Table Of ContentCritical Survey
of
Long Fiction
Psychological
Novelists
Editor
Carl Rollyson
Baruch College, City University of New York
Salem Press
Ipswich, Massachusetts • Hackensack, New Jersey
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CONTENTS
Contributors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
PsychologicalLongFiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
AyiKweiArmah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
HermannBroch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
JeanCocteau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
JoséDonoso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
IvanGoncharov. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
ShirleyAnnGrau. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
JaneHamilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
BessieHead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
FranzKafka. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
MadamedeLaFayette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
ClariceLispector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
MalcolmLowry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
HughMacLennan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
KateO’Brien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
AmosOz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
WalkerPercy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
DorothyRichardson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
LaurenceSterne. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
AugustStrindberg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
AnthonyTrollope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
RobertPennWarren. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
AngusWilson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
GlossaryofLiteraryTerms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
GuidetoOnlineResources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
GeographicalIndex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
SubjectIndex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
iii
(c) 2012 Salem Press. All Rights Reserved.
CONTRIBUTORS
ThomasBanks JohnD.Lyons JohnK.Saunders
OhioNorthernUniversity OriginalContributor OriginalContributor
CynthiaA.Bily CharlesE.May JanSjåvik
Adrian,Michigan CaliforniaStateUniversity, OriginalContributor
LongBeach
RandiBirn KatherineSnipes
OriginalContributor LaurenceW.Mazzeno OriginalContributor
AlverniaCollege
J.MadisonDavis WilliamB.Stone
OriginalContributor SallyMitchell OriginalContributor
OriginalContributor
ThomasDiNapoli StanSulkes
OriginalContributor RobertA.Morace OriginalContributor
DaemenCollege
MargotK.Frank RonaldG.Walker
OriginalContributor GeorgeO’Brien OriginalContributor
OriginalContributor
SheilaGolburghJohnson JaquelynW.Walsh
SantaBarbara,California JanetPérez McNeeseStateUniversity
OriginalContributor
HarlandW.JonesIII JamesWhitlark
UniversityofSouthCarolina DorothyDodgeRobbins TexasTechUniversity
LouisianaTechUniversity
AnnaB.Katona RogerE.Wiehe
OriginalContributor JosephRosenblum OriginalContributor
OriginalContributor
RebeccaKuzins
Pasadena,California
iv
(c) 2012 Salem Press. All Rights Reserved.
Psychological Long Fiction
Fromtheancientbeliefinhumorstothetwentiethandtwenty-firstcenturies’psycho-
analyticandpharmacologicalmethodologies,diversetheoriesaboutthemindhaveaf-
fectedtheliteraryproductionofnovelists.Categorizationaccordingtothesetheoriesis
difficult, because authors tend to mix them and use more than they admit. Hermann
Hesse’sworks,forexample,begantooverflowwiththeanalyticalpsychologyofCarl
Jungafterthelattertreatedhim,yetHessetendedtobelittlethatinfluenceandspokeofbe-
ingclosertoSigmundFreud.Consequently,psychologicallongfictionismosteasilycat-
egorizednotaccordingtomedicaltheoriesbutaccordingtofourliterarytechniques:play-
fuletiology,unrepentantconfession,streamofconsciousness,andKafkaesquefantasy.
Playfuletiology
CharlesBaudelaire’snovellaLaFanfarlo(1847;theflaunter)attributestheidiosyn-
crasiesoftheprotagonist,SamuelCramer,tohismixedparentage(GermanandChilean),
hisFrencheducation,andhisheaven-bestowedpartialgenius.Baudelaireisthuspractic-
ingetiology—diagnosingthecausesofacondition—butnotwiththeseriousnessaphysi-
cianwouldadopt.Instead,heexplainsaconditionthroughawhimsicalmixtureofratio-
nales based on nature, nurture, and God. Such jocular syncretism (or, indeed, any
extensive etiology) is common in fiction only from the eighteenth century onward. In
Ovid’sMetamorphoses(c.8c.e.;Englishtranslation,1567),Myrrha’sincestuouspassion
forherfathercreatesthekindofsituationthatlaterfascinatedpsychologists,butthenarra-
torsimplycommentsonthatpassionascriminalanddisgustingwithoutinvestigatingwhy
Myrrha had such an unusual craving. Presumably, fate or the gods are somehow
responsible.
Withtheriseofthesciencesintheeighteenthcentury,however,tacitreferencetosu-
pernaturalinfluencewasnotenoughtoexplainpersonalitydifferences.BeforetheRo-
manticismoftheearlynineteenthcentury,thecharacterstobediagnosedseldomdeviated
farfromnormalityandthuswerelittleinneedoflavishelucidation.Thereafter,however,
neurotics and psychotics began multiplying through a growing interest in extreme
expressionsofindividuality.
Todemonstratethisindividuality,authorsmustatsomepointdiagnosecharacters’de-
viancefromthenorm;paradoxically,sincewhatcanbethuscatalogedisnotuniquelyin-
dividual,theauthorsmustalsoshowadistastefordiagnosisitself.InWashingtonSquare
(1880),HenryJames’snarratordetailsthecharacters’psychologicalquirksquitedirectly,
yetthestoryturnsagainstsuchinsights.TheshrewdDoctorSloper,knownfordiagnosing
intoomuchdetail,ruinshisdaughter’slifebyexposingherfiancé’stemperament.Inlater
works,Jamescontinuestoprovideetiologicalinformation,butitisfilteredthroughpoints
ofviewthatrenderitambiguous,asinhisnovellaTheTurnoftheScrew(1898),which
neverestablisheswhetheritsghostsarerealorsymptomsofagoverness’shysteria.
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PsychologicalLongFiction CriticalSurveyofLongFiction
Evenmorecomplexly,thenarratorofThomasMann’sDoktorFaustus:DasLebendes
deutschenTonsetzersAdrianLeverkühn,erzähltvoneinemFreunde(1947;DoctorFau-
stus:TheLifeoftheGermanComposerAdrianLeverkühnasToldbyaFriend,1948)tries
todemonstratethatthegeniusandmentalillnessofthecomposerAdrianLeverkühnare
symptomsofbothGermany’sbrillianceanditsdegeneration.Moreover,thenarrator’s
manneredproseundercutsfaithinhisjudgments.AsMann’sessaysalsodemonstrate,he
consideredthecomplexityoflifetotranscendsimplecategories.Onasomewhatlessso-
phisticatedlevel,hismethod(obsessiveuseofetiology,yetskepticismaboutitsconclu-
sions)alsoappearsinmanythrillers,includingThomasHarris’sRedDragon(1981)and
TheSilenceoftheLambs(1988).Intheseworks,bothapsychoanalyst-turned-cannibal
and the investigating detectives employ psychological profiling. To this guesswork
(whichisnotalwaysaccurate),Harriscounterpointspervasivereligiousimagery,meantto
givetheevilanapocalypticquality,butwithoutreducingittoanysingletheory,either
psychologicalortheological.
InAgainstInterpretation,andOtherEssays(1966),SusanSontagcombatsthepsy-
chologicalandparticularlythebiographicalstudyofliterature.Accordingly,shepeoples
hernovelswithmisfitsonwhomshecommentsinamannerthatismoreaparodyofpsy-
chologythanarelianceonit.Comparably,ThomasPynchontookimageryfromJung’s
psychologicalintroductiontotheTibetanBookoftheDeadandtravestieditinhiscomic
novelTheCryingofLot49(1966).AsdoothersofPynchon’sfictions,ittreatsallanalysis
asitselfaformofparanoia.Causingcontroversy,theNewNovelistAlainRobbe-Grillet
placedobviousallusionstoOedipus(abasicpatternintheFreudiansystem)throughout
LesGommes(1953;TheErasers,1964);hedeniedpubliclythattheywerethere.Inheres-
says,NathalieSarraute,anotherNewNovelist,hasexplainedthathercharacterizationde-
scribestropisms(behaviorswithwhichpeopletrytocontroloneanother),butshebelieves
thatnodepthsliebeneaththese.Citationsofpsychologicaldiagnosesmerelytodenyor
ridiculethemoccuronapopularlevelinsuchnovelsasKenKesey’sOneFlewoverthe
Cuckoo’s Nest (1962), in which the character Nurse Ratched embodies a health care
systemeagertolabelpatientsasawayofdemeaningandbullyingthem.
Unrepentantconfession
Inclassicpsychoanalysis,discoveringetiologyislargelythedoctor’srole.Thepatient
engagesinasecularformofconfession,asaresultofwhich(unlikethereligiousversion)
nooneisrequiredtorepent.Literaturehasfollowedasimilarpath.InFyodorDostoev-
ski’s Zapiski iz podpolya (1864; Letters from the Underworld, 1913; better known as
NotesfromtheUnderground),thenarrator’salmostgloatingself-exposure,withoutpur-
gationorsalvation,brokewithChristiancontritionandsetamodelfortwentiethcentury
confessionalfiction.AccordingtoliterarytheoristMikhailBakhtin,Dostoevski’slater
novels,attheirbest,consistofadialogueofvoicespresentedwithoutacommentingnar-
rator.ThiswouldmakeDostoevski’sworksconfessionalthroughout,but,asBakhtinad-
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PyschologicalNovelists PsychologicalLongFiction
mits, Dostoevski sometimes resorts to diagnosis and etiology, as in the epilogue to
Prestupleniye i nakazaniye (1866; Crime and Punishment, 1886), with an obtrusive
psychologybasedonChristianity.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, André Gide’sL’Immoraliste (1902; The
Immoralist,1930)tooktheconfessionalmodefurthertowardthesecular.Untilnearthe
book’sconclusion,itsprotagonist,Michel,isunawareofhishomosexuality,sohecannot
divulgeit,exceptbyreportingbehaviorheunderstandslessthandothereaders.Further-
more,sincehomosexualityinthenovelisnotanactionbutatendency,itisnot,inChris-
tianterms,asin;despitetheguiltitinstills,itdoesnotseemsusceptibletopurgation.By
persuasively associating the human condition with embarrassing impulses, The Im-
moralistsetsadespairingtoneforFrenchfiction.
ThistonecontinuedatleastaslateasAlbertCamus’sLaChute(1956;TheFall,1957).
Itsprotagonist,Jean-BaptisteClamence,isunwillingtoriskhislifetosaveadrowning
man.Disillusionedbyhisowncowardice,Clamenceabandonsconventionalbehaviorand
slipsintocruelty,intentonconvincingeveryonethathisimperfectionspringsfromanin-
eradicablestrainwithinhumanityitself:afallforwhichthereisnosavior.LikeMichel’s
homosexuality,Clamence’ssadismisoneoftheconditionsthatthefirsthalfofthetwenti-
ethcenturybroughttopsychologicalattention.Thatage,shockedbytherepressed,ap-
pearsagaininKazuoIshiguro’snostalgicnovels.Theyshowhowreluctantpeoplewereto
discovertheirowndestructiveness,asshowninthedisguisedsadomasochisticrelation-
shipbetweenSachikoandMarikoinAPaleViewofHills(1982),orintheself-delusions
ofcharacterChristopherBanksinWhenWeWereOrphans(2000).AlthoughFreudar-
guedthataggressiveandsensualdrivesmightbesublimatedintoculturalachievements,
novelists,alongwiththepublic,tendedtobedismayedatpsychology’sdisclosureofan
unconsciouspronetoirrationality.
WiththeexceptionofsuchnostalgicworksasIshiguro’s,confessionalfictionsinthe
twentiethcentury’ssecondhalfwerenotaseasilydismayedbyimplacableinstincts.In
AnthonyBurgess’sAClockworkOrange(1962;reprintedwithfinalchapter,1986),the
narrator,Alex,isarapistandmurdererwhoistreatedwithaversiontherapysothathebe-
comesnauseatedatthethoughtofsexorviolence.Inotherwords,hehasbeencoerced
intobeingasrepressedasastereotypicalVictorian.Readersareexpectedtocondemnhis
psychological castration. In a victory of free will, however, he overthrows the
conditioningandreturnstocommittingmayhem.
Comparably,inOrsonScottCardandKathrynH.Kidd’sLovelock(1994),thenarrator
isanartificiallyenhancedcapuchinmonkey,who,likeAlex,mustovercomehiscondi-
tioningtobecapableofsexandviolence.Here,evenmoreclearlythaninAClockwork
Orange,evilisananimalsideofthemindtobefreed.Liberationofthebestialpermeates
many first-person works that were popular in the 1960’s, such as Jack Kerouac’s The
Dharma Bums (1958) and John Barth’s Giles Goat-Boy: Or, The Rev. New Syllabus
(1966).AlthoughmoreconsciousofevilthanKerouac,Barthmakespsychologicalliber-
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PsychologicalLongFiction CriticalSurveyofLongFiction
ationsoundrelativelyinnocentcomparedwithBurgess,whoseacuteawarenessofhuman
destructivenessismoretypicalofBritishfiction,suchasJ.G.Ballard’sCrash(1973),
whichisabouttakingsadomasochisticjoyinautomobileaccidents.
Perhapsbecausethenatureofdramapredisposesittopublicrituals,insuchplaysas
PeterShaffer’sEquus(pr.,pb.1973)andincountlessfilms,psychoanalysisitselfformsa
settingforconfession.Infirst-personfiction,however,theclosestanalogytoitistherela-
tionshipbetweennarratorandreader.Whenpsychoanalyst-likefiguresarepresentinfic-
tion,theyareoftendisguisedtoemphasizeeitherthenegativeorpositiveassociationsof
psychiatry.Thus,freshfromaproductivetherapywithJung,Hessemadetherebellious,
precocioustitlecharacterofDemian(1919;Englishtranslation,1923)intoitsnarrator’s
unofficialanalyst.Similarly,inJ.D.Salinger’sGlassfamilysaga(suchasinSeymour:An
Introduction,1963),althoughfamilymemberssometimesfindthemselvesonapsychia-
trist’scouch,theolderbrothers,oneofwhomcommitssuicide,combinethefunctionsof
guruandtherapist.Whethertheanalystisacannibalorafriendwhohelpspeoplelivewith
theirsins,theprocesshaslesstodowithpenitenceandforgivenessthanwithproviding
thereadersentertaininglyshockingrevelationsaboutwhatJosephConrad,inhis1902
novelofthesamename,termedhumanity’s“heartofdarkness.”
Streamofconsciousness
AccordingtoKeithM.May,streamofconsciousness—anattempttorepresentbarely
consciousthinking—belongstoarelativelybriefperiodwhenthetwoworldwarsledpeo-
ple to once again recognize human irrationality. Significantly, May omits mention of
ÉdouardDujardin’sstream-of-consciousnessnovelLesLaurierssontcoupés(1887,se-
rial;1888,book;We’lltotheWoodsNoMore,1938;alsoknownasTheBaysAreSere,
1991),whichwaspublishedgenerationsbeforeWorldWarI.Moreperceptively,Dorrit
Cohncontendsthatungrammaticalfragmentsinstreamofconsciousnessapproximatea
deepstratumofthemind,sincethepsycholinguistLevVygotskyhasdemonstratedsuch
incoherencetobeitsnature.
According to Shiv Kumar, psychologist-philosopher William James originated the
phrase“streamofconsciousness”in1890,butitwasintroducedtoliterarycriticismina
1918 article by May Sinclair about the novels of Dorothy Richardson. In Pilgrimage
(1938, 1967), Richardson confines herself to her protagonist’s consciousness, without
providingthecustomaryinformationreadersexpectearlyinabook.Fiftypagesintothe
novel,thereaderlearnsthecharacterisateenager.AsKatherineMansfielddidforthe
shortstory,RichardsonbroughttotheEnglishnovelthetechniqueofstreamofconscious-
ness,whosemajorpractitionerswereVirginiaWoolf,JamesJoyce,andWilliamFaulkner.
ThefirstofWoolf’snovelstoemploythetechniqueisJacob’sRoom(1922),aboutthe
lifeofanEnglishmanwhodiesinWorldWarI.Itrepeatedlymarkscharacters’inattention
totraditionalreligionevenwhenchurchbellschimeinthebackground.(Hergeneration
associatedstreamofconsciousnesswithaworldthatwasreplacingtheologywithpsy-
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PyschologicalNovelists PsychologicalLongFiction
chology.)Byfocusingonasingleday,hernextnovel,Mrs.Dalloway(1925),achieves
greaterintensityinthedepictionofrelativelyplotlessmentalflux.Aunifyingelement,
though, is repeated reference to Septimus Smith, who consults a psychiatristand kills
himselftoavoidanotherphysician.Onanextremelevel,hissuicideparallelstheimpor-
tancethatinternaleventshavefortheothercharacters.
Althoughstreamofconsciousnessmeanssomethingslightlydifferentineachnovel-
ist’sworks,Joyceshowsthegreatestrangeoftechniques.InhisAPortraitoftheArtistasa
YoungMan(serial1914-1915,book1916),mostsectionsareinthirdperson,buttheyare
soattunedtotheirprotagonist’sdevelopingmindthattheyrangefrombabytalk(inthe
earlierones)totheeruditionofaneducatedyoungman(intheconcludingones).Joyce’s
Ulysses(1922),however,unifieseachsectionbyparodyingsomegenreorstyle,suchas
journalisticproseorexpressionistdrama.Thelastsection,renderingthemindofMolly
Bloomasshefallsasleep,isaflowofwordswithoutpunctuationthatparticularlysuitsthe
term “stream of consciousness.” Her monologue should not be confused with works
whoseauthorssimplyprovidetheirownmusings.
InthefirstdraftofOntheRoad(1957),Kerouac,atmaximumspeed,wrotethewhole
workasasingle,uneditedsentencetoachievespontaneousself-revelation.Incontrast,
JoyceisdistancinghimselffromMolly’sirrationalityandsomnolence.Ifstreamofcon-
sciousness means representation of one mind at a time, then Joyce’s monumental last
work,FinnegansWake(1939),hasmovedbeyondittoaverynonluciddreamthattakes
incoherencealmosttounintelligibility.ItsreadersentersomethinglikeJung’scollective
unconscious:thewholehumanrace’sheritageofsymbols.
AftertreatingJoyce’sdaughter,JungmisunderstoodevenUlysses,whichheconsid-
ered the spontaneous outpourings of hereditary madness, exacerbated by alcohol. Al-
thoughnoproofofitsauthors’insanity,theincoherenceofstreamofconsciousnesscan
wellportraycharacters’mentalaberrations.ThefirstsectionofFaulkner’sTheSoundand
the Fury (1929) records the barely comprehended sensory impressions occurring to
Benjy,anidiot.Readersthenencounterthementalcontentsofotherwitnessestothesame
story,includingayoungmanwhokilledhimselfbecauseofincestuousfeelingsforhissis-
ter.Similarly,inFaulkner’snextnovel,AsILayDying(1930),Darl,aclairvoyantheaded
towardmadness,isthecharacterwhosemindismostoftensampled.Althoughinterestin
streamofconsciousnesswasfosteredbytheriseofpsychology,thetechniqueitselfim-
pliesthatamindisbeingobservednotclinicallybuttelepathically;thus,Darl’sclairvoy-
ancehasmuchincommonwiththosewhowriteorreadstreamofconsciousness.
Streamofconsciousnessbeganattractinganewgenerationofwritersattheendofthe
twentiethcentury.TwoexamplesarePatrickMcCabe,whosenarratorinTheButcherBoy
(1992)isayoungboywhodealswithatroubledfamilybyretreatingtoafantasyworld,
andIrvineWelsh,whoseTrainspotting(1993)isnarratedbyseveraldrugusersfromthe
sametown.Novelsthatemploywordplay,nonlinearstructure,andfootnotesinadditionto
streamofconsciousnessincludeMarkZ.Danielewski’sHouseofLeaves(2000),Jona-
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