andtheKurankomiran,
Beingisapotentialitythatwaxesandwanes,isaugmentedordiminished,
1In,treatingtheproteandistinctionbetweenprivateandpublicrealmsphenomenologically, dependingonhowoneactsandspeaksinrelationto others(ef.Jackson
ImIghtbeaccusedofglOSSingoverthedifferentwaysthisdistinctionhasbeenobjectified
1998:13).ThisisonereasonwhyIsetasideorbracketoutallquestions
inthe courseofEuropeanhistory..,."the shiftingweight," asRichardSennettcallsit}"
betweenpublicandprivatelife"(1978:28)- butmyintentionistousethisdistinctionasIta regardingtheessentialidentityofindividualpersonsor thedefinitionof
point ofentry"(Weintraub 1995:282) into understandingthetensions, presentin all thetermsthatare oftenset up in oppositionto them - the social, the
societies,betweenimmediateandnon-immediatespheresofexistence.
12
PREFACE PREFACE 13
natural, thesupernatural,theglobal,thecosmic- inordertodescribethe transformingprivateintopublicmeanings(though,asI shallshow,this
strategisingand boundarycrossingthatgoes on continually between processcutsbothways);thesecondisexistential,seeingstorytellingasa
humanbeingsaswellasbetweenhumanandextrahumanworlds.The vital human strategy for sustaining a sense ofagency in the face of
coreofmyargumentisthatanexistentialimperativeunderliesallthese disempoweringcircumstances.To reconstitute events in astoryisno
movementsandstrategies.Inspiteofbeingawarethateternityisinfinite longertolivethoseeventsinpassivity,buttoactivelyreworkthem,both
and human life finite, that the cosmos isgreat and the human world indialoguewithothersandwithinone'sownimagination.Thisnarrative
small, andthatnothinganyone saysor does can immunisehimor her imaginaryinvolvesaninterplayofintersubjectiveandintrapsychicpro..
from the contingencies ofhistory, the tyranny ofcircumstance, the cesses,since everytransformationofinner monologueinto socialdis..
finalityofdeath, andtheaccidentsoffate,everyhumanbeingneedssome course - andeverycountervailingappropriation or subversionofthis
modicumofchoice,cravessomedegreeofunderstanding,demandssome discourse in individual consciousness - depends as much on private
say,andexpects somesenseofcontroloverthecourseofhisorherown
reveries,fantasies, daydreams, and undeclaredthoughts, ason public
life.However,Irestrictmyselftospeakingofthisexistentialimperative speech. In otherwords,whilestorytellingmakes socialitypossible, it is
as a sense ofagency, thereby settingaside the objective question as to equally vital to the illusory, self..protective, self..justifying activity of
whetherhumanfreedomofactionactuallyexists,forwhatseemsto me individualminds.AsJoanDidionobserves,tiWetellourselvesstoriesin
mostcompellingisthehumanneedto imaginethatone'slifebelongstoa orderto live"(1979:11).
matrixgreaterthanoneselfandthatwithinthissphereofgreaterBeing The playwright Dennis Potter makes this pointwith considerable
one'sownactionsandwordsmatterandmakeadifference. As Nelson force, speaking ofhis lifetime struggle with a hereditary skin disease
Mandelaobserved, reflectingonhis years ofconfinementon Robben (psoriaticarthropathy) thatossifiesthejoints,causes thebodyto lose
Island: UA garden was oneofthe few things in prison that one could control of its temperature, and induces hallucinations. When first
control.To planta seed, watch it grow, to tendit andthen harvestit afflicted bythisillness, he thought:
offeredasimplebutenduringsatisfaction.Thesenseofbeingthecusto
dian ofthissmallpatchofearthofferedasmalltasteoffreedom" (1994: Theonly way I can savemy lifeisto invent my life.I hope I'm not
582..583).
beingimmodest,butIthinkthereisacertainemotionalpowerinmy
Insum, while acknowledgingthehistorical,biogenetic,cosmic,and workwhichIbecomeawareoflater.AndIthinkthatpowerisactually
genealogicaLforcesthatbearuponeachhumandestiny,weaskourselves, theresultofthe contestbetweenmyrealselfandmyinventedself.My
astheGreekdramatistsandphilosophersdid, howmuchluck (techne) inventedselfovercomesmyillness...andkeepsmesane(citedinFuller
andhappenstancecanwehumanlyaccept,howmuchagencyandchoice 1993:10..11).
can weexpect (Nussbaum 1986:4).
Though many authors have argued that stories bestow order and
coherenceonevents (e.g.OchsandCapps2001)weneedto knowhow
The Narrative Imperative
suchreconstructionsofrealityaretiedtoexistentialimperatives,suchas
ourneed to be morethanbitplayers inthestories ofourown lives.In
Two theses, then, are broughttogetherin this work.Thefirst derives storiesasindreams,wetakecentrestage.Norisitparticularlyedifying
from Hannah Arendt's argument that storytelling is a strategy for tosaythatstorytellinggivesmeaningtoourlives,ifbymeaning'weimply
I
14
PREFACE PREFACE 15
anintellectualgraspofevents.Forstorytellingdoesnotnecessarilyhelp borneifyoucanputthemintoastoryortellastoryaboutthem"(cited
usunderstandtheworldconceptuallyorcognitively;rather,itseemsto in Arendt 1973:106). In this pragmatist sense thetruth or falsity ofa
workat a"protolinguistic"level,changingourexperienceofevents that storycannotbedecidedbymeasuringitagainstsomeoutsidereality,for
havebefallenusbysymbolicallyrestructuringthem.Thisisnotsimplya whatmattersishowstoriesenableusto regain some purchaseoverthe
matterofcontrivingscenariosinwhichgoodprevailsoverevil.Asaform events thatconfoundus, humbleus, andleaveus helpless, salvaginga
of"masteryplay" (Bruner 1976:31;1990:78), storytellingreworks and sensethatwehavesomesayinthewayourlivesunfold.Intellingastory
remodels subject-objectrelations in waysthatsubtlyalterthebalance we renew ourfaith thattheworldiswithin ourgrasp.
betweenactorandactedupon,thusallowing usto feelthatweactively AcompellingexampleofthisstrategyisrecordedbyKeithBassoinhis
participatein aworldthatfor amomentseemedto discount, demean, studyofplayandculturalsymbolsamongtheWesternApache.Onelate
anddisempower us.ThegreatDanishwriter, Karen Blixen,once said August day in Cibecue, Basso happened to observe a nine year-old
that"noonehas alifeworththinkingaboutwhoselifestorycannotbe WesternApachechild playingwithapuppy.Whenthegirlpickedthe
told"(citedinArendt1973:107).Thoughwemayquestiontheviewthat puppyup bythetail,itreactedbyyelpingloudlyandnippingher onthe
..stories are lived before they are told" (MacIntyre 1984:212; Mink hand. The girl at once berated the dog in Western Apache. "You're
1970:557-558),anddisagreeovertheextenttowhichourlivesareactually nothing," shescreamed."You'renothing."Thensheturnedherback.A
configuredbythestorieswetell,thereisnodenyingthatstorytellinggives fewmomentslatershe admonishedthedogagain,thistimein English
usasensethatthoughwedonotexactlydeterminethecourseofourlives phrasesthatmimickedanAnglo-Americanteacher'sschoolroommanner.
weatleasthaveahandindefiningtheirmeaning.Stories,likethemusic "Bad!"shecriedshrilly."Youbadboy!Whyyoudothat maketrouble
anddancethatinmanysocietiesaccompaniesthetellingofstories,area formerAlltimeyouwantmaketrouble,wantfight."AsBassopointsout,
kind of theatre where we collaborate in reinventing ourselves and the child would ordinarilyspeakin Apache, but on this occasion she
authorisingnotions,bothindividualandcollective,ofwhoweare.John switchescodes(conjuringandparodyingschoolroomEnglish)whileat
Bergerputsthis nicelyinhisimageofaFrenchalpinevillage,deploying the same time reversing the terms ofthe intersubjectiveencounter. Initially,
"words, spoken and remembered" and "opinions, stories, eyewitness subjecttothedog'sbitingandbadtemper(an object ofits behaviour,a
reports,legends,commentsandhearsay"toworkon alivingportraitof 'nothing'), she recreates herself as subject of the situation, verbally
It
itselfacommunalportrait"thatisneverfinished,butinwhich everybo controlling rather than merely suffering it, as a 'someone,' But also
Ii
dy isportrayedandeverybodyportrays"(1979:9). embeddedinthisplay-situation,inwhichthegirlturnsthetablesonthe
AsBergeralsonotes,nostoryissimplyanimitationofeventsasthey puppy, is a more abstract and non-immediate relationship, for the
actuallyoccurred.Inchangingtheorderofthings, storiesconstruewhat intersubjective exchange between the girl and the dog is an oblique
happened adventitiously as somehow decided by the protagonists statementabout,andan"indirectformofsocialcommentary"on,cultural
themselves.Storiesarecounterfactualorfictional,notbecausetheyaspire relationsbetweenAnglo..AmericanschoolteachersandtheirWestern
to mirrorrealityandfail,norbecausetheyofferescapesfrom reality,but Apachepupils,aswellasthesocialhistoryofinequalityanddisparage..
becausetheyaid andabetourneedto believethatwemay discernand menttheseimply(Basso 1979:9..13).
determinethemeaningofourjourneythroughlife:wherewecamefrom Thissortofmagicalactioniscommonestwhenweareliblocked"from
andwherewearegoing.In makingandtellingstorieswereworkreality actingdirectly(Sartre1948:58-59).Ritualisticbehaviourcomesintoplay
inorderto makeitbearable.AsKarenBlixenputit,"Allsorrowscanbe whenactionsarethwarted,contradicted,orfoundtobeineffective.But
16 PREFACE PREFACE 17
itisnotaquestionofindividualsfindingmeans ofexpressingthemselves, suchviewstendtonaturaliseandfetishizetheimaginedparallelswedraw
forthekeyto understandingthekindofmasteryplayofwhichsrorytel betweenstoriesandlives- such asthetripartitestructureofbeginning,
lingisone exampleisthatatransformationiseffectedthatswitches the middle, andend- andassumethatwhatisimaginativelynecessary for
locus ofactionsymbolicallyfromone contextofrelationshipto another. somepeopletinordertolive'constitutesauniversallyvaliddescriptionof
Storytellingis usually prompted by some crisis, stalemate, or loss of reality.
groundinaperson'srelationshipwithothersandwiththeworld, such Toclarifythisissue,letusconsiderSartre'sargumentthatthepower
thatautonomyisundermined,recognitionwithheld,andactionmade ofthenovelstemsfromitsresemblancetolife.AgainstthegrainofKafka
impossible.Storytellingisacopingstrategythatinvolvesmakingwords and Becketr' who repudiated the biographical fiction of absolute
standfor the world, andthen, by manipulatingthem, changingone's beginningsanddeterminableendings,Sartrearguesthatstoriesentrance
experience ofthe world. By constructing, relating and sharing stories, uswiththepossibilitythatourlivesmaybeasadventuresome,asorderly,
people contrive to restore viability to their relationship with others, andas roundedasourfictions make themappear to be. Butas Frank
redressingabiastowardautonomywhenithasbeenlost,andaffirming Kermode observes in The Sense ofanEnding, stories - at least in the
collectiveidealsinthefaceofdisparateexperiences.Itisnotthatspeech modernworld- cannoteasilysustainthiskindofconsolingillusionof
isareplacementforaction;ratherthatitisasupplement,tobeexploited orderandcontrol.Inthefollowingpassage,Kermodeisspeakingabout
when action isimpossibleor confounded2 RobertMusil:
•
The existential thesis I am advancing here should not be taken to
mean, however, that"wearethestorieswetell"(McAdams1993:5), or How good it would be, he suggests, ifone could find in life the
thatstoriesaresomehowisomorphicwithlives.Suchmimeticassump~ simplicityinherent in narrative order. tThis is the simple order that
tionsareasflawedasthesociologicalviewthatstoriesembodytheform consists in beingable to say:"When that had happened, then this
ofsociety. Theerror in bothcasesisto focus onfixed andfinite mea happened." Whatputsour mindat rest isthesimplesequence, the
nings, usually ofaconceptualkind, andtherebyoverlooktheaction of overwhelmingvariegationoflifenowrepresentedin,asarnathematici
meaning-making,ItisforthisreasonthatIprefertoemphasisestorytel an wouldsay,aunidimensionalorder.' Weliketheillusions ofthis
lingoverstories- thesocialprocessratherthantheproductofnarrative sequence, its acceptable appearance ofcausality: 'It has the look of
activity. necessity.' Butthelookisillusory; Musil'shero Ulrich has 'lost this
Considerforexampletheviewsthat"life,aslived,isastorybeingtold" elementary narrative element' and so has Musil. TheMan Without
(Berger 1984:30),that"identityisalifestory" (McAdams1993:5),and
that"stories are lived beforetheyare told" (MacIntyre 1984:212). All
3"Mylifeisahesitationbeforebirth,"notedKafkainhisDiaries(citedbyOlney1998:405).
"'I have always sensed that there was within me an assassinatedbeing,' Beckettsaid.
2ThispointisnicelyillustratedinMichaelMeekersstudyofthelinkingofheroicdeedsand 'Assassinatedbeforemybirth.Ineededtofindthis assassinatedpersonagain.Andtryto
speechamongtheBedouin.Inaworldcharacterisedby"uncertainproceduresanduncertain givehimnewlife.IonceattendedalecturebyJunginwhichhespokeaboutone ofhis
consequences"(1979:47),ceremonialnarrativesofraidingandwarfare provideakindof patients,averyyounggirl.Afterthelecture,aseveryonewasleaving,Jungstoodbysilently.
stategicsurrogateofactualraiding, enablingBedouinto rehearsethroughthepoeticsof Andthen,asifspeakingto himselfastonishedbythe discoverythathewasmaking, he
voicetheidealsassociatedwithreallife.Evenastorytoldaboutafailedraidmayopenup added:Inthemostfundamentalway,shehadneverreallybeenborn.Ltoo,havealwayshad
deepdiscussionofthevalues,centredonpersonalvoiceandidentity,thatunderliesuccessful thesense ofnever havingbeen born" (Olney 1998:325, quotingfrom CharlesJuliet's
raiding(33A1). ReoncontreAvecSamuelBeckett14,trans.SuzanneChamier).
18 PREFACE PREFACE 19
Qualitiesismultidimensional,fragmentary,withoutthepossibilityof to cope with her confusion and stress. Butshe feels contemptuous of
anarrativeend.Whycouldhenothavethisnarrativeorder?Because narrative.IIIwritefiction,"shecries."Thisisn'tfiction."Shesays:"I mean,
'everythinghasnowbecomenon-narrative,'Theillusionwouldbetoo thewholeconceptionof'thestory,'ofcauseandeffect, thewholeidea
gross and absurd (1967:127). that people have a clue as to howthe worldworks isjusta laughable
metaphysical colonialismperpetrated uponthe wildcountryoftime"
Itisnotonlythepostmodernshatteringandscatteringofsubjectivities (Moore 1998:222). After her child has undergone surgery and is
self, community, culture, and nation that robs narrative ofits recovering,themotherrendersherfinalangryjudgementontheworkof
credibilityasamodelofexistentialorder.Norcanweentirelyattribute narrative:
thedelegitimationofnarrativetotheabstract,denotative,non-narrative
formsofunderstandingthatpermeatethepostmodernworld(Lyotard Howcanitbedescribed?Howcananyofitbedescribed?Thetripand
1984).Forthenewtechnologiesofcommunicationthathavevirtualised thestoryofthetriparealwaystwodifferentthings.Thenarratoristhe
reality in such manifold ways since the Second WorId War have, one who has stayed home, but then, afterward, presses her mouth
ironically, beencounteredby a resurgenceofliterary,journalisticand uponthetraveler'smouth,inordertomakethemouthwork,tomake
cinematicrealismduringthesameperiod,andit maywellbethatit isa themouthsay,say,say.Onecannotgotoaplaceandspeakofit;one
desire to bear witness to the brute facts ofhuman experiences after cannotbothsee andsay, notreally.Onecango, anduponreturning
II
Auschwitz," a desire to speak "without flippancy, about things that makealotofhandmotionsandindicationswiththearms.Themouth
matter" (Wolff1983:x), todojusticetolivedexperienceby eschewing itself, working at the speed of light, at the eye's instructions, is
literaryartifice,wishfulthinking,andromanticstereotypes,thathas,as necessarilystuckstill; so fast, so much to report, it hangs openand
much as anything, underminedthe authority oftraditional narrative. dumb as a gutted bell. All that unsayable life! That's where the
Thoughfictionprovidesuswithingeniouswaysofescapingrealityinto narratorcomesin. Thenarratorcomeswithherkissesandmimicry
fantastic orvirtualworlds whereeverythingispredictable, simpleand andtidyingup.Thenarratorcomesandmakesaslow,fakesongofthe
resolveable,it isoftenthecase thatin timesofextremehardshippeople mouth's eagerdevastation (237).
repudiatesuchlegerdemain,spittingonlanguageasatravestyoflife,and
if
seeinginsilencetheonlydecentwayofrespectingit.Thoughsuchsilence Thoughmanypeopleact, asSartreputsit, as thepatterningofevents
isafarcryfromthespeechlessnessthataccompaniesterrorandtrauma, intheirfictionscorrespondedtothepatterningofeventsinreality4- the
deliberatesilenceisafamiliarstrategyamongrefugees,survivorsofdeath truth is that our lives are for the most part, as Lorrie Morre notes,
camps,abusedchildren, shell-shockedsoldiers, victims oftortureand "unsayable",andemplottedonlyinourimaginations."Thetroublewith
rape,andthebereaved,andisoftenenjoinedin ceremoniesofremem life,"observesMartinAmisinamoreironicvein,"isitsamorphousness,
brancefor thevictims ofcatastrophes. its ridiculous fluidity. Look at it: thinly plotted, largely rherneless,
Inapoignantandpowerfulshortstory,LorrieMoore,goesstraightto sentimental and ineluctably trite. The dialogue is poor, or at least
theheartofsuchexperience.Thestoryconcernsamotherstrugglingto
cometogripswiththefact thatheronlychildhasacanceroustumoron
4InheressayonIsakDinesen(KarenBlixen),HannahArendtmakesasimilarpoint:"If
his liver. The mother is a writer. Throughoutthe crisis, her husband
itistrue,asher"philosophy"suggests,thatnoonehaslifeworththinkingaboutwhosestory
urgesherto takenotes."Shetakesnotes.Shehasrecoursetonarrative cannotbetold, doesitnotfollowthatlifecouldbe,evenoughttobe,livedasastory, that
it
whatonehasto do inlifeisto makethestorycometrue?"(Arendt1973:107).
20 PREFACE PREFACE 21