'I prefer the stately dance of reason': Anita Brookner's explorations of literature, art and life.

摘要

This work explores Anita Brookner's life-long pursuit of self-analysis through the filter of her constantly evolving philosophy of literature, art, and life. Brookner's oft misunderstood characters become more comprehensible when analyzed in light of thought patterns the author established in her earlier art historical works. An exploration of Brookner's own warring impulses, derived from her grounding in eighteenth and nineteenth century literature and art, with its contentious witches' brew of Enlightenment, Neoclassical, Romantic, Victorian, Realist, and Naturalist thought, anchors this discussion. Brookner and her protagonists find themselves caught between the Enlightenment's rationality and Romanticism's passion; a Victorian sense of filial duty also dictates the author's, as well as her protagonists', behavior. Far from being the formulaic pieces envisioned by many of her critics, Brookner's novels reflect an author who constantly experiments with age, gender and relationships.; Brookner's art historical works, The Genius of the Future and Jacques-Louis David, provide a matrix for Brookner's novels by offering the most comprehensive examples of her philosophy. The language and themes of these critical works correlate to Brookner's pivotal first three novels, The Debut, Providence, and Look at Me, which lay the groundwork for the rest of her fictional canon. Brookner's fourth novel, Hotel du Lac, which reflects her definition of the Romantic novel, in which characters feel an “absolute longing” for the “ideal of love,” establishes the pattern of the author's middle period, with its explorations of feminism, mental disintegration and divorce. Family and Friends ushers in an analysis of Brookner's current period, in which she scrutinizes marriage and family life, as well as the aging process. Having finally examined her own dysfunctional family in Family and Friends, Brookner experiments with protagonists who move toward connection and integration, until, in Fraud (1992), she allows one of her heroines, Anna Durrant, to achieve self actualization by renouncing her previous roles of dutiful daughter and excellent woman in favor of a more independent existence as a dress designer. Anna initiates a more balanced brand of Brooknerian protagonist, who feels less torn by the warring impulses of rationality and passion.