The Art of Storytelling from Chopin to Barth - Essay Example

Stanley Berry English 232 April 24, 2009 The Art of Storytelling from Chopin to Barth First published in 1899 The Awakening by Kate Chopin presents an early vision of woman's liberation from the constraints of society's conservative norms and conventions. Written almost at the turn of the century, it both literally and figuratively heralds the beginning of a new era in women's writing as well as her condition in society. Although initially it shocked the society with its daring portrayal of a woman's needs and sense of self, it was soon hailed and accepted as a brave attempt towards female emancipation. John Barth's Lost in the Funhouse, published in 1968 on the other hand is a postmodern version of man's condition depicting the complexity of his situation and the all pervading sense of self-consciousness. In these loosely connected fourteen stories that form the collection, Barth explores the predicament of man's stark and almost bare reality, and a sense of being under constant observation perforates the work. Barth experiments with different styles in this work, being contemporary and realistic in a few of the early stories, whereas adopting a more innovative and fantastical approach towards the later half. Through this paper I want to establish the fact that the literature of a period reflects the social, economic, cultural and literary trends of that age. The narrative, structure, language, portrayal of characters, themes and literary styles all represent the relation of the individual with the society that has conditioned him. The portrait of twenty-eight-year-old Edna Pontellier in The Awakening is a milestone in American fiction, which depicts a woman in search of her own identity. Even in the perception of her husband, Mr. Pontellier, Edna is not a quintessential "mother-woman" (p. 8) naturally given to strong maternal instincts and selfless nurturing. In this quest she turns away from convention and society, and rather takes a turn towards the primal, irresistibly attracted to nature and the senses. "A certain light was beginning to dawn dimly within her,-the light which, showing the way, forbids it." (p. 13) For me, The Awakening vividly depicts the socio-cultural transition that marked the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century-a transition from Victorian outlook to the seminal steps towards modernism as reflected few decades later in the works of Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. It depicts a period in history when women were regarded as the property of their spouses and mostly taken for granted. Lost in the Funhouse for me also typifies certain assumptions of the age it was written in. Post-modernist fiction has a predominant theme of self-consciousness which I feel this work reflects in immense measures. Moreover, the contemporary theoretical problems of fiction writing, that Barth was preoccupied with during the 1960s is strongly embedded in the text. A sense of loss, of frustration also comes across through the stories which the age was preoccupied with. The Awakening traces predominantly an inward journey of self. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist of the novel, is the wife of a successful New Orleans businessman. On the exterior she reflects happy domesticity-a mother of two children with a husband who provides adequately for the family. Her husband is no villain as is clear by the following lines: "And the ladiesall declared that Mr. Pontellier was the best husband in the world. Mrs Pontellier was forced to admit that she knew none better." (p.7) She is more or less content with this state of existence till she vacations with her family at a seaside resort in Louisiana where she spends much of her time with Robert Lebrun, a romantic young man. This interaction sparks or rather awakens a new side of her personality which had since been dormant. She starts thinking about herself as an individual rather than being defined by the roles she plays in the society. Soon, after many intimate conversations, boating excursions, and moonlit walks, both Edna and Robert start developing romantic feelings for each other. When the vacation ends and the Pontelliers return to New Orleans, Edna starts frequently interacting with Alce Arobin, an artist, and through her realizes her real self. Consequently, she moves out of her husband's house, hoping for Robert Lebrun's return. However, when she discovers that he cannot handle her new found freedom and break the conventions of society to follow his heart, Edna is heartbroken. She eventually drowns in the sea-naked and free-in a final renunciation of the societal norms. As such, The Awakening is more inward looking, into the multiple layers of human existence and constant search of self. Edna starts asserting herself and her feelings as her character transforms towards the course of the novel. She says: "Perhaps-no, I am not going. I'm not going to be forced into doing things. I don't want to go abroad. I want to be left alone." (p. 111) Lost in the Funhouse, on the contrary, is more outward looking with significant meta-textual elements pervading especially the later stories. The characters seem to be addressing the author or the reader about the very art of writing. The following lines from the story "Lost in the Funhouse" exemplify this aspect: "The more closely an author identifies with the narrator, literally or metaphorically, the less advisable it is, as a rule, to use the first-person narrative viewpoint." (p. 125) In the story "Frame Tale" John Barth presents a postmodern story in probably its simplest form. He instructs the reader to cut out a 1" thick strip from the first page of the book carrying the words "Once Upon a Time There", whereas on the other side is printed "There was a Story that Began". When connected "Once Upon a Time There was a Story that Began" repeats itself on and on and on. Hence the story ultimately just becomes a parody of itself. It thus defies the conventional art of storytelling and creates new benchmarks. Although the plot is simple, Barth plays around with the structure of the stories and does not conform to the standard form, that is, a story with a clearly defined beginning, middle and end. The Awakening, on the other hand, follows a well-defined structure-a beginning, a middle and an end. This clearly reflects the shift in the sensibilities of both the writers and the readers with the change in time and the socio-politico-literary circumstances. The Awakening follows the call of art. Edna's evolving response to Mademoiselle Reisz's music as her own emotional awakening illustrates this along with her developing desire to become an artist in her own mind. In that sense it does address and tries to advocate an unconventional mode of life for those times. However, it does not explore the very art of writing as done by Barth through his stories. To illustrate my point, I would like to bring to our discussion the story "Night Sea Journey" where he questions the traditional notions of the role of a narrator. The crux of this story is pretty simple: the title of the story refers to the journey of a sperm from its point of origin to its eventual destination-merging with an egg. The sperm speaks to us as it swims, telling the reader about its crisis of faith as well as discussing philosophy. Through this trope Barth redefines what a narrator is supposed to be-one who tells a story but who is also assumed to possess a certain amount of intelligence. A sperm negates all such preconceived notions. The Awakening uses simple and lucid language, meant to tell the story effectively and form the core narrative of the text. Symbols like birds and wildlife, sleep and rest used in various scenes in the text are meant to depict liberation of women and ignorance versus knowledge respectively. At the end of the novel there is the evocative image of a bird with a crippled wing, but free from a cage, unlike the other birds throughout the story. This is symbolic of Edna's vulnerability but flying out also signifies her newly found independent status at last. The language in the story 'Lost in the Funhouse' on the other hand is innovative, experimental, meta-reflective and questions the standard rules of fiction writing. It plays a crucial role as the entire style of the text hinges on it and is a modern commentary on the very purpose and art of communication. The characters in 'Lost in the Funhouse' seem lost in a labyrinth of looking glasses that reflects everything back. Their confusions express a sense of intellectual disorientation that Barth identifies as his own within his own writing. Barth not only uses literary props such as italics within the story but also comments on its usage in the opening paragraph of 'Lost in the Funhouse' just after introducing Ambrose, one of the principal characters. He says: "A single straight underline is the manuscript mark for italic type, which in turn is the printed equivalent to oral emphasis of words and phrases as well as the customary type for titles of complete works, not to mention." So while The Awakening tells the story of a woman's debunking of conventions, her seduction, and her awakening to passions Lost in the Funhouse is a more meta-textual work examining the very art of writing, both works reflective of the times that produced them. Sources: 1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin Published 1993 Courier Dover Publications 2. Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth Published 1968 Doubleday Read More