| The tetralogy of A. S. Byatt (1936-) includes The Virgin in the Garden (1978), Still Life (1985), Babel Tower (1996), and A Whistling Woman (2002). In the tetralogy, Byatt fuses life and reflection to create vivid plots and rich thoughts with her intellect, which demonstrates her extensive knowledge and theoretical background in both the humanities and science. Even though most of the critics and commentators hold that intellect is a key element in the tetralogy, little research has been carried out on the significance and values of its intellectual nature. The discourse of knowledge throughout the tetralogy does not only carry on the traditional cognitive and aesthetic function of literature, but also displays Byatt’s concern for language and reality. Moreover, it provokes the intellectuals to reflect on their own living conditions.Positioned in the context of literary text, the discourse of knowledge in this dissertation couples the constructiveness of language with the practicality of discourse. Instead of elevating the ontological issues over the epistemological ones, Byatt organically combines the two in order to carry on the realist tradition by way of the combination of realist and postmodern features. Rather than a mere representation and repetition, the discourse of knowledge in the tetralogy manifests the depth of Byatt’s literary exploration of the relationship between language and reality, and the characters’own living conditions as well. Such profound thought implies Byatt’s belief in the existence of meaning, truth, and subject. Thus, this dissertation explores Byatt’s attempts to reconnect words and the world in the context of postmodernism through the discourse of knowledge from the perspectives of literature cognition, the representation of reality, and the subjectivity of the intellectuals.Chapter One delves into the cognitive function of the discourse of knowledge in the tetralogy. It is distinctive from the general literary cognition, which focuses on the narrative cognition and novelistic knowledge. As one of the literary discourses, the discourse of knowledge constructs a space where the writer’s intention encounters and communicates with the reader’s reading experience. Byatt constantly reflects on her writing strategies and expands the scope of the vision of knowledge and practice in her writing process, which is elaborated in the following aspects:the knowledge of literature, the connection between literary and scientific knowledge, and the mixture of elite and public knowledge. As a lecturer of literature and a Cambridge graduate, Byatt has acquainted herself with the characters and plots of numerous literary classics. Therefore, she can create her own fictional world and have the literary knowledge at hand. Meanwhile, scientific knowledge avails her of a new perspective to view the world and an opportunity to contemplate her own life, thus bringing new vitality to her writing. The tetralogy also emphasizes the coexistence of literature and knowledge, and cognitive functions through this peculiar form of literature. The fictional world of the intellectuals which the readers encounter is a rational and knowledgeable, as well as emotional and aesthetic one. Therefore, it offers two different perspectives to approach the tetralogy-one is the cognitive one based on scientific understanding, the other is the aesthetic one based on artistic experience, both of which derive from the same real world. While presenting the progress and development of knowledge of modern literature, art and science, the tetralogy achieves a unique aesthetic significance as well.Chapter Two explores the significance of the discourse of knowledge to represent reality in the postmodern context in the tetralogy. Contemporary epistemological criticism of the truth of knowledge has turned both the discourse of knowledge and literary discourse into a kind of narrative. Besides, the discourse of knowledge in literary works transcends the division of subjects and disciplines. In other words, it does not produce discourses which simply tell the truth but discourses as fictional words on possible and imaginative worlds. Such similarity between knowledge and literary works provides a fresh way to represent reality for contemporary novelists. Both the description of literary and painting works and comments based upon them in the tetralogy are constructed by language, while the discourse of scientific knowledge explores the structure of language which directly expresses the author’s concern for language. In addition, the discourse of knowledge is based on the cognitive mechanisms of human beings, emphasizing the cognitive perspectivism against solipsism. Interpreting the perspectivism of cognition, Byatt admits that the subjective and environmental impact cannot be avoided in terms of perception and concept, language and thought, and all the elements, results and significance of knowledge. Similar to the text that is open to the cultural environment and an external study of history, the discourse of knowledge in literary works is equipped with clearly defined and constructive qualities, which makes it productive and dynamic. In this narrative approach, different disciplines of knowledge are brought together to help Byatt create an intellectual fictional world.Chapter Three analyzes the subjectivity of the intellectuals.In the tetralogy, the crisis of the intellectuals’subject comes from both the progress of knowledge and the connection between knowledge and power. Within the discourse of literary, scientific, semiotic and other fields of knowledge, Byatt presents the subject’s crisis of the intellectuals and even the human beings through detailed explanations. As the discourse of knowledge becomes authoritative and powerful within the framework of power, Byatt endeavors to use different methods for the intellectuals who intend to reconstruct their subjectivity in the postmodern context, including their access to knowledge, language narrative and educational reflection. Depicting a diversity of fields of knowledge, the tetralogy attempts to explain the world from different perspectives. In the process of understanding the world, people get their own behavior-oriented forces, and the opportunity to rediscover their own selves. Although the fictionality of literature and the uncertainty of language lead to suspicion of reality, which diverts people to science to find the answer, Byatt still considers narrative as one of the prominent methods to solve the language problem. Storytelling and abstract thinking, literature and science are two interdependent and inseparable aspects. Nevertheless, the shifting identity of the intellectuals in the educational field reflects the unique characteristics of postmodern subject.To sum up, the discourse of knowledge embodies the intellectual quality of the tetralogy. It not only represents Byatt’s reflection on the function of literary works, but also her concern for the fate of contemporary intellectuals. Profound thinking on knowledge of art and science demonstrates the power of Byatt’s intellect and enlightens the reader to reconsider the textual world, the real world, and the inner world of human beings. |
PDF Full Text Request