ORTIZ ROBLES - Local Speech, Global Acts. Performative Violence and The Novelization of The World

University of Oregon
Local Speech, Global Acts: Performative Violence and the Novelization of the World
Author(s): Mario Ortiz-Robles
Source: Comparative Literature, Vol. 59, No. 1 (Winter, 2007), pp. 1-22
Published by: Duke University Press on behalf of the University of Oregon
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40279355 .
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WINTER 2007
Volume
59,
Number I
MARIO ORTIZ-ROBLES
Loc a l
Speec h,
G loba l Ac t s :
Performa t ive Violenc e
a nd t he Noveliza t ion
of t he World
HISTORY OF THE REALIST NOVEL is
pa ra d oxic a l:
it is t he
his t ory
of a
lit era ry s ys t em
t ha t
s pa ns
t he
globe
a nd
yet
c ons is t s of
d is t inc t ly
loc a l
perfor-
ma nc es . While int ent on
d es c ribing "everyd a y
oc c urrenc es . . .
a c c ura t ely
a nd
profound ly
s et in a d efinit e
period
of
c ont empora ry his t ory"
(t hes e
a re Eric h
Auerba c h's word s
[485] ) ,
t he
novel,
more t ha n
a ny
ot her
lit era ry genre,
ha s d em-
ons t ra t ed a rema rka ble forma l
port a bilit y, t ra veling virt ua lly
int a c t a c ros s c ul-
t ures a nd
la ngua ges
a nd
beyond
his t oric a l c irc ums t a nc e
(s ee
Dood y).
St ud ent s
of t he novel will
rea d ily gra nt
t hes e "his t oric a l"
fa c t s ,
but t here is les s c ons ens us
rega rd ing
t he
ques t ion
of how
exa c t ly
t he novel is a ble t o
perform
t hes e s eem-
ingly inc ompa t ible prot oc ols .
How c a n t he novel be a t onc e
loc a l, ins ula r,
even
provinc ia l,
a nd
yet world ly,
univers a l,
globa l?
To wha t ext ent c a n t he novel's
rep-
res ent a t iona l
s pec ific it y
a c c ount for it s
verifia bly globa l
c ha ra c t er?
Tra d it iona lly
-
a nd
a rgua bly
t his is s t ill t he d omina nt mod el
t od a y
-
t he
a ge-
old d is t inc t ion bet ween form a nd c ont ent ha s been
d eployed
t o a c c ount for t he
d ouble
d ut y performed by
t he novel.
Ac c ord ing
t o t his
mod el,
t he novel's
loos e,
t hough fa irly
s t a ble,
forma l t ra it s
-
c ha ra c t er-c ent ered
s t ory-t elling,
"t hic k" d e-
s c ript ion,
na rra t ive
foc a liza t ion,
s t a nd a rd
plot s ,
rec urrent
s t ylis t ic
d evic es ,
t he
pa s t
a s
prima ry
verba l
t ens e,
a nd s o on
-
ma ke it
pa rt ic ula rly
well s uit ed t o t he
t a s k of
repres ent ing,
in however med ia t ed a nd
c omplex
a
form,
wid ely va rying
loc a l environment s wit hout
s ignific a nt
los s of s t ruc t ura l
int egrit y.
In a fa milia r
projec t ion
of t his
a c c ount ,
na t iona l lit era t ures a re d efined
by
t he
pa rt ic ula r
c on-
t ent
t hey bring
t o bea r on a
rea d y-ma d e
form
generic a lly
ma rked
by
t he
experi-
enc e of t he
na t ion;
t he novel t hen
bec omes ,
by implic a t ion,
a world
lit era ry
form
t ha t c a n be
t ra ns pos ed
from one na t ion t o a not her even a s t he
t ra ns pos it ion
it s elf
regis t ers
t he exis t enc e
(or
ma rks t he
emergenc e)
of a
rec ogniza bly
mod ern
form of
polit ic a l
a nd s oc ia l
orga niza t ion.
The
s eeming d is c ont inuit y obt a ining
COMPARATIVE
LITERATURE/ 2
bet ween t he
s pec ific it y
found in na t iona l lit era t ures a nd t he
univers a lit y
of a
s ingle
Welt lit era t ur is t hus
nea t ly
res olved
by pos it ing
t he
s ingula rit y
of loc a l c on-
t ent
a ga ins t
t he
genera lit y
of a
pluriva lent globa l
form.1
Before
propos ing
a d ifferent s et of t erms for
rea d ing
t he novel in t he
a ge
of
globa liza t ion,
I wa nt t o c ons id er t his
t end enc y
wit h referenc e t o t wo t ext s t ha t
a re informed
by,
a nd ha ve in t urn
informed ,
d evelopment s
a nd d eba t es in re-
c ent c rit ic a l
genea logies
of t he novel. Bot h Bened ic t And ers on's
Ima gined
Com-
munit ies :
Reflec t ions
on t he
Origin
a nd
Sprea d of
Na t iona lis m
(1983;
revis ed
1991),
a t ext whos e influenc e in t he c ult ura l
s t ud y
of t he novel ha s been
wid ely
felt for
bet t er t ha n a
d ec a d e,
a nd Fra nc o Moret t i's At la s
of
t he
Europea n
Novel 1800-1900
(1998),
a more rec ent but no les s
import a nt
c ont ribut ion t o t he
s oc iologic a l
s t ud y
of t he
novel,
give c ompelling
rea s ons for
c ons id ering
t he
ninet eent h-c ent ury
novel a s a
powerful
vehic le of c ult ura l
s elf-repres ent a t ion by
mea ns of whic h t he
mod ern na t ion s t a t e c ould be
s ymbolic a lly gra s ped by
it s c it izens . In t heir a c -
c ount s a
s pec ific
na t iona l
rea lit y
c irc ums c ribed
by s pa t ia l
a nd
t empora l
mod a l-
it ies
newly
wit hin rea c h of ind ivid ua l huma n
experienc e
find s a s uc c es s ful
repres ent a t iona l
vehic le in t he
s pa t ia l
a nd
t empora l
c oord ina t es c ha rt ed
by
t he
t ra d it iona l novel. Differenc es of
empha s is
a nd of
d is c iplina ry a pproa c h
(And er-
s on is a s oc ia l
s c ient is t ,
Moret t i a
lit era ry
his t oria n)
ma rk t heir ot herwis e
c omple-
ment a ry a rgument s :
while And ers on
ma y
be s a id t o novelize t he
na t ion,
Moret t i
a t t empt s
t o na t iona lize t he novel.
The role of t he novel in And ers on's a c c ount of t he forma t ion of t he na t ion a s
a n
"ima gined c ommunit y"
revolves a round t he t rea t ment of t ime in t ra d it iona l
na rra t ive. For
And ers on,
t he novel is
id ea lly
s uit ed t o t he
pres ent a t ion
of
t empora l
s imult a neit y
in wha t he
c a lls ,
borrowing
t he t erm from Wa lt er
Benja min,
"homo-
geneous empt y
t ime"
or,
a lt erna t ively,
a
"c omplex glos s upon
t he word 'mea n-
while'"
(25).
By s t a ging
a
performa nc e
s it ua t ion in whic h
d is pa ra t e
c ha ra c t ers
a c t
s imult a neous ly
wit hout
a c t ua lly oc c upying
t he s a me na rra t ive
s pa c e,
t he novel
c rea t es t he c ond it ions of
pos s ibilit y
for
ima gining
a
c ommunit y
in whic h mem-
bers ,
t hough
unknown t o one
a not her,
s ha re a c ommon s ens e of
belonging.
In
t his
mod el,
novel rea d ers
-
And ers on c a lls t hem "omnis c ient
rea d ers ,"
a s s imila t -
ing
wit hout
a ppa rent
c ont ra d ic t ion t he t ra d it iona l
d es c ript ion
of t he "omnis c ient
na rra t or" t o t he a c t of
rea d ing
-
a re a ble t o
perc eive
"a t onc e" c ha ra c t er
(A)
t elephoning
c ha ra c t er
(C)
while c ha ra c t er
(B)
is out
s hopping
a nd c ha ra c t er
(D)
is eit her
pla ying pool
or
get t ing
d runk a t a ba r. As he
put s
it : "Tha t a ll t hes e
a c t s a re
performed
a t t he s a me
c loc ked ,
c a lend ric a l
t ime,
but
by
a c t ors who
ma y
be
la rgely
una wa re of one
a not her,
s hows t he
novelt y
of t his
ima gined
world
c onjured up by
t he a ut hor in his rea d ers ' mind "
(26)
. This in t urn a llows And er-
s on t o ma ke t he
following
c la im a bout t he na t ion: "The id ea of a
s oc iologic a l
orga nis m moving c a lend ric a lly t hrough homogenous empt y
t ime is a
prec is e
a na -
logue
of t he id ea of t he
na t ion,
whic h a ls o is c onc eived a s a s olid
c ommunit y
1
This is reflec t ed
in,
a nd is in
pa rt
a reflec t ion
of,
t he
perha ps
now out d a t ed
d is c iplina ry
d ivis ion
t ha t
s epa ra t es d epa rt ment s
of na t iona l lit era t ures from t hos e d evot ed t o t he
s t ud y
of
c ompa ra t ive
lit era t ure,
a d ivis ion whic h bea rs t he t ra c es of t his
c ompromis e:
t he
loc a l,
his t oric a lly
s t ruc t ured
s t ud y
of a na t ion's lit era t ure
(rega rd les s
of
genre)
a nd t he
pres uma bly globa l, os t ens ibly
t heoret i-
c a lly
informed
c ompa ra t ive s t ud y
of d ifferent forms
(s uc h
a s
genres )
.
LOCAL
SPEECH,
G LOBAL
ACTS/3
moving s t ea d ily
d own
(or
up) his t ory"
(26).
For
And ers on,
t he
c onc ept ion
of
s imult a neit y
ena c t ed
by
t he form of t he novel
provid es
t he t ec hnic a l mea ns for
"re-pres ent ing"
t he na t ion a s a n
ima gined c ommunit y,
now
gra s pa ble by
huma n
s ubjec t s newly
relea s ed from a n old er s ens e of
t empora lit y
ma rked
by myt hic a l
prfigura t ion
a nd d ivine fulfillment .
It is
import a nt
t o not e t ha t for And ers on t he role of t he novel in t he forma t ion
of t he na t ion is not
priva t ive:
t he novel is
only
one
a mong
s evera l d is c urs ive t ec h-
nologies
t ha t
permit
t he
a pprehens ion
of t he na t ion a s a n
ima gined c ommunit y.
In And ers on's mod el t he
novel,
t oget her
wit h
news pa pers
a nd wha t he c a lls
"print -
c a pit a lis m" genera lly,
ma d e it
"his t oric a lly pos s ible"
for
growing
numbers of
peoples
t o t hink of t hems elves in t he c ont ext of a na t ion s t a t e.
Ind eed ,
loc a t ing
t he
origin
of t he mod ern na t ion in t he
Americ a s ,
And ers on c la ims
priorit y
in t he
c ons t ruc t ion of na t iona l na rra t ives for t he burea uc ra t ic
pilgrima ges
of "c reole
func t iona ries " wit hin t he a d minis t ra t ive unit s of t he
Spa nis h empire.
The "s ha red
fa t a lit y
of t ra ns -At la nt ic birt h" c rea t ed t he c ond it ions for a form of
"fellows hip"
t o
emerge a mong
c reole
"t ra velling-c ompa nions "
t ha t ,
t oget her
wit h t heir us e of
print t ec hnology
a ft er t he wa rs of
ind epend enc e
in t he
ea rly
1800s ,
ga ve
ris e t o
t he
ima gined
form of t he mod ern na t ion. I ret urn t o t he
figure
of t he "c reole
func t iona ry"
below.
Ext ra pola t ing
s ome of And ers on's
key ins ight s ,
Moret t i ma kes a n even
s t ronger
c la im in his At la s
of
t he
Europea n
Novel 1800-1900: it is not
jus t
t ha t t he novel wa s
c a pa ble
of
repres ent ing
t he na t ion t o it s c it izens
d uring
t he ninet eent h
c ent ury;
t he na t ion it s elf need ed t he novel t o c ome int o
being
a s a
s ymbolic
"home" c a -
pa ble
of
t urning
"loc a l
loya lt ies "
-
villa ge, c it y, region
-
int o a s ens e of "na t iona l
loya lt y."
Wit h
Ja ne
Aus t en,
t he na t ion is invent ed a s a n int ermed ia t e
s pa c e: la rge
enough
t o s us t a in
it s elf,
but s ma ll
enough
t o be
t hought
of a s a
rela t ively
a ut ono-
mous
ent it y.
This invent ed
s pa c e, a c c ord ing
t o
Moret t i,
"wa s n't obvious " before
Aus t en: "Rea d ers need ed a
s ymbolic
form
c a pa ble
of
ma king
s ens e of t he na t ion-
s t a t e . . . but ... no one ha d
rea lly
c ome
up
wit h it "
(20)
. The "Rela t ive Dis t a nc e"
d is c overed
by
Aus t en's heroines a s
t hey plot
t he na rra t ive of t heir
ma rria ge
a l-
lows t hem t o
projec t
emot iona l
mea ning
int o t he na t iona l
s pa c e
a nd ,
in t he form
of t heir
s t ories , rec onc ile,
t hrough
t he
logic
of t he
ma rria ge
ma rket ,
s oc iet y's
int erna l d ivis ions :
c ount ry
vs .
c it y;
la nd vs .
money. Deft ly t hrea d ing
his
a rgument
wit h ins t a nc es of wha t he els ewhere c a lls "d is t a nt
rea d ing"
(s ee
"Conjec t ures "),
Moret t i ma kes a
c ompelling
c a s e for
us ing ma ps
t o d ec od e t he
logic
of t he Euro-
pea n
novel's
d is pa ra t e s ub-genres ,
s uc h t ha t t he novel of
id ea s ,
t he his t oric a l
novel,
a nd t he
Bild ungs roma n
ea c h in it s own
wa y
c ont ribut es t o t he forma t ion
of t he id ea of t he na t ion in t he
(Europea n)
c ont ext of ot her na t ions . Moret t i
ma ps
t he
s pa c e
of t he na t ion it s elf a s a
geogra phic a l
ma t rix wres t ed from ot her
pos s ible
ma t ric es
c a pa ble
of
genera t ing
na rra t ive,
wit h t he novel
bec oming
t he
privileged
na rra t ive form wit hin or
by
mea ns of whic h t he
s pa t ia l logic
of t he
na t ion c omes t o t a ke
ima gina t ive s ha pe.
To be
s ure,
t he
t empora l
a nd
s pa t ia l
mod els
d eployed by
And ers on a nd Moret t i
go
s ome
wa y
in
expla ining
t he novel's c ult ura l d omina nc e
d uring
t he
a ge
of
na t ion-build ing
a nd
provid e expert ly
rea s oned
a rgument s
for
s uppos ing
t he
int erc onnec t ed nes s of na t ion a nd novel. Yet t hes e mod els a re ba s ed on a
mos t ly
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
/4
unproblema t ized c onc ept ion
of t he novel's
repres ent a t iona l effic a c y
t ha t not
only
a s s umes it s referent ia l
infa llibilit y,
but ,
in
d oing
s o,
a ls o
a s s igns
t o it a n a c -
t ive
or,
properly, performa t ive
func t ion t ha t is never
rec ognized ,
a s
t hough
it
were,
like
id eology
it s elf,
s o
t ra ns pa rent
a s t o need no forma l
a c knowled gement .
By c la iming
t ha t na t ions c a n be
lit era lly "ima gined "
(And ers on)
or
lit era rily
"ma pped "
(Moret t i)
-
ind eed ,
novelized
-
int o exis t enc e in a c c ord a nc e wit h t he
t empora l
a nd
s pa t ia l
s c hemes of fic t iona l
na rra t ive,
t hes e mod els
a c t ua lly
c ol-
la ps e performa t ive
mod els of d is c urs ive a c t ion int o
figura i
ones t ha t
pos it
t he
int erc ha ngea bilit y
of
lit era ry
form a nd
geopolit ic a l
forma t ion. The novel's in-
volvement in
c omplex proc es s es
of c ult ura l
s elf-repres ent a t ion
s uc h a s t hos e t ha t
give
ris e t o t he
ima gined
a nd ind eed
ima gina ry
c ont ours of t he mod ern na t ion
ma y
well be a s c ruc ia l for t he d ema rc a t ion of it s
geophys ic a l
c ont ours a s a re a c t s
of
wa r,
pea c e
t rea t ies ,
t he
purc ha s e
of
t errit ories ,
a nd d ec la ra t ions of
ind epen-
d enc e;
yet ,
t o d es c ribe t he novel a s a
"t empora l a na logue"
t o t he na t ion
(And er-
s on)
or a s a
"s ymbolic s pa c e"
(Moret t i)
t ha t
inevit a bly
lea d s t o it fa ils t o a c c ount
fully
for how t he novel
a c t ua lly
d oes t he
t hings t hey
c la im it d oes .2
The c onfus ion of
performa t ive
wit h
figura t ive
func t ions of
la ngua ge
t ha t ma rks
t hes e mod els
helps
t o ma s k a
d eeper id eologic a l pres uppos it ion s ubt end ing
t he
a rgument s
a bout t he world wid e rea c h of t he novel. In ord er t o
expla in
t he
port -
a bilit y
of t he form
a nd ,
implic it ly,
it s event ua l
globa l
orbit ,
And ers on a nd Moret t i
mus t res ort t o ec onomic
pa ra d igms
-
"print -c a pit a lis m"
for t he
former,
"world
ma rket s " for t he la t t er
-
t ha t t a ke a s t heir
blueprint
t he
his t ory
of
Europea n
c o-
lonia lis m a nd neo-c olonia lis m but fa il t o
regis t er
how t he novel
might
bea r t he
t ra c es of t his violent
his t ory.
From it s
"origins "
in Brit a in a nd
Fra nc e,
t he novel
t ra vels a round t he
globe
in
s t ep
wit h
c a pit a lis m:
wherever t here
bourgeons
a
loc a l
bourgeois ie,
t here t he novel
(a nd
t he mod ern na t ion
s t a t e)
will t hrive.3 In
t his
s c ena rio,
t he novel ent ers int o a n a ll t oo fa milia r na rra t ive of ec onomic d e-
velopment
in whic h "a d va nc ed " a nd t hus
pres uma bly globa l
Wes t ern c ult ure
pro-
vid es a
rea d y-ma d e
form t ha t
"und erd eveloped "
or
"d eveloping"
non-Wes t ern
c ult ures c a n t hen
a d a pt
t o loc a l c ont ent a s
t hough
t he
novel,
like t he na t ion s t a t e
a t t he
height
of t he Cold
Wa r,
c ould be ra nked a nd t hen
nea t ly
boxed int o one of
t hree
unevenly d eveloped
world s .4
Moreover,
t heir a vowa ls a bout t he novel a s a
"world -s ys t em"
t o t he
c ont ra ry,
And ers on a nd Moret t i c rea t e a
ma p
of t he novel's
t ra vels in whic h t he novel's form
qua
form rema ins
s qua rely
ent renc hed wit hin
a na t iona l
fra mework,
pres uma bly ent ering
t he
globa l s t a ge
in a world
a lrea d y
2
1 ment ion t he "form of t he novel" here
bec a us e,
while t ime a nd
t empora lit y
a re
c ert a inly
t rea t ed
a s c ont ent before Prous t
(t he
His t oric a l novel s inc e Sc ot t would be a c a s e in
point )
,
in And ers on's
a rgument "homogenous empt y
t ime" is a forma l
c a t egory
a s is
s pa c e
in Moret t i's mod el. Even
here,
however,
t he
form/c ont ent
bina ry c olla ps es
und er it s own
weight
s inc e t heir c la ims res t on t he
met hod ologic a l a s s umpt ion
t ha t wit h
res pec t
t o t he na t ion form s hould be rea d a s
c ont ent ,
perha ps
even t he c ont ent of t he novel. See below.
3
For a n
explic it
ela bora t ion of t his
a rgument , a lrea d y implic it ly
c ont a ined in Moret t i's
At la s ,
s ee
his
es s a y
"The
Sla ught erhous e
of Lit era t ure."
4
If t hird -world
lit era t ure,
in Fred ric
Ja mes on's
c heerles s
phra s e,
is a "na t iona l
a llegory,"
t o wha t
ext ent d oes t he
c ompromis e
bet ween Wes t ern
globa l
form a nd non-Wes t ern loc a l c ont ent
a llego-
rize t he "emba t t led s it ua t ion of t he
public
t hird -world c ult ure a nd
s oc iet y" ('Third
World Lit era -
t ure in t he Era of Mult ina t iona l
Ca pit a lis m" 69)?
LOCAL
SPEECH,
G LOBAL
ACTS/5
d ivid ed int o na t ions . It is ha rd t o
ima gine
how t he novel's
prod uc t ive powers
c a n
pa rt ic ipa t e
in t he c rea t ion of
ima gina ry
c ommunit ies if t he novel-form is
"na t iona l"
only
t o t he ext ent t ha t it is a ble t o
c a pt ure
loc a l c ont ent
by
mea ns of
ot herwis e
globa l
forma l d evic es . The
form/c ont ent
d ic hot omy
on whic h
hinges
t he s ort of rela t ion bet ween novel a nd na t ion t ha t And ers on a nd Moret t i a t -
t empt
t o
ma p begins
t o los e it s
expla na t ory power
when we c ons id er t ha t t he
"origin"
of ea c h a s s umes t he
priorit y
of t he ot her. For
And ers on,
t he mod ern
na t ion-form ha s it s
"origin"
in t he New World a nd is s omehow ma d e
pos s ible by
t he s ort of
ima gina t ive experienc e provid ed by
t he
a lrea d y exis t ing
form of
t he
novel;
for
Moret t i,
t he novel ha s it s
"origin"
in Wes t ern
Europea n
na t ions
("Engla nd /
Brit a in a nd
Fra nc e")
a nd is s omehow ma d e
pos s ible by
t he
nec es s it y
of
ima gining
t he na t ion a s a novelized or noveliza ble
s pa c e
whos e
prior
exis t -
enc e a s a na t ion is a s s umed .5
And ers on a nd Moret t i a re
c ert a inly
not a lone in
rea d ing
t he novel a s a
lit era ry
form t ha t a ffec t s broa d s oc ia l
pa t t erns
a nd t ha t a t t imes s eems t o effec t t hem
wholes a le.
Ind eed ,
t he la s t t wo d ec a d es ha ve wit nes s ed a s hift of
empha s is
in
novel s t ud ies from t he d efinit ion of t he novel a s a
lit era ry t ype
t o a n und ers t a nd -
ing
of how novels int ervene in
s oc iet y
-
a s hift of
empha s is ,
t ha t
is ,
from a d e-
s c ript ion
of wha t t he novel is t o a n a c c ount of wha t it d oes . This t rend c a n be
t ra c ed bot h t o t he work of Ed wa rd
Sa id ,
for whom lit era t ure c a nnot be d et a c hed
from it s
"world lines s ,"
a nd t o t ha t of Fred ric
Ja mes on,
for whom lit era t ure is a
"s oc ia lly s ymbolic
a c t " wit h it s own "a es t het ic
id eology."6
The c ont ribut ions of
New His t oric is m t o t he
s t ud y
of t he rea lis t novel ha ve s inc e
expa nd ed
a nd en-
ric hed our
und ers t a nd ing
of it s
prod uc t ion,
d is s emina t ion,
a nd
rec ept ion.
More
rec ent ly,
t he not ion of "c ult ura l ins t it ut ion" ha s been us ed in a n
a t t empt
t o a na -
lyze
t he
prod uc t ive powers
t ha t novels exerc is e in c ult ure a nd t o
foreground
t he
s oc ia l role of
genre
in t he ins t it ut iona liza t ion of t he novel.7 The res ult is a broa d
c ons ens us t ha t
brings t oget her
d ivers e
a pproa c hes
a nd va rious
point s
of
a pplic a -
t ion
rega rd ing
t he novel's
a bilit y
t o d o
t hings ; yet ,
wit h
very
few
exc ept ions ,
none
of t hes e his t oric is t s t ud ies offers in
a ny s ignific a nt
d et a il
pla us ible
d is c urs ive
mec ha nis ms for
expla ining
how novels
might a c t ua lly
d o wha t t hes e c rit ic s c la im
t hey
d o. The no d oubt formid a ble
power
of
repres ent a t ion
-
upon
whic h mos t
of t hes e s t ud ies ba s e t heir
(oft en
only implic it ) a s s umpt ions
a bout t he role of t he
5
Tha t t he mod ern na t ion a s a form wa s in fa c t
"ima gined ,"
"invent ed ,"
a nd in t his s ens e "novel-
ized " is not und er
d is put e
here; ra t her,
I
d is put e
t he c a us a l rela t ion And ers on a nd Moret t i a s s ume
exis t s bet ween novel a nd na t ion. A more
pla us ible
a c c ount of t he invent ion of
Brit is hnes s ,
t o
give
one
exa mple,
is t he one
provid ed by
Lind a
Colley,
who in Brit ons
pers ua s ively a rgues
t ha t G rea t
Brit a in a s a na t ion wa s "a n invent ion
forged
a bove a ll
by
wa r" wit h Fra nc e
(5)
.
(I
owe t his referenc e
t o one of t he
a nonymous
rea d ers of t he
es s a y.)
6
The t erm "world lines s " c omes from Sa id 's The
World ,
t he
Text ,
a nd t he
Crit ic ,
t he t erm
"s oc ia lly
s ymbolic
a c t " c omes from
Ja mes on's
The Polit ic a l Unc ons c ious . For a n ela bora t ion of t he t erm "a es -
t het ic
id eology"
s ee t he la t t er: form
provid es
a n
"ima gina ry
of forma l 's olut ions ' t o unres olva ble
s oc ia l c ont ra d ic t ions "
(79).
7
For a
wid e-ra nging a ppra is a l
of t he
pla c e
of t he novel in c ult ura l
s t ud ies ,
s ee t he int rod uc t ion t o
Cult ura l Ins t it ut ions
of
t he
Novel,
ed it ed
by
Deid re
Lync h
a nd Willia m B. Wa rner. For a c rit ic a l rea d -
ing
of t he
his t ory
of t he "ris e-of-t he-novel" his t ories of t he novel s ee Brown. For a New His t oric is t
rea ppra is a l
of New His t oric is m's role in
ins t it ut iona lizing
novel s t ud ies s ee
G a lla gher
a nd G reen-
bla t t . For a
rea d ing
of t he novel a s a
d is c iplina ry
ins t it ut ion in it s own
right
s ee D.A. Miller.
/6
novel in
s oc iet y
-
is a
nec es s a ry
but not s uffic ient c ond it ion for
expla ining
t he
his t oric it y
of
lit era ry
form. Abs ent from t hes e a c c ount s is a c ons id era t ion of t he
a c t s
la ngua ge performs
when it
opera t es
in a
non-referent ia l,
non-repres ent a -
t iona l,
non-figura t ive
c ont ext
-
when it
func t ions ,
t ha t
is ,
a s a
performa t ive s peec h
a c t . And even when t he novel's
a bilit y
t o
s ha pe
t he
rea lit y
it d es c ribes is a s s umed
a nd ment ion is ma d e of t he a c t ive forc e of novelis t ic
d is c ours e,
t he c a s e for t he
performa t ivit y
of t he novel s t ill need s t o be
ma d e,
a s
oppos ed s imply
t o
s t a t ing
a nd
a c c ept ing
it a s a s elf-evid ent fa c t . More is a t s t a ke in
ma king
t his c a s e t ha n
t he
pos s ibilit y
of
lit era ry his t ory:
a more robus t t heoret ic a l a c c ount of t he
a c t ion,
opera t ion,
a nd effec t s of
performa t ive la ngua ge
in t he novel
c ompels
us t o revis e
t he t erms we us e in
d es c ribing
t he s oc ia l role of t he novel
a nd ,
a c c ord ingly,
t o
qua lify
t he c la ims it s c rit ic is m
rout inely
ma kes a bout t he c ons t it ut ive role of lit -
era t ure in t he forma t ion of
c ult ura l,
polit ic a l,
a nd et hic a l field s .
The
logic a l s t a rt ing point
for a n a c c ount of t he novel's
performa t ivit y,
how-
ever,
is
a ls o,
a s it t urns
out ,
a
point
of
logic a l
t ens ion,
s inc e
performa t ive
la n-
gua ge
a nd fic t iona l
d is c ours e,
a c t s a nd t he
repres ent a t ion
of
a c t s ,
s eem t o
belong
t o
inc ompa t ible linguis t ic
ord ers a nd t o
c a rry
out
d ia met ric a lly oppos ed linguis -
t ic func t ions . We a re
immed ia t ely
c onfront ed wit h
t erminologic a l
d iffic ult ies t ha t
ha ve t o d o wit h t he
c onc ept ua lly nec es s a ry
but
pra c t ic a lly impos s ible
t a s k of is o-
la t ing
t he non-referent ia l
pole
of
la ngua ge
wit hin t he
novel,
a d is c urs ive me-
d ium t ha t
la ys
c la im t o a
bind ing
referent ia l rela t ion t o
rea lit y.
The
problem
c a n
be
s uc c inc t ly expres s ed
a s follows . The d is t inc t ion bet ween t he c ons t a t ive a nd
performa t ive
d imens ions of
la ngua ge
-
a d is t inc t ion
origina lly pos it ed by J.L.
Aus t in in How t o Do
Things
wit h Word s
-
provid es ground s
on whic h t o d is mis s or
d is rega rd
t he
opera t ion
of
performa t ive la ngua ge
in t he
novel,
whos e d is c ours e
is c ons id ered non-s erious or
"pa ra s it ic "
a nd t hus not lia ble t o func t ion like ord i-
na ry la ngua ge
(a
fic t iona l c ha ra c t er's "I d o" is
c a t egoric a lly non-bind ing
in t he
world of
legis la t ed ma rria ge).8
As
Ja c ques
Der rid a a nd ot hers a ft er him ha ve
s hown, however,
t his d is t inc t ion is muc h les s s t a ble t ha n t he exc lus ion of t he
performa t ive
from t he novel
might imply:
t he
performa nc e
of a n a c t a nd it s
repres ent a t ion
a re never fa r
a pa rt
a nd ,
in
pra c t ic e, impos s ible
t o
s epa ra t e
(a
fic t iona l c ha ra c t er's "I d o" is
ind is t inguis ha ble
from
mine).
So while t he
per-
forma t ive
ma y
well rema in ina c c es s ible a s a c t wit hin t he
repres ent a t iona l pa ra m-
et ers t he novel d ra ws for
it s elf,
t he
performa t ive
forc e of
la ngua ge
is s t ill
opera t ive
a t t he level of
linguis t ic ma t eria lit y.
Wha t Derrid a c a lls t he
"it era bilit y"
of word s
8
In
brief,
a c t s a re ut t era nc es t ha t d o
s omet hing
in or
by
t he
s a ying
of s ome-
t hing,
a nd c ons t a t ive
s peec h
a c t s a re ut t era nc es t ha t d es c ribe or c ons t a t e
s omet hing
t o whic h
t rue/
fa ls e c rit eria c a n t hen be
a pplied . Ja c ques
Derrid a a s s ert s t ha t t his c ruc ia l d is t inc t ion "will ha ve
been a
grea t
event in t his
c ent ury,"
even a s he
c omplic a t es
it s
pres uppos it ions
a nd ,
a s we s ha ll s ee
below,
c rit iques
it s us es a nd effec t s wit hin t he mond a lis a t ion d u
mond e,
his
preferred
formula t ion for
wha t we t erm
globa liza t ion.
See "The
Univers it y
Wit hout Cond it ion" 209.
While c elebra t ed
rea d ings
in
d ra ma ,
a ut obiogra phy,
a nd
poet ry
ha ve ma d e us e of t he
c a t egories
firs t formula t ed
by
Aus t in,
t he novel ha s not been
c ons is t ent ly
s ubmit t ed t o t he
s pec ula t ive pres s ure
of
s peec h
a c t
t heory.
This is
c urious ,
t o
s a y
t he
lea s t , s inc e,
more t ha n
a ny
ot her
genre,
t he rea lis t
novel ha s
t horoughly
a s s imila t ed t he ins t it ut iona l forc e of t he
performa t ive
in it s
c omplex ma rria ge
a nd inherit a nc e
plot s .
For
exa mples involving
d ra ma ,
s ee
Felma n,
a nd Fis h 197-245. For a n ex-
a mple rega rd ing a ut obiogra phy,
s ee Pa ul d e Ma n's "Exc us es
(Confes s ions )."
For
exa mples d ea ling
wit h
poet ry,
s ee
Derrid a ,
Singponge/Signponge,
a nd
Johns on.
LOCAL
SPEECH,
G LOBAL
ACTS/7
(t he
fa c t t ha t
t hey
c a n be us ed a new in
va rying c ont ext s )
is ma d e
pos s ible by
a
performa t ive
forc e of
rupt ure
t ha t bot h brea c hes a nd broa c hes
{ent a mer
in
Frenc h)
d is pa ra t e
ins t a nc es of ut t era nc e: a fic t iona l c ha ra c t er's "I
d o,"
or for
t ha t ma t t er
every
word a va ila ble t o her a nd t o me a nd t o
you,
is lia ble t o be
repea t ed
in a d ifferent c ont ext a nd
t hereby
a lt ered .9
But even if we move from t his minima l c ons id era t ion of t he
performa t ive
a s a
func t ion inherent t o a ll
la ngua ge
us e a nd look for t he effec t s of t his forc e a t a
c ons id era ble
remove,
in t he novel's
t hema t ic , na rra t ive,
a nd rhet oric a l t rea t ment
of
event s ,
a s well a s it s own
event -nes s ,
we find t ha t t he
performa t ive
d oes in fa c t
"infec t " a ll novelis t ic ut t era nc e a nd t ha t it d oes s o
unexpec t ed ly
in t he
hypos t a -
t ized form of t he
s peec h
a c t
proper,
t hus
bec oming int egra l
t o t he novel's t ex-
t ua l
func t ioning
even a s
repres ent a t iona l logic c ons t a nt ly
works t o
repres s
a nd
nega t e
it s
violent ,
c ut t ing, wound ing, d is figuring
t ext ua l forc e.
Rea d ing
t he
performa t ivit y
of t he
novel,
we s oon c ome t o
und ers t a nd ,
nec es s a rily implies
rea d ing
t he novel
a ga ins t
t he
gra in
of it s
repres ent a t iona l progra m
of referent ia l
infa llibilit y.
It is
only by pa ying
c los e a t t ent ion t o a ll t hos e moment s of
figura i
ins t a bilit y,
s t ruc t ura l
a noma ly,
or
logic a l inc ongruit y
t ha t uns et t le t he
very
s t ruc -
t ures of referenc e we t oo
rea d ily
a s s imila t e t o
pa t t erns
of s oc ia l
a genc y
t ha t we
c a n
begin
t o d et ec t t he
impa c t ,
a nd t he
s ys t ema t ic nec es s it y,
of t he
performa t ive
on t he novel's
repres ent a t iona l progra m.
To rea d t he effec t s t o whic h t he
performa t ive
s ubmit s t he novel's d is c urs ive
logic
is t hus a ls o t o d is a rt ic ula t e
ma ny
of t he
a s s umpt ions c ommonly a c c ept ed
a bout t he novel's c ult ura l
effic a c y,
not
t he lea s t rema rka ble of whic h is t he c a us a l link Moret t i a nd And ers on es t a blis h
bet ween t he novel a nd t he na t ion.
So
s t a ged ,
t he
performa t ivit y
of t he novel c a lls for a n
empiric a l a pproa c h
t o
t he
novel,
one t ha t will
event ua lly
a nd
inevit a bly
ent a il moment s of c los e rea d -
ing,
but t ha t
begins
wit h a more d is t a nt
pers pec t ive
on t he novel's s t ruc t ures of
referenc e.
Lea ving
for t he moment int a c t Aus t in's d is t inc t ion
rega rd ing perfor-
ma t ive a nd c ons t a t ive
ut t era nc es ,
we c a n
id ent ify
s evera l a rea s in whic h t he novel
c a n be s a id t o refer t o
even if it s forc e rema ins ina c t ive or
quies c ent
(like
t he
s pring
on a
t ra pd oor)
wit hin t he novel's
prot oc ols .
Firs t of
a ll,
t here is t he
pa ra d oxic a l
role of
a c t s in
t he c ons t ruc t ion of na rra t ive. If we exa mine t he
ma jor plot s
t ha t
orga nize
t he
t ra d it iona l
novel,
we a re
immed ia t ely
s t ruc k
by
how t hes e
plot s
na rra t e event s
t ha t a re
very
oft en
brought
off
by performa t ive s peec h
a c t s . From t he
pers pec -
t ive of t heir na rra t ive
ela bora t ion,
event s a s c ommon t o t he rea lis t novel a s ma r-
ria ge
a nd
inherit a nc e,
but a ls o
la ws uit s ,
fina nc ia l
s c hemes ,
s oc ia l
mobilit y,
c rime
a nd it s
d et ec t ion,
punis hment , pa rlia ment a ry
a c t s ,
imperia l
mis a d vent ures ,
a nd
even t he
polit ic a l
c ont ours of t he na t ion
-
in
s hort ,
a ll t hos e ins t it ut iona l rit es
a c c red it ing
a nd
virt ua lly c ons t it ut ing
t he
growing
mid d le c la s s es
-
a re in fa c t re-
d uc ible t o t he
performa nc e
of t he
s peec h
a c t s t ha t ena ble t hem t o oc c ur. Ma r-
ria ge,
t o t a ke
only
t he mos t t ra d it iona l
t opos
of t he rea lis t
novel,
c a n be d es c ribed
a s a n event whos e na rra t ive
a s s embla ge
is a nc hored
by
referenc e t o a
performa t ive
whos e forc e is left in
s us pens e
-
or rema ins
infelic it ous ,
t o us e Aus t in's t erm
-
9
See Derrid a 's Limit ed Ine
61, 100,
107. For more on Derrid a 's us e of ent a mer s ee Weber.
/8
unt il a ll t he c ond it ions
nec es s a ry
t o it s
ha ppy
exec ut ion a re
met ,
whic h
t ypic a lly
oc c urs a t t he moment of na rra t ive c los ure.
Ja ne Eyre's
fa mous
"Rea d er,
I ma rried
him"
brings
t o a c los e t he
c omplex ma rria ge plot
t ha t
ult ima t ely
bind s her t o
Roc hes t er,
a
s t ory
of
performa t ive infelic it y d uring
whic h s he ha s
repea t ed ly
t ried ,
but unt il t he
very
end
fa iled ,
t o ma ke her "I d o" d o wha t s he wa nt s it t o
d o,
whic h
is t o s ec ure Roc hes t er. As
Ja ne's s t ory
illus t ra t es ,
performa t ives
oft en
bring
a bout
c los ure in a ma nner t ha t is les s a mea s ure of t he na rra t ive
pot ent ia l
of a
pa rt ic u-
la r
s peec h
a c t t ha n a c orrobora t ion of t he
ins t a nt a neous ,
even
violent ,
na t ure of
illoc ut iona ry
forc es :
t hey
c a n s hut d own na rra t ive a t a
s ingle
blow. It is
only
when
t he c ond it ions
c ompris ing
t he "t ot a l
s peec h
s it ua t ion" bec ome
c ont ingent
a nd
pos it iona l
-
t here a re a number of
s uit ors ,
s a y,
or one of t he
pa rt ic ipa nt s
is a l-
rea d y
ma rried
-
t ha t t he na rra t ive c a n be a nima t ed t owa rd s it s event ua l res olu-
t ion in t he
performa nc e
of t he
s peec h
a c t . This
prod uc es
t he novel's na rra t ive
pa ra d ox: only
t o t he
d egree
t ha t t he c los ura l a c t c a nnot be
performed
will t he
na rra t ive
progres s
t owa rd s it s
performa nc e,
whic h is a ls o t he
point
of t he
na rra t ive's
a brupt und oing.
We s eem t o be left wit h a n
oblique
na rra t iona l a lle-
gory
in whic h t he a void a nc e or void a nc e of
performa t ive
a c t ion in t he na rra t ive
a ls o
c a pt ures
t he novel's own
s uppres s ion
or
d is pla c ement
of
performa t ive
forc e
a t t he level of it s d is c ours e.10
If we
proc eed
from t his na rra t ive
pa ra d ox
t o a n a c c ount of t he t hema t ic ela bo-
ra t ion of
performa t ive s peec h,
we find t ha t t he novel oft en d ra ma t izes it s elf a s a
rhet oric a l ins t rument t ha t is
c a pa ble
of
a c c omplis hing
d eed s a nd of
a c c omplis h-
ing
t hem in or
by us ing
word s . Whet her t ha t
a c c omplis hment
is a s a mbit ious a s
polit ic a l
reform or a s immed ia t e a s
"s ens a t ion,"
t he novel d ra ws a t t ent ion t o it s elf
a s a d is c ours e
t ha t ,
no ma t t er wha t it s referent ia l
a s pira t ions
t o "rea lis t "
t ra ns pa r-
enc y,
c ons id ers it s own
a bilit y
t o a c t a s a fund a ment a l
a s pec t
of it s
func t ioning.
This
power
is a ll t oo oft en t hema t ized in mora lis t ic t erms a s fic t ion's
a bilit y
t o
c orrupt
or influenc e it s
rea d ers ,
who a re a lmos t
a lwa ys figured
a s
roma nt ic ,
s oli-
t a ry,
s ens it ive,
s us c ept ible,
bored ,
pervers e,
c ra zed , wea k,
or in
a ny
c a s e is ola t ed
ind ivid ua ls
c ons t it ut iona lly pred is pos ed
t o rea d lit era t ure t oo
lit era lly.
But t his
d oes not in
a ny wa y
minimize t he
powers
t ha t t he novel a s c ribes t o it s elf.
Rea d ing
novels ,
t he novel t ells
us ,
relia bly
lea d s us int o ma d nes s
(Don Quijot e)
,
a d ult ery
(Emma
Bova ry)
,
d ec a d enc e
(Doria n
G ra y)
,
s t upid it y
(Bouva rd
et
Pc uc het ) ,
s elf-
noveliza t ion
(Prous t ) ,
when it d oes
not ,
more
c ommonly, jus t nud ge
us in t he
d irec t ion of a bet t er t ha n
a vera ge ma rria ge
(Aus t en's heroines )
.
Though
t he
novel's
power
t o a c t is here forma lized a s a mimet ic
rela y
of
mis rea d ings
t ha t
c onfus e
lit era ry
wit h
ext ra -lit era ry rea lit y,
t he
pos s ibilit y
t ha t t hes e a c t s a re in
fa c t
performa t ive
(t ha t is , non-mimet ic )
rema ins a s t ruc t ura l
nec es s it y,
wit h t he
properly a llegoric a l,
d id a c t ic t rea t ment of t he ris ks ent a iled in
rea d ing only
for-
ma lizing
t his
pos s ibilit y
a s a n es s ent ia l
opera t iona l
ha za rd . The d is t inc t ion I a m
10
The a wkwa rd loc ut ion "na rra t oria l
a llegory"
is here us ed t o
s igna l
t ha t t he na rra t ive s t ruc t ure
c a n it s elf be rea d
a llegoric a lly (a s
c ert a in forma lis t c rit ic is m d oes a s a ma t t er of
c ours e) a nd ,
in
d oing
s o,
t o
d is t inguis h
it from t he
t a ut ologic a l phra s e
"na rra t ive
a llegory"
or t he ina c c ura t e "na r-
ra t ologic a l a llegory,"
s inc e t he field of
na rra t ology
a s a whole s eems t o ha ve been unt ouc hed
by,
a nd
a ppea rs
t o rema in immune
t o,
s peec h
a c t
t heory. (This
is in it s elf a c urious
phenomenon,
not lea s t
bec a us e
na rra t ology
is
pres uma bly
inves t ed in t he
wa ys
in whic h na rra t ive t rea t s event s a nd t he
a c t ors or
a gent s
involved in
t hem.)
LOCAL
SPEECH,
G LOBAL
ACTS/9
d ra wing
here bet ween mimet ic a nd non-mimet ic func t ions of
la ngua ge roughly
c orres pond s
t o t he d ifferenc e bet ween c ons t a t ive a nd
performa t ive
us es of la n-
gua ge.
Performa t ives a re
by
d efinit ion non-referent ia l
(t hey
refer t o
not hing
ot her
t ha n t he a c t
t hey perform)
a nd c a n t herefore be c ons id ered t o
bring
a bout event s
wit hout rec ours e t o
figure,
t o
na rra t ive,
or t o
a ny
ot her
repres ent a t iona l s ys t em.
In t his
s ens e,
performa t ives
a re
t ruly
his t oric a l s inc e
t hey
d o not
repres ent
event s ;
t hey
a re event s . The
point
is a s follows : t he novel's t hema t ic inves t ment in it s
own
performa t ivit y
c a n be rea d a s a n ind ex of wha t
ma y
be
t hought
of a s it s
event -nes s
-
t ha t
is ,
it s
his t oric it y
-
even a s t he
explic it
t rea t ment of t his
perfor-
ma t ivit y
oft en
jud ges
it s a c t s
nega t ively
a s t he
s hort c omings
of c ha ra c t er-rea d ers .
We c a n t a ke t his a s a rea s ona ble ind ex of t he rea lis t novel's c ont ent : a rec ord of
our mund a ne a nd
mid d ling
life in t he form of event s whos e ot herwis e mec ha ni-
c a l a nd unevent ful it era t ion is a t t imes
int errupt ed by
t he
promis e
of t he unex-
pec t ed
a s
event -nes s ,
prod uc ing
t he effec t of
being
inevit a ble wit hin a n
a lrea d y
rec ed ing
horizon of
a lwa ys pos s ible infelic it y.
The
ques t ion
is whet her t he novel's
ina bilit y
t o
keep
it s s t a t ed
promis e
of a c t ion
(reform, d elivera nc e, s ens a t ion,
ut o-
pia ,
wha t ha ve
you)
c lea rs t he
wa y
for t he
performa nc e
of t hos e d is c reet
linguis -
t ic a c t s t ha t ma ke
his t ory ha ppen.
Cons id er Dic kens 's Blea k
Hous e,
whos e
na rra t ive,
a s is well
known,
is
orga nized
a round t he
s eemingly
end les s la ws uit of
"Ja rnd yc e a nd ja rnd yc e."11
It s d ehuma niz-
ing
effec t s a re t he d irec t res ult of a
mind -numbingly repet it ive, s elf-propa ga t ing,
it era t ive c ha in of d is c ret e
performa t ive
a c t s whos e c umula t ive forc e
(t he
la ws uit
c ompris es
blue
ba gs upon
blue
ba gs
of
d oc ument s )
a mount s t o lit t le more t ha n
ins t it ut iona l
inert ia ,
lea d ing
t hos e who a re
pa rt y
t o it t o a
pec ulia r
form of me-
c ha nic a l lifeles s nes s t ha t
only
s uic id e
(a s
ult ima t e
event )
or c los ure
(a s
na rra t ive
s uic id e)
c a n
int errupt .
The us e of "a nd " ra t her t ha n t he more fa milia r "vers us "
in t he na me of t he la ws uit
only repea t s
a t t he level of
s ynt a x
t he la ws uit 's it era t ive
a c t of nomina t ion in whic h t he t wo
origina l
c la ima nt s ,
in
s ha ring
t he s a me
na me,
c a n be s a id t o c it e ea c h
ot her, a nd ,
s inc e it is a ft er a ll a
la ws uit ,
t o
oppos e
ea c h
ot her a t t he s a me t ime. In t his lit era liza t ion of Derrid a 's not ion of
it era bilit y
(a
c it a t ion t ha t bot h brea c hes a nd broa c hes
-
elle Vent a rne
-
t he c ont ext s of it s ut -
t era nc e)
t he na rra t ive c a n be s a id t o
perform
in ma c hine-like fa s hion a form of
repet it ion
t ha t
prevent s
a n
event ,
in t he full s ens e of a
unique
a nd
ina ugura l
oc c urrenc e,
from
a c t ua lly t a king pla c e,
a s
t hough "ya rns "
(no
ma t t er how
"d ic ey")
11
1 c hoos e Blea k Hous e not
only
bec a us e it illus t ra t es wit h
pa rt ic ula r poigna nc y
t he
infelic it y
of
t he
performa t ive
in t he rea lis t
novel;
t he c hoic e is a ls o a d elibera t e
a t t empt
t o
enga ge
wit h a d eba t e
of
c ons id era ble,
if
una c knowled ged , s t a nd ing
bet ween t he d ec ons t ruc t ive a nd new his t oric a l rea d -
ings
of t he novel: I a m
referring, res pec t ively,
t o t he s emina l
es s a ys
of
J.
Hillis Miller a nd D.A. Miller.
In t he "Int rod uc t ion" t o t he
Penguin
ed it ion of t he novel
(1971), J.
Hillis Miller t ra c es t he
prolifer-
a t ing
s eries of t ext s a nd d oc ument s t ha t ext end s a c ros s t he novel
put t ing
t he
pos s ibilit y
of
rea c hing
a n a ut horit a t ive
rea d ing
int o
ques t ion.
In "Moment s "
(2001),
he t hen
s ha rpens
his
a na lys is
of d oc u-
ment s
by ma king
a d is t inc t ion bet ween c ons t a nt ive a nd
a c t s ,
bot h a s
t hey
oc -
c ur in t he ins t it ut iona l
s et t ing
of t he
Cha nc ery
a nd in t he va rious
priva t e
a c t s
performed by
t he
novel's c ha ra c t ers . D.A. Miller's
"Dis c ipline
in Different Voic es :
Burea uc ra c y,
Polic e,
Fa mily,
a nd
Blea k Hous e"
(The
Novel a nd t he Polic e
59-89)
us es a Fouc a uld ia n t heoret ic a l fra mework t o s how how
t he novel it s elf a c t s t o
d is c ipline
it s rea d ers .
My
own
rea d ing s ugges t s
how bot h
rea d ings
a re in fa c t
c omplement a ry:
s oc ia l
d is c ipline
c omes a bout not
only t hrough
t he
regis t er
of
vis ibilit y
a nd
repre-
s ent a t ion;
t he
s ubjec t
is ma t eria lized
t hrough
t he it era t ion of
performa t ive
a c t s ,
whet her
priva t e
or
public ,
wit hin a
given
d is c urs ive
regime,
s uc h a s t ha t ins t a lled in a nd
by
t he novel.
COMPARATIVE
LITERATURE/10
ga ve wa y only
t o more
"ya rns " rega rd les s
of t he out c ome
(a s
in un
c oup
d e
d s )
a nd t he
a lea t ory, c ont ingent
na t ure of na rra t ive were
only
ma d e
pos s ible by
t he
performa t ive
forc e of it s own
int errupt ion.
Ric ha rd 's
progres s ive
d ehuma niza -
t ion c a n be rea d a s a forma liza t ion of t his
linguis t ic
d ilemma ,
s inc e his "ma d -
nes s " bec omes t he violent ma nifes t a t ion of a
performa t ive yea rning
for
a c t ion,
for
a ny
a c t ion,
whos e "event -nes s "
ma y
d eliver him from t he blea k
pros pec t s
of
pers is t ing
wit h t he
unend ing
a nd unevent ful
Cha nc ery
s uit .
Ind eed ,
t he la ws uit
a nd it s
ina bilit y
t o
fina lly
s ec ure
upt a ke
a s a s uc c es s ful
a c t
(it
pet ers
out
a nt ic lima c t ic a lly
when t he inherit a nc e in
d is put e
is a bs orbed
by
c ourt
c os t s )
c ond it ions t he
pos s ibilit y
of t he na rra t ive a s a
whole,
prompt ing
life-
a lt ering
revela t ions
(Es t her
Summers on find s her t rue
id ent it y)
a s well a s life-
t hrea t ening
s c hemes
(Tulkinghorn
bla c kma ils
La d y
Ded loc k)
.
As t he la ws uit
c olla ps es
und er t he
weight
of it s own
infelic it ies ,
t he na rra t ive t o
whic h
"Ja rnd yc e
a nd
Ja rnd yc e" gives
ris e a ls o c omes t o a n end wit h t he la s t it era -
t ion of t he na me
Ja rnd yc e
in t he
figure
Ric ha rd Ca rs t one. For even
t hough
he is
not na med
"Ja rnd yc e,"
Ric ha rd is t he la ws uit 's la s t ma le
heir,
s inc e inherit a nc e is
here d ra ma t ized a s no
longer being
a
right
or
preroga t ive res ult ing
from
biologi-
c a l
reprod uc t ion
wit hin a
fa mily s ys t em
-
Ric ha rd a nd Ad a a re a t
a ny
ra t e or-
pha ns
-
but ra t her a s
is s uing
from wha t
ma y
be
t hought
of a s
performa t ive
it era t ion
(t he
a ppos it ive "Ja rnd yc e
a nd
Ja rnd yc e" us ing perha ps
t he mos t a c c u-
ra t e
s ynt a c t ic a l
formula for
na ming s t a t e-s pons ored ma rria ge)
. Tha t Es t her t urns
out t o be
La d y
Ded loc k's
d a ught er
is a brief
biologic a l
fic t ion t ha t t he la w
-
a nd
t he na rra t ive
-
c a nnot for
long
s us t a in:
t hey
meet , bond ,
a nd
s epa ra t e
in t he
s pa c e
of a few
pa ges .
The s t ruc t ure of it era t ion we find
expres s ed
in t he
pa ra d ox
of
ma rria ge-a s -la ws uit
it s elf end s wit h t he
merger
of t he t wo
pred omina nt
na rra -
t ives in t he novel a s Es t her's
s t ory
(na rra t ed
in t he firs t
pers on)
find s it s own
res olut ion in t he c onc lus ion t o t he Ded loc k
mys t ery
(a
lega l mys t ery
na rra t ed
by
a n omnis c ient
na rra t or).
Ric ha rd 's
unha ppy
end is t hus a ls o t he
beginning
of
t he
"ha ppy"
res olut ion of t he
Es t her/Wood c ourt
ma rria ge plot ,
whic h owes it s
d evelopment
a s muc h t o Ric ha rd 's d ea t h
(it
brings
t he lovers c los er
t oget her)
a s
t o t he a lmos t c linic a l d is s ec t ion a nd
s ubs equent s ut uring
of Es t her's
pa s t
a nd
pres ent id ent it y
a t t he ha nd s of Wood c ourt -
t he-s urgeon.
In a
s imila r,
t hough
revers ed ,
c onfigura t ion, Tulkinghorn's power
over
La d y
Ded loc k is ba s ed on t he fa c t t ha t he ha s in his
pos s es s ion
a d oc ument
belonging
t o Nemo in
Ca pt a in
Ha wd on's ha nd
(penma ns hip-a s -s igna t ure)
t ha t t hrea t ens
t o und o her
ma rria ge
t o Sir
Leic es t er,
t he la s t of t he
Ded loc ks ,
but whic h he re-
t a ins in a s t a t e of
performa t ive
ina c t ion
(na rra t ive-a s -bla c kma il)
unt il he is killed .
The
la ws uit ,
c ont ent -les s
(no
one ever knows wha t wa s
a c t ua lly
in
d is put e)
a nd
form-les s
(no
one would know how t o re-a s s emble it a s a na rra t ive
s equenc e
even
if one were t o
t ry
-
Dic kens d oes
not ) ,
res embles a t novel's end
not hing
les s t ha n
t he novel's own
t riumph
over t he
performa t ive
forc e t ha t t hrea t ens t o und o it :
Krook's d ea t h
by s pont a neous
c ombus t ion c a n be rea d a s a
figure
for t he
pot en-
t ia lly explos ive,
violent forc e of t he
performa t ive,
whic h,
were it not for t he fa c t
t ha t Krook is hims elf
only
a
figure
for t he Lord
Cha nc ellor,
might re-emerge
wit h t he full forc e of t he la w. The Court of
Cha nc ery
c a n from t his
pers pec t ive
be
rea d a s a
figure
for t he
St a t e,
whos e
rea c h,
following
t he
mt onymie logic
t ha t
LOCAL
SPEECH,
G LOBAL
ACTS/
11
init ia lly
links t he Court t o Krook's
s hop,
is s een t o ext end well int o t he s o-c a lled
d omes t ic
s pa c e
of t he na rra t ive
proper,
s inc e,
like Chines e boxes or Rus s ia n d olls
a nd t heir
unmis t a ka bly
na t iona l
s ymbolis m, Cha nc ery
Court is und ers t ood t o be
a
la rger,
a nd ind eed
blea ker,
form of t he
ma ny
"blea k hous es " t ha t c ont a in t he
novel's
mult iple
s t ories . Bet ween c ous in
John's
Blea k Hous e a nd t he
ha ppier
vers ion of it he c ond it ions for Es t her a nd Wood c ourt a t novel's end t here lies a n
a s s ort ment of homes a ll of whic h c ould well be d es c ribed a s "blea k":
Ches ney
Wold ,
Tulkinghorn's
c ha mbers ,
Nemo's
room,
t he bric kma ker's
home,
t he
Jelly-
bys '
hous e,
t he
s hoot ing ga llery,
t he
Turveyd rops ' d a nc ing
s c hool,
Tom-All-
Alone's ,
a nd s o on. There is no need t o
ma p
t his
t ropologic a l d is pla c ement ,
however,
s inc e it
only
ma kes s ens e if we rea d it in t he c ont ext of
performa t ive
it era bilit y a llegorized by
t he
la ws uit ,
whos e form is it s elf c ont a ined or book-end ed
by
t he c los ura l a c t t ha t
brings
t o it s
put a t ive
end t he novel
it s elf,
whic h is a ls o
na med Blea k Hous e,
It is not d iffic ult t o s ee how t he novel a nd t he na t ion a re c onnec t ed in t his
a llegoric a l
s eries ,
but t he link is es t a blis hed
t hrough
a fa ls e
logic
of s ubs t it ut ion
in whic h t he form of t he novel
(a
pa ra d oxic a l
s t ruc t ure of
infelic it y)
s eems a l-
wa ys
t o be
replenis hed by
it s own s ema nt ic func t ion
(a
s t ory
of blea knes s or
unha ppines s )
. Ra t her t ha n a
logic
of
s ynec d oc he
in whic h form
expres s es
c on-
t ent ,
a
performa t ive rea d ing purs ues
a
logic
of it era t ion in whic h form a nd c ont ent
bec ome
ind is t inguis ha ble.
Ind eed ,
t he
c ont ent /form
d oublet
c olla ps es
und er t he
pres s ure
of novelis t ic
repres ent a t ion
a s it t ries t o
s uppres s
or
d is pla c e
t he
perfor-
ma t ive forc e of it s own d is c ours e. The violent forc e of t he
performa t ive
is ma r-
s ha led or
d is c iplined
int o a c ons t a t ive
s t ory
of
unha ppines s (id eology
a s a
c a ut iona ry
t a le of
exc ept ion
or
exc ept iona lit y)
a nd ,
in wha t a mount s t o t he s a me
t hing,
a c ult ura l na rra t ive of event -nes s t ha t
c ea s es ,
from t he
point
of view of t he
performa t ive,
t o be event ful. Wha t I ha ve d es c ribed a s t he "c ont ent " of t he rea l-
is t novel
-
a rec ord of
ord ina ry
event s
oc c urring
in mec ha nic a l s uc c es s ion whos e
na rra t ive
logic
is
premis ed
on a n
unexpec t ed
ma lfunc t ion of t he t ext ua l ma -
c hine t ha t bec omes vis ible a s t he infelic it ous
performa nc e
of ot herwis e unevent -
ful
s peec h
a c t s
-
bec omes
inc rea s ingly
d iffic ult t o
d is t inguis h
from t he "form"
t he na rra t ive of it s
(un)d oing
t a kes in t he
t elling
of a
s t ory
of
unha ppines s .
Ma d a me
Bova ry
c 'es t moi ind eed : in a ll it s
"infelic it y," a d ult ery,
t he revers e or
obvers e of t he
"ha ppy" ma rria ge plot ,
bec omes
s ignific a nt
a s
event ,
a
"s c a nd a l,"
wit h a n unmis t a ka ble a ura of
"na rra t a bilit y."
Cont ent ? Form?
Ad ult ery
s eems t o
be neit her a nd bot h a t
onc e;
it is in t his c ont ext
only
t he mos t s c a nd a lous
a mong
t he
ma ny
t ors ions t o whic h
performa t ive
fa ilures s ubmit
na rra t ive,
but it a ls o
ha ppens
t o be a
very wid ely
d is s emina t ed
plot
s t ruc t ure,
a n "event " t ha t s eems t o
t ra ns c end t he loc a l
int rigues
of it s
pa rt ic ula r performa nc e.
Like t he c a b t ha t
c a rries Emma a nd Lon a bout Rouen
d uring
t heir firs t
enc ount er,
t he
a d ult ery
plot
in t he
s pa c e
of a few d ec a d es t ra vels in a
s eemingly
ra nd om
pa t t ern
a round
t he
globe: Tols t oy's
Anna
Ka renina ,
Font a ne's
Effi
Bries t , Ea
d e
Queiroz's
0
primo
Ba s ilio,
Ha wt horne's The Sc a rlet
Let t er,
Cla rin's La
Rgent a , Tha c kera y's Va nit y
Fa ir,
Ma c ha d o d e As s is 's Dom Ca s murro a re a ll
"t ra velling-c ompa nions "
(And er-
s on's
d es c ript ion
of c reole
func t iona ries )
ins t a lling,
in a
performa nc e
no les s
d ra ma t ic t ha n Leon's
(t ha t
ot her s ort of
provinc ia l func t iona ry)
,
t he c ont ours of
COMPARATIVE
LITERATURE/12
a world -his t oric a l
lit era ry
a rt ifa c t in or
by
whic h
ma rria ge,
a s t he felic it ous out -
c ome
pa r
exc ellenc e,
is
c ont inua lly, it era t ively legit imized
in or
by
it s inevit a ble
infelic it y.
But
s omet hing
more c ruc ia l t ha n t he s t ruc t ura l
int egrit y
of t he novel is a t
s t a ke when t he
form/c ont ent
bina ry c olla ps es
und er t he
pres s ure
of
rea d ing
t he
performa t ivit y
of t he novel a t t hes e t wo
regis t ers .
The
very
not ion of fic t iona l
na rra t ive a s a n ord er of
c ognit ion
t ha t forma lizes our
experienc e
of t ime a nd
s pa c e
(t he
very c a t egories upon
whic h And ers on a nd Moret t i ba s e t heir
c la ims )
begins
t o los e it s s ema nt ic c oherenc e a s
a nyt hing
ot her t ha n a
t ra ns pos ed
a na -
logic a l
mod el of
gra mma t ic a l c a t egories .
Wha t ever t he novel's own c la ims t o mi-
met ic
t ra ns pa renc y,
t he referent ia l s t a t us of it s d is c ours e is
put
int o
ques t ion
s inc e,
from t he
pers pec t ive
of it s
performa t ivit y,
na rra t ive is not
nec es s a rily
d e-
t ermined in rela t ion t o t ime a nd
s pa c e.
If,
a s I
a rgued
a bove,
novelis t ic na rra t ive
is
premis ed
on t he
infelic it y
of t he
very s peec h
a c t s t owa rd s whos e fulfillment it
nevert heles s
progres s es
(like,
s a y,
a mot h t o
c a nd le),
t he
a llegoric a l rela ys
t ha t
forma lize it a s a na rra t ive of
unha ppines s
c a nnot but a ls o ena c t it a s a s eries of
"unha ppy"
d is c urs ive event s a s t he ord er of
c ognit ion
a nd t he ord er of
perfor-
ma nc e fa il t o c oinc id e. The
preva lenc e
of t he
"ha ppy end ing"
in rea lis m
only
reinforc es t he fa c t t ha t t he novel is a na rra t ive of
unha ppines s
in need of c los ure.
It is in t he novelis t ic t rea t ment of t he
hypos t a t ized
form of t he
performa t ive
forc e of
la ngua ge
(t he
ma rria ge plot , s a y,
or
a ny
ot her novelis t ic
d is pos it if gov-
erned
by performa t ive s peec h)
t ha t t he
ga p
bet ween t he
figura i
a nd lit era l levels
of novelis t ic d is c ours e
wid ens ,
expos ing
or
revea ling
a s it d oes s o t he s heer ma t e-
ria lit y
of word s .12 The
a bilit y
of
la ngua ge
t o
a c t ,
it s forc e a s
s peec h,
is revea led t o
be a ma t eria l forc e when
la ngua ge
is
s t ripped
of a ll it s
figura i,
na rra t ive,
even
gra phic
d et ermina t ions . It is a t t his s it e of
ins c ript ion
t ha t t he novel c a n be s a id
t o
a c t ,
t o
pa rt ic ipa t e
in a nd a s
his t ory;
it is t hus t he s it e ba c k t o whic h it s
very
event -nes s mus t be t ra c ed a nd where t he link bet ween novel a nd
na t ion,
if it
exis t s a t
a ll,
mus t t herefore be
s ought .
From t his
pers pec t ive,
we c a n ma ke a
s ugges t ive pa ra llel
bet ween t he his t oric -
it y
of t he novel a nd t he
his t ory
of t he mod ern na t ion. Eric Hobs ba wm
begins
his
s t ud y
of
na t iona lis m,
Na t ions a nd Na t iona lis m s inc e
1780,
by d ra wing
a t t ent ion t o
t he his t oric a l
"novelt y"
of t he mod ern
c onc ept
of t he na t ion a s it
emerges
a t t he
t urn of t he ninet eent h
c ent ury.13 By ma king
t he obvious a nd t hus s eld om a na -
lyzed point
t ha t t he not ion of
"novelt y"
is a ls o t he novel's own
ena bling
fic t ion
-
newnes s a s t he s elf-c ons t it ut ive d efinit ion of t he novel a s a
his t oric a lly
"novel"
form
-
we c a n
equa t e
t he
his t oric a lly nec es s a ry
a c t s t ha t
bring
a bout t he na t ion
a s a s oc ia l forma t ion
(d ec la ra t ory,
ins t it ut iona l,
jurid ic a l,
exec ut ive)
wit h t he s ort
of a c t s t ha t c ons t it ut e t he novel a t t he d ifferent levels I ha ve s o fa r t ra c ed
(na rra -
t ive, t hema t ic , rhet oric a l,
generic )
: ins ofa r a s bot h
t ypes
of a c t s a re
performa t ive,
t he
res ult ing
ent it ies ,
na t ion a nd
novel,
c a n be s a id t o ha ve been invent ed in a
12
1 d erive t he not ion of
linguis t ic ma t eria lit y
from Pa ul d e Ma n a nd his rea d ers . See d e Ma n's
"Phenomena lit y
a nd
Ma t eria lit y
in
Ka nt ,"
a nd t he
es s a ys
in t he c ollec t ion Ma t eria l Event s : Pa ul d e
Ma n a nd t he
Aft erlife of Theory,
ed .
Cohen, Cohen, Miller,
a nd
Wa rmins ki,
in
pa rt ic ula r
Wa rmins ki's
illumina t ing
"As t he Poet s Do It " 3-31.
13
Hobs ba wm's
s t ud y highlight s
t he c ons t ruc t ed nes s of t he na t ion a s a s oc ia l
forma t ion,
a fa c t
from whic h we c a n d erive it s
performa t ive
c ha ra c t er.
LOCAL
SPEECH,
G LOBAL
ACTS/
13
s imila r fa s hion
by
t he
a pplic a t ion
of
performa t ive
forc e in a c c ord a nc e wit h a
c onvent iona l
a ppa ra t us
a rrived a t
by
c ons ens us
(whet her
t his be a c hieved forc -
ibly t hrough
c oerc ion or
by
d int of non-c oerc ive forms of
pers ua s ion).
The a c t s
performed
in a nd
by
a "Dec la ra t ion of
Ind epend enc e,"
for
ins t a nc e,
a re s imila r
in kind t o t he a c t s t he novel
performs
in
d ec la ring
it s
(a es t het ic )
a ut onomy.14
For,
if we t a ke t he novel's own d is c urs ive
d is pos it ion
a s event a t fa c e va lue
-
t he
fa c t ,
t ha t
is ,
t ha t it is
"novel,"
bot h in t he s ens e t ha t it
pres ent s
it s elf a s
s omet hing
"new" a nd in t he s ens e t ha t it bills it s elf a s a
"novelt y"
(whic h
one is
t empt ed
t o
equa t e
wit h Zola 's "Au Bonheur d es
Da mes ,"
t he t it le bot h of t he novel a nd t he
na me of t he
d epa rt ment
s t ore a round whic h it s a c t ion
revolves )
15
-
t hen it s
very
newnes s ,
it s
invent ivenes s ,
would s eem t o
imply
t ha t ,
for it t o be
s t ric t ly
s o,
it
mus t
performa t ively ina ugura t e
a n
unprec ed ent ed
d is c urs ive world .
Experien-
t ia lly,
a t
lea s t ,
t he rea c t ion Fla ubert 's Bouva rd a nd Pc uc het ha ve
upon rea d ing
Sc ot t for t he firs t t ime
("Ce
fut c omme la
s urpris e
d 'un mond e
nouvea u";
139
["They
were
s urpris ed
a s if
t hey
ha d found a new
world ";
my
t ra ns la t ion] )
s eems
t o be
prec is ely
t he effec t t he
novel,
premis ed
in a nd a s news or
novelt y, prod uc es
in it s rea d ers : we ent er int o a fa milia r
yet ra d ic a lly
new world whos e
every
d et a il
ha s been
virt ua lly
(re)
c rea t ed in word s . This
ma y
be a whole new novelis t ic uni-
vers e t ha t
pos it ions
it s elf in referenc e t o a fa milia r
la nd s c a pe
(Sc ot t ,
t o be
s ure,
but a ls o
Dic kens , Eliot , Ba lza c , Zola ,
Trollope,
Prez
G a ld s ,
Tols t oy,
t o ment ion
only
t he mos t
prolific
of
Europe's
c a nonic a l
rea lis t s ) or,
more t o our
purpos es
here,
is
figured
in t he
found ing
of a new
(ima gina ry)
na t ion or na t iona l c ommu-
nit y
wit hout a fixed referent ia l rela t ion t o
"rea lit y"
(Eliot 's Mid d lema rc h,
Ha rd y's
Wes s ex,
But ler's
Erehwon,
a s well a s Morris 's
Nowhere, a nd ,
int o t he t went iet h
c ent ury,
Conra d 's
Cos t a gua na ,
Prous t 's
Combra y,
G a rc ia
Mrquez's
Ma c ond o,
a nd Fa ulkner's
Yokna pa t a wpha Count y,
t o na me
only
a
ha nd ful)
.16 The novel is
t hus a d is c ours e t ha t oft en
pres ent s
it s elf a s a n invent ion even if in
d oing
s o it
exploit s
a c ommon s t oc k of rule
-governed generic
c onvent ions
(c a ll
t his
pa rt ic -
ula r c od e
"Ut opia ")
in ord er t o
pres ent
it s elf a s a n invent ion.17 The novel-a s -
14
In "Dec la ra t ions of
Ind epend enc e,"
Derrid a
s pea ks
of t he "fa bulous
ret roa c t ivit y"
ent a iled in
d ec la ring ind epend enc e
ins ofa r a s t he
s igna t ories
c a n
s ign
in t he na me of "t he
people" only by
virt ue of
ha ving
bec ome t heir
repres ent a t ives
in t he
very
a c t of
s igning.
15
1 a m well a wa re of t he fa c t t ha t t he
Englis h
t erm "novel" d oes not s ha re a c ommon
et ymologic a l
root wit h t he t erm us ed for novel in
ma ny
ot her
la ngua ges (t hough
s ome
la ngua ges obvious ly
d o
s ha re
it ) ,
but I would
a rgue
t ha t even t erms like
roma n, Roma n, roma nzo,
d erived from a n old er or a t
lea s t d ifferent
voc a bula ry,
s t ill ret a in in t heir mod ern
us a ge
t he s ens e of
invent ivenes s ,
novelt y,
a nd
newnes s I a m
t rying
t o t ra c e here. This
might
even be found in t he
d efa milia rizing
effec t of it era -
t ion,
a s t he Frenc h word roma n ret a ins it s
"foreign-nes s "
or "newnes s "
(a s
in "news from s ome-
where")
when it is "borrowed "
by
ot her
la ngua ges .
16
As t hes e
exa mples
illus t ra t e,
t he invent ion of a novelis t ic world
problema t izes
t he
ques t ion
of
referent ia lit y
not
only
bec a us e of t he
c ons pic uous
us e of
t ropes ra nging
from
met a phor
t o
irony,
but a ls o bec a us e t hes e
t ropes prove
t o be
highly
uns t a ble t hems elves . Is t he
Combra y
t ha t unfold s
like a
Ja pa nes e pa per
flower in t he na rra t or's
t ea c up
a
met a phor
or a
met onymy?
Is Nowhere a n
ironic vers ion of Erehwon or a d e-ironized
met a phor
of Lond on? An ind ex of t his invent ivenes s a s
s heer invent ivenes s c a n be found in t hos e
s t ra nge
int ermed ia t e c a s es in whic h "rea l"
c ommunit ies ,
c it ies , a nd /or
na t ions a re d es c ribed
"a c c ura t ely
a nd
profound ly
period
of c ont em-
pora ry his t ory" (Auerba c h)
but und er a d ifferent na me: Cha rlot t e Bront e's
Villet t e,
Cla rin's
Vet us t a ,
Ha rd y's
Chris t mins t er.
17
Zola 's "Au Bonheur d es d a mes " ha s been
od d ly
but not
unint eres t ingly
t ra ns la t ed int o
Englis h
a s "The La d ies '
Pa ra d is e,"
a t it le whic h
c a pt ures
in a more vivid fa s hion
t ha n,
s a y,
"La d ies '
Ha ppi-
COMPARATIVE
LITERATURE/
14
event t hus s eems t o
prod uc e
it s elf a s
s omet hing
new a nd novel
by
t he
very
a c t of
s pea king
a bout it s elf a s
s omet hing
t ha t is
a lrea d y
new a nd novel.18
For is it not t he novel's
a bilit y
t o
perform
a c t s t he
very
c ond it ion of it s own
pos s ibilit y
a s lit era t ure? Lit era t ure mus t
mea n,
a t
minimum,
t ha t
a nyt hing goes .
The
novel,
for it t o be
s o,
mus t d ra ma t ize it s elf a s
ha ving
t he
a bilit y
t o d o
virt ua lly
a nyt hing
t ha t c a n be d one wit h
word s ,
whic h is
a bs olut ely everyt hing.
The novel
d oes not d ra w limit s a round it s elf t ha t d et ermine wha t it c a n a nd c a nnot d o
(c a pa ble
of
c orrupt ing
mora ls ,
for
ins t a nc e,
but not of
performing
mira c les ,
res urrec t ing
t he
d ea d ,
right ing wrongs ,
or
invent ing
new
na t ions ) ; ra t her,
it s a bil-
it y
t o
pers ua d e,
c oerc e, s ed uc e, exc us e,
a nd
promis e
-
in
s hort ,
t o
perform a ny
s peec h
a c t
-
is
a ls o,
a t lea s t in
t heory,
it s
power
t o d o
a nyt hing
wit h word s . As -
s uming
for a moment
t ha t ,
a t lea s t in
pra c t ic e,
novelis t s a re not t he
"legis la t ors
of
t he world "
(a s
Shelley might rega rd
t hem) ,
t he
ques t ion
t hen a ris es a s t o wha t or
who rend ers t hem ina c t ive
or,
if ind eed s t ill
c a pa ble
of
performing
a c t s ,
who or
wha t end ea vors t o ma ke t hem rema in
"una c knowled ged "
in t heir
c a pa c it y
a s
world -his t oric a l
a gent s .
Wha t or who limit s t he novel's
a genc y?
Wha t or who d e-
t ermines t he exa c t
purview
of it s
performa t ivit y?
We ha ve
a lrea d y
exa mined s ome of t he s t ruc t ura l limit a t ions t o t he novel's
own
performa t ivit y:
t he mimet ic
progra m
t o whic h t he rea lis t novel
pins
it s
rep-
res ent a t iona l a mbit ions c rea t es a ll s ort s of na rra t ive t ors ions a nd d is loc a t ions
when it
a t t empt s
t o d es c ribe t he effec t s of a forc e of
la ngua ge
t ha t
c a t egoric a lly
res is t s
c a us a lit y
a nd
referent ia lit y.
The
infelic it y
of t he
a c t s
t ha t
und ergird
na rra t ive wit hin c onvent iona l
plot
lines bec omes t hema t ized
t hrough
t he
os t ens ibly red empt ive, repa ra t ive logic
of t he
"ha ppy end ing,"
even
a s
unha ppines s perva d es
t he novel's
d is pos it ion
t owa rd s t he event . We c a n now
offer a d ifferent
pers pec t ive
on t he ma t t er of
performa t ive
limit a t ion
-
one t ha t
fa lls out s id e t he novel's d is c urs ive
purview (t hough s t ric t ly s pea king
t here is no
"out s id e" t o t he
performa t ive)
. This
pers pec t ive
ha s t o d o wit h t he
impos it ion
of
a c ert a in
logic ,
or a c ert a in
id eology,
in a
proc es s
we c a n
only
c a ll
"noveliza t ion,"
a
proc es s
in whic h t he
pos s ibilit y
of
a ut onomy,
c los ure,
a nd t ot a liza t ion s o fund a -
ment a l t o t he novel's a mbit ion t o c rea t e s elf-enc los ed world s is c ond it ioned
by
t he
very performa t ivit y
t ha t t hrea t ens a t
every
moment t o s ha t t er t he illus ion of
t he novel a s a world -ont o-it s elf. This c a n be
phra s ed d ifferent ly:
t he novel's inc a -
pa c it y
t o c los e
fully
it s own
s ys t em
a nd s o offer a s ea mles s
repres ent a t ion
of a
new world t ha t would
a ppea r
a s
t hough
it ha d
a lwa ys
been
pres ent
t o it s elf a c -
c ount s for t he d es ire for
c los ure,
t ot a lit y, s ys t ema t ic it y, a ut onomy
-
in
s hort ,
for
noveliza t ion
-
whic h in t urn d ra ws it s ela n from t he
very d is junc t ure
t ha t c a lls
for c los ure in t he firs t
pla c e.
From t his
pers pec t ive,
t he limit a t ions
impos ed
on
t he
performa t ivit y
of t he novel bea r t he ma rks of t he novel's ins t it ut iona liza t ion
nes s " t he id ea t ha t
"novelt y"
s t ores ,
no les s t ha n
novels ,
ba nk on
c rea t ing Ut opia s
for la d ies .
("La -
d ies '
Felic it y"
would
perha ps
be a more
a ppropria t e
-
or s hould we
s a y
felic it ous ?
-
t ra ns la t ion of
t he t it le for a
performa t ive rea d ing
of
Zola .)
This a ls o
might expla in
Prous t 's fa mous
quip
t o t he
effec t t ha t t here a re no
pa ra d is es , "only
los t
pa ra d is es ,"
a
quip
t ha t c omes a s d oes t he Rec herc he a t
t he end of t he rea lis t novel's own c ond it ion of
pos s ibilit y.
Ind eed ,
t he Rec herc he c a n be rea d a s a n
ext end ed med it a t ion on t he not ion of
newnes s ,
novelt y,
a nd t he novel.
18
For a n ext end ed
a na lys is
of t he
ques t ion
of
invent ion,
s ee Derrid a 's
"Ps yc he:
Invent ions of t he
Ot her."
LOCAL
SPEECH,
G LOBAL
ACTS/
15
a nd involve t he
hypos t a t ized
form of t he
performa t ive
in it s
origina l,
Aus t inia n
formula t ion,
a s
pa rt
of t he
jurid ic o-polit ic a l
d is c ours e wit hin whic h it
opera t es .
The ins t it ut ion or ins t it ut iona liza t ion of t he novel c a n in
la rge
mea s ure be
t ra c ed ba c k t o t he
performa t ive
a c t s t ha t
bring
off a ll t hos e
rit es , c ont ra c t s ,
t ra ns -
a c t ions , la ws ,
right s ,
a nd
privileges
t ha t bind us t o our s oc ia l
id ent it y
a nd ,
in
d oing
s o,
novelize our world . The
performa t ive
is a ls o
res pons ible,
a s Derrid a
remind s
us ,
for
c rea t ing geopolit ic a l
forma t ions s uc h a s t he na t ion:
When
performa t ives
s uc c eed ,
t hey prod uc e
a t rut h whos e
power
s omet imes
impos es
it s elf forever:
t he loc a t ion of a
bound a ry,
t he ins t a lla t ion of a s t a t e a re
a lwa ys
a c t s of
performa t ive
violenc e
t ha t ,
if
t he c ond it ions of t he int erna t iona l
c ommunit y permit
it ,
c rea t e t he
la w,
whet her
d ura bly
or
not ,
where t here wa s none or no
longer a ny
la w,
where la w d id not
yet impos e
it s elf or els e wa s not
yet
s t rong enough.
In
c rea t ing
t he
la w,
t his
performa t ive
violenc e
-
whic h is neit her
lega l
nor
illega l
-
c rea t es wha t is t hen held t o be
lega l
t rut h,
t he d omina nt a nd
jurid ic a lly
inc ont es t a ble
public
t rut h.
("His t ory" 51)
Wha t hold s t rue for t he
na t ion,
bound a ry,
or s t a t e is t rue a ls o for t he rea lis t
novel: noveliza t ion
by
mea ns of
performa t ive
violenc e c a n be s a id t o ent a il a la w
of
genre
t ha t is ins t a lled a s
t rut h,
a nd a s t he t rut h of
public
t rut h a t
t ha t ,
s inc e it s
generic
a mbit ion is t o
repres ent ,
in Auerba c h's
word s ,
"rea l
everyd a y
oc c urrenc es
. . .
a c c ura t ely
a nd
profound ly
period
of
c ont empora ry his t ory"
(485).
Lit era ry
rea lis m
legit ima t es
one of t he
pa ra d oxic a l
effec t s of t he
perfor-
ma t ive violenc e t ha t c rea t es t he
genre
of t he novel
(a nd
of t he
na t ion)
in t he firs t
pla c e:
t he
blunt ing
or d ea c t iva t ion of it s violenc e a s
performa nc e.
There is no
more effic ient med ium for t he
s ys t ema t ic und oing
of t he
a c t ive, non-referent ia l,
non-repres ent a t iona l pole
of d is c ours e t ha n rea lis t ic fic t ion
-
not
only
bec a us e it
is
a lwa ys a lrea d y "pa ra s it ic "
(Aus t in's
t erm for
ord ina ry la ngua ge
us ed in a non-
s erious
ma nner)
but a ls o bec a us e it s eems t o exha us t it s violent forc e a s a c ond i-
t ion of
ins t a lling
it s elf a s t he t rut h of
public
t rut h. Performa t ive forc es of c ours e
never c ea s e t o
opera t e
a s
long
a s
la ngua ge
func t ions
a nd ,
a s we s ha ll s ee
below,
t hey
ma nifes t t hems elves a t moment s of na rra t ive ind ec is ion a nd
figura i
a berra -
t ion in whic h t he
ma t eria lit y
of t he let t er c a n be
glimps ed .
To rea d t hes e mo-
ment s is t o c ome fa c e t o fa c e wit h t he
his t oric it y
of
lit era ry la ngua ge
a nd ,
t hus
c onfront ed wit h t he s heer ot hernes s of
la ngua ge,
t o be in a
pos it ion
t o
s pec ula t e
on t he et hic a l va lue of s uc h his t oric a l a c t ion. But before
propos ing
a
pos s ible
prot oc ol
for
rea d ing
t hes e
moment s ,
I wa nt firs t t o c ons id er t he
globa l
ins t it u-
t iona liza t ion of t he novel a s t he ins t a lla t ion of
public
t rut h,
for t he rea lis t
novel,
no les s t ha n t he
na t ion-s t a t e,
very
muc h
d epend s
on t he "int erna t iona l c ommu-
nit y"
t o
legit ima t e
t he la w of it s
genre
-a s -t rut h.
Wha t ever els e
performa t ive la ngua ge a c c omplis hes
a t t he level of t he novel's
d is c ours e,
t he c ond it ions of
prod uc t ion,
d is s emina t ion,
a nd
rec ept ion
wit hin t he
ins t it ut iona l fra mework of t he field of Lit era t ure
c ert a inly pert a in
t o t he
perfor-
ma t ivit y
of t he novel. The d ifferent mea ns of
c rea t ing, publis hing, ma rket ing,
d is t ribut ing,
a nd
c irc ula t ing
novels in t he c ont ext of a
c ompet it ive ma rket pla c e,
t oget her
wit h a ll t he a c t s of
legit ima t ion
t ha t oc c ur wit hin it a nd whic h
prod uc e
t he
figure
of t he
a ut hor,
her
work,
her
"bra nd -na me,"
a nd even her
lega c y (t he
novelis t a s a
genera lized
"a ut hor func t ion"
t ha t ,
a ft er
Fouc a ult ,
c a n a ls o be s a id
t o be a c ollec t ive "found er of
d is c urs ivit y")
,
a re a ll
proc es s es
t ha t involve
perfor-
ma t ive
s peec h
a c t s s a nc t ioned
by
t he va rious
orga nis ms
wit hin whic h
t hey
a re
/16
ut t ered .19 G iven t he s ort of
a llegoric a l rela ys
t he novel s o
a bly performs ,
it is not
a t a ll
s urpris ing
t ha t t hes e
proc es s es
s hould be novelized in a d va nc e a nd
t ha t ,
a s
a c ond it ion of t heir
noveliza t ion,
t he a c t s involved s hould be
c a t egoric a lly
infe-
lic it ous . To na me
only
a few
exa mples ,
Ba lza c 's Illus ions
perd ues ,
Dic kens ' s Da vid
Copperfield , Tha c kera y's
Pend ennis ,
a nd
G is s ing's
New G rub St reet a ll d ra ma t ize
t he s oc ia l c ons t it ut ion of t he
figure
of t he
a ut hor,
a nd of lit era t ure more
gener-
a lly,
a s a n ela bora t e rit e of ins t it ut ion. Tha t mos t of t hes e a re a ls o
Bild ungs roma ne
might
a lert us t o t he fa c t t ha t t he ins t i na t iona liza t ion of lit era t ure involves rit es
of
legit ima t ion
t ha t a re a kin t o t hos e whic h
young prot a gonis t s
mus t
experienc e
a s
t hey
ma ke t heir
wa y
in t he world : s oc ia l
progres s
is ma rked
(like
a roa d is
by
miles t ones )
by performa t ive
event s
(c ont ra c t s , ma rria ge propos a ls ,
inherit a nc e,
a nd a ll t hos e a c t s t ha t a nc hor novelis t ic
na rra t ive)
wit hin a s t ruc t ure of belief
t ha t
gua ra nt ees
a nd c ons ec ra t es t hos e a c t s
rega rd les s
of t he d is illus ion or d is -
a bus e t ha t
t ypic a lly
a t t end s t hem.
In her
rec ent ly
t ra ns la t ed
s t ud y
of t he int erna t iona l
lit era ry
field ,
The World
Republic of
Let t ers ,
Pa s c a le Ca s a nova offers
c ompelling a rgument s
for
unc oupling
t he
s t ud y
of lit era t ure a s a t ra ns na t iona l
phenomenon
from t he na t iona l fra me-
work
t ra d it iona lly employed
in
lit era ry his t ory.
The non-na t iona l
his t ory
of lit -
era t ure s he
propos es
t ra c es t he oft en violent
s t ruggles a mong
a nd bet ween a ut hors
a nd
"c ons ec ra t ing
a ut horit ies "
(t ra ns la t ors , c rit ic s , a c a d emic s )
t o find
legit ima c y
in t he
lit era ry ma rket pla c e.
Even if
lit era ry
va lue is
init ia lly
formed a s
s ymbolic
c a pit a l
wit hin a na t iona l
fra mework,
t he
pres t ige
a nd d omina t ion of a
pa rt ic ula r
la ngua ge group
s oon bes t ows
legit ima c y
on a c ert a in form of lit era rines s t ha t
t ra vels wit hin a world
lit era ry s pa c e
whos e c ont ours
only s uperfic ia lly
c oinc id e
wit h t hos e of t he na t ion-s t a t e.
(Pa ris ,
in her
t elling,
is t he
s ymbolic c a pit a l
of t he
World
Republic
of
Let t ers ,
whic h
is ,
if a t
a ll,
d ivid ed int o
la ngua ge groups ,
not
na t ions .)20
Ca s a nova d oes not us e t he
voc a bula ry
of
s peec h
a c t
t heory
t o ma ke
her
c a s e,
but t he t erms a nd
c onc ept s
s he borrows from Pierre Bourd ieu bea r t he
t ra c es of his enc ount er wit h Aus t in's formula t ion of
a c t s .
In
La ngua ge
a nd
Symbolic
Power,
Pierre Bourd ieu c ons id ers t he s oc ia l mec ha -
nis ms
whereby
c ert a in forms of
la ngua ge
us e or
c ompet enc e
bec ome
legit imized
a nd ,
in s o
d oing,
s erve t o a d va nc e t he int eres t s of t he d omina nt c la s s es . Bourd ieu
a rgues
t ha t t he
performa t ive
s hould not be rea d a s a
purely linguis t ic
a c t ; ra t her,
it s hould be c ons id ered a s a n
import a nt
element in t he s oc io-c ult ura l
s t ruggle
for
legit ima c y.
The d omina nt
groups
in t he
ha bit us ,
t hos e who ha ve a c c rued t he
la rges t
fund of c ult ura l a nd
s ymbolic c a pit a l, impos e
a
pa rt ic ula r linguis t ic
ord er
whos e
pres t ige
in t urn s erves t o
legit ima t e
t heir
power. "Symbolic impos it ion
-
t ha t kind of
ma gic a l effic a c y
whic h not
only
t he c omma nd a nd t he
pa s s word ,
but a ls o rit ua l d is c ours e or a
s imple injunc t ion,
or even t hrea t s or
ins ult s ,
pur-
port
t o exerc is e
-
c a n func t ion
only
if t here is a
c onvergenc e
of s oc ia l c ond it ions
whic h a re
a lt oget her
d is t inc t from t he
s t ric t ly linguis t ic logic
of d is c ours e"
(72).
He c a lls
a c t s "a c t s of ins t it ut ion" a nd
a rgues
t ha t t heir
power
19
Ind eed , Fouc a ult , Ma rx,
a nd Freud a re ins t a nc es of d is c urs ive
field s ,
not mere a ut hors whos e
func t ion is more or les s limit ed t o t ext s . See Fouc a ult "Wha t Is a n Aut hor?"
20
In Ma d a me
Bova ry,
Lon
pers ua d es
Emma t o boa rd t he c a b in whic h t heir firs t a d ult erous
s exua l enc ount er oc c urs wit h t hes e word s : "Cela s e fa it Pa ris !"
(268; "Everybod y
d oes it in
Pa ris !").
LOCAL
SPEECH,
G LOBAL
ACTS/
17
(t he
power
of word s in
genera l)
is
"d elega t ed power"
bes t owed
upon
a
s pea ker
a ut horized t o
s pea k
on beha lf of a n ins t it ut ion: "The
ma gic a l effic a c y
of t hes e
a c t s
of
ins t it ut ion is
ins epa ra ble
from t he exis t enc e of a n ins t it ut ion
d efining
t he
c ond it ions
(rega rd ing
t he
a gent ,
t he t ime or
pla c e,
et c .)
whic h ha ve t o be ful-
filled for t he
ma gic
word s t o
a ppea r
t o
opera t e"
(73;
empha s is
in t he
origina l)
.
Ca s a nova 's
d es c ript ion
of t he violenc e wit h whic h t he va rious s t a kehold ers
(writ -
ers
c ert a inly,
but a ls o t he
c orps
of
t ra ns la t ors , c rit ic s ,
publis hers ,
a nd a c a d emic s
who
pa rt ic ipa t e
in t he
lit era ry ma rket pla c e)
ent er t he World
Republic
of Let t ers
c a n,
I
t hink,
quit e legit ima t ely
be
equa t ed
wit h t he
performa t ive
violenc e wit h
whic h
public
t rut h is ins t a lled in a
geopolit ic a l
s ens e. Even if it is a n
"ima gined
c ommunit y"
whos e
geogra phic a l
ma t rix d oes not
c orres pond
t o t he
polit ic a l logic
of na t ion
s t a t es ,
t he World
Republic
of Let t ers ins t a lls a nd is ins t a lled
by
t he
s a me s ort of
bound a ries , la ws ,
a nd "int erna t iona l"
orga nis ms
t ha t
regula t e
a nd
legis la t e public
t rut h,
t hough
in t his c a s e we s hould c a ll it t he
"public
t rut h of
t he t rut h of
public
t rut h" when we t a ke int o a c c ount t he rea lis t novel a s a world -
wid e
s ys t em
of
legit ima t ion
a nd noveliza t ion a s it s
legit imizing
mod e. To
jud ge
by
t he
pers is t ent
ret urn of rea lis t
prot oc ols
in rec ent novelis t ic
prod uc t ion
a round
t he
globe,
t his
s urely a pplies
t o
c ont empora ry
fic t ion;
"rea lis m"
might
in fa c t be
c ons id ered in t his c ont ext a s a c ond it ion of
pos s ibilit y
for t he noveliza t ion of
wha t we c ould
provis iona lly
c a ll t he
"globa l
novel."21 Whet her t he
la ngua ge
in
whic h t he
"globa l
novel" is t o be writ t en rema ins a "na t iona l"
la ngua ge
-
t ra ns -
la t ed a lmos t
s imult a neous ly
int o however
ma ny la ngua ges
t he
globa l
ma rket c a n
s us t a in
-
or whet her t he novel's
lingua
fra nc a d e fa c t o bec omes Americ a n
Englis h
is a
ques t ion
of
fa r-ra nging implic a t ions
for t he
s t ud y
of t he novel in t he
a ge
of
globa liza t ion.
Noveliza t ion
opera t es
a s a
globa lizing d is c urs ivit y
t ha t ,
ha ving
it -
s elf been ins t a lled
t hrough performa t ive
violenc e,
ins t a lls
performa t ive
violenc e
a s a mod e of
public
t rut h.
We a re now in a bet t er
pos it ion
bot h t o loc a t e wha t I ea rlier referred t o a s
s it es of
ins c ript ion
where t he
ma t eria lit y
of t he let t er bec omes
perc ept ible
a nd ,
given
t he
his t oric it y
of t he a c t s here
performed ,
t o offer a
prot oc ol
for
rea d ing
t hes e moment s from t he
pers pec t ive
of a n et hic s of
res pons ibilit y.
But how ex-
a c t ly
a re we t o rea d t hes e s it es of
ins c ript ion
ot her t ha n a s a berra nt
moment s ,
whic h,
like c hinks in t he novel's d is c urs ive
a rmor,
might only s ymbolize
t he im-
penet ra bilit y
of c ons t a t ive
s c hma s ins ofa r a s t he novel s eems
a t
ma ny
levels t o
res is t ,
or t o be ma d e t o
res is t ,
it s own
performa t ivit y?
How a re
we t o rea d t he
performa t ivit y
of t he
(globa l)
rea lis t novel wit hout
fa lling
ba c k on
it s
forma liza t ions ,
wit hout
s uc c umbing
t o it s violenc e? Is t he noveliza t ion of t he
world
by
mea ns of
performa t ive
violenc e a
d nga t ion
of t he
pos s ibilit y
of a
t ruly
event ful,
s t ric t ly
ma t eria l,
novel event ?
How,
in ot her
word s ,
a re we t o rea d t he
novel
et hic a lly?
I
a pproa c h
t hes e
ques t ions pra gma t ic a lly t hrough
a t ext ua l
exa mple.
In t he
mid d le of Book 1 of
G eorge
Eliot 's
Mid d lema rc h,
a s t he na rra t or d es c ribes Mrs .
Ca d wa lla d er's fa iled
a t t empt
t o
a rra nge
a s uit a ble ma t c h for
Dorot hea ,
a s t un-
ning ima ge int errupt s
t he
progres s
of t he na rra t ive. Sinc e t he
ima ge repres ent s
a
21
The c a s e of "s oc ia lis t rea lis m"
s upport s
t he "int erna liza t ion" of rea lis m.
COMPARATIVE
LITERATURE/
18
d ouble
int errupt ion
-
bot h t he novel's
ma rria ge plot
a s well a s Mrs . Ca d wa lla d er's
own s c heme t o
ma rry
Dorot hea a re left in
s us pens e
-
it c a n a ls o be rea d a s a
c omment a ry
on t he
pla c e
or func t ion of
figura t ive la ngua ge
wit hin t he d efla t ed
referent ia l
d is c urs ivit y
of t he novel's
rea lis m,
a mod e t ha t
by
d efinit ion mus t
a void
figure.
The
ima ge,
moreover,
is
explic it ly
a nd
c ons pic uous ly
a bout met a -
phor.
(The
pa s s a ge repea t s
t he
phra s e "met a phoric a lly s pea king"
t ha t
a ppea rs
a
few
pa ges
before in referenc e t o Dorot hea 's
"t hrowing
hers elf" a t Ca s a ubon's
"feet " a s if he were a "Prot es t a nt
Pope.")
The
ques t ion
t ha t
t riggers
t his med it a -
t ion on
a s ks
why
Mrs . Ca d wa lla d er would
"s t ra ight wa y"
c on-
t rive t o
a rra nge
a ma t c h bet ween Celia a nd Chet t a m a ft er t he one s he ha s t ried
t o
a rra nge
bet ween Dorot hea a nd Chet t a m fa ils . The a ns wer
repea t s
t he move-
ment of t he
ques t ion
(whic h
c onc erns t he
a brupt
s hift of Mrs . Ca d wa lla d er's
a t t ent ion from Dorot hea t o
Celia )
by s wit c hing
bet ween t wo
met a phors :
t he firs t
is found t o be
wa nt ing;
t he
s ec ond ,
like Celia 's event ua l
ma rria ge
t o Sir
Ja mes ,
is
more felic it ous . The firs t
met a phor
c onc erns a
t eles c ope:
"Wa s t here
a ny inge-
nious
plot , a ny
hid e-a nd -s eek c ours e of
a c t ion,
whic h
might
be d et ec t ed
by
a
c a reful
t eles c opic
wa t c h? Not a t a ll: a
t eles c ope might
ha ve
s wept
t he
pa ris hes
of
Tipt on
a nd
Fres hit t ,
t he whole a rea vis it ed
by
Mrs . Ca d wa lla d er in her
pha et on,
wit hout
wit nes s ing a ny
int erview t ha t c ould exc it e
s us pic ion,
or
a ny
s c ene from
whic h s he d id not ret urn wit h t he s a me
unpert urbed
keennes s of
eye
a nd s a me
high
na t ura l c olour"
(38)
. The s ec ond c onc erns a
mic ros c ope:
Even wit h a
mic ros c ope
d irec t ed on a wa t er
d rop
we find ours elves
ma king int erpret a t ions
whic h
t urn out t o be ra t her
c oa rs e;
for wherea s und er a wea k lens
you ma y
s eem t o s ee a c rea t ure exhibit -
ing
a n a c t ive
vora c it y
int o whic h ot her s ma ller c rea t ures
a c t ively pla y
a s if
t hey
were s o
ma ny
a ni-
ma t ed
t a x-pennies ,
a
s t ronger
lens revea ls t o
you
c ert a in t inies t ha irlet s whic h ma ke vort ic es for
t hes e vic t ims while t he s wa llower wa it s
pa s s ively
a t his
rec eipt
of c us t om. In t his
wa y, met a phoric a lly
s pea king,
a
s t rong
lens
a pplied
t o Mrs . Ca d wa lla d er's
ma t c h-ma king
will s how a
pla y
of minut e
c a us es
prod uc ing
wha t
ma y
be c a lled
t hought
a nd
s peec h
vort ic es t o
bring
her t he s ort of food s he
need ed .
(38)
The
pa s s a ge a t t empt s
t o
c onvey
t he
a bilit y
of
t o
s ha pe
t he
rea lit y
it is mea nt t o d es c ribe. It s
logic
is
ground ed
on a
s imple empiric a l prin-
c iple: met a phors ,
like
opt ic a l
ins t rument s ,
lend t hems elves t o t he t a s k of "ma k-
ing int erpret a t ions ,"
a
"s t ronger" met a phor a llowing
us t o
c a pt ure rea lit y
more
a c c ura t ely,
les s
c oa rs ely,
t ha n a "wea k" one.
Thus ,
when we view Mrs . Ca d wa lla d er's
"ma t c h-ma king" t hrough
t he
"s t rong" met a phor
of a
mic ros c opic orga nis m
we
rea lize t ha t
ma king
a ma t c h is not
s imply
t he
d oing
of a c rea t ure
exhibit ing
"a c -
t ive
vora c it y";
it involves a n ela bora t e
pla y
of "minut e c a us es " t ha t in t urn c rea t e
"t hought
a nd
s peec h
vort ic es " t ha t t hen
bring
a bout t he s ort of ma t c h t ha t would
s a t is fy
a "s wa llower" s uc h a s Mrs . Ca d wa lla d er. Wha t ever
a genc y
we
init ia lly
a s -
c ribe t o Mrs . Ca d wa lla d er a s a
"ma t c h-ma ker,"
met a phor
revea ls
t ha t ,
und er c los er
s c rut iny, ma rria ge
d oes not oc c ur wit hin a s t ruc t ure of int ent ion. It c omes t o
pa s s
wit hin a vort ex of
"t hought
a nd
s peec h"
t ha t ma kes ma t c hes
ha ppen
while
t he
s uppos ed
ma t c h-ma ker "wa it s
pa s s ively." Ma rria ge,
a s it t urns
out ,
is t he d o-
ing
of
t hings
wit h
"t hought
a nd
s peec h"; ma rria ge,
in a
word ,
is
performa t ive.
Wha t we a re left wit h a t a
mic ro-met a phoric a l
level is t he s heer
ma t eria lit y
of
la ngua ge: "t hought
a nd
s peec h
vort ic es ." We a rrive a t t his
ins ight ,
however,
only
by a pplying "s t rong" met a phors
t o wha t a re
es s ent ia lly
ot her
met a phors ,
a s t he
phra s e
wha t
ma y
be c a lled
ma y
be c a lled . The
phra s e met a phoric a lly s pea king
c a n
LOCAL
SPEECH,
G LOBAL
ACTS/19
ind eed be t a ken t o mea n t ha t one is
us ing met a phors
in t his
s pec ific
ins t a nc e
(les t
one mis t a ke
met a phor
for
non-met a phor, perha ps )
or
t ha t ,
in
s pea king,
one is
a lwa ys a lrea d y us ing met a phors ,
or bot h a t onc e.
In
ena c t ing
t he
t heory
of it s own
pra c t ic e,
t he
pa s s a ge
a s a whole revea ls t he
ines c a pa ble ma t eria lit y
of
la ngua ge
a nd a d d s t o our
und ers t a nd ing
of it
by
a d d -
ing
t ha t we c a n
only ga in
a c c es s t o it
t hrough
a
proc es s
of
d is -figura t ion
t ha t c a n
only
be
a c c omplis hed by
a nd in
figure.
Mrs . Ca d wa lla d er will hers elf us e t he
met a phoric a l
s c heme t ha t d es c ribes her in t his
pa s s a ge
when s he d es c ribes
Ca s a ubon t o Chet t a m in t hes e t erms :
"'Somebod y put
a
d rop
[of
Ca s a ubon's
blood ]
und er a
ma gnifying gla s s ,
a nd it wa s a ll s emi-c olons a nd
pa rent hes es '"
(45).
The
ma t eria lit y
of
la ngua ge,
t he
very
blood
c ours ing t hrough
t he novel's
veins ,
a s it
were,
is in t his ins t a nc e
c urious ly
word -les s : s emi-c olons a nd
pa rent he-
s es
a re,
perha ps
like Ca s a ubon's
work,
ins uffic ient t o s ec ure
performa t ive up-
t a ke on t heir
own;
yet t hey
a re fa r from
imma t eria l, s inc e,
a mong
muc h
els e,
t hey
guid e
t he
s ynt a x
of his
will,
whic h a c t s even a ft er he ha s c ea s ed
t rying
t o
s pea k
(in
effec t
prevent ing
Dorot hea from
ma king
a ma t c h of her
own)
. Semi-c olons
a nd
pa rent hes es ma y
t hus be
t hought
of a s "t inies t ha irlet s " t ha t
repres ent ,
un-
d er a
"s t rong"
lens ,
t he
ma t eria lit y
of
la ngua ge
t out c ourt
prec is ely
bec a us e
t hey
a re not word s : a
ma t eria lit y,
t o us e Derrid a 's
s ugges t ive phra s ing,
wit hout ma t -
t er.22 The
c omplex
rhet oric a l
s t a ging
of
ma t eria lit y
in t he
pa s s a ge
c a n t herefore
be s a id t o ena c t t he
ina bilit y
of
figura t ive la ngua ge a c t ua lly
t o
s ha pe
t he
rea lit y
it
d es c ribes ,
s inc e
met a phor-a s -mic ros c ope
d is c overs t he exis t enc e of a forc e of
la ngua ge
t ha t
opera t es beyond
or behind or in
a ny
c a s e
a pa rt
from t he
a bilit y
of
figure
t o s eem t o a nima t e
("s eem
t o
s ee")
word s a s
t hough t hey
were t a x-
pennies ,
word a nd
figure bec oming ind is t inguis ha ble t hrough
t he
pa rent het ic a l
phra s e "met a phoric a lly s pea king"
t ha t a nc hors t he
ima ge's c los ing
s ent enc e. It is
a forc e of
la ngua ge,
moreover, t ha t ,
like t he
pa s s a ge
a s a
whole,
ent a ils t he a c t of
int errupt ion
s inc e it is
ra d ic a lly het erogeneous
t o t he c ons t a t ive
regis t er
of
fig-
ure. No ma t t er how
c omplex
t he referent ia l
rela y figure a t t empt s
t o
t ra c e,
it will
a lwa ys
follow t he
logic
of
s ubs t it ut ion,
wherea s t he
performa t ive,
und ers t ood a s
a forc e inherent t o a ll
la ngua ge
us e,
res is t s
referent ia lit y a bs olut ely,
even t o t he
ext ent of
pos it ing
a
ma t eria lit y
t ha t ha s no ma t t er.
Des c ribed in t hes e
t erms ,
t he d is c urs ive
ma t eria lit y
of t he novel bec omes a c -
c es s ible in or
t hrough
t he a c t of
int errupt ion.
G iven t ha t t he novel res is t s it s own
performa t ivit y
a t
virt ua lly every
d is c urs ive
regis t er
(i.e.,
t he
na rra t ive,
figura t ive,
t hema t ic ,
generic ,
a nd ins t it ut iona l
regis t ers
I ha ve
exa mined ) ,
it is not
t erribly
s urpris ing
t ha t t he violent forc e of
la ngua ge
s hould bec ome vis ible a s a referen-
t ia l error. Aft er
a ll,
t he
bind ing
rela t ion t o t he rea l t o whic h t he novel
la ys
c la im
proves
t o
be,
und er t he lens of
s peec h
a c t s ,
a ra t her
mis lea d ing met a phor
ins ofa r
a s a
logic
of
performa nc e c ons t a nt ly d is rupt s
t he referent ia l moment
a nd ,
wit h
it ,
a ny pret enc e
t o
c ognit ive relia bilit y.
Wha t t urns out t o be
s omet hing
of a s ur-
pris e,
however,
is t ha t t his a c t of
int errupt ion
c a n
only
be rea d
t hrough
or
a ga ins t
t he
very
s t ruc t ures of referenc e
put
in
pla c e,
or ma d e
pos s ible, by
t he ma t eria l
22
For a n ext end ed med it a t ion on t he id ea of a
ma t eria lit y
wit hout
ma t t er,
la ngua ge
wit hout
word s ,
s ee Derrid a 's
"Typewrit er
Ribbon: Limit ed Ink 2."
/20
forc e of
la ngua ge.
We would be
jus t ified
in
c la s s ifying
t his form of
int errupt ion
und er t he rubric of
irony
-
t he
t rope
wit h whic h t he novel ha s been
t ra d it iona lly
a s s oc ia t ed
(in Lukc s ,
for
exa mple)
-
provid ed
we und ers t a nd
irony,
in a t ec hni-
c a l a s well a s a n
epis t emologic a l
s ens e,
a s a
figure
of
s peec h
t ha t
c a pt ures
t he
mut ua lly int errupt ive
os c illa t ion bet ween c ons t a t ive a nd
performa t ive regis t ers
of
la ngua ge.
This is in
keeping
wit h Pa ul d e Ma n's d efinit ion of
irony
a s t he
perma nent pa ra ba s is
(or
int errupt ion)
of t he
a llegory
of
figure
ins ofa r a s t he
int errupt ion
of
t ropologic a l
mod els of s ubs t it ut ion
by
a
performa t ive logic
of
a c t s c rea t es a
perpet ua l
s t a t e of referent ia l unea s e.23 If we c ons id er t his effec t of
int errupt ion
a s a ma nifes t a t ion of t he
genera l infelic it y
of
performa nc e
in t he
novel,
we c a n
begin
t o und ers t a nd t hes e moment s of referent ia l a berra t ion a s
moment s a t whic h t he novel c a n be s a id t o
a c t ,
lea ving
a ma t eria l t ra c e on t he
world . The ins t a nt of ironic
int errupt ion
in t he
novel,
t ha t
is ,
bec omes a s it e of
ins c ript ion
where t he
prod uc t ion
of t he
event , or,
bet t er
yet ,
t he event -nes s of
t he
novel,
c a n be loc a t ed .
Tha t t his ma t eria l event is ma d e ma nifes t
by
t he effec t of
int errupt ion
on t he
novel's s t ruc t ures of referenc e d oes not mea n t ha t t he ironic "form" of t he novel
bea rs a "c ont ent " t ha t would res t ore t o t his violent forc e a
d efining
or d efinit ive
na rra t ive
(of
unha ppines s ,
of
a liena t ion,
of t he
"d is a ppea ra nc e
of
god ,"
of wha t
ha ve
you)
. As
int errupt ion,
it era t ed
t hroughout
a nd a c ros s t he novel's s t ruc t ures
of
referenc e,
bec omes a
"perma nent "
fea t ure of it s
d is c ours e,
it c ea s es t o c ount
a s eit her "form" or
"c ont ent ,"
not lea s t bec a us e it bec omes
impra c t ic a ble,
not t o
s a y impos s ible,
t o t ell t hem
a pa rt . Int errupt ion,
t herefore,
a ls o bec omes a c ond i-
t ion of
pos s ibilit y
for
rea d ing et hic a lly,
s inc e t he c ons t a nt os c illa t ion bet ween t he
ord er of
c ognit ion
a nd t he ord er of
performa nc e
a s s ures t ha t wha t ever c ert a in-
t ies
repres ent a t ion,
on t he one
ha nd ,
a nd
performa t ive
violenc e,
on t he
ot her,
s eem t o
gua ra nt ee
a re a t bes t
ephemera l
a nd uns t a ble. Et hic a l
rea d ing
in t his
rega rd
ent a ils t he
a bs olut ely uns c ript ed , open-end ed ,
a nd ever inc a lc ula ble c on-
d it ions
irony
c rea t es in t he novel. The d is t a nc e
s epa ra t ing
a na t iona l from a
globa l-
ized
experienc e
of t he novel
pa s s es t hrough
it s
performa t ivit y,
a s t a t e t ha t rema ins
a lwa ys
in
s us pens e
a nd
punc t ua t ed by
unint end ed
int errupt ions .
The rea lis t novel
c a n t hus be s a id t o a s s emble t he c ond it ions of
pos s ibilit y
of a
globa l s ubjec t :
t he
"id ea l rea d er" of t he novel
bec oming
a
s ubjec t
who is "a t home" in t he "world
republic "
of t he
(globa l)
novel
prec is ely by being
"a t home"
nowhere,
a nd
pa r-
t ic ula rly
in t he
t empora l
a nd
s pa t ia l
c ert a int ies
t ha t ,
a c c ord ing
t o And ers on a nd
Moret t i,
t he novel s eems t o
gua ra nt ee.
An et hic a l
rea d ing pra c t ic e
would
imply
lea rning
t o live wit h
(in)
irony, os c illa t ing perma nent ly
in a
rela y
whos e out c ome
is a t
a ny
ins t a nt und ec id a ble a nd d ec id ed in a d va nc e bet ween form a nd
c ont ent ,
performa t ive
a nd
c ons t a t ive,
novel a nd
na t ion,
t he loc a l a nd t he
globa l, s peec h
a nd a c t s .
This
might
s eem like a
fa irly
mod es t s et of c la ims wit h whic h t o
c onc lud e,
but
we
might
d o wors e t ha n t a ke s ome c omfort in t he
knowled ge
t ha t t he
novel,
a nd
lit era t ure in
genera l, might
ind eed d o a bit les s t ha n we c la im it d oes . It is
t his ,
I
23
Ind eed ,
irony, a c c ord ing
t o d e
Ma n,
"a llows us t o
perform
a ll s ort s of
performa t ive linguis t ic
func t ions whic h s eem t o fa ll out of t he
t ropologic a l
field ,
but a ls o t o be
very c los ely
c onnec t ed wit h
it "
('The
Conc ept
of
Irony" 165).
LOCAL
SPEECH,
G LOBAL
ACTS/21
would
fina lly a rgue,
t ha t ma kes t he t a s k of
und ers t a nd ing
t he a c t ive a nd oft en
violent forc e of
la ngua ge
a ll t he more
urgent ,
for it c a n a llow us t o
ga in
a c c es s t o
t he
t ext ua lit y
of
experienc e.
The c ult ura l
s t ud y
of t he novel in t he
a ge
of
globa l-
iza t ion c a nnot d o wit hout t he int ric a t e work of t ext ua l
d ec od ing
if it is t o
purs ue
a
progres s ive a gend a
of
polit ic a l enga gement
t ha t is ba s ed on t he
a s s umpt ion
t ha t lit era t ure int ervenes in
s oc iet y.24
Univers it y of
Wis c ons in,
Ma d is on
24
1 would like t o t ha nk Ric k
Bega m,
Sus a n
Berns t ein,
G uillermina De
Ferra ri,
Sa ra
G uyer,
Theres a
Kelley,
Ca roline
Levine,
Henry
Turner,
Rebec c a
Wa lkowit z,
a nd t he
journa l's a nonymous
rea d ers
for t heir c omment s a nd
s ugges t ions .
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. Limit ed Inc . Tra ns . Sa muel Weber a nd

. "Third World Lit era t ure in t he Era of Mult ina t iona l

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