Table Of ContentR Novels began to incorporate literary the-
ory in unexpected ways in the late twen-
Y
PRAISE FOR tieth century. Through allusion, parody,
A
or implicit critique, theory formed an
The Novel After Theory
N additional strand in fiction that raised questions
about the nature of authorship and the practice
of writing. Studying this phenomenon provides
“A brilliantly lucid, learned, and readable book demonstrating persuasively
fresh insight into the recent development of the
the inherence of high theory in a wide range of ‘postmodern’ novels. The
novel and the persistence of modern theory
work of De Man, Derrida, Lacan, Kristeva, Foucault, Baudrillard, Deleuze,
beyond the period of its greatest success. In
and Guattari is shown in convincing detail to have instigated both the form
T
this book, Judith Ryan opens these questions to
and theme of novels by Swift, DeLillo, Pynchon, Kristeva, Coetzee, and
h a range of readers, drawing them into debates
many others.”
—J. Hillis Miller, University of California, Irvine e over the value of theory.
N
“This compelling and highly readable study shows how a wide range of ma- Ryan investigates what prompted fiction writ-
o
jor novelists of the last fifty years have engaged with theory and thus how ers to incorporate and respond to theory nearly
theory has transformed the practice of novel writing. Judith Ryan, a dis- v thirty years ago. Designed for readers unfamil-
e
tinguished scholar of modern German and comparative literature, turns iar with the complexities of theory, Ryan’s book
l
her critical gaze to contemporary literature in French, German, and Eng- introduces the discipline’s major trends and con-
A
lish. She shows how two generations of novelists, educated in university
troversies and notes the salient ideas of a care-
literature departments and cognizant of debates about ‘the death of the f
t fully selected set of individual thinkers. Ryan
author,’ the arbitrariness of the signifier, and the ‘power/knowledge’ con- e
follows novelists’ adaptation to and engagement
r
tinuum, took up these theories in their own works, often to rebut them, and
with arguments drawn from theory as they trans-
how their novels—far from being dry theoretical manifestos—gained in T
late abstract ideas into language, structure, and
subtlety and literary value as a result of the exchange. This is a fine work
h
fictional strategy. At the core of her book is a fas-
of literary criticism—showing that not only the novel but criticism too is
e
cinating microstudy of French poststructuralism
alive and well after theory.” o
—Pericles Lewis, Yale University, author of Religious Experience and the Modernist Novel r in its dialogue with narrative fiction.
JUDITH RYAN is the Robert K. and Dale J. Weary y
“The Novel After Theory is a brilliant project, expertly accomplished. With Investigating theories of textuality, psychology,
Professor of German and Comparative Litera-
clarity, erudition, and intellectual verve, Judith Ryan shows how recent ma- and society in the work of Don DeLillo, Thomas
ture at Harvard University. Her work concerns
jor novels flesh out the main articles of the literary theory dominant in the Pynchon, J. M. Coetzee, Margaret Atwood, W.
aestheticism and symbolism, modernism and
last fifty years. The result is a heightened appreciation of theory in its pure G. Sebald, and Umberto Eco, as well as Monika
the avant-garde, contemporary literature, colo-
state and the fiction by which it is enriched and which it in turn enriches.”
Maron, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Marguerite Duras,
nialism, and postcolonialism. Her publications
—Stanley Corngold, Princeton University
Marilynne Robinson, David Foster Wallace, and
include Rilke, Modernism, and Poetic Tradition and
C Christa Wolf, Ryan identifies subtle negotiations
The Vanishing Subject: Early Psychology and Literary
o
l between author and theory and the richness this
Modernism, and, as coeditor, A New History of Ger- u
m
dynamic adds to texts. Resetting the way we
man Literature. b
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS / NEW YORK ISBN: 978-0-231-15742-1 i think and learn about literature, her book reads
a
cup.columbia.edu current literary theory while uniquely tracing its
Printed in the U.S.A. shaping of a genre.
Jacket design by David Drummond 9 780231 157421
t h e n o v e l a f t e r t h e o r y
The Novel After Theory
judith ryan
columbia university press new york
columbia university press
Publishers Since 1893
new york chichester, west sussex
Copyright © 2012 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ryan, Judith, 1943–
The novel after theory / Judith Ryan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-15742-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-52816-0 (electronic)
1. Fiction—20th century—History and criticism. 2 Fiction—21st century—History and
criticism. 3. Knowledge, Theory of, in literature. 4. Philosophy, French, in literature. I. Title.
PN3503.R87 2011
809.3'9384—dc22
2011001285
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
This book was printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the
author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or
changed since the manuscript was prepared.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Knowing Theory 1
part 1: theories of textuality 21
1. The Death of the Author 23
2. Structure, Sign, and Play 50
part 1i: psychological theories 77
3. The Mirror Stage 79
4. Women’s Time 105
part 1ii: theories of society 125
5. Systems of Constraint 127
6. Simulacra and Simulation 156
7. Lines of Flight 184
Conclusion: Talking Back to Theory 205
Notes 211
Index 245
Acknowledgments
The Novel After Theory was conceived in a course on contemporary
fiction that I began to teach some years ago. At first, it was a general course
on recent novels, but I soon heard myself uttering the words “the novel after
theory.” The course acquired a subtitle, and I started mapping out the future
book. I am immensely grateful to the students who took the course and the
teaching fellows who discussed the material with me at planning meetings.
With their help, my ideas began to take clearer shape.
Doris Sperber was an expert research assistant, always ready to locate yet
another item in the library, order a book by interlibrary loan, or photocopy the
many articles I needed. I appreciate very much the work she put into this proj-
ect. Charlotte Szilagyi meticulously checked notes and bibliographic references,
making many helpful suggestions for neater and more elegant ways to present
information. Christopher Pitts’s sharp eye and care for detail were invaluable at
the line-editing stage. Do Mi Stauber created a thoughtful and effective index.
During my stay at the Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach in March 2009, I
was fortunate to receive the advice of Ulrich von Buelow, who facilitated my
study of Sebald’s manuscript of The Rings of Saturn, and Nicolai Riedel, who
enabled me to consult a number of books from Sebald’s personal library.
The Germanic Studies program at Rutgers University invited me to give
a talk on the German-language material in this book in the fall of 2003; I am
grateful to William Donahue and Martha Helfer as well as to the donors of
the Rodig Lecture and the students who participated in the discussion. In
the spring of 2007, I gave a version of my remarks on Sebald’s The Rings of
Saturn as the Grilk Lecture at the University of Michigan; I profited a great
deal from the discussion and would like to thank Fred Amrine and the audi-
ence for their helpful suggestions.
Conversations and email exchanges with colleagues at Harvard provid-
ed useful information and intellectual support. Special thanks go to Verena
viii acknowledgments
Conley, whose profound knowledge of French poststructuralism was invalu-
able; John Hamilton, who pointed me in the direction of Sweet Charity and
informed me about geographic features of the Traunsee; Christopher John-
son, who shares my passion for W. G. Sebald; Martin Puchner, whose con-
versations about Coetzee persuaded me to include several of his novels; Eric
Rentschler, a fellow admirer of Pynchon’s work, including the songs that are
Pynchon’s trademark; and John Stauffer, who encouraged me to read Infinite
Jest and looked at a preliminary draft of my ideas about it.
For permission to reproduce four lines from Dylan Thomas’s poem “The
hand that signed the paper” (The Poems of Dylan Thomas, ed. Daniel Jones
[New York: New Directions, 2003], 75), I wish to thank New Directions
Publishing Corporation for U.S. and international rights, and David Hing-
ham Associates for U.K. rights. I am grateful as well to Editions Rodopi for
permission to reproduce a shortened and adapted version of my essay “‘Lines
of Flight’: History and Territory in the Rings of Saturn,” in W. G. Sebald: Sch-
reiben ex patria/Expatriate Writing, ed. Gerhard Fischer (Amsterdam: Edi-
tions Rodopi, 2009), 45–60. The Taylor and Francis Group, LLC, a divi-
sion of Informa plc, has kindly granted permission to include a modified
version of my article “After the ‘Death of the Author’: The Fabrication of
Helen Demidenko,” in Cultures of Forgery: Making Nations, Making Selves,
ed. Judith Ryan and Alfred Thomas (London: Routledge, 2003), 169–185.
Finally, I am grateful to the German department at Rutgers University for
permission to use a heavily revised and expanded version of my remarks in
the Rodig Lecture of 2003, published in the Rutgers German Studies Occa-
sional Papers No. 5 (2006), with a foreword by William Donahue, 5–25.
As usual, my husband Larry Joseph read numerous versions of the manu-
script as they emerged from the printer, talked through many aspects of the
book as it progressed, and supported the project from start to finish. Vanessa
Ryan was a savvy adviser on computer problems, but even more importantly,
she read through the entire final version, commenting on points of detail
as well as on matters of larger import. Without the two of them, this book
would doubtless still be languishing in my files.
Two readers for Columbia University Press gave invaluable advice that
helped to clarify numerous points and strengthen the overall argument. My
heartfelt thanks go to them. I also owe a large debt of gratitude to my editor
Jennifer Crewe, whose early interest in the project and encouragement dur-
ing its final phases were crucial.
t h e n o v e l a f t e r t h e o r y
