| Encyclopedic Narrative is related to, but distinguishable from, traditional epic, Menippean satire, and the conventional novel. The dissertation revises, extends, and develops Edward Mendelson's theory of this under-appreciated genre. Walden, Moby-Dick, and Gravity's Rainbow share underlying similarities as encyclopedic narratives. These works are digressive; multiple in modes; inclusive, providing symbolic coverage of the entire culture; unusually informative and/or iterative in texture; instructional, sometimes addressing the reader in second person; meditational, offering an exhaustive examination of some physical object; mystical/Zen in philosophical outlook; and subversive, culturally and politically. All encyclopedic narratives are concerned with alternative modes of perception, unconventional senses of time and eternity, and radical cultural, political, and philosophical viewpoints. Unlike Menippean satires, encyclopedic narratives do take transcendental issues seriously, although their characteristic use of self-deprecating humor, along with their aggressively unconventional form, often obscures this key point. One must recognize the distinctive techniques of encyclopedic rhetoric in order to avoid misinterpretation of these important works. Encyclopedic narratives employ massive inclusions of non-fictional material in order to overwhelm the skeptical reader's defenses; the goal is to induce a meditative state of mind in which conversion to new ways of thinking is possible. Encyclopedic narratives specialize in probing the boundaries between diversity and chaos, conspiracy and freedom, empiricism and faith. Often harshly skeptical, they nevertheless offer, when properly recognized and understood, glimpses into a world where metaphysics is no laughing matter. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the relationship between postmodern theory and the encyclopedic narrative, referencing the ideas of Lyotard and Bakhtin. In what Lyotard calls a "postmodern condition," great tension is at play between localizing and totalizing forces; this is the domain explored by encyclopedic narratives, which share some similarities with the polyphonic novel of Bakhtin's theory. |
